Part 10 - Who ordered sushi? 18/??

There was a double groan —one loud, belonging to Johnny, and one weak, coming from the now-conscious Yosaku. The devil fruit he had consumed in the past, specifically the acquired power of near-absolute immortality, had granted him, among other things, a practically complete inability to stay unconscious for long periods. At most a couple of minutes, and Yosaku, unless his head had been knocked off or his heart ripped out, would come to his senses regardless of the extent of his injuries. So, before he fully recovered, Yosaku had to endure all the effects of his injuries each time.

"Why did you break his spine?" Nami asked first when Zoro, leaving behind the still-half-dead Yosaku, approached her, took a beer from the cooler, and sat down next to her, leaning his back against her lounge chair. "You could have stopped him in a less harsh way… and don't you dare drink all my beer!"

"Next time he'll think with his head before carelessly exposing himself to an unknown attack," the swordsman replied calmly, taking a sip from the bottle. Zoro wasn't particularly fond of beer, preferring wine or sake, but when he had no alternatives at hand, he didn't refuse beer. 

" Yosaku could have easily dodged such an attack and made that big-mouthed creep shoot in another direction, but instead, he thought the attack wasn't too dangerous and didn't even try to dodge."

"I don't understand what you don't like? Considering his fruit, the decision seems, in my opinion, if not justified, then quite logical."

"The problem is he didn't know how dangerous the attack would be. If you or I hadn't been nearby, his flying carcass would have surely flattened a couple of those gawking fools," Zoro slightly nodded towards the villagers crowding by the Arlong Park gates. "And if the attack had been even stronger, it could have torn him in half, and Johnny would have had to deal with all the fish-men alone. Of course, the chance that Johnny would lose, even fighting alone, is small, but if Yosaku doesn't learn to properly assess the level of danger, it could end badly someday. He's too used to getting injured and dying. Luffy already warned him after the Krieg Armada, but Yosaku clearly didn't fully heed his words."

Nami nodded, accepting Zoro's explanations, though she didn't remain silent:

"I understand, you and Luffy, you're both right, but I can't help but notice that you two are the main reasons Yosaku has become so used to getting injured and dying."

"Do you think I don't know? That was the whole plan. His fruit's power allows him to fight in a way no one else could, not even a Logia. People who have eaten Logia fruits are invulnerable to physical attacks until they face someone with Armament Haki, and then they become almost as vulnerable as ordinary people. However, you've seen how Luffy and I have repeatedly killed Yosaku using Armament Haki, and except for the attack's strength, such strikes are no different for Yosaku from ordinary attacks."

"And so?" Nami frowned slightly.

"Still don't understand? If he learns to properly assess the situation and expose himself only at the right moment, he will become an incredibly dangerous opponent even for those much stronger than him. Yosaku's opponents, not knowing the power of his fruit, simply won't expect him to deliberately expose himself to a guaranteed fatal blow. Properly exposing himself — that's what we, along with Luffy, are trying to teach him. Unfortunately, as you might have noticed, we still have work to do. Yosaku grasped the general concept a long time ago and has successfully applied it many times, but sometimes he makes very foolish mistakes."

"A side effect of far from imaginary immortality, " the girl nodded knowingly, repeating a phrase she once heard from Luffy, though she hadn't given it much thought at the time.

"That's right, " Zoro nodded in response, taking another sip from the bottle. "It's not a big deal, give us a little more time, and we'll knock that nonsense out of Yosaku… by the way, what are those idiots trying to do?"

"It seems they're trying to give Yosaku first aid," Nami involuntarily laughed, watching as several villagers, led by Gen-san and the village doctor, fussed over Yosaku lying on the ground. The guy didn't appreciate their efforts at all and showered the people around him with choice curses. His voice, as Nami immediately noted, grew louder with each sentence, so soon, the continuous stream of curses could be heard from anywhere in Arlong Park. "Nojiko, go tell them to leave him alone," Nami advised her sister, who had been standing like a salt pillar the whole time. Considering that the girl had only heard about devil fruits as improbable stories, the conversation between Zoro and Nami seemed like utter nonsense to her.

"You.. You want us to not help him?" Nojiko asked, confused. "Isn't he one of you?"

"Were you even listening to us?" Zoro shot her a glance.

"Yosaku has the power of a devil fruit, which allows him to heal even the most deadly injuries within minutes," Nami explained to her sister, though she didn't go into too much detail. "And yes, devil fruits do exist, as do the people who have eaten them… and now go tell Gen-san and the doctor to leave Yosaku alone. Do you hear how loudly he's swearing? That means, firstly, he's in a lot of pain, and secondly, he'll soon be fully recovered."

Nojiko, nodding slowly, moved towards Yosaku and the surrounding villagers in the same slow manner.

"It seems your sister is at her limit," Zoro commented on the girl's behavior.

"You don't need to worry; after all, she's my sister, " Nami replied with a warm smile. "And not only is she older, but her nerves were always stronger than mine… at least they used to be… and she was also much more level-headed than I am… again, that was back then. If she spent a couple of months with Luffy, he would… actually, no, forget it! I wouldn't let her spend even a couple of days with Luffy; I like my sister the way she is."

Grunting, Zoro turned his attention back to Johnny, but things remained unchanged. Johnny continued exchanging blows with his opponent, not only refraining from using his fruit's power but also noticeably holding back physically. Johnny was putting maybe half of his actual strength into his blows and maintaining a speed that matched his opponent's. In essence, Zoro could easily say that Johnny was much more interested in continuing the fight than in defeating his opponent. Something about the fish-man's fighting style fascinated Johnny; otherwise, he wouldn't drag things out so much. The other pair, the octopus and the long-mouthed one, having dealt with Yosaku, were now, true to their captain, arrogantly watching the exchange of blows between Johnny and their comrade. Idiots, what can you expect? They should be ganging up on Johnny while Yosaku is not around, but having dealt with one opponent, they apparently felt they could easily handle the other. On the other hand, how could they know that one of their opponents was nearly immortal? They'd have plenty to think about in the afterlife. Besides, their time was running out.

It had been mentioned several times that, despite the power of his fruit, Yosaku always felt the pain of his injuries in full. To dull this pain somewhat, Yosaku didn't scream, but he always cursed loudly —by his own admission, this made the almost maddening pain more bearable. Moreover, the usually calm, even phlegmatic, or sometimes sleepy guy would, in such moments, start radiating energy. The phlegmatic or sleepy demeanor vanished, and Yosaku became, to put it mildly, angry… to put it bluntly, furious.