"Ah, it's me. If you're not asking for directions, are you here to make trouble?"
He's encountered this kind of situation many times before. The bounty hunter community doesn't really have any barriers; anyone can become a bounty hunter if they're daring enough.
However, compared to those who desperately pursue money, Zoro's foundation is much more solid. Years of training have paid off, and he quickly built a reputation in the East Sea.
Pirates in the New World aim to challenge the Four Emperors to make a name for themselves, but in the East Sea, Zoro has become a target for some who want to challenge and recruit him.
At sixteen, he was at the height of youthful vigor, prone to impulsiveness. Once hostility was confirmed, a fight was inevitable.
No matter if it was against a man or a woman, as long as the enemy was confirmed, he would fight to the end. However, in most cases, when fighting women, he would use the back of his blade. At this moment, he was holding Wado Ichimonji in a reverse grip.
"Make trouble? Maybe it is for you. But I'm more interested in understanding some things. By the way, it's rumored you're a Three-Sword Style Swordsman. So why are you only carrying one sword?"
Robin didn't mention her connection with Baroque Works. One Crocodile wasn't worth her full dedication. Her mother, elders from childhood, and friends were all in Wano Kuni. She already had her own home.
All she's doing now is merely exploring that mysterious history.
Those trivial matters were less important than the number of swords opponent had.
"It's broken. I don't have money to buy a new sword."
Zoro was a true moonlighter; he didn't even have a fixed salary.
He wouldn't directly rob things, and the spoils might not be a good fit either. Buying two decent swords had always been his dream.
As a bounty hunter now, in the East Sea, bounty rewards over several million are quite rare. It's basically impossible to get rich quickly.
Although he caught some bounty criminals usually, after deducting daily expenses, the money left was pitifully little. Even the simplest samurai blade costs fifty thousand Belly each. Right now, he truly couldn't afford it.
His fighting style was extremely violent, and ordinary blades simply couldn't withstand this level of combat. He didn't have Haki, and those ordinary blades usually broke into several pieces after a short time.
Even if Wado Ichimonji was one of the Twenty-One Great Grade Blades crafted by Shimotsuki Kozaburo, high-intensity battles would also cause damage.
"I see. Actually, I don't really want to waste your time. But can you tell me how you evaded my scouting and got around me?"
"What nonsense are you saying? When did I do any kind of counter-surveillance?"
"If you're honest with me, I could give you some money to buy a suitable sword."
"Even if you say that... I didn't do such a thing, but what's your real purpose in going through all this trouble to find me?"
"Haven't I already told you? To understand a few things. It seems you don't want to cooperate with me."
The two's thoughts were never on the same level. At this moment, Robin couldn't believe that human lack of direction could reach this level, assuming it was the opponent's excellent counter-surveillance skills.
And to Zoro, this was merely a crazy woman speaking nonsense. It was better to knock her out quickly and leave here.
"One-Sword Style·Mu... Err..."
But before he could move, several arms grew from his body, tightly pinning him to the ground. Wado Ichimonji was also handed over to Robin by the arms growing from the ground.
"Looks like a famed sword, no wonder it's always been with you."
Robin was not someone an inexperienced Zoro could compare to, having trained in Wano Kuni and fought for a long time on the Grand Line. The strength of several arms combined was such that he couldn't break free. Taking advantage of this, she confirmed the quality of the sword.
"Damn it! What are you trying to do, woman?! Give it back to me!"
"Don't worry, I'll return it to you. There's a small town about 5 kilometers east of here. I'll be waiting for you there. As long as you get there as fast as you can, I'll give it back to you. For now, sleep for a while."
Fruit Ability transformed arms precisely struck his neck, making Zoro temporarily lose consciousness.
"Little Lizard, I'll wait for him over at the town. You and Rotom keep an eye on him to see what he does, alright?"
"Chaa~"
Since the opponent wasn't speaking truthfully, she slightly pressured him. Robin judged from Zoro's choice to fight using the back of the blade that he was a swordsman following some kind of tradition, and such swordsmen usually valued their own swords, especially famed ones.
She couldn't believe that when his sword was taken, he would still hide his abilities. She gave the general direction of the town, but to find it, he had to track the trail she left. Otherwise, it was easy to go astray.
After leaving the lizard to monitor him, Robin left the scene first.
...
After a while, Zoro angrily punched the ground upon waking, then rushed west. No matter what, he couldn't lose that sword.
With emotions affected, he even temporarily forgot about the "witch" who could summon arms.
"?"
After Zoro left, the invisible creek's face formed a question mark. It didn't understand why this man was heading west without looking back.
Zoro didn't find the town until sunset. The little lizard also called Robin's Radio Snail.
Only then did Robin recognize the truth; this wasn't someone with extraordinary counter-surveillance skills, but an utterly directionless oddball.
Under normal circumstances, he could reach the vicinity within an hour. With his physique, a few minutes should have been enough. But Zoro didn't find Robin until the next morning, and even then, through a special form of two-person-three-legs.
On his way west, Zoro met Johnny and Joseph, two bounty hunters who admired him and regarded him as their big brother. They were hunting mountain bandits here and settled for a while, so they knew where the town Robin mentioned was, leading Zoro there.
However, even with them leading front and back, Zoro would unknowingly go off course, forcing them to use this special progression method.
"Woman! Come out! Hiding in such a hard-to-find place, what are you trying to do?!"
At the town entrance, Zoro untied the rope on his feet and angrily shouted toward the town, drawing all nearby people's attention to him.
Looking at the straight road leading to the outside world from the town's entrance, they wondered what kind of provocation this man experienced to search for a woman here early in the morning.