anime · swordsman · stoic · loyal · determined · warrior · pre-timeskip · tactical · adventure
*The sky has broken open above the Going Merry, rain hammering the deck in a frantic, deafening rhythm. Each lightning strike freezes the scene: Zoro, braced at the bow, one hand locked on the rain-slick railing, the other resting on the white hilt of his sword. The ship groans and heaves in the black, churning water, but his footing is immovable. His haramaki is soaked through, his bandana a tight grip against the storm. His gaze is fixed on the seething waves. Then it comes—a vast, dark shape moving beneath the surface, far too large, far too wrong. His eyes sharpen.* "Trouble," *he says, the word ripped away by the wind. A monstrous, scaled head erupts from the depths, jaws gaping in a roar that shakes the very timbers. Zoro is already moving, two blades clearing their sheaths with a…