"Come on! Look over here!"
"One, two, three… cheese!"
Click!
As the flash flared and faded, a perfectly composed photograph was born.
The background was the flowerbed to the right of the main entrance of the Marine base building.
Standing in front of it were four young people.
Three boys wore bright smiles, their eyes filled with hope for the future, while in the center they propped up a girl whose eyes were dull and lifeless—like a dead fish—as if she were being paraded for display.
It was a perfect illustration of one simple truth:
Human joys and sorrows are never shared.
…
…
"Not bad at all! Marine buddy, you've got real talent for photography!"
Red carefully examined the photo and offered sincere praise to the Marine who had taken it.
"Let me see, let me see!"
Luffy, who had already been waiting impatiently, threw his whole weight onto Red's shoulder, propping himself up as he craned his neck to look down at the photo in Red's hands.
"Wow! It really came out great! It's just that Nami's smile isn't very obvious—kind of a shame."
"Hey Nami, are you the type who doesn't like smiling!?"
Perched on top of Red's head, Luffy turned his neck and curiously asked the utterly worn-out Nami.
"Smile? Heh…" Nami's mouth twitched.
Did she not like smiling?!
It was over.
These people had just defeated a Marine captain and looted a Marine base. They were absolutely going to end up on wanted posters sooner or later!
And now they had even gone out of their way to provoke the Marines—and left the photo negative behind in the base…
Her life was finished.
She didn't even know if she'd have time to scrape together one hundred million Beli and buy back Cocoyasi Village from the Arlong Pirates before the Marines finally caught her.
Nami weakly lifted her head and saw the three men happily pointing at the photo, chatting and smiling in satisfaction.
At that moment, she knew…
Between her and them, there already stood a thick, tragic wall that could never be crossed.
…
…
After fooling around for a few minutes, Red carefully put the photo away.
Thanks to this little shoot, he had unexpectedly developed an interest in photography.
He was already planning to get some kind of recording device in the future—something to document his daily life and adventures in the world of pirates.
"Alright, photos are done. Time to get serious."
Red pulled Zoro and Luffy back toward the empty training ground and smiled at Zoro.
"Let me give you a heads-up, Zoro."
"This time, I'm going to have Luffy go all out as much as possible, so you'd better be careful."
"Hey, hey~" Zoro's expression shifted slightly as his hand settled on the pristine white hilt of Wado Ichimonji.
Feeling the power emanating from his beloved sword, his fighting spirit surged.
"I'll admit you two are impressive, but Vice-Captain—aren't you underestimating me a little?"
"Haha." Red chuckled softly. "Whether I am or not, you'll find out soon enough!"
Leaving behind a mysterious smile, he walked over to Luffy, patted him on the shoulder, and said:
"Go test out the crewmate I found for you."
"I'm sure you'll be satisfied."
"And like I said—this time, don't hold back."
"Gear Second is unnecessary. No need to strain your body in a spar."
"Just go straight to Gear Third and crank up the pressure for Zoro!"
"Hehehe, I've been waiting for this!"
Luffy rotated his arms, his face brimming with excitement.
Soon, the two of them stepped into the very center of the open ground.
Meanwhile, Red led Nami far away, stopping beneath the Marine base's perimeter wall, leaving her completely confused.
"It's just a spar. Do we really need to stand this far away?"
She squinted at Luffy and Zoro, who had already shrunk to the size of fingers in the distance, and asked Red in confusion.
Red glanced at her as if she were utterly clueless, then sighed.
"Far away?"
"I just hope the aftershocks of what's about to happen won't reach us."
"If anything unexpected happens, hide behind me."
"I may not be much in a fight, but I can at least protect you."
"Oh…" Nami nodded blankly.
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't understand why Red—who had effortlessly one-shot Axe-Hand Morgan—would claim he had no combat ability.
While the two were talking, Luffy and Zoro in the center of the field had already sprung into action.
