One Piece: Plant island

7

The shining tip of the blade grew closer, cutting through the air, with the intent to end the life of the Snake Princess. Zonbi let out a crazed cackle as he brought the scalpel down. He was interrupted by an enraged scream and an angry fist. Once again he had been interrupted. He barely had any tricks left up his sleeve, and none of them would save him from the angry rubber man who had just attacked him.

"DAMN YOU!!!" Luffy yelled, letting out a long, exaggerated growl as he dug his fist deeper into Zonbi's face.

Zonbi was shot back into the wall, broken pieces of rock falling around him. He groaned, before slowly opening his eyes and seeing Luffy with steam flowing from his body. There was a gentle, pink glow to his skin, and he bared his teeth. Chopper and the others all stood behind him with angry looks on their faces.

"Y'know, you guys always interrupt me," he said, once again crawling out of the wall.

He opened his mouth to speak again but was immediately implanted once again into the wall by Sanji, who was furious at the sight of the women laying on the ground helplessly. He was also furious that Zonbi would dare to attack Hancock like that. Luffy returned to normal, deciding he didn't need gear second anymore.

"Hey now. Wait a minute, Sanji. We're supposed to keep him alive so that we can interrogate him and figure out what's going on here. I do believe you should be a bit more gentle with him." Brook said in a calm voice.

"Y-Y'know... You guys... Are pretty strong." Zonbi struggled, crawling out of the wall and sitting against it; he no longer had the strength to stand.

Sanji sighed before taking a few steps back, almost tripping over Zoro's body as he did. He looked down, terrified at what he saw.

"Mosshead?" he said, the cigarette falling out of his mouth and onto the ground beside them.

He looked around the place, seeing the bullwhip, the pliers, the scalpels, and all of the other mixtures Zonbi had made. Seeing his rival in such terrible condition absolutely infuriated him. He stepped on the cigarette, smothering it until it's fire had been extinguished. He looked back at Zonbi, who sat against the wall, a knowing smirk on his face. Sanji growled and ran towards him.

'I'll AT LEAST KNOCK YOU UNCONCIOUS!!" Sanji yelled as he raised his leg, preparing to strike.

Zonbi smiled at him -the same warm smile from before- causing him to freeze in place. He didn't attack. He forgot how to move. Zonbi's smile... It was different. Sanji croaked, struggling to find the right words. Zonbi took this time to grab a syringe from his pocket and stab it into his leg. Sanji backed up, ready for Zonbi to attack. He had been told about what Zonbi did to Zoro, and how he fought evenly against him with some sort of steroid, but Zonbi didn't move. His eyes slowly closed and his body relaxed. Luffy gritted his teeth.

"Chopper! What did he just do?" he asked, his voice rising.

"I think... I think he injected himself with a drug that would kill him. I-I think he's dead." he said, his voice getting softer with each word he spoke.

"..."

Luffy didn't know what to say. He struggled for a time, trying to find the right words. Then he remembered his crewmates who laid lifelessly on the ground.

"Chopper, check on all of them, and do whatever you need to do to make sure that they're okay," Luffy said with a disgruntled look on his face.

"Right." Chopper uttered.

He quickly rushed to Zoro, who looked to be in the worst condition. He dropped his bag and hastily scoured it for the medicines he needed. Luffy took this time to check on the girls. He checked them over and was filled with relief when discovering that they were just sleeping.

He carefully placed his hand on Robin's shoulder, gently shaking her to wake her up. After blinking a few times, she sat up and examined her environment. Luffy didn't say a word to her. He moved away from her and went to wake the other two up. He woke up Nami, much the same as did with Robin, and moved on to rouse Hancock. Luffy was amazed by her strength of will, and how it allowed her to fight even though she was visibly struggling. With a gentle smile on his face, he softly gripped her arm and gave it a slight tug.

"Hancock, wake up," he commanded, putting his free hand on her other arm.

She woke up quickly, all of her muscles tensing and her teeth being exposed again. She was still in the mindset of attacking. The beauty opened her eyes and instantly calmed down at the sight of Luffy, who was slightly reluctant after seeing her intensity. Hancock smiled, sitting up and hugging him faster than he could react. He chuckled, before happily returning her embrace.

"Hancock you were so awesome!" he cheered with a childish grin in his face.

She blushed.

"Oh, Darling, I'm so glad to see you're okay again!" she exclaimed, a cheerful smile on her face. "Is everyone alright? I fell asleep. Though I tried my hardest to stay awake and fight, I eventually gave in."

He released her, stood up, and offered her his hand to help her up, which she gratefully accepted. He gestured around the room.

"Everyone's fine. Chopper is taking care of Zoro. His injuries don't look that bad." Luffy uttered with a grin.

Hancock groaned.

"I don't know..." she mumbled with a tone of uncertainty.

Luffy raised an eyebrow.

"I think Chopper should take a closer look when we get back to the Sunny. He was screaming really loud. He was in a lot of pain." Hancock murmured. She winced as she thought back to his howls and cries.

"Alright, alright. We'll get him to take a closer look when we get back to the ship, but either way, don't worry about him too much. He's strong, strong in a way different from anyone else on the crew. With his resilience and Chopper's skill as a doctor, he should be fine soon enough." he said, sliding a reassuring hand up her back.

Robin got up, running over to join Chopper at Zoro's side. Nami hurriedly rushed over to Luffy, with a look of anxiousness on her face.

"What happened after I passed out?" She asked, hungry for an explanation.

"When I came in, Hancock was fighting Zonbi with a really exhausted look on her face. Then she finally collapsed and he tried to kill her." he began.

Nami gasped, looking over at Hancock.

"Anyway, I stopped him, and I don't know why, but he stabbed a syringe into his leg and killed himself." Luffy explained with a distant look on his face. He was still bothered by that.

Hancock froze. Even she didn't know all the details, she didn't know how to react when she heard that she would have died if it hadn't been for Luffy.

"Why did you guys fall asleep anyway?" Luffy asked, scratching his head.

"He hit us with a sleeping gas. I fell asleep almost immediately, even though I tried my hardest to stay awake." Nami explained. "I have no clue how Hancock managed to stay awake, much less fight." She continued.

"Alright, Chopper. Take Zoro and everyone head back to the ship. We can discuss whatever we need on the way back. We need to find out what's going on here." Luffy said, turning around and heading towards the door.

Chopper nodded, putting the medicines back in his bag and throwing Zoro over his shoulder. Robin stood close beside them. Nami walked with Sanji. Hancock walked beside Luffy as she hugged his arm. There were a few mumbles between the remaining crewmates, but no one said anything out loud. With this, they departed.