Zoro's battles were similar. In the original story, Zoro's battles in the East Blue were always fought while he was injured. He was never fully recovered and was always low on health. There was no time for him to recuperate because the voyage in the East Blue was too intense.
However, with Nami now involved, Zoro was not injured by Buggy, and the unharmed Zoro naturally had no trouble dealing with the Nyaban Brothers.
Even the Nyaban Brothers who had been Jango were no match for him. Although they had become more ferocious, less afraid of pain, and had their potential stimulated, there was a limit to their fearlessness of pain. When the damage to their bodies reached its limit, their subconscious mind would intervene and directly cause them to fall into a coma!
As for increased potential and ferocity? Facing Zoro with his black bandana, these are nothing. If the Nyaban Brothers truly had great potential, they wouldn't have remained unknown in the East Blue for so many years. They simply cannot unleash this potential on their own. They are only slightly stronger than ordinary people, but against truly talented and powerful individuals, they are easy prey.
Nami faced off against Jango. Apart from his hypnosis skills, Jango didn't have much fighting ability. Against the cunning Nami, his hypnosis was completely ineffective, and the ring-blade he used to hypnotize her couldn't even touch Nami. Then, he was killed by a stick that Nami pulled out from somewhere!
Usopp wasn't just standing by; he was using his slingshot to snipe at the Black Cat Pirates ' henchmen. After Luffy and his two companions took down the troublesome ones, they took down the remaining henchmen together, and the Black Cat Pirates' plot in Syrup Village completely failed!
To thank Luffy and his companions for saving their lives, Kaya gifted them the Going Merry, designed by her servant Merry. Luffy and his crew were overjoyed; without a decent ship, they couldn't be considered a proper pirate crew, they were just low-class pirates.
But Luffy is a poor guy, and the small boat he uses to go out to sea is a discarded one from the villagers of Foosha Village. Where would he get the money to buy a boat? So now that someone is sponsoring him, he is naturally overjoyed. Luffy finally has a company to start his business!
Usopp had always wanted to set sail, also grew in this battle. Pirates are not just two words he says every day; they are real people who will kill, and they won't hesitate to slaughter an entire island!
Having witnessed the power of pirates, Usopp realized that staying in the village wouldn't protect the villagers. He had to go out to sea to train and strengthen himself, otherwise he wouldn't be able to protect the village and his beloved Kaya!
After making up his mind, Usopp was eventually invited to join Luffy's crew, Kaya also made a certain decision after this experience.
Therefore, a trip to Syrup Village is a must for the East Blue voyage. It's home to angel investor Kaya and genius sniper Usopp. This voyage is incredibly profitable and can be considered one of the most important gains in the East Blue. You can't find such a good ship anywhere else!
With the Going Merry, the Straw Hat Pirates were officially formed, but four people were still too few, and each person had to take on multiple roles.
Nami is not only the navigator but also the cook; Usopp is not only a sniper but also the shipwright; and Zoro is a swordsman, combatant, helmsman, sailor, and lookout—he does all the physical labor.
Luffy is the captain, and he does what he can to help the crew. As long as he doesn't cause trouble, that's the biggest help he can give the pirate crew!
Luffy also realized that the crew was short-handed, especially after Nami's several complaints. He knew that he needed to find a professional chef to cook, so the Going Merry set sail for Baratie in the East Blue. Some small stories happened during the voyage.
" Zoro!"
"Oh! They're here! Nami's grown up so much!"
Who is Nami? That orange-haired girl? Do you know her?
Vic and Kuina are having a meal at the Baratie. The two have been staying in Shimotsuki Village for several days. After saying goodbye to Kozaburo and Koshiro, Vic brought Kuina to the Baratie. He is not there to protect Luffy, but has another purpose. Of course, Luffy doesn't need his protection right now!
"Yes! When she was little, her village was attacked by pirates, and that's when I met her!"
"Was she a child too? Haha!"
The diners in the restaurant didn't notice the handsome man and beautiful woman chatting, and even the waiters moving between the tables were nowhere to be seen. The famous Shichibukai seemed to be treated like air.
Even Sanji, who has Black Leg penchant for beautiful women, forgot about the two of them, instead pouring red wine next to a naval officer's female companion, thus disrupting the officer's attempt to show off.
At this moment, both Vic and Kuina were looking at the ram-headed pirate ship docked outside the restaurant, or more precisely, at the few people standing on the deck of the ram-headed pirate ship!
Kuina glanced at the green-haired boy with three gold earrings a few times, then turned her attention to the youthful, beautiful, lively, and adorable girl with short orange hair. The girl was just as beautiful as Kuina, and even younger and cuter, with a pure and innocent face!
Vic only glanced at Nami's face a few times before fixing his Luffy on Luffy. He didn't interfere with Luffy's journey in the East Blue, except for his interference with Zoro and Nami many years ago.
But he never expected fate to be so wondrous; the original Straw Hat Pirates had reunited. Was this the will of the world? Unless deliberately interfered with, these people, whose fates were intertwined, would ultimately come together?
Or perhaps in the East Blue, only these few can ultimately come together? Are they drawn together by shared values? Do their unique talents in their respective fields make them stand out and feel out of place with others? Even if someone does interfere, they will eventually end up together!
They are all top-notch talents in their respective fields. Only someone like Luffy could gather them all under his command! No one else could control them, and they would eventually gather around Luffy anyway! So the idea of fate has some truth to it, and Vic couldn't help but marvel!
While naval officers dined with beautiful women in the restaurant, their subordinates could only stand guard on the warships outside. Now, seeing a ship flying a pirate flag arrive outside the restaurant, the naval officers naturally wouldn't let it go, and they would go into battle even without orders from their superiors!
Just like in the original work, the naval battle began with a cannon barrage. Luffy then tried to deflect the cannonballs using his Devil Fruit ability, but due to a mistake, he ended up blowing up a room in the restaurant, injuring even the owner, Zeff, who was inside.
Luffy is a kind person. Because he caused the restaurant to lose money, he asked Zeff to arrange for him to work at the restaurant to pay off the debt, while Zoro, Nami, and the other two went inside to eat.
Zoro and Nami looked around after entering the restaurant, found an empty table and went over. The table happened to be right next to Vic and Kuina's table, but the two of them acted as if they didn't recognize Vic and Kuina at all, and just walked over and sat down.
It's understandable that Zoro wouldn't recognize her, after all, Kuina was just a young girl when she left Shimotsuki Village, and ten years have passed now, so who knows what changes she might have undergone!
However, the Vic that Nami saw when she was a child was already an adult, and under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have changed much. But Nami just glanced at them like they were strangers and ignored them!