Part one - Roronoa Zoro 4/4

To be honest ... to be honest, Zoro didn't understand much from this Luffy's speech. Armament haki?? Observation haki?? Swordsman levels? However, he understood the main thing for sure. And the main thing was that, according to the guy in the hat, he was incredibly weak. So weak that, in fact, he had no right to challenge the strongest. Now Zoro only had to figure out what to do with all this? Believe it or not? Given Luffy's strength, he had no reason to be skeptical. If the weak tells you that you are weak, then you can still ignore it. However, a completely different conversation when a much stronger person tells you about it. What should he do now? Zoro found it difficult to answer this question.

On the other hand, Luffy, as it became quite obvious, did not experience any difficulties:

- Hey, how about joining my family, huh? - with a wide smile on his face, he offered the swordsman.

- Your family? - he did not understand.

- Well… uh… they usually suggest becoming a nakama, but I like the word "family" much more, - Luffy replied thoughtfully rubbing his chin. - Besides, it's more fun together! - again, smiling broadly, he showed his thumb. - And we also have cookies!

- What have the cookies to do with it? - Zoro did not understand again.

- I see you are quite tundra, - Luffy sighed heavily. - Pirates are the dark side, that is, I call you to the dark side of the force, and cookies are a special privilege of the dark side. On the white side, everything should be fair, so you can't lure people with cookies there. And even more than that, - he raised his index finger, as if emphasizing the importance of his next words, - there you must be burdened with some thankless work. The world is there to save or some other unnecessary garbage to do. Do you feel the difference? Free cookies or thankless work, which is better?

- Uh-uh ...

- I knew that you would understand me!

No, he didn't understand. Zoro didn't understand anything at all, but he had a kind of purely subconscious feeling that "it's too late". He had no idea "why it's too late" or "how late", but that "it's too late" he had no doubts.

- Okay, - Luffy sighed, - let's go to my home ...

- What for? - to the surprise of the swordsman himself, his question sounded almost frightened.

- ... of course, this is not really my home, - getting up from the chair and smartly collecting all his fishing gear, went towards the forest, continuing to speak to Luffy, while completely ignoring the question asked to him, - there live mountain bandits with me ...

- Bandits? - echoed Zoro, involuntarily taking a step after the talking guy.

Not that he was so interested in hearing about some mountain bandits or about where and with whom this Luffy lives, but he was very much interested in the previously mentioned haki. After all, if you believe everything you have heard - and he has not yet been given good reasons for doubts - without this very haki it is impossible to become a truly strong swordsman. Zoro was going to become not just a strong swordsman, but the Strongest Swordsman in the World, which meant - again, according to everything he heard - he had to master haki to perfection. The problem was that he himself did not have the slightest idea of ​​any haki, other than the most ordinary willpower. So, even if he was not at all interested in where and with whom his new acquaintance lives, he simply could not help but follow him.

- … Although, to be honest, as bandits they are quite bad, especially Dadan, - meanwhile, Luffy didn't shut up.

- Dadan? - Zoro quickened his pace to keep up.

He was in no hurry, so he saw nothing wrong with taking this Luffy to his place of residence. And already there he was going to ask this strange guy in a hat about haki, its types and, most importantly, what it is all about ... If Zoro had a normal childhood and then the guy would know perfectly well that he needs to stay away from strangers promising to share delicious sweets with him. Although, to be honest, even this knowledge would not have saved him from his further fate. Unfortunately for the guy, he did not have any chances initially, and he had to find out about this only years later. The rabbit hole in which he landed had no bottom, which meant an endless fall with no way to return.

- ... Although she is the leader of the entire gang, she looks more like an overly caring mother. If you only knew how she cried when my little brother, Ace, went sailing ... and the rest of them kept up with her.

- Ace? - Luffy caught up with Zoro without noticing the first branches of bushes and then trees closing behind him ... otherwise he would have seen how ominous something so mundane looked this time. However, even without noticing anything, he felt like "it's too late" was replaced by "very late."

After that day, no one heard of the green-haired swordsman for six months ... long six months for Zoro.