Chapter 2
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse!
In a world without industrial pollution, the night sky was crystal clear. A crescent moon hung high in the sky, and countless stars twinkled like a silver river flowing across the heavens.
Chen Tian — no, now he should be called Locke — was deep in thought about his current situation. Time passed quietly. The beggar's chicken roasting in the fire was finally done. The yellow mud on the outside had cracked from the heat, making a soft snapping sound.
The noise startled Locke. His stomach, which had been starving for a long time, immediately growled loudly.
He used a nearby branch to pull the chicken out of the fire, cracked open the hardened mud shell, and peeled away the pieces. A burst of hot steam rose, followed by an incredibly rich aroma.
Locke took a deep sniff. His mouth started watering uncontrollably. Too hungry to care about manners or the heat, he reached out and stripped away the leaves, revealing the golden-brown roasted chicken. The smell became even stronger.
He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, grabbed one chicken leg, and tore it off. Oil dripped from the leg as he licked his lips and opened his mouth to take a bite.
Whoosh—
A stone shot through the air and smashed directly into Locke's forehead. He cried out in pain, nearly dropping the chicken leg.
Rubbing the red spot on his forehead, Locke angrily stood up and shouted into the darkness, "Who's there?! Which bastard dares to ambush me? Get out here!"
Whoosh—
Another stone flew at him. This time, Locke was prepared. In his anger, he activated his Sharingan. His eyes turned blood-red, with a single black tomoe spinning inside.
Under the Sharingan's enhanced vision, the fast-moving stone slowed down several times. Locke bent low and dodged it easily. The stone smashed into the campfire behind him, sending sparks flying.
"Eh?"
The person hiding in the shadows let out a surprised sound, clearly shocked that Locke's eyes had suddenly turned blood-red.
With the Sharingan active, Locke's eyesight improved dramatically. He instantly spotted a small figure hiding behind a clump of bushes more than ten meters away.
Without hesitation, Locke kicked a branch at his feet toward the hidden kid. The child saw he had been discovered and quickly jumped out from the bushes.
Only then did Locke clearly see the other boy's appearance. He was slightly smaller than himself, wearing a white top and dark blue shorts tied with a white rope as a belt.
What stood out the most was his rare green short hair. He had a blade of grass in his mouth and was staring at Locke with a wild, arrogant expression.
"Green hair…?"
Looking at that distinctive green hair, Locke froze for a moment. Then his eyes widened as a name flashed through his mind.
In the One Piece world, the person most famous for green hair was none other than Roronoa Zoro. Could this kid actually be young Zoro?
"No, wait… Just because someone has green hair doesn't mean it's Zoro," Locke thought, shaking his head to calm himself down. He decided to ask for the boy's name first.
The green-haired kid frowned, looking confused at Locke's strange reactions, and shouted, "Hey, kid! Who are you? State your name!"
Locke's eyes flashed. "If you want someone to give their name, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"
Zoro thought about it and realized it made sense. He cleared his throat and said seriously, "I am Roronoa Zoro, the strongest fighter in all the nearby villages! Who are you?"
It really was Zoro! Locke's heart skipped a beat. He never expected to run into young Zoro so soon. His luck was insane.
Suppressing his excitement, Locke introduced himself, "My name is Sas D. Locke. Roronoa Zoro, why did you ambush me just now?"
Hearing the word "ambush," Zoro looked furious and shouted, "That wasn't an ambush! I saw you alone on the mountain at night and just wanted to test how strong you were. I thought you were pretty weak, but I didn't expect you to have such weird eyes."
"Is that so?" Locke said skeptically. He suddenly noticed Zoro's eyes kept drifting to the chicken leg in his hand. Zoro even rubbed his own stomach. Locke immediately understood — the smell of the roasted chicken had attracted him.
Locke deactivated his Sharingan, sat back down, and said to Zoro, "If you're hungry, come over. I can't finish this whole chicken by myself."
Zoro hesitated for a moment, but his loudly growling stomach won. He walked over and sat across from Locke.
"Here!"
Locke tossed the chicken leg to him. Zoro caught it, sniffed the delicious aroma, and immediately started devouring it.