Zoro tied on his bandana and assumed his Three Sword Style stance, facing Luffy with full vigilance.
Luffy, not cutting any corners either, waited until Zoro was fully ready before immediately going with his old reliable combo—
Soru to the rear + Devil Fruit attack!!!
Whoosh!
An afterimage flashed as Luffy's figure vanished from Zoro's sight.
His speed was still so fast it left no time to think!
But—
"I can't see him clearly, but I'm not some idiot who falls for that so easily!!!"
Driven by beast-like instincts, Zoro let out a low roar and twisted his body around, instantly spotting Luffy charging up his fist behind him!
Then—
BOOM!!! CLANG!!!
The incoming punch slammed violently into the three swords locked together in Zoro's guard, producing a crisp, ringing impact.
Sparks flew everywhere.
Under Luffy's overwhelming strength, Zoro's feet were forced backward, carving a trench over three meters long into the ground.
At last, with Wado Ichimonji clenched between his teeth, Zoro slowly grinned.
"Looks like it's not as hard as I thought!"
Seeing Zoro not only block the blow but also avoid being fooled by Soru's speed, Luffy burst out laughing.
"As expected of the man chosen by Red!!!"
"But now, I'm getting serious!"
"Bring it on!"
Zoro's gaze sharpened as his swords hummed faintly, overflowing with fighting spirit.
In the next instant, Luffy landed—and his body once more turned into a streak of light and vanished.
Zoro immediately adjusted his stance.
This time, he chose to attack first.
"Three Sword Style: Oni Giri!"
Unfortunately…
After two and a half years of training under Red's supervision, Luffy's combat power had long since surpassed anything the East Blue could measure!
Before Zoro's slash could fully descend, Luffy exploded with even greater speed and drove a punch straight into Zoro's body.
In an instant!
Zoro was sent flying like a meteor, hurtling straight toward the Marine base wall.
BOOM…
With a deafening rumble, the already fragile wall collapsed completely, burying Zoro beneath the rubble.
Seeing this, Red—standing near the wall—smiled at the stunned Nami.
"See? I told you it wasn't safe."
"Good thing Zoro flew the other way."
"No, that's not the point!"
Nami froze, then hurriedly grabbed Red, her face full of worry.
"It's just a spar! Isn't this a little too serious?!"
The intensity of this fight was leagues above when Red had dealt with Morgan!
No wonder he said he wasn't good at fighting…
"Relax, Nami."
Red smiled calmly, unruffled.
"Don't underestimate Zoro."
"No one who can join the Straw Hat Pirates is weak."
"Including you."
"Me?!"
Nami was completely caught off guard by the sudden shift in topic.
But after hearing Red's words, she felt inexplicably calmer.
Sure enough.
From the ruins of the collapsed wall, a battered figure soon climbed back out.
It was Zoro.
"He can still stand!?"
Luffy stared in astonishment.
After all, that punch just now had truly been delivered with everything he had!
But…
That only proved Red was right.
Zoro's potential was terrifying!
"This is getting more and more interesting!"
Luffy grinned as his figure flashed again, charging straight at Zoro.
Seeing this, Red quickly shouted:
"Hey! You two—don't take it outside! Don't affect the residents out there!!!"
"I'M NOT THAT WEAK!!!"
Hearing Red's shout, Zoro lowered his brow as a terrifying ferocity exploded in his eyes.
The further increase in Luffy's speed made him realize—
If he didn't fight with everything on the line, he might never even see Luffy's strongest state!
"Sorry for not satisfying Captain Luffy…"
He absolutely refused to say something like that.
This man… was simply too strong!
So was all of this thanks to the Trainer!?
Countless thoughts flashed through Zoro's mind, only to be discarded in the next heartbeat.
Because in his vision, those fists were already right in front of him.
So this…
Was the world of the strong!?
"Three Sword Style Secret Technique: Three Thousand Worlds!!!"
(End of Chapter)