"Who are you?!"
Zoro, whose forehead had swollen up like a bump, also stood up — but unlike Ren, he didn't even grimace.It was as if the collision and the lump on his head didn't exist at all.
"Ren," he said with a sigh. "Your savior. You fainted on a small boat, and I treated your injuries and brought you to this island."
Ren raised both hands helplessly. He knew all too well how strong Zoro was right now.Maybe in front of Mihawk, Zoro was still a junior.But compared to Zoro, Ren — whose combat power barely reached five — was even more of a junior!
"..."
Zoro fell silent, as if trying to verify Ren's words.Indeed, his last memory was still at sea. Normally, he should have kept drifting.Yet now, he had woken up on an island, with signs that someone had treated him.
That meant this so-called savior might actually be telling the truth.
After a moment's silence, he suddenly said one word:"My swords!"
"They're on your boat — untouched. Carrying you alone was already exhausting enough; I didn't want to drag along three swords too."
Ren pointed toward the beach. Three sword hilts protruded from the small boat that had run aground on the sand.
Without a word, Zoro strode over, grabbed the swords, and slid all three back into place at his waist.
Only then did he return to Ren, speaking in a deep voice."Ren, right? You really did save my life. I owe you one."
"Then you should repay it, shouldn't you?" Ren said with a grin.
Zoro blinked, then nodded seriously. "Yes. What do you want as repayment? Or what do you want me to do? As long as it's within my ability, I'll help you achieve it —but it can't be anything crooked or evil."
"Do I look like a bad guy to you? A bad guy wouldn't have helped a starving man who passed out, would he?"
Ren chuckled. "Besides, isn't this the part where we introduce ourselves properly?"
"..."
Zoro gave the man — or rather, the boy — in front of him a strange look. After a pause, he said:"My name is Roronoa Zoro. I'm a man who will become the world's greatest swordsman."
"The world's greatest swordsman? Quite the dream. Though I think you're still far from it."
Ren praised him first, then added his honest opinion.
"Hmph, you wouldn't understand. Even if I faced the current world's greatest swordsman, I'd still have a chance of winning!"
When it came to this topic, Zoro's attitude turned stubborn."To challenge that title, I've gone through more training than you can imagine.You'll never understand my sword!"
"Is that so? Well then, good luck."
Ren smiled indifferently. This version of Zoro still carried that rebellious, prideful edge.It wasn't until Mihawk had beaten him half to death and he'd gone through the Grand Line that he finally matured.
It reminded Ren of himself, fresh out of school — never realizing how naïve he was until life gave him a beating.
So, this rebellious and proud Zoro clearly needed Uncle Mihawk's education.
"All right then, enough talk. What do you want from me?"
Zoro stared straight at Ren, his tone impatient.His pride wouldn't allow him to be saved without repayment. Only after settling this debt could he resume his training.
"In that case… would you be my bodyguard?"
Ren's request wasn't an impulse — it had been brewing since the moment he saw Zoro.From then on, his mind was filled with schemes like "let the tiger fight the wolf" and "reap the fisherman's profit."
Fine, to put it bluntly —he just wanted to trick Zoro into joining his crew, even if only temporarily.
Ren currently lacked any real combat strength. He needed a powerhouse to handle danger.Until he got some self-defense ability from the Dimensional Roulette, threats from the Marines loomed constantly overhead.
Not to mention, the East Blue wasn't exactly peaceful either. Ruthless pirates were everywhere.Zoro's strength in the East Blue ranked among the very best.
As long as you ignored Garp — who might "visit home" at any time — the flying Golden Lion up in the sky, and that Smoke-Smoke user Smoker in Loguetown whom you couldn't beat without Armament Haki...
Then yes, Zoro was top-tier in these seas.
A top-tier fighter who owed him a life? Ren wasn't about to let that go.If good deeds shouldn't seek reward, then why bother saving anyone?
"Bodyguard?"
Zoro gave Ren a once-over — weak, frail, unimpressive.
He thought for a moment before asking, "What kind of bodyguard job are we talking about?If it's something meaningless, you'd better choose another request."
Ren shrugged. "It's simple. Because of… certain circumstances, I'm in a bit of danger.If someone tries to kill me, you'll deal with them.Of course, you might also have to help me with other tasks — like, say, fighting when I tell you to."
"Sounds more like you're hiring a thug than a bodyguard."
Zoro eyed him again.Requests like that usually came from spoiled rich brats who wanted muscle on their voyages.
"You can think of it that way," Ren admitted with a grin. "But I won't make you repay the debt for long. How about two months?"
Ren adjusted his demand — binding a powerhouse by gratitude alone was too much to hope for.Even if he knew Zoro wasn't the type to suddenly turn and cut him down in annoyance,gratitude wasn't a leash he could tug forever.
If possible, he'd rather keep things friendly.Two months was a reasonable timeframe.
"Three months," Zoro said coolly. "But you can't make me do anything against my principles.After that, I'll leave on my own."
"Deal."
Ren nodded.
Excellent — a golden hired hand secured!
Even if it was only a three-month limited-time offer, it was good enough for him.
Rustle—
Zoro, now with his three swords at his waist, walked under a coconut tree and stared up at the coconuts.
He'd already scouted the island — a tiny place, really.Just a small patch of coconut trees and a little hill. You could walk around the whole island in under fifteen minutes.
There wasn't much here to support long-term survival.
Their best option was to wait for a clear day and set sail again.
"Out at sea, we'll need to ration everything carefully… And that guy—" Zoro muttered. "Well, I guess this counts as training too."
Even if he had to work as someone's fighter-slash-bodyguard for three months,he didn't feel resentful about it.
He owed the man his life, and the repayment he was asked for was perfectly reasonable.
Zoro was a man of his word — since he'd agreed, he'd include Ren in his plans.
"All right, let's get started. We'll gather all the coconuts we can."
He gripped a sword's hilt, his thumb pushing the guard upward slightly.
Shing—!
A flash of steel — and a heap of coconuts dropped to the ground.
He quickly wrapped them up with his shirt, preparing to make several trips to harvest them all.
Rustle—
"What are you doing?"
Ren suddenly appeared, looking puzzled at Zoro — holding a charred wooden stick in his hand.
(End of Chapter)