Part two - Johnny and Yosaku 2/4

The hunters looked at each other in silence.

- Okay, - said the second, who looked like a hippie with his long, slightly curly, blond hair and a denim, somewhat tattered, jacket.

- Then we agreed, - Zoro said, heading to the counter.

- Lets go partner, - clapped his comrade on the shoulder "hippie".

- Of course, partner, - the "punk" nodded. - Thanks for the reward, - unexpectedly for the swordsman, he turned to him. - To be honest, we weren't sure if we could have handled him.

Although Zoro knew about this initially, he was still slightly surprised that the guy confessed to their weakness.

- It's okay, - he chuckled. - Even so, at least I won't have to deal with the Marines… most of them annoy me as much as pirates and bandits, and sometimes more.

- You're… you're Roronoa Zoro, aren't you? "Pirate Slayer" Zoro? Zoro "Three Swords"?

The hunters and the host who brought the food froze in place, staring intently at the guy.

- That's what people call me, - Zoro shrugged. - I didn't start hunting pirates on purpose. It's just that I travel a lot and I need money, and when I come across pirates with a bounty on their head ... - without finishing, he took a spoon and began to destroy the pilaf put in front of him at an accelerated pace.

The swordsman wisely chose not to mention for what other reasons he hunted pirates in the past six months. The guys stood for a while, digesting Zoro's words, then grabbed the dead "Frankenstein" by the arms and, leaving a bloody trail behind them, dragged him to the local branch of the Marines. By the time they returned back to the bar - or rather, it would be more correct to say, rushed back into the bar - Zoro, having eaten five portions of pilaf, was finishing his fourth bottle of wine.

- ZORO-SAN !!! - flew inside, like an abnormal yelled "punk", which is why the green-haired swordsman taking another sip involuntarily coughed.

- Trouble, ZORO-SAN !! - no less loudly echoed the "hippie" who flew in after him.

- What are you yelling for? - Zoro asked them in a hoarse voice.

He began tapping his chest lightly, trying to clear his throat.

- The guy you killed recently has a brother!… - The "punk" began emotionally.

- They give ten million for him! - The "hippie" interrupted him.

- And right now he is robbing the warehouses of the village ...

- This village!

- The bandits who ran away earlier told him everything ...

- And now he knows that you killed his brother ...

- As soon as he and his gang have finished looting the warehouses, they will immediately head here! And if they don't find you, they will take out their anger on the locals!

Zoro sucked on the bottle again, and didn't tear himself away from it until all of its contents were gone.

- So what's the problem? - putting the empty container on the counter, he got up from the chair. - Five million to me, and the rest to you, if you hand over his corpse to the sentinels for me.

The hunters' eyes grew noticeably in size, and their jaws, clearly obeying the laws of gravity, rushed with all their might to the ground.

- Do not forget to pay my bill, - passing by the guys frozen in a stupor, Zoro friendly patted on the shoulder of the "punk".

However, as soon as he left the bar and took a few steps, as his attention was attracted by the sound of a distant explosion, and, turning his head, he saw a pillar of black smoke rising up near the village. It doesn't take a genius to figure out which way to go. And the guy went. Calm gait, not in a hurry to go anywhere, according to a long-established habit. After eating, he generally preferred to sleep, so he was frankly too lazy to make any sudden movements. Given this attitude, it is not at all surprising that Zoro got to the warehouses when the bandits had already pulled out all the supplies of the village into the street. Here he saw "hippie" and "punk" standing right in front of the robbers. Fortunately for the hunters, the bandits, although they were going to deal with them, still did not have time to do anything. True, not far away sat on the ground a pretty beaten kid of about eight years old, dressed in some kind of homemade armor. The swordsman immediately understood why the "partners" had climbed on a man whose reward was twice that of the "Frankenstein", whom they were openly afraid to touch. He liked these guys more and more.

- I see you decided to do all the work for me? - Zoro said half-questioningly, walking unhurriedly towards a group of bandits led by a healthy man who was holding an even healthier cannon on his shoulder, apparently firing real cannonballs.

For the green-haired guy it was not the first time to see such squalor.

- ZORO-SAN !!! - the hunters exclaimed amicably and with obvious relief.

But the reaction of the bandits was predictably opposite. Before that, they all stood in relaxed poses, not even bothering to take up their swords, but as soon as they heard the guy's name and saw him, they instantly grabbed the weapon.

- So it was you who killed my brother? !! - the big man, instantly reddened with rage, roared and, throwing up his "mega-gun", without any preamble, pulled the trigger.

The moment before the shot was fired, Zoro's palm habitually shifted from the white hilt to the black one. A shot rang out, a cannon ball shot out of the cannon, and then the resounding sound of iron hitting iron was heard in the vicinity. As if by magic, the cannonball flying at Zoro bounced back into the muzzle of the cannon. There was an explosion, a loud cry of pain, and in the clouds of black smoke, the leader of the bandits, pretty much scratched by shrapnel, and his cannon, torn apart by the explosion, fell to the ground. However, the big man, in fact, turned out to be a pretty tough nut to crack - he jumped up almost immediately.

- GUYS !!! - clutching the sword hanging on his hip, shouted the big man. - LET'S CUT THIS BASTARD INTO PIECES !!!

And all the brethren, spurred on by the example of their leader, uttering furious cries, rushed at Zoro ... that he still had not removed his hand from the sword with a black hilt. It was over in a single moment ... as it always happened with the green-haired guy's battles lately. Here he is standing right in front of the running crowd, which has already swung in unison for a one-time blow, and the next moment he is already walking unhurriedly behind their backs. And his palm rests as usual on the white handle.

- Where did he go? - the bandits began to look around.

- Hey, there he is! - noticed one of them Zoro, that now he was walking unhurriedly towards the boy sitting on the ground.

- Hold ... gha ... - starting to speak, one of the bandits, as if knocked down, fell to the ground.

- Hey, what with ... argh ... - another one collapsed, clutching at the blood-stained chest.

As if just waiting for this, the bandits began to fall one after another. The last, face to the ground, the leader himself collapsed. The assembled people froze in place, so much was the swift and merciless reprisal against the bandits made on them. Just a minute ago they seemed invincible to them.

- Oh, kid, how are you, safe? - Zoro asked as he approached the seated boy.

- Huh? - only he answered.

- I say how are you? - The swordsman asked again. - Nothing broken?

- N-no… likely.

The guy looked at the battered boy, his homemade armor, and the hammer and saw lying nearby, which he was clearly trying to use as a weapon.

- You tried to protect the warehouses? - Zoro finally asked.

- Y-yes ... - the boy answered, but immediately lowered his head: - Only I could not do anything.

- It's okay, - the swordsman smiled slightly. - Strong are not born, they become strong. You are brave and you have a desire to protect what is dear to you. Therefore, if you really want to, then over time you can become really strong. Until then, try to be careful. Dead you will never be able to protect anyone or anything.

- Y-yes ... I will definitely become strong! - and, looking in the direction of the bodies of the bandits, he added a little quieter, but even more decisively: - Definitely!