Pain of being a Vice Captain

After Zoro made his oath to Luffy, Mihawk turned around. Just when he was about to leave, Zack walked in front of him and asked "Mr. Mihawk, there is something that I would like to ask you."

"Who are you?" Mihawk looked at him and asked.

"Oh! I am sorry for the late introduction. My name is Zack. I am the vice-captain of Straw Hat Pirates. I want to exchange some information with you. I am not sure if you have heard of it but I can assure you that it will pique your interest." Zack introduced himself and spoke.

Mihawk looked at him and asked, "What do you want?"

He didn't care about Zack's information but he had a very good impression of Zoro and he had also sensed conqueror coming coming from his crew in order to resist his . Since Zack was from the same crew, he was willing to listen.

"It seems you don't care about my information. But still, before I told you about what I want. I will give you the information, after all, I am grateful that you didn't kill my crew mater."

"I am not sure if you have heard about Five Elder Stars. One of them is a swordsman with first generation keitetsu. I am not sure if he is stronger than you but to be someone that can order Fleet Admirals at will, I believe his strength isn't low." Zack spoke.

Hearing his words, Mihawk's eyes squinted but quickly returned to normal as he asked "So, what do you want?

Zack took a deep breath and asked "How can I train Armament Haki?"

Mihawk looked at him with a surprise in his eyes and shook his head "You can't learn Armament Haki at your current strength. You are too weak."

"I know that. That's why I want to know how to train Armament Haki." Zack immediately responded.

Mihawk's eyes turned frighteningly narrowed as he said "As I said, you are too weak to learn Armament Haki. Only when you push your body to a certain strength, you can force your Will to manifest."

"You can't learn Haki unless you push your physical strength to the absolute limit. Of course, that's only for Armament Haki. Since you didn't ask me about Observation Haki, I assumed you know about it.'

Saying so, he walked passed Zack who was still in shock for a moment. But Zack instantly turned around and shouted "Can you cut Kaido's skin with your strength?"

Mihawk paused for a moment and looked at Zoro, then looked at Zack.

"There is nothing that a true swordsman can't cut."

Saying so, Mihawk left and Zack didn't continue to ask. He just looked back with a visible shock on his face.

"O-oi Zack….. were you seriously asking him about Haki?" Nami approached Zack after Mihawk left and asked in a frightened tone.

"I had to ask him. Thankfully, I got my answer." Zack nodded his head and turned around. At this moment, Krieg had fully threatened to kill the chefs of Baratie.

"Oi Captain, it seems like you chose the wrong time to fight a crew with hundreds of pirates." Zack approached Luffy as he casually glanced at the hundreds of pirates who were rushing toward the restaurant.

"Hehehe! It's fun, isn't it?" Luffy had the exact reaction he expected from him.

Zack looked at the pirates and said "Let me handle the group!"

"Then, I will defeat that guy." Luffy pointed at Krieg and ran toward him.

Zack slightly backed up next to Sanji and said "The pirate that you fed, handle him!"

Without explaining more, Zack rushed at the group of pirates coming toward him. He crackle his knuckles and thrust his fist before the pirates could swing their swords.

Bam!

His attack struck the first pirate, slamming him and the pirate behind him to the ground. Without wasting his time, Zack raised his foot and swing it with all of his force.

Bang!

Splash!

He managed to kick a few of them but also got slashed to the side by a pirate. In this world, he noticed that even getting slashed by them, it doesn't pierce deep. It just leaves some scar which was good enough for him.

The drop dripped from his shoulder as he chopped that guy's neck with his hand. The force was so powerful that he was smashed against three more pirates, taking them down.

"Why is that guy fighting so carelessly?" Sanji looked at Zack who was getting attacked by other pirates while beating them and stepped forward. But, Zeff stopped him and said.

"Sanji, look at this battle carefully. This is how pirates fight."

Zack got smacked in his head by a club. But instead of screaming in pain, Zack was actually fighting another pirate without even caring about that strike. Because he had already launched his fist.

He can't stop just because someone smacks his head with a club. This is not a children's battle. This is a life and death battle between pirates.

"In a battle between pirates, there are no rules, no honor, and no restrictions. Pirates are free to do whatever they want." Zeff stated.

As soon as Zack finished punching the pirate in front of him, he swung his upper body and held the club of that pirate with both of his hands.

Bang!

He put all of his power into his hands and lifted the club and the pirate at the same time and smashed him to the ground. He took the club from the pirate and looked around.

'Well, this is not a hammer but.'

'This angle, this speed, this timing.'

"Mjolnir, GO!"

Zack swung his arm as he threw the club. It didn't move straight but rather curved as it struck the first pirate, then the collision spun the club, curving its motion even more as it continued to strike more pirates with both of its ends.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

At the same time, he raised his leg straight back as his feet struck the pirate behind him. Of course, his condition wasn't good. He had a scar on his shoulder and a wound on his back and head.

Ding!

Suddenly, two large shields struck Zack from the sides.

"Zack!" Luffy shouted but suddenly, a figure dashed toward the man who slammed Zack and kicked him in his face.