Looking at the young Zoro eating happily, Locke noted that he was still just a little kid — far from the domineering swordsman he would become later. At this age, he was basically a cute little brat.
But since Zoro was still a child, that meant Luffy was also still young. Zoro also didn't have any swords with him yet, which meant he hadn't challenged and lost to Koushirou yet.
It seemed he had transmigrated many years before Luffy set sail. That gave him plenty of time to grow stronger.
Watching Zoro eat with such joy, Locke's own stomach growled. He tore off the other chicken leg and started eating. The entire four-to-five-pound roasted chicken was quickly devoured by the two boys.
Fortunately, although their appetites were big, they were still kids. One whole chicken was enough to fill both of them.
Zoro patted his full belly and looked at the pile of bones on the ground. A bit embarrassed, he said, "Thanks for the chicken. I'll pay you back with one later."
"It's just one chicken, nothing expensive," Locke waved his hand generously.
This made Zoro's opinion of Locke improve a lot.
After a pause, Locke asked, "By the way, why are you in the deep mountains so late at night?"
Zoro raised his fist and replied, "I already beat everyone in my village. I heard there's a really strong sword master in the next village, so I'm going to challenge him. On the way… I didn't pay attention to the time, so I stayed here for now."
As he spoke, Zoro turned his head away, avoiding Locke's amused gaze.
"You got lost, didn't you?"
"I did not! I just didn't notice the time!"
Being called out, Zoro instantly became angry and embarrassed, which only made Locke laugh harder and slap his own leg.
Zoro clenched his fists, wanting to punch the laughing Locke, but remembering he had just eaten half the chicken, he held back. He could only snort coldly, cross his arms, and sit down sulking.
After laughing for a while, Locke calmed down and said, "The village you're heading to is called Shimotsuki Village, right?"
"You know it?"
"Yeah. That village is quite famous around here because it has a very strong sword dojo. Many parents from nearby villages send their kids there to learn swordsmanship."
Of course, Locke was just making that up. He had only just arrived and been chased by villagers — how would he know? He said it just to build rapport and set up his next plan.
Hearing that the sword master was very strong, Zoro curled his lip in disdain. "So what if he's strong? I'm going there to challenge the dojo and defeat the master. I'll prove that I'm the strongest!"
It seemed Zoro's future personality — extremely competitive, never admitting defeat, and always ready to fight — had already formed at a young age.
"I see," Locke pretended to be surprised, then suggested, "Why don't we go together? If you defeat the sword master, I won't ask him to be my teacher. But if you can't beat him…"
Before Locke could finish, Zoro interrupted confidently, "Of course I'll win! I will definitely defeat him. Locke, you should find another teacher."
"I don't believe it. With those skinny arms and legs, how could you possibly beat him? He's famous across all the nearby villages," Locke deliberately looked down on him.
The young, prideful Zoro couldn't stand being looked down on. He glared angrily at Locke and said, "If you don't believe me, let's make a bet!"
Locke's eyes lit up with hidden joy. Kids were so easy to trick. He pretended to hesitate for a moment before asking, "What kind of bet?"
Zoro, unaware he was falling into Locke's trap, thought carefully. Finally, he said, "If I defeat the sword master, you have to call me Big Bro."
Locke replied, "And if you lose and I win, what will you do?"
"I won't lose."
"Everything has a chance. What if you do lose?"
"If I lose… then I'll call you Big Bro."
"Deal!"
The two slapped hands to seal the bet. Locke showed a sly smile of success. Zoro saw the smile and felt a strange bad premonition, but he quickly shook it off. He was sure he wouldn't lose. Locke was definitely going to lose.
They chatted a bit more until they both grew sleepy. Leaning against the tree roots, they slept through the night.
The next morning, Locke led Zoro down the mountain. Zoro didn't object and simply followed. Besides the bet, there was one more important reason — he had already been wandering in these mountains for three days. If he didn't follow Locke, who knew how much longer he would be lost.
On the way, Locke didn't ask Zoro for directions. Asking a directionally challenged person like him would mean they'd never reach Shimotsuki Village. Instead, Locke took Zoro down the other side of the mountain and arrived at a lively town at the foot of the hill.
Since Shimotsuki Village had Koushirou's famous dojo, it should be well-known. They could just ask around in town to find it.