After more than ten seconds of forced flight, Zoro landed precisely on the barrel, floating on the sea surface by the barrel's buoyancy, with not a single part of his body getting wet.
"This suddenly crazy woman, she throws quite accurately."
He didn't think much about why Silas suddenly got angry; in his opinion, women having intermittent outbursts was a very normal thing.
Even his childhood best friend, Kuina, whom he regarded as a rival to surpass, would occasionally show some of a woman's minor flaws, something Zoro had long been accustomed to.
And the current Silas was also very different from when they first met.
She would get mad at the slightest provocation, her emotions fluctuating more and more, which increasingly conformed to Zoro's understanding of a "normal woman."
Zoro felt very regretful and disappointed about Silas's change, always feeling that the companion who had satisfied him in all aspects at the beginning was gone forever.
However, he had never considered one thing—he himself was the root cause of her anger.
What a joke, the great Pirate Hunter would naturally not consider his own problems; he had already focused his attention on the barrel beneath him:
"Please, let it be rum."
Since his request to stock up on alcohol was rejected last time, he hadn't had a drink in almost a week.
"Never mind, I'll push it back to the ship first." Zoro wiped his mouth, just about to jump off the barrel, when he suddenly heard a crisp "crack."
The top of the barrel unexpectedly split open, and before he could react, a fist suddenly shot out from the crack, heading straight for his face.
There was actually a person in the barrel!
"Nani—"
Zoro was caught off guard, and the speed of this punch was unusually fast; before his body could react, it had already hit his face.
"Wh—"
Before he could finish his sentence, he flew back to the small boat in a familiar arc.
"Huh?"
On the small boat, Silas, who was leisurely swinging her legs and reading, suddenly looked up, staring at the rapidly enlarging black dot in the sky, and blinked: "How did he come back so quickly?"
She subconsciously reached out to catch him, but was suddenly drawn by the commotion coming from the direction of the barrel.
This is... Silas's eyes gradually widened, a look of pleasant surprise appearing, a surprise so great that she completely ignored Zoro, who had heavily slammed onto the deck and was groaning in pain.
"You bastard, how dare you hide in a barrel and ambush me." Zoro rubbed his aching body, looking angrily towards the barrel's location.
He saw a figure emerge from the barrel with a "splash."
The sunlight outlined his shadow behind him, and the brim of his iconic straw hat was still dripping with seawater.
"Yo-ho!" The Straw Hat Boy's energetic voice came with the sea breeze, "Where is this?"
"What, it's just a kid." Zoro was stunned for several seconds until he confirmed that the guy hiding in the barrel was just a peer who didn't look very old.
"Hey, kid, what are you doing hiding in a barrel?"
"I'm not a kid." The Straw Hat Boy puffed out his chest, revealing an exaggerated grin, "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King!"
After speaking, he suddenly covered his stomach, and his whole body wilted, "Ah... so hungry... do you have anything to eat?"
This extremely jumpy speech left Zoro momentarily unresponsive, and it was several seconds later that he pointed at the boy who called himself Luffy and said,
"What are you talking about! Why should we treat an unrelated guy like you to eat—"
Zoro's voice abruptly stopped.
He stared wide-eyed at the barbecue grill that had appeared beside him at some point, where Silas was skillfully flipping skewers.
"Hey! When did the barbecue grill get set up? When did you become so generous?"
This barbecue grill was a complimentary item from the ship's owner when they bought the ship.
Zoro had to admit, this woman's navigation skills were incredibly bad, but her barbecue skills were indeed excellent.
Silas didn't even look up; she was currently only thinking about making a delicious meal for her future captain, "This is the man who will become the Pirate King, isn't he worth us treating him to a barbecue?"
What kind of reason was that?
Zoro was speechless upon hearing this, vaguely feeling that this Straw Hat Boy seemed very unusual, "Forget it, I'm a bit hungry anyway, grill some for me too."
"The meat is over there, didn't you see it?" Silas gave him a disdainful glance, "Grill it yourself."
But when her gaze turned to Luffy, who was staring eagerly at the barbecue, her voice immediately softened: "Luffy, come and eat!"
...Zoro watched this blatant double standard, his forehead veins throbbing... Dozens of minutes later.
"Ah—I'm so full~~" Luffy said with a happy expression, patting his distended belly.
"A week's worth of rations were all eaten by you; it would be strange if you weren't full." Zoro leaned against the side of the ship, his eyes filled with shock.
This Straw Hat Boy was indeed unusual; he was the second most gluttonous person Zoro had ever seen in his life.
And coincidentally, the most gluttonous person was also on this ship.
He subtly glanced at the Blue-haired girl who was elegantly reading a book.
Who would have thought that such a delicate body could even hold an entire Sea King?
Sometimes he even suspected she wasn't human, that a monstrous creature was hidden beneath her exquisite human skin.
"By the way, are you two pirates?" Luffy suddenly sat up and asked.
"Yes." Zoro nodded, his eyes fixed on Luffy's stomach.
His digestive ability once again shocked Zoro; one moment his stomach was as big as a ball, and the next it had returned to its original state.
Who exactly is this guy?
"That's great, how about you two become my companions?" Luffy was delighted to hear this, rubbing his hands together, looking at them both with anticipation.
"Huh? Companions?" Zoro poked his ear, glanced at Luffy, his voice carrying a hint of disdain, "You mean for us to be your subordinates?"
This Straw Hat Boy might have some extraordinary qualities, but did anyone truly exist on this vast sea who was qualified to be his and Silas's captain?
"Not subordinates, but companions!" Luffy spread his arms, pointing at Zoro with one hand and Silas with the other, shouting excitedly: "However, I'm going to be the captain of this ship!"
"Is this your ship that you want to be captain?! Believe it or not, I'll kick you off the ship right now and let you continue to wander the sea!" Zoro frowned.
Completely different from the original story, Luffy had not saved Zoro, and the two had no previous interaction; in fact, it was Zoro who had saved Luffy's life at sea this time.
Moreover, Zoro had not witnessed Luffy's strength, so in his mind, this Straw Hat Boy was constantly spouting nonsense.
"Hey, I say, why don't we get rid of this idiot?" Zoro gave Silas a meaningful look.
Silas quickly shook her head, indicating firmly: "No!"
...Zoro narrowed his eyes slightly; there must be something wrong here.