Well, that's how it was. It had happened, and Zoro was lost. It wasn't the first time in his life, certainly. However, this time it was more metaphorical than literal. He hadn't changed physically, but his perception of the world had. If Luffy had such a big lead... how much of a lead was he ? ... It was as if a film had been ripped from his eyes, and thinking about it ignited his soul. He needed to get stronger... His dream depended on it.
The sound of a large crowd pulled him from his thoughts. Without realizing it, Zoro had entered what seemed to him like a plaza. A small fountain stood in the center, and people strolled around it, from shop to shop, buying at their leisure. All around, there were shops selling all sorts of things: food, clothes, weapons, trinkets... you name it, it was probably sold somewhere.
Zoro pushed his way through the crowd and, just above the muffled roar of conversations around him, heard something that almost called to him. Hammer against metal.
Something in his stomach fluttered with excitement, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why. Or was it... his hip? When asked about it later, he wouldn't be able to give a proper answer. He walked in a trance through the crowd toward the building from which he'd heard the metallic clang. When he finally reached his destination, without even reading the sign above the door, he went inside. The swordsman knew there was something to be learned there.
Had he stopped to look, the sign hanging above the door read: Brewer's Blades.
It took Luffy surprisingly little time to reach the western edge of the city. When he wanted to, he could run quite fast. Somehow, he'd managed to find most of the less crowded paths and alleyways. However, he didn't think much of it; the black-haired boy chalked it up to luck and pressed on. Passing the last buildings of the city, he crossed into a clearing just before the tree line.
Upon entering the area, he noticed that the trees there at the edge of the forest started out small and seemed to grow as one went deeper into the woods.
Luffy couldn't help but be mesmerized by the majesty of the spectacle and stopped to observe. He had never seen anything like it. The sixteen-year-old had seen large objects and animals before, so he wasn't unfamiliar with things of this magnitude. However, these magnificent creations of Mother Nature were unlike anything the young man had ever seen.
He approached one of the trees and looked up at its crown. Even the branches were enormous. Never mind that, everything was enormous, even the leaves. The tree itself was incredibly tall. It certainly wasn't the tallest thing the teenager would ever see, but it was definitely the tallest he'd seen in his short life so far. And he'd seen a castle! Touching the bark with his hand, Luffy was surprised to find the light gray texture smooth instead of rough, as he'd expected.
"It's very beautiful, don't you think?" a voice said over his shoulder.
The teenager turned curiously toward the owner of the soft voice. He didn't remember anyone else being in the clearing and was sure he would have seen someone else leaving the town. The distance between the last building and the forest wasn't very short, after all. "Who are you?" Luffy asked, observing the stranger in front of him. He was tall, and the boy's first thought was that the man might have looked younger if he hadn't had white hair.
The stranger's head was framed by two long, wavy locks of white hair, joined by a short fringe that hung just above his eyebrows. At the back, the rest of his hair was gathered into a ponytail, secured with a gold band. The man had a youthful face, slightly wrinkled with age, kind black eyes, and a gentle smile that played on his lips.
A forest-green coat with a single gold button on the left sleeve rested on the old man's shoulders. Underneath, he wore a pale yellow shirt, along with a pair of maroon trousers and dark black boots. Finally, around his waist, he wore an orange sash. On it, he carried a long nodachi, its blade concealed in a dark lacquered wooden sheath. "Just an old man spending his days here, fulfilling a promise to an old friend," the curious man declared wistfully.
Luffy heard the word "friend" and all his reservations about the strange person vanished; his expression instantly lit up. "Friend? I have a great friend too!" he exclaimed before pouting. "But he told me he wanted to be alone the entire time we're here."
"Has your friend left you alone?" the older man asked, frowning curiously.
The teenager in the straw hat pondered the question for a moment. "Yeah... But it was partly my fault... I said a few things that changed things, and then she said she needed time to think about it, so... Yeah... definitely my fault," he replied with a smile.
Zoro fascinated him. He especially liked how he used three swords. Luffy then remembered that he had been responsible for breaking two of them, and instead of apologizing, he just hoped his green-haired friend would find two more so he could better admire his brilliant fighting style. He loved watching people fight. Makino had taught him how when he was young. He thought it was a good thing. Otherwise, he might have ended up a complete fool.
"So, what I hear is that you left him alone," the stranger said after deciphering it.