One Piece: Heaven-Defying Luck

Inside the marine base, not far from the crucified Zoro, Nami, with an astonished face, looked at Xun in excitement. Her eyes glowed with a terrifying light full of curiosity.

"How did you do that?!"

Xun turned his head to meet her intense gaze and wondered.

"Do what?"

Nami jumped on him, hugging his arm.

"Stop pretending. We just passed through the whole town, and not a single man or woman even glanced at you, which is definitely weird. You just barged in, but the two guards outside the gate didn't even look at you. It's like they were ignoring us!"

Zoro, still hanging up, looked at their sudden appearance in shock.

"Damn, where did these two come from? Are they ghosts?!"

Xun finally understood, but it could only be explained as a kind of habit. He was used to using his luck to lower his presence. Not to mention, with his current appearance, if he openly showed himself in this town, it would definitely become terrifying. It would be a Cavendish-like scene, which made him feel sick just thinking about it.

"Do you want to learn? It's just a trick to control presence."

Although he was using luck, after mastering body control techniques, manipulating things like presence became easy.

Nami coquettishly pestered him.

"I do! I do!! Xun-chan, I want to learn!!"

'With this technique, I can steal all the treasures in the sea, and no one will ever find me!'

Nami thought, as her imagination carried her away. She pictured herself as the queen of thieves, lying on Xun's lap, surrounded by gold and treasure chests.

Suddenly, her train of thought was interrupted as a hostile voice shattered her illusion.

"Oi, you two! Are you ghosts or humans?!"

Xun and Nami turned around, only to see Zoro's body tense and drenched in sweat. It seemed their sudden entry had scared the life out of the usually steadfast swordsman.

Nami, brought out of her reverie, gave him no mercy as she scolded him.

"You're the ghost! Your whole family are ghosts!"

Xun patted her back to calm her down, which surprisingly worked, as he looked at Zoro with interest.

"Don't be afraid. We're humans. We just used a special technique to sneak in. It's normal to suddenly appear…"

Zoro's face turned red as he retorted,

"Who's afraid?! I'm just asking out of curiosity!"

Xun found it funny. To think that Zoro, the king of hell, could also be afraid of ghosts.

As if catching up, Zoro examined the two individuals clearly for the first time. The man looked incredibly attractive—so much so that even someone as blind to appearances as Zoro was amazed. But what stood out the most was the man's temperament—a commanding aura. Zoro's body instinctively trembled, and his heartbeat quickened. Of course, it wasn't love; it was his beast-like intuition warning him. This free and easy-looking man was terrifyingly strong. Dangerous.

Although Xun could completely reign in his momentum and even erase it, he chose not to. Since he intended to recruit Zoro, he allowed just a glimpse of his power to surface. He wasn't interested in showcasing it by fighting someone like Morgan, after all. Crushing a small fry like him would have been too easy, especially since Xun had just arrived in this world.

For the first time, Zoro felt such immense pressure. As for Nami, she was automatically ignored by him.

In Zoro's eyes, there was only the suffocating momentum radiating from Xun.

Zoro asked in a shaking tone, "Who are you? A man of your caliber shouldn't appear in a place like this…"

While Zoro often appeared brain-dead in the anime—seeming to believe he could beat Dracule Mihawk—that was clearly him feigning stupidity, likely due to authorial intent. After all, he had witnessed the legendary feat of Mihawk slicing a ship in two. Zoro knew of the Grand Line's legends. The most plausible explanation for his reckless actions was desperation—a hope that by facing death, he might break through his limits. He simply lacked a clear understanding of the world's true power hierarchy. Mihawk's casual demeanor didn't help, as it masked his strength. And let's not forget, East Blue was the weakest of the seas.

Looking at Zoro, who was being suppressed by his momentum yet still stubbornly resisted—suppressing his primal fear—Xun was once again amazed by the swordsman's forthrightness.

Though Xun wasn't using his full strength, the pressure he exerted would have made even a veteran Vice Admiral tense.

Xun didn't bother answering Zoro's question. Instead, he looked at him with interest and asked,

"Ne, are you interested in joining me? You look like someone with strong potential. It would be a shame for you to die in a place like this. And I don't think someone like you would accept such a death."

Zoro looked at him in surprise. Nami also seemed intrigued, watching Zoro closely. She had seen him fight before, and while he was strong, compared to the power Xun had shown, it was child's play.

She muttered under her breath, "I didn't expect you to value this guy…"

Zoro swallowed hard before shouting, as if trying to mask his fear,

"What do you mean by death? I'm just betting with that guy. I won't die! I'll never die! I have a very important promise to keep!"

Nami looked at Zoro as though he were a fool.

"How can you believe the words of such a vile man?"

Hearing her remark, Xun was speechless. Aren't you the same?

Zoro's face turned pale, then red, then blue, as he gritted his teeth.

"As expected, he was lying to me! Damn it!"

Suddenly, Xun interrupted, "So? How about it? I guess you can sense something about me. Join me, and I'll open your eyes. The strong in this world are not something you can imagine with your current outlook. If you want to achieve your dream, whatever it may be, I can guarantee you won't regret joining me."

Zoro hesitated, his confidence wavering.

"Am I really okay? You're so strong… Won't I just be a burden to you?"

Xun answered him neatly, "You will not. Strength or something like that is easy to gain. What I value is your character and potential."

Nami, standing to the side, looked at the duo with a strange expression. Her gaze toward Zoro was hard to describe—a mix of emotions—but jealousy was undeniably part of it.

Of course, Xun could sense her emotions.

"I'm Xun. I'll be your captain—or boss, whatever you prefer. And this is Nami, our navigator and my first mate."

Nami's gloomy face brightened as she retorted, "I don't remember joining your band!"

Zoro looked surprised.

"Captain or whatever… Aren't you a pirate?"

Xun shook his head.

"Pirate, marine, or whatever—I only sail to enjoy the scenery, have fun in this world, meet new friends, and fight strong opponents. That's my goal for going to sea. As for being a pirate, I don't care."

Zoro and Nami both stared at Xun in amazement. Zoro felt his blood boil, instantly captivated by Xun's heroic demeanor.

Nami, on the other hand, was thrilled. Although she didn't mind him being a pirate, it would've bothered her a little. She even began to think Xun chose to become a free traveler because of her.

As expected, Nami's eyes softened, and her mind started drifting toward romantic thoughts…

Suddenly, Zoro shouted, snapping Nami out of her reverie and earning her ire once again!

"You're absolutely right! I also went to sea to achieve my dream and keep my promise! I want to become the strongest swordsman in the world! Pirate or not, I'll take any chance! I'm glad to join you, Captain!"