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Saul peered into his forge upon hearing the young man's words and couldn't help but smile. That curse stood no chance. Roronoa Zoro. He would have to keep an eye on that name in the future. The boy would undoubtedly cause a sensation in the world, along with his captain.
The man gazed up at the ceiling, almost through it, at the sky, smiling as the embers swirled around him. "Let's... look at it together," he whispered into the air.
"Luffy, hurry up!" Nami shouted from her place in the small boat, "And where the heck is Zoro?"
The boy in the straw hat could barely walk under the weight of his load. He, Zoro, and Nami had set out early to gather supplies for their journey. Zoro had returned to Saul's shop instead of going to the docks with them, saying he hadn't given up yet, and had left carrying all the provisions for Nami and Luffy. It wasn't a lot, but the problem was that Luffy had been forced to carry it all. The same Luffy who wasn't fully healed yet. "Naaammmiii, it's so heavy! And I'm tired!" he groaned, dragging his feet with every step.
"Come on, you pervert, stop whining. It's right here," he said, pointing to the boat he was in. Luffy had to stop complaining; it wasn't that far. Besides, he deserved it.
Luffy limped up to the boat and nearly collapsed instead of climbing aboard. Luckily, he recovered before losing his balance and made it safely aboard, dropping his load as soon as he could. He grunted, "Much better." The boy looked at Nami with a pout: "That was mean, Nami."
"Well, you made me angry last night, so you deserved it," the girl replied, sticking her tongue out at the boy childishly.
The teenager in the straw hat didn't reply; instead, he laughed, remembering the anger on Nami's face the night before. The conversation ended, and he walked to the stern of the boat, looking for a good spot to take a nap. He needed to sleep. He wanted to recover so he could swim again. Being on the boat all the time would be boring! Besides, it was good training! He lay down and covered his face with his straw hat. Nami was the navigator; the rest of the work was up to her.
The navigator gathered all the provisions Luffy had brought on the ship and began organizing everything. They had enough for three weeks, but they shouldn't need it all. If the orange-haired girl was right, as always, the first stop would only take about two weeks if the winds were favorable. That left them an extra week. She glanced at the boy, who was now asleep, at the stern of the ship. "We barely made it ," she thought. She had seen Luffy eating the night before... "Where the heck is Zoro?" the girl asked, not addressing anyone in particular. She was ready to leave, and it seemed Luffy was too.
"Don't ask me. I'm probably lost somewhere," Luffy said from under his hat.
Nami jumped, startled. She thought he was already asleep.
"Here I am," Zoro said, approaching the boat and glaring at Luffy. It had taken him a while, but as he'd told his idiot future captain earlier, his direction always led him where he needed to go. He climbed into the boat with the black box Saul had given him tucked under his arm.
Without missing a beat, Nami took the helm. "Alright, Zoro," she said, looking up, closing her eyes, and feeling the air. "The wind's about to pick up. Let go and unfurl the sail." He opened his eyes abruptly. "Quickly." The moment the words left her mouth, the wind began to pick up just as she'd said, almost as if she'd spoken them aloud. She consulted the compass and made sure she knew which direction they should head, while Zoro quickly obeyed, leaving his box and following the girl's orders. As soon as they completed both tasks, the boat began to move away from the port toward their next destination.
"Thanks for all the help, Luffy," Zoro said sarcastically, looking at the young man lying face down. Gazing at his future captain, the green-haired man began to wonder what his friend had been doing all this time they'd been on the island. He'd planned to ask him the night before, but had forgotten amidst all the talk about the treasure heist. The green-haired man returned to where Luffy was lying and sat down beside him, his back against the railing. "So, you know I was with Saul the whole time we were here, what exactly were you doing?"
Luffy had grown stronger and was curious about how, since he'd seen some crazy things that night. The swordsman recalled the image of his future captain's straw-hatted figure, surrounded by the moon. Truly crazy things...
The black-haired boy peered out from under his hat. "What do you mean? I was in the woods." Wait a minute. If Zoro had been in the cave, how could he have been with Saul the whole time? It had taken him forever to find that place!
"All the time?" Zoro asked incredulously.
"Yes, all the time! I was looking for the Forest Boy's cave!" Luffy replied. White had told him she knew where it was, so he followed her through the forest. It turned out to be a lot of fun, but it had taken them a whole month.