After Luffy left with Edison, the tension did not ease.
Zoro was currently the ship's Vice Captain and its only remaining top-tier fighter.
Blood faintly seeped through the bandages around his chest, but he did not relax in the slightest.
Instead, he drew Enma and Sandai Kitetsu from his waist, keeping a sword in each hand as he stood guard.
Those officers of the Blackbeard Pirates...
Van Augur, Jesus Burgess, and that treacherous Shiryu had been sent flying by a single slap from Luffy earlier. They had most likely landed somewhere in this area.
At that thought, Zoro stayed alert while urging the companions behind him onward.
"Move! Stay close to me, and don't fall behind!"
Usopp and Chopper carried the badly wounded Sanji on a makeshift stretcher, while Franky carried the unconscious Jinbe on his back.
Atlas led the way at the front.
Before long, the group followed the passage Atlas pointed out and gradually approached the shore.
They could even faintly hear waves crashing against the rocks.
Almost there! Zoro's spirits lifted, and he quickened his pace.
They rounded a bend and passed through a patch of low bushes battered crooked by the shock waves of battle. The view suddenly opened up...
The Thousand Sunny's familiar lion figurehead and orange-and-white hull were already in sight!
Sunlight streamed through the broken clouds onto the Thousand Sunny's deck, gilding it with a warm golden glow.
The ship that had carried their countless adventures and dreams now seemed like the only safe harbor in a storm.
"I see it! It's the Thousand Sunny!" Usopp could not help cheering softly, a smile breaking across his weary face.
But Zoro, walking at the front, stepped out of the bushes' shadows-
And stopped dead just as he was about to set foot on the