"Damn it, that wretched woman! One day, I swear I'll cut her down!"
Zoro muttered to himself as he patrolled the area—though God knows why Nami would even dare to send him out alone.
After gathering intel, Zoro found himself deeper in debt to Nami yet again.
"Who's there?"
Sensing a presence in the nearby forest, Zoro instinctively rested his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Oh? If it isn't the young swordsman from the bar?" Ainz emerged from the shadows, his deep, resonant voice echoing from beneath his helmet.
"It's you?" Zoro's wariness intensified. The overwhelming aura from that woman, Narberal, had left a deep impression on him.
Now, this man was suddenly appearing in the middle of the night? Suspicious.
"What are you doing here?"
"Just taking a walk. Didn't expect to run into you here," Ainz answered casually.
In truth, he was deliberately seeking out Luffy's crew due to the reaction of his Gate of Fate—a system in his game that only activated when important storyline quests were triggered.
He was curious to see what kind of role it would play in reality.
"Is your camp nearby? This isn't exactly the safest place." Ainz's gaze shifted to a distant campfire. He had encountered quite a few Level 30 beasts in this area.
"What's it to you?"
"No need to be so tense, swordsman. If I wanted to kill you all, I could've done it back at the bar."
Seeing Zoro's caution, Ainz spread his hands in a gesture of peace.
"So, aren't you going to invite us for a drink? I'm rather curious about your crew's story. A bounty of 60 million berries—Roronoa Zoro."
Zoro hesitated for a moment before releasing his grip on his sword.
He realized this black-armored swordsman had no reason to lie. If he truly wanted to attack, he would've done so already.
"Where are you going?" Ainz asked as he watched Zoro walk in the opposite direction of the fire.
"Heading back. My patrol's over. Weren't you just saying you wanted a drink?" Zoro shot him a look, as if questioning his intelligence.
"But... the fire is behind you." Ainz was dumbfounded. The fire was clearly visible, yet this guy was heading the wrong way?
This was beyond being directionally challenged—was his brain underdeveloped?
Hearing Ainz's words, Zoro awkwardly changed direction.
"Seriously, just how dumb are you?" Ainz sighed.
During their short journey to the campfire—less than a mile away—Zoro somehow managed to stray off course ten times.
How did his crew ever trust him to go on patrol? Weren't they afraid he'd just disappear forever?
"Eh? Isn't that the armored old man? What are you doing here?" Luffy called out excitedly upon spotting Ainz.
"Look, Chopper! That's the armor I was telling you about! Isn't it so cool?!"
"Mm-hmm.." Chopper's eyes sparkled as he stared in awe at Ainz's black armor.
Unlike Luffy, Nami didn't share the same enthusiasm. She narrowed her eyes.
"Why is he here? Don't tell me he came because of Luffy's bounty…"
The moment she learned that Ainz was a powerful bounty hunter, she had hoped never to cross paths with him again.
"Straw Hat." Ainz examined the assembled crew. Their numbers had grown since the last time he saw them.
As Ainz observed, a figure suddenly darted toward Narberal.
"My lady, might I have the honor of knowing your beautiful name?" Sanji knelt before her, gazing up with starry eyes.
"Do you have a death wish, filthy insect?" Narberal glared down at him as if he were trash.
"Narberal?"
"My apologies for my rudeness, Lord Francis."
"Nami, who is that guy?" Usopp whispered, keeping his voice low as he leaned toward her. The sight of Ainz's imposing armor was giving him a sense of overwhelming dread.
"My name is Francis. I'm a bounty hunter. And this is my companion, Narberal," Ainz introduced himself before Nami could respond.
"B-bounty hunter?" Upon hearing those words, Usopp immediately shrank back in fear.
Chopper, too, lost his previous admiration, now clinging onto Usopp and trembling.
"Narberal… what a beautiful name." Unlike his terrified crewmates, Sanji had somehow conjured a rose and was now fawning over Narberal again.
"Don't worry, the armored man isn't a bad guy." Luffy flashed his signature grin at Usopp and Chopper, trying to reassure them.
"Really?" Chopper's trembling subsided slightly as he stole a curious glance at Ainz.
"Chopper, that guy is a bounty hunter. He's obviously after Luffy's bounty. He's gonna turn us all in to the Marines."
Usopp clung to Chopper desperately, refusing to let go.
Hearing this, Chopper immediately resumed trembling.
"I have no interest in your bounties." Ainz's voice cut through the conversation.
"I'm just interested in how you've all survived here." Ainz took a seat opposite Luffy while Narberal stood respectfully behind him.
And Ainz truly meant that. It was baffling how this crew had made it so far.
A total of six humans and a talking reindeer, surviving the dangers of the Grand Line? That was absurd.
Especially considering that, in Ainz's eyes, this pirate crew was far from normal.
Aside from the orange-haired girl and the black-haired woman reading her book, the rest of them were absolute oddballs.
A directionally challenged swordsman, an idiot for a captain, a perverted kappa, a cowardly long-nose, and a talking reindeer.
Seriously, could this really be a pirate crew?
To Ainz, they seemed more like the Straw Hat Circus than the Straw Hat Pirates.