Luffy swam as if his life depended on it. He wanted to see the forest up close. Besides, he could probably hunt for food once he did, especially if the forest was as big as it looked from there. He was very hungry.
The shore appeared quickly, and the teenager slowed his pace as he approached. The good thing about the ship sinking was that Luffy and Zoro no longer had anything to dock with. Besides, they had just finished the last of their meal. The only thing they had brought that was worth keeping was Zoro's katana. Looking back, Luffy swore that he sometimes heard it "talking" to Zoro, but he never knew if he was just overhearing things. If not, he suspected that what was being said was only meant for the swordsman's ear.
Luffy's feet finally found sand, and the water became shallower as he neared the beach. He emerged from the ocean, waves crashing behind him, and the teenager acted as if nothing was wrong as he headed toward the crowd lining the street. Because it wasn't. There was nothing wrong with swimming on an island, as far as he knew.
There were many people going about their daily activities, from shopping to working, and some simply enjoying the coast. Continuing along the street, he saw several stalls selling colorful stones shaped like the moon. Well, the moon sometimes. He thought he remembered Makino calling it the "waning moon" when he was her student. Luffy cherished those memories. He wasn't very good at learning, but Makino had always been patient with him.
Passing by another stall selling stones, he curiously eyed one and couldn't help but wonder what it was. Feeling even more intrigued after passing so many stalls he couldn't even count, the boy approached one of the vendors selling the seemingly popular moon-shaped stones. "Excuse me, miss?" Luffy said, catching the vendor's attention.
"Yes, yes, young man. Is there anything you see that interests you?" she asked in a grandmotherly tone, pointing to the products for sale.
"To be honest, they intrigued me," he replied, picking up one of the moon-shaped rocks and examining it. It was nothing special. Just a porous stone carved into a curious shape.
"Well, you see, that shape you have in your hand is actually the shape of this city," replied the old stall owner.
His words surprised Luffy. Why would anyone want to build a city in the shape of the moon? Well... sometimes, the moon. Come to think of it, it was actually pretty cool.
The woman turned and looked toward the large trees behind her. "No one decided our city should have this shape. All the buildable land has already been taken. The trees you see in the distance have proven infallible to anyone who has tried… They are the ones that give the city its shape." The old merchant paused to think as she gazed at the trees. "In fact, there's an old legend about how this island was formed." It wasn't a well-known story, and it was rather fantastical, so she enjoyed telling it. "It is said that long ago there lived a woman more beautiful than any other in the world…"
When the woman turned to continue her story, she noticed that the young man she had been talking to was no longer there. "Young man?" she asked curiously, looking into the emptiness before her. She sighed to herself, realizing that he was gone forever. "Young people these days... They have no desire for anything!" What a shame, really, it was a wonderful story.
Luffy couldn't help but think how cool it was that the city was shaped like the moon. He left before the woman could even begin her story, heading towards the trees that towered above the city. The boy had no idea that the woman was even going to tell a story. Had he known, he might have stayed. He loved a good story!
However, he had other things on his mind, specifically adventure, and, according to his calculations, it would take him almost all day to reach the forest. Well, there was no point in lazing around. He set off and started running. He wanted to get there as quickly as possible. He could... smell an adventure.
Zoro arrived in much the same way as Luffy, but the swim took him much longer. The swordsman simply couldn't swim as fast as Luffy. He knew he'd never beat him in a swimming race, and he didn't care. Besides, he'd never really enjoyed swimming.
Heading out onto the street, his katana safely sheathed in his haramaki, Zoro decided not to take any particular direction and let his feet guide him. Choosing a direction wouldn't have done him any good anyway. After walking along the coast for what seemed like a long time, the teenager ventured inland. As he walked, he noticed that he was passing more buildings than stalls. Eventually, everything started to look the same, so he stopped focusing on his surroundings and began to think.
The first thing that crossed his mind was that he would need a place to stay and something to eat. According to Luffy, he would be on the island for a while, and during that time he would try to unleash the power his future captain had told him about. He had faith in himself that he could do it. The only problem was that he had no idea where to begin. It was like reading a story. You read about amazing things and wish something like that could happen, but you never actually expect it to.
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