Thrice Prophesized - Zoro x Reader

Chapter 8: Routine

You and Brook returned to the Sunny, and you spent the rest of the day working on your Haki until Luffy and his group returned. You zoned out through most of the conversation during dinner, since they were talking about what they had found regarding the One Piece, but part of the conversation caught your attention.

"There was a lady that turned into snow!" Luffy exclaims. "The cold was making me sleepy, but Robin and Usopp drove her away."

Drove her away and right into me, you muse to yourself.

"That was Monet," Brook says. "We ran into her on Punk Hazard when we were assisting Sir Law."

"Oooh! That's right – she froze the gas guy before she flew away!" Luffy says nodding. "I remember."

"When you drove her off we ran into her," Brook says and you feel yourself flinch a little.

"What? Hey, sorry about that (Y/N), we didn't realize anyone else had left the ship." Usopp says, turning away from Brook and looking at you apologetically.

"No, it was fine. She got away from us as well, but it wasn't too much trouble. Neither Brook nor I can really feel the cold." You assure him. "Besides, Brook was kind enough to assist only when I needed it, so it was good practice. I got to correct some of the things I did wrong when dealing with Smoker."

You take a bite of food and a drink of tea before you remembered something important. "She recognized me."

"She's an assistant to one of the Warlords in the Grandline Metro," Robin says. "Their information network is impressive, so it's not surprising she was aware of your wanted poster."

"Warlord?"

"I wasn't going to get into it until we got back to the Metro," Nami explains. "I'll show you a map later and get into better detail, but the short version is that there are three powers in the Metro. The World Government, the Emperors, and the Warlords. They kind of... well, keep one another in check."

"They're all technically appointed by the Government," Usopp says as Nami takes a break to eat more. "But while the Warlords are chosen by the Government, the Emperors earn their territories and title by sheer strength and capacity. The Government," he waves his hand, "reluctantly names them Emperors, but they're the biggest forces going against one another."

"But a Warlord has power enough to be in that struggle, and the snow lady works for one of them?" You ask, and Nami and Usopp nod.

"Hm." You grunt, making a face as you take a drink of something stronger than tea.

"Eh?"

"The snow lady said her boss – wait, she called him young master – that he'd have an interest in me." You explain. "The wanted poster was bad enough, I don't think the additional attention will be welcome."

"Donquixote Doflamingo," Jinbei says. "This crew has run afoul of him a couple times. I used to be a Warlord alongside him. He's a crafty one."

"I'll draw you pictures of the warlords that I know," Usopp says. "And we have posters of the Emperors as well."

"Are there pictures of some of the marines? That Smoker was not an easy fight, but he seems unique among most marines. It would be useful to be aware of them as well."

"I'll help you with sketches." Robin offers as Usopp starts to look a little nervous.

"Oh, it's a lot to draw, it seems." You say apologetically. "We're setting sail tomorrow, right? You should have a couple days at least, don't rush."