Rox casually picked a small boat from Loguetown's harbor and set out to sea, but the ride was awful—no room, no bed, nothing comfortable at all.
"We need a real ship," Rox said to Yamato.
He released his Observation Haki, searching across the vast waters for something suitable.
But the ocean was far too wide; finding a proper ship by scanning blindly would take time—even for someone with Rox's heightened perception.
Unexpectedly, luck favored him. Within minutes, he sensed a vessel nearby—one whose owner he actually recognized.
He tossed aside their tiny boat, wrapped an arm around Yamato's waist, and stepped into the air, using Moonwalk to head toward the distant ship.
On a pirate ship dozens of miles away…
A bulky, freckled woman with a face only nightmares would admire swung a spiked club at a trembling slave.
"Damn you! Curse you! Straw Hat Luffy—one day I'll make you pay!"
It was Alvida—the very first pirate Luffy fought when he set sail. After being defeated and sent flying, she'd luckily stumbled upon something unbelievable:
a Devil Fruit.
Clutching it lovingly, she trembled with excitement.
"The Slip-Slip Fruit… with this, I'll become the most beautiful and strongest woman alive!"
Just as she prepared to swallow it whole, a soft, urgent voice stopped her.
"Lady Alvida! If we sell that fruit, it'll fetch hundreds of millions. We'd be set for life!"
The orange-haired girl speaking was—Nami, the Cat Burglar herself.
She had approached Alvida hoping to steal the fruit, only to be captured when Alvida recognized her infamous name. Nami forced a nervous smile as her eyes darted around, plotting an escape route.
Alvida snarled, "Don't think I don't know what you're after, little thief! You'd sell it and run off with the money, wouldn't you?!"
Nami kept smiling awkwardly—but she was very much planning on doing exactly that.
Alvida ignored her and once again raised the fruit to her mouth—
"Giving you that Devil Fruit would be a terrible waste,"
a calm voice interrupted.
"Why not give it to me instead?"
Alvida's rage spiked.
"Who's the idiot disturbing me again— I'll kill—!"
She turned—and froze.
Rox, holding Yamato, gently landed on her ship as though stepping into his own living room. He casually plucked the Slip-Slip Fruit from her hands, tossed it twice, then pocketed it.
Yamato blinked in surprise.
"Husband, you're going to eat that? Isn't this fruit… kind of low-level?"
"I'm not eating it. But it's still a Devil Fruit—it'll be useful later."
For Rox, the Slip-Slip Fruit had even more uses than the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
After all, it could make one's skin impossibly smooth—an effect he intended for someone else entirely.
Definitely not something Yamato could know.
Rox's gaze drifted briefly across Nami's face before settling back on Alvida.
"Do you want to die," he asked calmly, "or live?"
Alvida's knees hit the deck instantly.
"Spare me, great lord!"
Even as a low-tier pirate, she recognized absolute, overwhelming power.
These two could walk on air.
The man's presence alone pressed on her chest like a mountain.
One wrong move and she'd be erased without a trace—she could feel it.
"Then stand over there," Rox said.
Alvida literally rolled away—on the deck—before scrambling to stand in place.
Nami stared, stunned.
Alvida—a pirate worth five million—wasn't resisting at all. She didn't even mention the stolen Devil Fruit.
A creeping fear wrapped around Nami's heart.
This man… might be far scarier than Arlong ever was.
Rox ignored her reaction. Instead, he looked out across the horizon, lips curling faintly.
"Two interesting people are about to arrive," he said to Yamato.
"We might even get to watch an amusing duel."
Yamato blinked. Her own Observation Haki had sensed incoming presences.
Did her husband know them?
At the same time, somewhere on the East Blue…
Mihawk stood on his tiny coffin boat, staring coldly at the three figures blocking his path:
a green-haired man with three swords, flanked by two rough-looking swordsmen.
"Nobodies. Move," Mihawk said emotionlessly.
But the green-haired swordsman—Zoro—lit up with excitement.
He drew two swords and bit down on the third, his muscles trembling with anticipation.
"This is incredible! To meet you on the way—Dracule Mihawk, the world's greatest swordmaster!"
"Fight me! Greatest swordsman of the world!"
Swoosh—
A single slash from Mihawk's tiny dagger sliced across the sea, raising a massive wave that flipped their entire boat.
The three men splashed into the ocean.
Mihawk gave them a single indifferent glance—then turned away, walking on.
Zoro yelled through the water, furious:
"Don't run! Fight me! Are you scared?!"
His two companions, Johnny and Yosaku, sputtered:
"Zoro-aniki, he's a coward! Forget him, let's go to Shells Town—!"
"Shut up!" Zoro barked.
"Beating Mihawk is my life's dream!"
He flipped the boat back upright.
"Thank goodness—the planks aren't broken."
They scrambled aboard and began chasing after Mihawk.
"Wait for us, Zoro-aniki!"
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/ZoroTL442