172 Konoha?

"Who are you?"

Whitebeard asked to ease the tension after he and Roger had both watched the enigmatic swordsman for a considerable amount of time.

Turning back, the swordsman finally showed his face.

He had a distinctive appearance. He was a tall and muscular man with spiky green hair that obscured his eyes. He wore a bandana or a tied-up headband around his forehead, along with three gold earrings in each ear, one of his eye was closed with a scar on the eyelid and a slash scar across his chest. Additionally, he carried three swords, two of which were usually strapped to his waist, while the third was slung over his right shoulder in a crossed position. His overall appearance reflected his strong and serious demeanor, befitting his role as a formidable swordsman.

"The name is Roronoa Zoro, nice to meet you"

Sheathing his swords Zoro replied in a calm voice,

[AN- Zoro got lost form his original timeline]

…

"So you are telling us that you were helping a group called 'Akatsuki~~' or whatever to fight a 1000 feet monster fox but you got lost mid fight and somehow got here?"

Whitebeard inquired.

"Could it be a mythical fruit user?

Roger nudged whitebeard.

They were both lost in thought. After some time being bored Zoro looked at them and asked.

"You guys have any booze?

Whitebeard nonchalantly took out three gourds tied to his waist and threw one to Roger and the other one to Zoro.

"Let's celebrate since you pulled a clutch at the right moment." 

"Gurararara if it weren't for you we would have…"

"Cheers"

The trio clinked their gourds and drank all the booze.

"You look familiar, especially that crescent beard, and you too. You guys… Have we met somewhere?"

Zoro inquired while drinking his booze as he glanced at Roger and whitebeard

"…"

"I don't think so, this is my first time seeing you"

Roger replied giving Zoro a big smile.

"Hmm? That sword looks familiar…"

As whitebeard glanced at the purple sword, he was puzzled. He swore he saw it somewhere.

…

After their chatting Zoro stood up about to leave.

"By the way do you guys know which direction Konoha village is? I got to finish that monster before I find my captain."

Looking at Zoro, Whitebeard shook his head meanwhile Roger was extremely excited.

"Please join my crew, Zoro"

Roger wanted to have Zoro in his crew no matter what.

"Sorry, I have a captain"

Looking at Roger, Zoro was reminded of Luffy. Slowly Luffy and Roger's image gradually overlapped. Zoro was a bit emotional.

"Sigh, what a bummer"

Roger was disappointed but Zoro's next words made him awaken from his disappointment.

"I can't join your crew but we can fight sometimes"

Roger was excited and proposed to battle right there but Zoro declined looking their condition.

"Would you mind lending me your vivre card so I can locate you guys for a match? And give me that guy's vivre card too"

Zoro demanded as he looked the duo and Nicholas lying down. Both of them tore a piece of their vivre card and passed them to Zoro. Remembering the vivre card Nicholas gave him, roger tore a piece of it and gave it to Zoro.

Taking all three pieces of the vivre card Zoro thanked them and turned to leave.

"The nearest island of here is in the south, you can ask them about konoha"

Whitebeard pointed towards south as he took a gulp from his gourd.

"Thank you, I hope I see you guys again"

Saying that Zoro left in the opposite direction…

"…"

"Heyyyyy that's the wrong direction" 

Roger tried to warn Zoro but he had already swam far away. Both roger and Whitebeard looked at each-other, they had nothing to say….

 [AN- I don't know why people find this Easter egg unfunny, i just want to make you people happy🥹😞. If you find this un-funny please pretend this as a non-cannon interaction, you can skip Zoro's involvement entirely if you want to. Please tell if if you guys want to see these type of interaction. And i am sorry if i made you angry.]

…

Due to whitebeard's Tsunami, There was thick fog on the sea so the visibility was very poor. 

On Moby dick Enma vibrated briefly on Oden's hip as he sensed a familiar aura while trying to glimpse Whitebeard aboard the ship through the fog.

"Hmm? Isn't this Enma?... No the aura is stronger than my Enma, But why is there another Enma?

After a few seconds Enma stopped vibrating, Oden was confused but he couldn't do anything since Whitebeard forbade him not to leave the ship.

Soon as the warm rays of the sun hit the fog on the ocean, it slowly started dissipating.

When everything finally settled down, this stretch of sea also returned to its former state, but the only difference was that the countless years-old islands in this area were nowhere to be seen.

"Dad!"

"Turn the helm, Dad is over there!"

"Hurry!"

Soon, the silhouette of the Moby Dick appeared, and it spotted Whitebeard resting on a reef with his legs crossed.

