And so, they said their goodbye's to the village, and were seen off with a salute from the Coby and the marines… it was the first time any of the three had heard about something like that. The three are scattered about their small boat, watching the clouds pass over-head as they sail on to parts unknown. With no objective other than "locate a navigator" it is rather difficult for them to set a heading… literally as none of them possess the skills to actually navigate their small boat.
"Hey, Red," calls Zoro from his position across from Haru. Both are reclined against the edge of the boat, relaxing and napping whenever the mood strikes them. Nothing has been said between the two since they'd left the navy island behind.
"Yeah, Zoro?" answers Haru, not minding his new nickname in the slightest.
"Earlier, you deflected the bullets those marines fired, right?"
"Yeah."
"And, then you cut through Morgan's axe, without much trouble. So, then, you're a pretty skilled swordsman."
"When I have to be." Zoro seems a little confused by his response but doesn't seem to pay much mind to it otherwise. Silence falls between the two again and eventually, Haru heaves a sigh. The red-head reaches towards a small crate next to him, opens it up and pulls out a bottle Zoro immediately recognizes as containing rum. "If there is one thing I learned from my father it's that it doesn't matter where you're going, or what you're doing, you always need a few crates of booze. Drink, Zoro?"
"Heh. Hell, yeah, Red." Haru tosses a bottle to him, and then pulls out another bottle. "Luffy! Come join us for a drink!" Luffy, who had been goofing around on the figure-head, grins and slides down to join them.
"We need to properly celebrate the joining of a new crew mate, right?"
"Aaah, I'd prefer something to eat instead," Luffy tells them, watching them open the bottles of rum and tilt them back to drink deep without hesitation.
"Didn't we just finish eating?"
"I can't help it! I'm hungry again!" He tilts his head back to look at the sky and blinks. "Huh? A bird!" Both Zoro and Haru look skyward as well. "I bet I can catch it!" Without waiting for either to reply he cocks back with a huge grin. "Gum Gum… Rocket!" Luffy rockets skyward towards the bird and both members of his crew sigh. Several long moments pass before they hear a voice… from above. "Heeeey! Help! It's got me!" Both look up quickly to see the bird clutching their Captain in its beak, and quickly flying away!
"Oh, hell, no!" exclaim the two in unison, dropping their bottles and quickly picking up the paddles.
"Row, Zoro, row!" bellows Haru, sitting beside the swordsman and rowing frantically.
"I'm rowing as fast as I can, damn it!" growls Zoro. "That damn bird is fast!"
"Hey! You! Stop!" Both look back at a trio of men floating about in the sea in front of them.
"Really? Someone ship-wrecked at a time like this?"
"Friggin' jump in on your own, because we ain't slowin' down!" growls Haru, continuing his rowing. Sure enough, the men somehow manage to cling to, and then haul themselves into the boat. "Wow, they actually managed to get on-board." Without warning, one of the men pulls a cutlass on them, demanding they stop the boat because it now belongs to them, members of Buggy the Clown's pirate crew.
"Huh?!" growl the two in unison...
Covered in bruises and bumps, the three men do their best not to piss off the two men glaring at them. Haru sits on the edge of the boat, resting the cutlass he's taken from them on his left shoulder as they row quickly. "Don't slow down," Zoro tells them simply. "Thanks to you idiots I've lost sight of my friend. So keep paddling."
"Luffy is pretty resourceful," Haru remarks calmly. "As long as the bird spits him out on dry land he'll figure out some way to find us." Haru taps the back of the cutlass against his shoulder as he stares at the three. "Hey… you said that your Captain's name was Buggy, right?"
"Y-Yeah, he's the man who's in charge around here," retorts one of the pirates. "He's a terrifying person that's eaten—"
"A Devil Fruit," finishes Haru calmly. "He's got a big red nose, right? Hate's talking about, and get really upset when someone mentions it?" The trio of men stare, jaws almost dragging the deck. "I'll take that as a yes." Haru scratches his chin, a smirk appearing on his face as he mumbles, "I can't believe I'd run into someone from the old man's stories. A person with a real nose like a clown… I thought for sure that he was just messing with me."
"You know this Buggy guy, Red?" Zoro questions him.
"Aah, not exactly. I've heard about him but I've never met him in person. This should be interesting to say the least..."
To the eyes of Zoro and Haru, the town was completely abandoned, as if every resident had decided at the same time to just up and move away… which when the two considered the presence of the Buggy Pirates probably was exactly what happened. Common folk just wanted to be left alone, and not get involved in the violence, after all. "We should split up, we'll cover a lot more ground that way," Zoro tells him, receiving a nod in agreement.
"Right, we'll meet back up here at sunset with or without Luffy," adds Haru, receiving a nod from Zoro in turn. Before either of them can begin their search, however, a huge explosion rocks the whole island, bowling down a whole block of buildings without warning. "What in the hell...?"
"What was that explosion?"
"One of Captain Buggy's Buggy Balls," replies one of the three pirates nervously.
