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Chapter 8: The Straw Hat Pirates' First Assembly
1,137 Words
After being forced to fly for more than ten seconds, Zoro landed precisely on the barrel, floating on the sea surface without getting wet.
"This woman... she actually threw me quite accurately."
He didn't think much about why Ganyu suddenly got angry. In his view, it was normal for women to get angry intermittently.
Even his childhood best friend, Kuina, whom he considered someone to surpass, would occasionally reveal some of her womanly flaws. Zoro was already used to it.
Ganyu today was very different from when they first met.
She got easily angered and her emotions fluctuated more, which was increasingly in line with Zoro's understanding of a "normal woman."
Zoro felt a deep sense of regret, feeling that the companion who initially satisfied him was gone forever.
However, he never considered that he himself was the source of her anger.
The renowned pirate hunter naturally wasn't thinking about his own problems. His attention was already focused on the wooden barrel beneath him.
"It absolutely has to be rum."
He hadn't had any alcohol for almost a week, ever since his request to stock up on wine was rejected.
"Never mind, let's push it back onto the ship first." Zoro wiped his mouth and was about to jump off the barrel when he suddenly heard a crisp "crack".
Without warning, a crack appeared on the top of the barrel. Before he could react, a fist burst out, heading straight for his face.
There was a person inside the wooden barrel!
"What the..."
Zoro was caught off guard, and the punch was incredibly fast, hitting his face before his body could react.
"Bastar..."
Before he could finish speaking, he flew back to the small boat in another familiar parabolic arc.
"Huh?"
On the small boat, Ganyu, who was leisurely swinging her legs and reading, suddenly looked up at the rapidly growing black dot on the horizon and blinked. "How come you're back so soon?"
She instinctively reached out, but was suddenly drawn to a noise coming from the wooden barrel.
This is...
Ganyu's eyes gradually widened, revealing a hint of surprise. This surprise made her completely ignore Zoro, who had crashed heavily onto the deck and was groaning in pain.
"D*mn it, how dare you hide in a barrel and launch a sneak attack!" Zoro rubbed his aching body and glared angrily at the barrel.
Suddenly, a figure jumped out of the wooden barrel with a "whoosh".
The sunlight outlined his shadow, and seawater still dripped from the edge of his iconic straw hat.
"Yo-ho!" The boy's energetic voice carried on the sea breeze. "Where am I?"
"What? It's just a kid." Zoro was stunned for several seconds until he realized the guy hiding in the barrel was just a teenager.
"Hey kid, what are you doing hiding in that barrel?"
"I'm not a kid!" The straw hat boy puffed out his chest, grinning widely. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King!"
After saying that, he suddenly clutched his stomach and slumped down. "Ah... I'm so hungry... Do you have anything to eat?"
This abrupt statement caught Zoro off guard, and it took him several seconds to react.
"What a joke! Why should we invite someone like you to eat..."
Zoro's voice abruptly stopped.
He stared wide-eyed at the barbecue grill that had been set up beside him, where Ganyu was skillfully flipping meat skewers.
"Hey! When did you put the barbecue grill out here? When did you become so generous?"
This grill was a gift from the boat owner when they bought the boat.
Zoro had to admit that this woman's sailing skills were surprisingly bad, but her barbecue skills were quite good.
Ganyu didn't even look up; all she could think about was cooking a delicious meal for her future captain. "This man is going to be the Pirate King, doesn't he deserve a barbecue?"
What kind of reason is that?
Zoro was speechless, vaguely sensing that this straw-hatted kid seemed to be extraordinary. "Fine. I'm a little hungry anyway. Grill some for me too."
Ganyu glanced at him disdainfully. "The meat's over there. Grill it yourself."
But when her gaze fell on Luffy, who was staring longingly at the grilled meat, her voice immediately softened. "Luffy, come and eat!"
"..." Zoro stared at this blatant double standard, his forehead veins throbbing.
...
Several minutes later.
"Ah... I'm so full!" Luffy said happily, his big belly protruding.
"You've eaten a whole week's worth of rations. No wonder you're full." Zoro leaned back on the side of the ship, his eyes filled with shock.
This guy in the straw hat was indeed extraordinary; he was the second biggest eater he had ever met.
And coincidentally, the person who could eat the most was also on this ship.
He glanced subtly at the blue-haired girl who was elegantly reading a book.
Who would have thought that such a petite body could hold an entire Sea King?
Sometimes I even doubt whether she's human or not.
"By the way, are you two pirates?" Luffy suddenly sat up and asked.
"Yes." Zoro nodded, his eyes fixed on Luffy's stomach.
His digestive ability once again shocked Zoro. One second his belly was as big as a ball, and the next it was back to normal.
Just who is this guy?
"That's wonderful! How about you become my partners?" Luffy was overjoyed, rubbing his hands together and looking at the two of them expectantly.
"Huh? Partners?" Zoro picked at his ear, glanced at Luffy, and said with a hint of disdain, "You mean you want us to be your subordinates?"
This man in the straw hat may have some extraordinary qualities, but does someone truly exist on this vast sea who is qualified to be his and Ganyu's captain?
"Not subordinates, but comrades!" Luffy spread his arms wide, pointed one finger at Zoro and the other at Ganyu, and shouted excitedly, "But I want to be the captain of this ship!"
"Is this your ship? You think you can be the captain?! Believe it or not, I'll kick you off the ship right now!" Zoro frowned.
Unlike the original story, Luffy never saved Zoro. The two had no prior interaction, and it was actually Zoro who had saved Luffy's life on the high seas.
Furthermore, Zoro had never witnessed Luffy's strength, so in his mind, this straw-hatted kid was just spouting nonsense.
"Hey, I said, how about we get rid of this idiot?" Zoro gave Ganyu a look.
Ganyu shook her head quickly, her face resolute. "No!"
"..." Zoro narrowed his eyes slightly. There must be something wrong here.