Marco also leaped from the ship's railing, transforming into a phoenix and swiftly flying towards Whitebeard.

As they approached Whitebeard and landed beside him, Marco, with a cautious look around, noticed that there was only Whitebeard there. Immediately, he asked with concern, "Dad, are you okay?"

"Haha, I'm Whitebeard, of course I'm fine!"

Whitebeard laughed heartily at Marco's anxious expression, then looked into the distance, where the Oro Jackson had just departed.

Buggy kept jumping, trying to peek through the crowd in front to see Nicholas in the center.

"Buggy, come over here!"

Shanks, who was moving a huge barrel from the side, reached out to beckon Buggy over.

Buggy didn't hesitate and directly took a running start, jumping onto the barrel, causing it to sway wildly. Finally, after a lot of effort, he managed to stabilize himself and Shanks on the barrel.

Upon seeing the situation inside, Buggy was stunned.

Because it was completely different from what he had expected. He thought that after such an intense battle, Nicholas would at least be covered in blood, with torn flesh, broken bones, and hanging by a thread of life.

But Nicholas didn't have any of those injuries he had imagined; he looked as if he were just asleep.

It was Captain Roger who had quite a few wounds on his body, sitting beside Nicholas, receiving treatment from Doctor Crocus.

Soon, Roger's wounds were mostly treated.

Roger then looked over at Nicholas, realizing the trouble this guy had caused him and Whitebeard.

"Crocus, what's the situation with this guy?"

Roger asked Crocus, who was examining Nicholas's internal condition.

"All his organs are functioning normally, and his muscles, which were previously overloaded due to the battle, are recovering."

Crocus continued, "In other words, this guy's body is perfectly fine, he just needs to wake up. But that's also the most troublesome part because you never know when he'll wake up."

"Forget it, let's put him in the infirmary for now and see when he wakes up. So, to celebrate, let's have a feast!"

As Roger's voice fell, the Oro Jackson erupted into cheers.

On the other hand, on the Moby Dick, Whitebeard grabbed Marco's leg and crossed onto the deck, then with a loud thud, he sat down.

"Dad!"

The pirates were worried.

"Hahaha."

Whitebeard laughed heartily.

"I'm fine, it's just a few minor injuries!"

Then, two nurses wearing leopard-print leggings brought various medical equipment to clean and suture his wounds.

"Hey, Shanks, do you think that guy will wake up?"

Buggy, who was peeking in front of the medical room, asked Shanks, who was also secretly observing Nicholas in the medical room.

"Who knows? Uncle Crocus said it depends on him when he wakes up."

...

In the dark space, there was no trace of light.

And in the very center, Nicholas was sitting there, emitting a faint glow that dispelled the surrounding darkness.

At this moment, Nicholas was trapped here, and when he went online, he could sense the outside world's battles through his consciousness.

He saw how his "other self" in the outside world unleashed such terrifying power, even able to contend with the combined might of Whitebeard and Roger.

The speed and destructive power of lightning were maximized, and at that moment, he was thunder, and thunder was him.

In that state, the power of thunder was amplified and expanded countless times, forming attacks that surpassed even those he could use.

This was what thunder looked like when pushed to the extreme. Relying solely on the power of thunder, he could stand against the two most powerful beings on the sea.

From the beginning to the end of the battle, Nicholas watched it all.

With each collision, his understanding of lightning became deeper.

Until the end, he was finally completely engulfed by the warm white light.

Suddenly, Nicholas, lying on the bed, opened his eyes.

The bright sunlight outside the porthole was dazzling, making him squint.

Then, a figure appeared in his eyes.

"Crocus."

Looking at the ship's doctor of the Roger Pirates, Nicholas realized that he was currently on board the Oro Jackson.

"Awake, huh, kid."

Crocus smiled at Nicholas.

Soon, Roger and others came to visit.

One day later, Nicholas's complexion had improved a lot, and he could walk on the ground.

Certainly, this battle had made Nicholas's body even stronger.

Undoubtedly, when Nicholas fully digested the insights from this battle, he would become even more powerful.

"Wow, Nicholas. Do you know that you really scared me with your appearance back then?"

Sitting at the bow of the Oro Jackson, Roger looked at the distant sea and couldn't help but say.

"But you nearly killed Whitebeard and me, if it weren't for that guy…"

Roger wanted to say something but he stopped.

Nicholas picked up a wine cup and took a sip, indicating that it was time to relax after such a battle, he didn't remember the mysterious swordsman.