Back at the Sunny, Zoro found himself trapped in between telling the truth or keeping it hidden to himself.
"It's five in the damn morning and there's no sign of them anywhere, where did they go!?"
Franky questioned, placing his hands on either side of his wide waist.
At the moment, him and the rest of the Straw Hats were all gathered around on the deck, facing a winter storm that was blasting them with gusts of freezing cold air.
"We're getting five to ten inches of snow, this might be the most dangerous snow storm ever. The Ocean could freeze completely, making it difficult for ships to sail above."
"What about underneath?"
Zoro asked, anxiously searching for answers through Nami, knowing that Law's submarine was travelling below the Ocean.
"Surprisingly, underwater travel is safer than above the surface. Anyone with an underwater vessel sure lucked out for this storm!"
The Navigator confidently stated, earning a sigh of relief from Zoro.
"They'll be better down there than up here. That's good news... Doubt that they'll run into any trouble, six feet underwater, either way."
Staring down at his snail transponder, the Swordsman continued to fidget with it in his hands, which is all that he seemed to be doing lately, ever since he boarded the Sunny.
So much, that his crewmates were beginning to suspect of Zoro's odd behavior.
"Hey buddy, something on your mind lately?"
Franky asked, approaching the younger man with a friendly expression on his face.
"Nah... Not really." Zoro nonchalantly responded to his Cyborg friend.
"Teh! It sure seems like you do." The older male chuckled, smirking down at the Swordsman.
"Why do you say that?"
"Normal people tend to bite their nails when they're nervous about something. But using your snail transponder as a damn fidget spinner? That's just animal abuse, pal. Give the poor thing a rest."
Taking heed into the older man's answer, Zoro came to his senses and bowed his head down to stare back at a small snail transponder in his hands.
The second he stopped twirling it around, the man saw a set of spirals forming inside of the snail's eyes.
"Hey, weren't you supposed to be purple?"
The man asked the small snail, as if it would respond to him.
"It's turnin' green now, man! Better step back before your shirt gets- Too late. I warned ya'."
"Damn it... I just showered."
Handing the snail transponder to Franky, Zoro told the older man to keep a close eye on it while he went to change his shirt.
Though the Shipwright was fairly confused as to why Zoro had given him such an unusual task, he followed along with it and kept the snail transponder near him.
Arriving to his bedroom with a bittersweet attitude, the neon haired man removed his shirt and started rummaging through his messy drawers until he found a clean shirt he felt comfortable wearing.
Swinging it over his head, the Swordsman was about to slip his second arm through the left side of the short sleeve shirt, when a screech left him partially paralyzed.
The voice of a woman and a younger male was all that echoed throughout the room right beside his.
The mere thought of anyone's voice escaping that room meant that someone had managed to unlock the door which was locked with the sole purpose of preventing others from getting inside.
"Luffy's room...!"
Evacuating his own bedroom as if he was being chased by a monster, the Swordsman ran down the Sunny's corridors and made his way to the Captain's headquarters.
The entrance was blocked by two crewmates that were standing as still as a statue, unable to move out of the horrific discovery they had made from the other side of the room.
"What... What happened in here?"
One of them asked while feeling a rough pressure against their back, almost strong enough to leave a bruise.
"Hey, watch it!"
Turning around, Usopp and Brook were startled by Zoro who was emitting a dark purple aura from his surroundings.
They watched as the Swordsman cut in between them, entering Luffy's bedroom to witness everyone else huddled up in a circle.
Their voices were low and barely audible, as a consequence of the state of shock they were in, but even the silence was screaming within the bedroom.
"What am I supposed to do? Tell them to leave and act like they'll pay attention? That'll never work."
Staring down at Chopper who was about to untie a bag that had Luffy and Sanji's torn and bloodied clothing, the Swordsman had enough.
He clapped his hands together as loud as possible, causing Chopper to jump and drop the bag onto the ground.
"Alright, listen up! Everyone out. There's something you need to know, and you won't get any answers by snooping around his things like this."
Getting ahold of their attention, Zoro was successful in getting his crewmates away from the crime scene behind them.
And though he was relieved about that, his real challenge was yet to come, as he felt everyone staring back at him with a judgemental set of eyes.
"I'm the only one that knows exactly what happened in here, so I urge you to be patient. What I'm about to tell you, isn't easy to stomach."
Taking a steep breath in and slowly letting it out, the Swordsman mentally prepared himself for the answers he was going to give the rest of his crewmates.
"Someone invaded the Sunny, last night..."
~Meanwhile~
Bepo nervously clenched his fists, staring back at a dark haired enemy, wearing a long dark cape, appearing to walk easily through the fire that was rising beneath them.
"I haven't got a clue about how this person is enduring the heat of these flames with their feet, but whoever they are... They took down Blackfoot!"
He thought to himself, looking over the caped person's shoulder to stare at a slim person lying on the ground, completely exposed and defenseless.
"You won't get away with this!! I was told to protect him, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. Even if it means death!"
The enraged Polar Bear sunk his claws into the black cape, ripping it to shreds in seconds as the enemy swung their shoulders, trying to free themselves from the strong grip he had on them.
"You... Horrible... Horrible.. Fiend! You deserve this!!"
Wrapping his arm around their shoulder, Bepo now had the villain in a chokehold, restricting their breathing by blocking their airway.
The person started to cough, lowering a mask that they had on to expose their face.
"You dumbass... It's me...."
Bepo's arms grew weak after he saw the person's face, recognizing it almost immediately.
"BLACKFOOT!?"
~~~
