Love Is Blind | ZoLu

2

Luffy unleashed his anger onto his enemy, attempting to catapult him across the town with one punch, but failing in the midst of it all.

Because of his first failed attempt in using his Devil fruit powers, the boy continued to act in haste, fueling himself with the hatred he felt towards Blackbeared.

"BAZOOKA!!"

"Don't wear yourself out too much, you wouldn't wanna see what I'm capable of, would ya'?" The man cocked his head back, laughing menacingly to make Luffy lose motivation to fight.

His powers threatened to weaken, but he didn't give in.

"Gum-Gum no... GATLING!!!"

Giving it all he had within him, the competitive young man flew across the sky, throwing many fists directly towards his opponent, only to wear himself out, when he realized that his attack futile against his enemy.

With his adrenaline slowly giving out, Zoro approached Luffy a few feet closer to witness a conversation Teach was starting with him while the younger struggled to catch his breath.

"What more do you have left, Straw Hat! You call yourself a pirate? A real pirate would fight to the death using swords, not coward away.

Looks like you take after Fire Fist Ace, none of you ever learn to-"

Steam emitted from Luffy's body as he latched his hands onto the dark bearded man, tossing him against a nearby building.

"Gear second!"

One by one, his strongest abilities were shadowed by Blackbeard's darkness, consuming his arms and legs.

Zoro watched in terror, wondering what the black smoke was doing to Luffy's body. The boy started to feel weak, resulting in him falling from a pillar he stood on, landing inside of the ocean.

This made the Swordsman act quickly, diving into the cold water before his friend was completely submerged.

"T-this isn't over!"

He coughed, being pulled away from the roaring tides that threatened his life. His mortal enemy targeted the boy, a puff of black smoke hidden behind his left hand.

His rescuer and first mate, Zoro, being the only one to notice Blackbeard's wicked scheme pushed Luffy aside as Teach stretched his arm back, aiming directly towards Zoro's facial structure.

"N... No... What's he going to do with that?"

The lanky boy slumped over, gathering what little strength he had in his aching muscles to push Zoro out of the way.

Zoro, in complete denial of his decision, attempted to cover for his Captain but Luffy wouldn't allow him to intervene.

"MOVE AWAY, ZORO. I'll handle him."

Unaware of Zoro's intentions, Luffy was quick to get agitated when he felt the man pulling at his arm.

"Don't try to be heroic now, GET DOWN!"

"What are you-"

Before Luffy could say another word, both he and his first mate froze when Blackbeared turned him over.

"LUFFY!"

Zoro fell back from the impact their enemy had on Luffy's body, covering his face against his hand that held the dangerous black smoke.

In an instant, Luffy's eyes widened, taking in the inevitable darkness Blackbeared possessed, yet showing little to no reaction towards it.

Immediately, he noticed nothing changed within him, aside from a strange urge he developed to blink faster than normal.

"Are you okay? Hey, what happened?!"

Zoro grabbed onto his shoulders, helping him stand back up after his fall.

Blackbeared got closer to the boy's face, earning a threatening stare from the Swordsman while he reached for his swords.

"Soon it will be you who comes running to me, Monkey D. Luffy."

Elucidated the remorseless and unsympathetic bearded pirate before descending to another Island, in search of a new prey.

His strong worded phrases seemed like more of a spell than a threat to the young Captain who brushed himself up and off of his feet.

"Zoro, we better get going too. Let's go find the others."

His faithful friend guided the disoriented boy out of the little town they were in, giving up on a fight for the first time, yet hoping to seek revenge if they were to ever meet again.

"Hey, wrong way, Luffy."

For once, it was Luffy who was getting lost and not Zoro, when the boy faced the opposite direction.

Before either one of them ended up in a different place, Luffy spotted his other friends from far away, seeing many different shadows.

He called out to them, waving with excitement.

"Luffy! What happened here?!" Luffy looked down, unsure of what to say.

"Nothing," Just then, Zoro spoke on behalf of him, earning a smile from the younger as he expressed his gratitude towards the Swordsman.

"Nothing? What do you mean 'nothing'? Oi, Luffy! Speak to us, what happened to you?"

Usopp argued, looking at how incredibly injured his Captain was.

"Nothing happened..." Luffy responded, walking alongside his friends to reach the Thousand Sunny.

Little did he know the fate that awaited him later on.

~~~