She was resting against another tree, curled up around her pups. Night had fallen, and they were getting ready to rest. It had been a long day of traveling and hunting. The she-wolf raised her head from the ground and looked at Luffy as if answering his question. "Are we almost there?" he asked, jumping excitedly. The she-wolf continued to look at Luffy, confirming his answer, then wrinkled her nose and pointed her muzzle in what to most would be just another random direction in the forest.
"I don't stink that much!" Luffy protested, sniffing himself. Never mind. He needed a bath, and he needed it NOW. He grimaced. It was a miracle he hadn't smelled himself earlier. In fact, his nose hurt a little. Wait... could he smell better? Now that he thought about it, as he looked around the forest, he thought he could see a little better too. Not farther, well, not far enough to notice, but... sharper, he supposed. He wondered if his other senses had been "trained" a bit as well. That would be awesome!
The she-wolf simply turned around, with obvious disagreement in her eyes, and laid her head between her cubs.
"Finnneee! I'm going to find the pond and take a bath, damn it!" the boy huffed, ending the one-sided conversation. Well, most people would think it was one-sided. Luffy would simply tell them they weren't listening. He turned and started walking toward where the animal had "pointed."
The wolves had been guiding him through the forest for what the boy believed was almost a month. He'd stayed with them after their fateful encounter, and in that time, he'd done everything with them: eaten, slept, hunted, and so on. If the wolves did it, chances were Luffy would too. In the teenager's mind, he was just hanging out with his friends. Of course, there was an added bonus. White actually knew where the cave he was looking for was. He'd asked him about it the very day they started traveling together.
The one thing the wolves weren't doing, and that Luffy desperately needed, according to White, was bathing... He was starting to stink. Too bad. The wolf pups, who weren't so small anymore, were starting to distance themselves from him... When they weren't trying to steal his food, of course. The boy with the straw hat continued through the forest until he came across a small body of water, with a small waterfall on the opposite bank. Green grass, blue water, a waterfall... What more could he ask for? It was the perfect place for a bath.
Without even thinking, Luffy ran to the shore and dove in like a shot, clothes and hat on. A loud splash echoed through the area as soon as the boy's body touched the water. The warm temperature brought a satisfied smile to his face as he emerged from the depths and surfaced. "This feels amazing," Luffy sighed, gazing at the small waterfall in front of him.
He swam forward and discovered that the water was quite shallow beneath the flowing liquid. The boy surveyed the area before removing his clothes and began washing them under the gentle pressure of the water cascading into the small pool. Makino had taught him how to wash, so he thought he was quite good at it. He had no soap, but the pressure from the waterfall would probably be enough to remove the unpleasant odors from the clothes.
A yawn escaped Luffy's lips. He was starting to feel sleepy. He looked at the warm water below him and couldn't help but think it felt like the perfect place for a nap. The water would be like a warm, cozy blanket. Yes. He was definitely going to take a nap. Determined, Luffy sat down completely naked, without his hat or necklace, under the waterfall, quietly washing his clothes with contentment. The boy wasn't embarrassed by any kind of nudity. To be honest, there wasn't a trace of shyness in his entire body. So, when he heard a shout of surprise coming from the ground behind him, he immediately turned around, searching for the source.
The screams only grew louder as her bare forehead turned towards the shore.
Zoro adopted a runner's stance, his legs bent at the hips, his gaze fixed on his feet. He placed one hand on Wado Ichimonji and gripped it firmly, but not too tightly. His eyes fixed straight ahead, on a straw dummy, the image of the swordsman flashed before him. In a fraction of a second, he was behind the dummy, slowly sliding his single-edged sword into its white scabbard. A soft click was the only sound as the tsuba connected with the saya.
The verdet rose from his crouched position and turned, satisfied with what he saw. There were no cuts on the dummy, despite having used the sharp edge of his katana.
"You didn't even cut it," Saul said with an indifferent look. The older man used to come out to watch Zoro train, and this was one of those occasions.
Zoro smirked at the blacksmith. "That's the point, old man," he replied, resting his hand on Wado's hilt. "This katana will only cut what I want it to, nothing more and nothing less."
"Whatever, brat," Saul said, his gaze fixed on the man's indifferent expression. "And why are you calling me old? I gave you a place to eat, sleep, and work! So respect your elders!" the man shouted, crossing his arms and returning to his forge. He was fed up with seeing the brat not cutting anything.
When the door closed behind Saul, Zoro stood in the small back yard of the shop. He had gone there to practice every day since the old blacksmith had let him work. It took a lot of convincing, but he finally managed to get the dark-skinned man to hire him... as a pack mule.
At first, Saul flatly refused to accept the greenback every time the boy came to the shop. Which happened every day. But Zoro stood firm, and after a week of relentless insistence, Saul finally gave in. Now he worked every day doing various tasks at the shop.
He did other things, but Zoro's main job was moving the large piles of metal that Saul used to buy in the back room and breaking them down. The teenager didn't mind the work. Heavy metals were good exercise, and he was always looking to get stronger. Whether physically or in other ways, it was all the same to the swordsman. Strength was strength.