𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻.

seven.

007 ⎯⎯⎯ gecko islands.

"Zoro?"

"Sora?"

I grimace at the way my name rolls off his tongue, though I'm not sure why I care. "Why do you wanna be the greatest swordsman?"

Zoro glances at me, leaning back into his hammock, "just a longtime dream I've had. All I have to do is beat Dracule Mihawk."

I wrinkle my nose, "you think he's the greatest?"

"I know he's the greatest."

My eyes slide to his, "you must not know a lot then."

Zoro raises a brow but before he can ask another thing I stand, noticing the water pooling at my feet. Zoro stands behind me, "that's not good."

I crane my neck to glare at him, "no shit."

We both make our way from the cabin, Luffy standing outside the door facing away from us. At the creak of the door he whips around.

"Sora! Zoro! Check it out!"

I look from the boy's smiling face down to the makeshift flag, "it's very...Luffy."

Zoro nods, "unique."

I take a seat, Zoro for some reason stationing himself beside me. He looks over to Nami, "Nami I think your toilets busted."

She glares at him, "we don't have a toilet."

I shrug, "something back there is leaking."

"What?!" She jumps down, running into the cabin and slamming the door behind her. A moment later she reappears. "We're taking it water, what did you do?"

I scowl, "I didn't do anything."

She glares at Zoro, "the way he's clanging those swords around all the time, he must've broken something."

God, this girl is annoying.

"If you're such a good thief maybe you should've stolen a better boat," Zoro deadpans.

"Guys! Guys! Okay crew meeting-"

"Not a crew!"

"We're gonna need a better ship if we want to make it to the grandline. A Real pirate ship." Luffy grins, "worthy of the Straw Hat crew."

"Wait Straw Hat crew? Really?" Nami continues to complain.

"Yeah! I thought it had a nice ring to it!"

"Demon has a nice ring to it. Headgear? Not scary."

"Who says pirates have to be scary?"

I roll my eyes.

"The point is we need a new ship. So where do we get one?"

Nami sighs, pulling out a map, "our closest bet is probably the Gecko Islands. We can probably make it there before our ship sinks. Ditch this one and get a better one."

"Good, one with a working toilet."

Nami glares at him.

* * *

"You gotta be kidding me."

I follow Zoro's eyes to the wanted wall, a poster of Buggy's face hanging up.

"That clown was worth 15 million berry. We should've stuffed his head in a bag and brought it with us."

I grin, "what do you use all this money for anyway?"

Zoro glances at me, "drinks."

My smile spreads wider, "funding your alcoholism."

"Hey!" Luffy hops up, "did you get us a ship?"

"Working on it," Nami strolls over to us, "did you push the sloop out to sea like I told you to?"

"Yup! No marines are gonna be following us here." Luffy grins.

"Well we're not gonna be here for very long. Turns out Syrup village is known for their ship building. Lots of options."

"Well what're we waiting for then!"

Luffy hurries off, Nami following him. I watch as Zoro rips down Buggy's poster, crumpling it in his hands, "stupid clown."

My eyes flit back to the wanted board.

There hangs a picture of my face, a rather ridiculous amount of money listed beneath it. Though my eyes focus on the name listed. I grab it from the wall, tearing it up before chucking it in the trash.

* * *

"There you are!"

"Guys!" Luffy jumps down, "I found our ship! And this guy will sell it to us!"

My eyes shift over to the man Luffy is talking about. He's holding a rag and wrench. He does not own this ship.

"Wait-"

"Yeah! This ship, we'll take it!"

"Technically, she's not for sale," he starts, "and technically, I'm not a salesman."

"Do you even work here?"

"Of course I do! I'm chief technician in charge of encrustation removal and aviary waste eradication."

Big words but still nonsense.

"Encru what?"

I scoff, "he cleans shit, he can't help us."

"W-wait! I can help you!" He smirks, "the owner of this ship just happens to be my closest friend in the world!"

"Your friend owns this ship?" Nami asks in disbelief.

"Not just this one, she owns the whole shipyard," he brags, "she's rich rich. I'm sure you could strike a deal with her."

"See!" Luffy grins.

"Well I guess it couldn't hurt to say hello."