"Damn you bastard! How dare you….. Blood?" The man who slammed Zack with his shield was none other than Paloo. After getting kicked by Sanji, he flared into anger but when he noticed the blood coming out of his nose, he started screaming.

"I'm bleeding….. I'm in danger.... Danger!"

Sanji immediately pulled Zack. At this moment, Zack was bleeding all over his body. The strike from those shields was truly powerful.

"Hey, are you going to be alright?" Sanji shook him and asked.

Zack suddenly caught his hand and said "Didn't I tell you to take care of someone else?"

"Cough!" When he said that, he vomited blood.

"Damn! You are in such condition and you still dare to think of something else." Sanji furiously shouted at him.

'Idiot! Every single of them is an idiot. Who would even want to join their crew?'

But suddenly, Zack caught his hand with all of his strength and swung him toward Zeff. Sanji didn't hit Zeff but rather a person behind him. That person was none other than Gin.

Zack turned around and looked at Paloo who was shouting 'Danger' while releasing more fire from his body. Zack rushed to the side where he saw a big bucket. He drowned the bucket in the sea and threw the bucket with his left hand.

The bucket flew toward him from forward as the water slashes his body. Though water didn't manage to extinguish his flame, Zack managed to sneak from behind and slammed the back of his head.

'Getting defeated by this idiot? Hell no! I haven't trained for months or years like monster trio but I won't lose against the idiot with shield and flame.'

Zack kicked and dropped his head down. Zack rushed to his front and spread out his arms.

"Mao zoute!"

Bang!

His palm hit Paloo's ears so hard that it left him immobilized for a moment. At the same time, Zack ducked down and swung his legs.

Thud!

His kick made Paloo fall to the ground. But, Zack wasn't done yet. Although Paloo was injured, it wasn't enough to make him unconscious. The flames were slowly spreading out as well.

Zack immediately rushed toward Nami. Everyone was surprised by his move. When he reached near her, he picked up the training set from next to her. Just when she tried to ask him something, he left for the restaurant.

Everyone was surprised by his move. They didn't understand why he left all of a sudden. At this moment, Sanji didn't notice him because he was busy fighting Gin.

Zack reached the top of the building and wore his training set. He took a deep breath and looked at the ground. Then, he retreated until he found it good enough to get enough running speed.

Although he was covered in blood and was wearing heavyweights, he ran faster than before. He jumped from the top of the restaurant and curled his body.

His forearms and lower legs covered his body and these were the parts that were covered with the training weights.

"Dai Mao s Cannonball"

Bang!

.....

Zack collided against Paloo and broke his shield. Both were gravely injured but unlike Paloo, Zack still stood up. He faced Luffy and slowly raised his hand.

Thumbs up!

Thud!

As soon as he gave thumbs up to Luffy, his body fell to the ground. At this moment, he had lost his consciousness. Usually, it wouldn't have hurt him, but his bones were cracked because he couldn't sense Paloo and get struck by those shields.

"Zack!" Nami screamed as she rushed toward Zack. But, at this moment, a few pirates rushed in front of her with their swords.

"Metal Stars!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Splash! Splash! Splash!

Suddenly, three different shurikens passed by Nami as they slashed those pirates. Nami paused for a while and looked.

"Get Zack back, I will cover you."

Nami nodded her head with a severe expression and rushed next to Zack. She held his body and slowly dragged him.

'Damn it! His body has gotten heavier. I thought it was good that his body was becoming more chiseled but this is too heavy.'

Nami had to drag his body away from the battle. At the same time, Usopp used a few more shurikens to cover her.

Bang!

Suddenly, a figure burst out of the restaurant and collided against the ground.

"Tch! It was nothing more than that." Sanji walked out with a disappointed expression. The figure that collided against the ground was none other than Gin.

Sanji looked around and saw Zack getting dragged by Nami. His eyes suddenly got furious as he rushed next to Nami.

"Miss, how can you do such a heavy job? Leave this to me!"

His eyes turned back at Zack as he shouted "Bastard, how dare you let a lady drag you like that?"

Bam!

Suddenly, Sanji got smacked in the head by Nami.

"If you have time to complain, go fight those pirates!"

There were still more pirates coming toward them and Usopp's speed was getting slower. Seeing Sanji act like that made Nami furious.

Sanji acted, as usual, praising her anger as he rushed away to fight those small fries.

Splash! Bang!

At the same time, Luffy pushed through the spikes and his fist landed on Krieg's head.

"Oi, oi, just how reckless is this crew?" Sanji looked at Luffy's punch and became silent. He couldn't understand why the pirates like those existed.

Fighting without caring about injuries. It's not the best way to fight especially for a cook. Although injuries can't be avoided in the battle, you can still minimize them.

But, for Straw Hat Crew, the injuries only meant a way to get stronger.

Boom!

Suddenly, the spear tip exploded when it came in contact with Luffy. Don Krieg who was very confident in his spear used it against Luffy again and again, but not the five strike, the spear tip crumbled into pieces.

