When Swords Clash (A One Piece Fanfic: Roronoa Zoro)

CHAPTER 1

Wano, the Land of the Samurai

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It's been a week since they arrived in Wano.

While waiting for the rest of their alliance to gather, Kinemon had given them roles to abide in until their planned raid on Onigashima, and they were expected to quietly play along with those roles so as to not arouse suspicion.

Quite obviously, when trying to enact a plan, it's supposed to be common knowledge throughout the Grand Line that the entire Strawhat crew was utterly incapable of discretion, since, most of the time, they always ended up fumbling the plan. It didn't matter whether you'd spent decades preparing the most methodical, systematic, structured, well-planned strategy—once the Strawhats become a factor, you might as well wave it all a 'byebye bitch'.

(Usually, it was always because of their captain. And if the captain himself is incapable of following plans, one shouldn't expect much from his subordinates, no?)

Franosuke (Franky), was a carpenter in-charge of finding the documents containing the mapped outline of Kaido's castle, Geisha Orobi (Robin) was in-charge of getting into Orochi's castle and acquiring information, Usohachi (Usopp) was selling not-so questionable products in the Flower capital as a disguise to reach out to samurais and citizens who were willing to fight for their cause.

And Zorojuro?

He was supposed to help Usohachi maximize their reach and communicate with the other samurais who could join their raid, but unfortunately, they got separated in the capital.

And when someone like Zorojuro gets separated from a group, that was anything but good news.

Because in terms of getting into unwanted trouble, Roronoa Zoro was just as bad as his captain—and he wasn't even aware of it.

The Flower capital was the region of Wano that was directly under the rule of the shogun, Kurozumi Orochi, and admittedly the only region that remained prosperous because of the shogun's corruption, while the other areas had been on a constant decline for the past twenty years.

It was a region populated by Sakura trees, painting a vibrant pink together with traditional buildings that stood across the districts. The streets were teeming with citizens and samurais alike, filled with life and bustling with businesses. As the night of the annual Fire Festival drew closer, excitement lingered in the air.

Zoro padded down the streets with no clear destination in mind. Usohachi had gotten lost—actually no, it was the other way around—and he was left with no choice but to sightsee around the capital. For a country closed to the world, Wano was quite well-off. Of course, he knew that underneath this seemingly bright façade, the country had dark shadows under Kaido's tyranny.

Not for long though, he thought.

They had formed the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance—not the most creative name out there—with the goal of liberating Wano from Kaido's clutches, and restoring the Kozuki clan to its rightful seat.

Zoro had full confidence that the alliance will be successful—because they were the main characters—but he knew they still needed numbers to take on the Animal Kingdom pirates. They're going to fight one of the emperors of the sea—there's no such thing as 'having too many comrades' in this case.

When his stomach made the call of its fellow whale, Zoro decided to stop at a nearby ramen shop and take a well-deserved break in the meantime. It was a good thing Kinemon gave them allowance (like what a responsible parent would do) before they went away to do their respective roles.

Zoro ordered one bowl of ramen and waited on his seat, arms crossed on the wooden counter as he surveyed the interior of the ramen shop.

"Have you heard? The shogun was being hysterical again."

The conversation going on the seat beside him garnered his attention. Zoro gave a side glance to two citizens who were conversing in hushed voices.

"Let me guess, because of Lady Toki's prophecy?"

The man snickered. "Yeah. Apparently, this year marks the twentieth year since that prophecy, so Orochi-sama's becoming more agitated."

The other man placed his glass of water down after taking a huge gulp. He grinned. "Damn, how long will he believe that stupid legend? The Kozuki and Akazaya Nine are things of the past."

When Zoro's order arrived, he wasted no time and dug in with his chopsticks, blowing on the steamed noodles before slurping them rather loudly.

"I know right?" the first man laughed. "The last Kozuki heir already died—Orochi-sama has no reason to fear mere ghosts of the past."

Just as Zoro was about to finish his ramen, a loud crackle of lightning flashed across the skies over the capital, bright streaks of white and blue, flashing in seconds and bellowing out a deafening roar. Some citizens shrieked and craned their heads to look at the sky.

"You idiots! Don't speak ill of the Kozuki name!" the ramen shop owner chided, slamming his hands on the wooden counter and straining his voice over the loud thunder crackle. "The Raiju has ears in the capital!"

The two citizens quickly offered their apologies and didn't bother to finish their bowls, quickly paying the owner and making a run for it.

At the ruckus, Zoro raised a brow. Raiju?

Consequently, the thunders and lightning ceased, and the skies went back to its bright sky blue, as if the earlier thunderclouds and lightning were mere hallucinations.

Weird.

As far as Zoro was informed, Wano had varying climates over the regions. There was a region where cold snow reigned its weather, and another autumn, while the capital was known to have springtime Sakura blossom throughout the year. Having ominous thunderclouds and lightning were news to him.

After paying for his food, Zoro made his way out of the ramen shop, staring at the blue sky where puffs of cloud floated the expanse of the atmosphere.

Just as he was about to dismiss it as natural weather phenomenon and turned on the heels of his sandals, about to walk away, he froze.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood, sending a cold shiver down his spine. The surrounding noise slowly drowned out, clogging his hearing, as if gravity itself was pushing the noise downwards; citizens slowed down as if time stopped. His three swords which were tied around his waist felt cold and menacing, as if reacting to the sinister presence. With a sharp stare, Zoro whipped to the direction of the presence, only to pause when it suddenly disappeared.

The bustling noise of the capital came back. All around him were citizens wandering around the streets, ignorant of what he'd just felt.

Just as how the earlier thunder and lightning faded in mere seconds, the ominous presence disappeared without a trace.

But he knew he hadn't been hallucinating. Roronoa Zoro had skillfully honed all his senses, and he was certain that what he felt, whatever that cold, intimidating presence was—it was something to be cautious of.

Amid the crowd of citizens, a hooded figure kept their head down, walking away from the heart of the capital.