Morgan looked at the soldiers blocked by Zoro and angrily shouted, "What are you all spacing out for! Hurry up and deal with them!" A group of soldiers shivered in fear.
"Duck! Zoro! Rubber! Whip!" As Zoro ducked, a group of Marines behind him were swept aside, astonishing Morgan.
When his leg retracted, a small box slipped out of his pants and fell to the ground, unnoticed by anyone.
"Just what are you...?" Zoro asked, looking at Luffy's abnormal body.
"I'm a Devil Fruit user who ate the Gum-Gum Fruit," Luffy said, lifting and shaking his leg.
"As expected, a Devil Fruit user, that great treasure of the sea. You losers, I don't need incompetent subordinates!"
Luffy quickly ran towards Morgan and punched his axe.
"You nameless people don't even have the right to oppose me! I am Marine Colonel, Axe-Hand Morgan! Die!" Morgan tore off his cape, and his massive axe chopped down towards the ground. The surging impact lifted the box on the ground, tearing apart the ropes on it. The lid fell off, and a Little White Snake tumbled out.
Luffy stiffly turned around, cold sweat pouring down his face as he looked at the snake on the ground. "It's over." He turned, ignoring Morgan, grabbed Zoro by the collar, and began to run quickly, jumping onto the wall.
Zoro's eyes rolled back from being choked. "Luffy, what are you doing! Why are we running away?"
Luffy hid behind Zoro. "It's over, I forgot about Orochimaru. He's been cooped up in that box for so long, he's definitely going to be angry. Let him beat up Morgan to vent his anger first." Luffy implied, if he beats Morgan, he can't beat me.
"What's an Orochimaru?" Zoro asked, looking puzzled.
Luffy pointed at the split-open box on the open ground, where a Little White Snake was waking up.
"No... that snake on the ground, that's Orochimaru, and he's also my first mate... He's also a Devil Fruit user, and an angry Orochimaru is super scary."
Meanwhile, Orochimaru had actually been awake at first. He felt a bit dizzy in the barrel, then a sudden loud bang made the box shake, making him even dizzier. When he woke up again, he tried to push the lid but couldn't. Thinking he and Luffy were still in the barrel, he went back to sleep. Orochimaru believed that if the situation was safe, Luffy would wake him up.
The result was that he suddenly fell out of the box with a plop, rolling over and over on the ground many times... Looking at Axe-Hand Morgan in front of him, there was nothing left to misunderstand. Either he forgot, or he intentionally forgot ^_^.
Very good, very good.
Orochimaru raised his upper body, his body gradually growing larger, transforming into a python over 20 meters long. He slammed his tail down, raising dust. After several continuous slams, he moved his tail, looked at Morgan, who was smashed beyond recognition and oblivious to his fate, and then stopped. He turned to look at the two crouching figures on the wall and slid towards them.
In Zoro's eyes, the giant python in front of him gradually shrank, with a human upper body and a snake tail for the lower body, slithering towards him with a gloomy expression. He instinctively tightened his grip on his sword.
Orochimaru's voice was a bit hoarse. "Luffy... do you have something you need to explain to me?"
"Hahahaha..." Luffy scratched his head, then bowed 90 degrees. "Gomen nasai, I forgot."
Orochimaru punched Luffy, sending him flying into the air. "You clearly did it on purpose!! What was that rope around the outside of the box! Do you think I'm blind?!"
After a series of punches, a bruised and swollen Luffy was held by Orochimaru. "Gomen nasai, I won't dare to do it again. By the way, I found some Companions, though he's not a musician." Luffy pointed at Zoro to divert attention.
Orochimaru's veins bulged, thinking, 'There's a next time?!' Then he took a deep breath, reverted to his human form, straightened his clothes, turned, and stopped ten steps away from Zoro.
"Hello, Roronoa Zoro, I've heard of you. My incompetent Captain has caused you trouble. May I ask if you have joined our Pirate Crew now?"
Zoro stared blankly at the person whose expression had changed, then nodded.
"So, are we Companions now?" Orochimaru smiled :)
"Mm-hmm..." Zoro nodded, still puzzled.
"Then Companions should be able to treat each other honestly and speak frankly, right?"
Zoro nodded again, still confused.
"Then, please forgive my rudeness. Earth Release, Earth-Style Wall!" As Orochimaru's deep and hoarse voice rang out, three walls quickly rose and stood behind and on both sides of Zoro, completely enclosing him. These three walls blocked the view of those around.
Immediately after, Orochimaru quickly performed hand signs, and with a soft shout, "Water Release! Surging Waves!" A clear stream of water surged out with his hand signs, rushing towards Zoro, who was trapped in the center. The water was turbulent and powerful, washing over Zoro's body.
It also washed away Zoro's tattered clothes, with a harmonious mosaic appearing. Zoro was still in a daze when he was washed clean.
"Wind Release, Super Weakened Version, Scythe Weasel!"
Orochimaru, seemingly from nowhere, produced a small folding fan and fanned out a gentle breeze, drying the water droplets on Zoro's body. Zoro, bewildered by the wind, was still in a daze, having never seen such a technique.
While still stunned, he found Orochimaru already standing before him, one hand pressed against his abdomen (O∆O). An unknown green energy flowed into his body, bringing a warm sensation. Aside from feeling a bit hungry, the pain in his abdomen was gone.
Orochimaru finished his examination, repaired some damaged functions, withdrew his hand, and casually patted the person's abdominal muscles.
"Body functions restored, and physical fitness is also quite good."
After doing all this, a stack of clothes, including a brand new pair of shoes, a complete set from inside to out, appeared out of thin air in Orochimaru's hand and was placed in Zoro's hand.
"Please change. I apologize, but you were a bit smelly just now, with some indescribable odors. I was rude." Zoro, still shocked by Orochimaru's abilities, heard this sentence and instantly flushed red. Only one thought filled his mind: kill this smiling snake. But considering his current state, he quickly turned and changed his clothes, though his hand gripping the sword hilt trembled violently.
Luffy patted Zoro's shoulder sympathetically. "Give up, you can't beat him. Orochimaru used to do this to me when I was little." He didn't mention the embarrassing detail of being picked up and dunked. Now, Luffy was very self-aware, stating that he was already very hygienic and would even use other people's clothes to wipe his nose. Sister Makino used to say this was called mysophobia, not being able to stand dirty people... But... Luffy felt that Orochimaru's techniques, in every sense, were quite 'dirty'... So Luffy was already used to the clothes-changing routine after Orochimaru's 'fits.' Even his Grandfather couldn't avoid it. Who could resist a clean, sweet Grandson calling him Grandfather? However, he always felt that his Grandfather seemed to have been planning to beat Orochimaru for a long time but just couldn't find a reason.