"Buggy Ball?" Zoro digests this for a moment before glancing over at Haru. "Think maybe Buggy has some idea of where Luffy might be, Red?" The red-head nods in agreement, a smirk appearing on his face as he does so, and the two begin walking in the direction that the explosion came from. Thankfully, it's easy to spot due to its height, and the fact that the roof is occupied by a large tent. The closer they get the most noise they can hear, too. A whole group of people chanting, "Fire!", again and again without end.
It becomes clear to the two that another "Buggy Ball" must have been loaded, so they move a bit quicker in an attempt to avoid getting caught in a potential blast. They reach a set of stairs leading to the roof, just as the sound of fighting picks up over-head. They take the stairs, two at a time, and reach the roof in time to see an orange haired girl smothering the fuse of a cannon aimed at their Captain. Her agonized scream is like nails on a chalk-board, but she doesn't relent in her attempt to smother the spark.
She's oblivious to the pirates closing in rapidly behind her. "Behind you!" exclaims Luffy, attempting to warn her of the danger. She looks back at the pirates closing in and shuts her eyes tightly in preparation for their attacks, not expecting to survive it… and when it doesn't come she opens one eye slightly to find a man standing between her and the pirates. Haru stands in front of Luffy's cage, slightly shaking his head as he stares at his oldest friend.
"All of you really plan to attack a woman from behind?" Zoro asks them, watching them drop.
"ZORO! RUN!" bellows Luffy happily grinning like a fool as he stares at his friends, and crewmates. "Boy, I sure am glad to see you guys! Lend me a hand and let me outta here, huh, Haru?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll have ya out in a sec," Haru replies approaching a bit closer. "I'm pretty sure you've got one hell of a story to tell me about how you ended up here."
"Three swords… you must be Zoro," remarks Buggy, gazing at the swordsman intently. "Why are you here? You come for my head?"
"Not really," Zoro tells him. "I gave up hunting pirates. I'm not interested in you at all."
"Oh! But I'm interested in you! Killing you will certainly be good for my reputation!" Zoro glances briefly back at Haru, busy attempting to free Luffy from his cage. As long as he was trying to free their Captain, he could focus on the fight this guy seemed so intent on instigating. The fight is quick, and it appears to be a decisive victory in Zoro's favor when he lops their Captain into a few pieces in the blink of an eye. It isn't until the crowd stops cheering that Haru pauses in his attempt to free his friend.
He glances back at the two and his eyes widen. " ZORO! BEHIND YOU, HE'S— " before Haru can finish, Zoro is stabbed through the side by Buggy.
"ZORO!" exclaim Luffy and Haru in unison.
Buggy breaks out into laughter while Zoro drops to his knees from the strike. "You think that something like that would kill me?" Buggy asks him, slowly reassembling himself as if he'd never been cut in the first place. "No! I'm a Chop-Chop person who can't be cut!" He pauses in his celebration to look back at Luffy and Haru. "That's one down, and one to..." He focuses intently on the red-head, eyes narrowing as he stares at him. "You, Red hair. You know, you look like someone… that I absolutely CANNOT stand!"
"Aah, sorry, I guess," remarks Haru, smirking slightly.
"Are you… no… never mind, it doesn't really matter. All four of you are going to die here anyway!"
"I don't think so, big nose!" retorts Luffy, sticking his tongue out at the man. His retaliation is immediate, as he launches a knife at Luffy. Haru can't react in time to block or deflect it and for a moment he's almost sure he's allowed his closest friend to die… at least until Luffy bursts out laughing around the knife caught in his teeth. "I'm gonna kick your ass, ya know!" He snaps the blade in half and continues his grinning while staring at Zoro, who seems to understand exactly what is going to happen next. "Hey, Zoro... NOW !" Buggy whirls around quickly, expecting an attack that never comes.
"H-Huh?" grunts Buggy, before being stuck in the back by Haru's foot and tumbling forward towards his men. Zoro jumps the human missile and runs in their direction while Haru dashes towards the cannon, getting under it and straining his whole body to flip it back on them. Buggy leans up, absolutely irate and his jaw almost hits the floor when he finds himself staring down the barrel of his own cannon. "Crap! It's still got a Buggy Ball in it!"
"Buh-bye, Buggy," calls Haru, going so far as to wave as the girl lights the fuse on the cannon.
The explosion chips away part of the building, and scatters everyone and everything. "Did that… do it?" the girl asks, observing the blown away Buggy and crew.
"Doubt it." Haru balls his hands into fists as he stares past the cannon at the damage. "Luffy… let's get you outta that cage and chase after him. Since that guy has eaten a Devil Fruit I seriously doubt something like that killed him… we should end this before they regroup and come after us, ya know."
"Zoro needs to heal first," Luffy tells him, and Haru mentally kicks himself for forgetting the newest addition to the crew.
"Crap, I forgot it's not just the two of us anymore. Zoro, I'm sorry." The Swordsman doesn't pay him much mind at least until Haru turns towards Luffy's cage. He fully intends to carry it but before he can even lay a single hand on it, Zoro has grabbed it and lifted it up onto his back. "U-Uh, Zoro, you should—"
"Back off, Red!" growls Zoro, staring at him. "I'll handle this… my way!"
"Suit yourself..."