The Blind Brawler [ Roronoa Zoro X OC]

Chapter 63: The Going Merry Flying Edition!

"What the-" Nami started with an appalled voice, "What happened here?"

I looked at the scene before me with a wave of tense anger. It looked like a warzone. Cricket, Mashira, and Shojo were all beaten bloody. Their house was a wreck, covered in holes as if someone had slammed a giant hammer against it. Worst of all was the Merry. The entire front deck was torn from the main body of the ship. It was a miracle she had not sunk in her condition.

Sanji had dove into the water to bring the unconscious Shojo back onto the shore before he drowned. He spoke with an angry tone, "I've got a better question: Who did this?" Chopper ran up to help the cook drag the monkey up onto dry land.

"Ah! The Going Merry! What happened to her?!" Usopp wailed, "Who did this? When I find out, they're gonna be sorry they ever laid a finger on her! The savages! Damn it!"

Cricket coughed weakly, surprising Luffy, "You're alive! Don't try to move, okay? Just take it easy."

The old man rambled in his half-conscious state, "I'm sorry, kid. I... I'm really sorry... about this... We did everything we could to stop them, but it wasn't enough. Made us look pretty pathetic," He groaned in pain as he sat up, "Gotta get moving though. Ship's not gonna patch itself up."

Luffy put his hand on Cricket's arm to steady him, "Hold on, Pops, wait! Tell us what happened first. Who did this to you?"

Cricket's voice was ragged as he spoke and began to look around, seeming dazed, "Calm down. It's okay. Don't worry about it. Doesn't matter anymore. Didja have any luck finding a-" He stopped rambling as his eyes landed on me, holding the South bird by its legs. A grin made its way onto his tired and bloody face, "Look at that. You got yourself a South bird. Nice job. They're hard to catch."

At that moment, Nami shouted from inside of the ruined house, "Luffy! Cricket's gold! It's all gone!"

A frown curled my lips at the news. One glance around the crew and I knew we were all thinking the same thing, "Some lowlife crook did all this, beat three people nearly to death and tore up their house and our ship, just for a couple of small gold statues."

The old man tried to wave it off, "That stuff? It's junk. Just forget it. Doesn't matter. Your dream is more important. We have to get you to the Knock Up St-"

"Forget it?!" Usopp cut him off with an angry snarl as he stomped his foot, "How could you say that?! Think about what it took to get that gold! Ten years of diving to the bottom of the ocean, subjecting your body to all the pressures of the deep! Come on, you can't just-"

"Shut up!" Cricket snapped, cutting him off in return with a glare, "I'm serious. That gold and what happens to it is our problem. Got it?"

As the old man began to ramble about keeping his promise to us, I looked up at the mess around us again, and something caught my eye on the back wall of the house. I walked up to it to get a better look to confirm my suspicion. Sure enough, it was a Jolly Roger painted onto the wood and a familiar one. A circle with a large grin and a slash from the top right to the bottom left. The corner of my lip twitched in anger as an image of the bar from earlier today flashed through my mind.

I turned to face my captain, "Hey, Luffy," He lifted his head to look at me, and I pointed at the Jolly Roger behind me with my thumb. He looked at it for a brief moment before recognition flashed in his eyes, and his expression darkened.

Nami gasped as she saw the symbol as well, "That's Bellamy's mark!"

I watched as Luffy stood upright, his expression hidden in the shadow of his hat in the moonlight. I knew immediately what he was thinking because I was thinking it, too, "Want any help?"