Part 10 - Who ordered sushi? 7/??

Well, because no one reads authors notes, I will write here.

So I decided not to continue, but not to drop also. I will just update it if I have a right mood and time for that moment, or if I have nothing else to do. I will work on this fanfic only (well, at least right now).

I won't promise that I will update every day, I won't say that I'll put any of my free time into this. but why not. Even if only three, there are still people who want to read this. And if I like this fanfic so much that I started to translate it, then why not to do. If I see that there is a lot of activity like power stones, comment and everything else, that maybe I will consume some free time to make updates more consistent. In any case, have fun reading this and have a good day. Till next time.

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"I... I understand that you are aware of the fact that your partner is a member of a pirate crew?" the mouse-captain managed to squeeze out, though with difficulty.

"She wouldn't have a reason to be in it if the marines did their job instead of taking bribes," Zoro grinned slightly.

At that moment, Johnny and Yosaku didn't doubt for a moment that the guy was imagining how he would deal with Nezumi and his people. Zoro's grin was too specific, anticipatory, and bloodthirsty. He displayed such a grin either to people who had already become his victims or potential victims.

"However it may be, we've come here to fulfill our duty and retrieve what was stolen," Nezumi, stuttering but still managing to say the necessary words, said, sweating profusely.

At that moment, it became clear to us that the little captain standing before her, besides excessive self-confidence, had clearly managed to "lose it" at some point in his life. Apparently, he had been dealing with various riffraff for so long that he firmly believed in his complete invulnerability due to his affiliation with the Marine Patrol. Zoro, Johnny, and Yosaku instilled terror in the little captain—it was obvious! Yet, he still believed that he could not only get out of this situation unscathed but also earn some extra by taking all of Nami's money. Commendable confidence, albeit completely unjustified.

"And what will you do if we object?" Zoro's grin became even more threatening, and his open eye dangerously gleamed.

The little captain swallowed loudly.

"If... if you hinder the execution of our duty, then you will become criminals yourselves and won't be able to hunt pirates anymore. You don't want to lose your income, do you?"

"I can't understand, whether he's a smart jerk or just a smart idiot," Johnny admitted.

"Smart jerk-idiot," Yosaku easily resolved his friend's dilemma. "Better give me a fire," he added, taking out a gilded cigarette case with two cigars and a gilded guillotine from his inner pocket.

"Who said we'll lose our income?" Ignoring the guys, Zoro replied to Nezumi. "If you all die here right now, no one will ever know anything."

Sailors and the captain visibly worried at such a statement.

"N-not all my people are here! There are still enough sailors on the ship! They'll notice our absence and report it where it needs to be!"

Unclear whether he was a jerk or an idiot, but cunning for sure. Nezumi came up with quite competent answers on the spot. Again, put someone else in the Straw Hats' place, and such answers could very well play their role. However, without a doubt, the little captain completely squandered his luck in his past life; otherwise, he wouldn't be standing in front of Zoro now.

"So what's the problem?" The swordsman was not at all discouraged by the patrolman's argument. "First, I'll kill everyone here, then I'll go to the ship and kill everyone there. Then I'll take the ship away from the shore and sink it. No one will know anything. Besides, Arlong controls the entire island, so even if the locals see something, they won't be able to tell anyone. Moreover, as dead people, what difference does it make whether I get punished for your murder or not?"

And you can't argue with that. Let Zoro not have learned to properly turn his interlocutors' brains inside out for the reasons mentioned earlier, but he perfected one of the most reliable techniques in Luffy's arsenal. This technique was called simply and straightforwardly: "So what?" You'll become criminals! So what? You won't be able to earn money anymore! So what? You'll be wanted! So what? At least Nezumi realized that it was impossible to win an argument with Zoro. Then, still a smart guy, he decided to slow everything down.

"Well, considering your merits, perhaps the Marines can turn a blind eye to the Queen's past transgressions. We won't take her money, but in return, such things should not happen again! If she ever returns to her former profession, the Marines will have to declare her a criminal. And now allow me to leave," and, turning sharply, Nezumi almost ran towards the village, from where he undoubtedly intended to get to his ship as quickly as possible and set sail.

"He's still smart," Johnny nodded approvingly, watching as the sailors rushed after their swiftly retreating captain. "He set it up as if we still owe him something. Like he did us a favor. Besides, he didn't try to press further and didn't try to threaten with force."

"Threaten us with force after all the newspapers have trumpeted that the three of us have killed more than ten thousand pirates?" Yosaku said, releasing a large smoke ring. "If he were such an idiot, he would have been killed long ago."

"Considering that he initially decided to risk trying to get my money, he can't be called very smart," Nami shared her point of view.

"Killed ten thousand pirates?" Nojiko, who appeared from the house, asked. "In what sense?"

"In a direct sense, and forget about it for now," Nami advised her, then, putting her hands on her hips, scolded a very specific swordsman: "Zoro, what did I tell you about murders in my mother's garden? What would you do if he decided to attack?!"

"Don't worry, everything was under control," the swordsman lazily smiled. "I already told you that Luffy gave me clear instructions, so I wasn't going to start a fight here. If he had dared to bare his teeth at me, I would have immediately backed off... then, later, it would have been even more pleasant to carry out Luffy's order. Although I won't deny, I'll get much more pleasure from it than I initially planned."