"Gomu-Gomu no0- Gattling!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Luffy punched Krieg continuously. His punches were falling like a barrage until the last punch sent him flying toward the sky. For some reason, Luffy's expression was a bit serious.

He jumped toward the sky and elongated his leg toward the higher sky.

"Gomu-Gomu- Battle Axe"

Bang!

His feet crushed Krieg toward the boat. It broke the armor as Krieg's body fell toward the last layer of the boat. But, it didn't stop there. Luffy stretched both of his hands as far as they could go.

"Gomu- Gomu- Bazooka!"

Bang!

His fist smashed Krieg and pushed him towards the endless ocean.

Usopp and Nami watched him with shock.

"Hey Nami, don't you think Luffy was a bit angry while fighting Krieg?" Usopp whispered.

"I don't think he was angry. I believe he was just taking this seriously." Nami shook her head and answered. She was holding bandages. She didn't focus on Luffy and started bandaging Zack.

"Hush! I really can't understand. Why does he have to fight like a crazy man? From Orange Town to this place, he keeps getting injured." Nami sighed.

"But, he is getting stronger, isn't he? You said that before he was even weaker than you but now, he is slowly catching up to Luffy and Zoro." Usopp thought for a moment and spoke.

"Do you think this is good for him?" Nami turned her head at Usopp and shouted.

"Uhh… I was saying that it is how he gets stronger." Usopp got speechless by her anger and replied.

"And, that is not okay." Nami shouted but quickly kept her mouth shut. She just looked a bit sad as she didn't speak a word.

"Anyway, let's get him to the ship after you finished bandaging him. He needs some rest." Usopp sighed. He felt like Nami was speaking too personally.

Although they were crew, it felt quite different. He shook his head as it was none of his business.

"Gomu-Gomu- Rocket!"

Suddenly, a figure burst toward the sky and landed next to them, scaring them for a moment.

"Yo!" Luffy raised his hand as he spoke.

"Don't land like that!" Nami screamed and sighed. She was getting too tired of just shouting at others.

"Man, he got beaten like hell once again. I guess he is still too weak." Luffy looked at Zack and sighed.

"Don't compare him to you!" Usopp slapped his head.

"Huh! But I thought he wanted to be as strong as me." Luffy looked at Usopp with confusion as he asked.

"I mean, don't think that everyone will get stronger in a single day," Usopp responded.

Luffy nodded his head and said "I know. I have trained a lot to get strong as I am. But, man, he is really amazing. Even though he has only trained for a week, he is getting as strong as me."

"Does lifting weight really helps?"

Usopp looked at him with confusion and asked "How the hell did you train then?"

"I fought tiger." Luffy showed his fist and spoke.

"And, that's why we said don't compare him to yourself." Usopp slapped his head once more and replied.

"Well, anyway, I will go out and talk to the head chef. Hehe! I have taken care of that man for him, now, it's time for him to fulfill his promise." Luffy laughed and left.

"Usopp, help me!" Nami said as she held Zack on her shoulder. Usopp hurriedly lifted him as well as they took him to the ship.

At this moment, Johnny and Yosaku were taking care of Zoro.

"Ahh! Big Bro Zack, what happened to you?" Johnny screamed as he rushed in front of Nami and Usopp who were holding Zack.

"He is unconscious." Nami slapped his head and walked away. They put Zack on the bed.

"So, he got stronger once again huh!" Zoro spoke. He was still awake.

"Stronger? He got bloody injured by those pirates. You call it getting stronger?" Nami shouted at Zoro after hearing his words.

Zoro looked away and didn't reply to her.

'Zack is right. We are too weak right now. The difference between top powerhouses and us is too much. I have to train hard. Zack said that he has some ways to get stronger.'

'After he wakes up, I have to ask him. Normal weight training does help me get stronger but it wouldn't be enough.'

"Hah! I can't understand why does he have to fight like that? Even if he had stayed back, the chefs would have fought against those pirates, and wasn't that head chef a strong pirate, why didn't he even make a move?" Nami sighed with a visible trace of anger in her eyes.

"Nami, enough!" Suddenly, Zoro shouted. His tone was a bit overbearing and filled with anger.

Nami looked at him and just when she was about to respond, he continued.

"He is the first person to join Luffy. Even though our captain acts like an idiot and is reckless, he is still a captain. When Captain can't perform his duties, the vice-captain has to take his place."

"He isn't you or Usopp. Both of you have individual talents and have different roles. Nami, you are a navigator. Even if you don't have strength, it doesn't matter much to us."

"But, he is a vice-captain. He knows there will be a day when he has to fight when his captain can't fight. He knows this more than you, me, and anyone else on this ship."

"That's why he is doing everything he can to get stronger. You don't have the right to stop him from getting stronger."

Bam!

Suddenly, Nami slammed his head with her fist and spoke "I am not stopping him from getting stronger. I just don't like seeing him injured after each battle."

Zoro looked at her and closed his eyes.

"That's his way of getting stronger. He bore my pain in Orange Town. He bore Usopp's pain in Syrup Village. He bore those chefs' pain this time. Each time he suffers, he gets stronger."

"And, I don't think there is anything wrong with that."