"Luffy, I see an island up ahead. Do you want to visit it?" Usopp shouted from the top of the main mast.
"Island? Nami, is that your island?" Luffy ran out of the cabin and went to his captain seat as he asked.
Nami looked at the island far away and shook her head.
"The island after it is my island. This is a mysterious island that I haven't explored yet. Every time I go near it, I hear the scream of animals."
"Screams of animals? Cool! Let's go"
Luffy raised both of his hands and shouted with excitement.
"New island?" Zack walked near Nami while holding the dumbbells in his hands. He didn't know there was another island in the main story.
Probably it was because they were too focused on getting Nami back, they ignored it completely. But now, since Nami was a bit relaxed, they were also exploring the surroundings.
Zack thought for a moment and said "Nami, let's go to that island."
"What? Not you too. Believe me, that island has nothing at all except for frightened monsters." Nami argued after she finished punching Luffy.
"Come on, it doesn't matter much. Anyway, it would be nice training for me as well." Zack responded without any hesitation. He was truly curious about the island.
"But, there are frightened monsters." Nami almost went on the verge of crying.
"Don't worry, you will be fine. Sanji, turn the rudder to 90 degrees." Zack shouted at the cabin. Sanji who was cleaning the dishes stopped doing it and moved the rudder.
Slowly, the ship turned around and moved toward that mysterious island.
"Yawn... Why did we change the route?" Zoro asked while waking up.
"Shouldn't you be training instead of sleeping like that?" Zack looked at him and asked.
"I just wanted to take a nap." Zoro spoke and fell asleep the next moment.
"Don't go to sleep now!" Zack shouted unfortunately, Zoro didn't wake up. Zack decided to ignore him and kept his eyes on the island.
"Why are you so excited about this island?" Nami asked with confusion.
"Of course, I am excited because of the island. Did you forget why I joined his crew in the first place?" Zack rolled his eyes and asked. He didn't want to say that he was very excited because this was a completely new island.
Nami sighed. She walked away without even saying anything. At this moment, Luffy suddenly stretched his head near Zack and asked.
"Zack, why doesn't Nami ever smack you like she smacks others?"
Zack was surprised by his question and shrugged his shoulders.
"Maybe because I think before speaking."
"Why would you think before speaking?" Luffy looked at him with a weird expression on his face and asked.
"Because that's what an intelligent person does." Zack replied.
Luffy pulled back his head and thought for a moment. Zack ignored him and went toward Usopp.
"Did you strengthen your attacks?"
Usopp nodded his head and said "I added spikes and explosives inside my weapons. I am also training my arm to increase the power of my strike."
"Nice! You don't have to hold the gun to fight the gunman. If you just improve your attacks and increase your strength, you can easily fight against them. In fact, your attacks would be much more versatile than normal snipers." Zack patted Usopp's shoulder and praised him.
"Zack, don't you want to train like Zoro and Sanji?" Usopp asked thinking of something.
Zack laughed and patted his head.
"Don't worry, you and I will get to train soon enough. Actually, this might be a bit of bragging but if we two trains like Zoro and Sanji right now, we can easily awaken Observation Haki many days before them."
"As a marksman, your natural talent for Observation Haki is already enough. As for me, I am also good at marksmanship. It is a bit of talent and science."
Usopp nodded his head and said "Yeah, I saw your attack in Baratie. You threw the club with such a precise direction that it curved each time it struck the pirate."
"Can you tell me how you do?"
Zack thought for a moment. He didn't expect Usopp to suddenly show such interest in his fighting style but if Usopp does learn this technique, he might get even stronger than post Ennies Lobby Usopp.
And, he still hasn't forgotten that the whole reason why Usopp had gotten stronger was because of dials. Just thinking about this made him excited. The stronger they get, the more enemies they can face.
"Alright! Let's go and ask Nami for a pen and some paper. Today, I will give you the lesson on Pythagorean theorem and other theorems of Geometry."
....
"Hmmm.... Think before speaking. Do I really need to think to seek something? But when you think, you don't speak, right? How can he do two things at the same time?" Luffy was still stuck on what Zack told him.
He was trying to find the answer unfortunately, he couldn't. After a few minutes, he scratched his head and shouted.
"Damn it! I can't do it. Food! I need to eat more so that I can think more."
"Sanji, food!"
Luffy jumped on the deck and rushed inside the cabin while raising his hand. But, inside the cabin, Sanji, Usopp, and Nami were looking at the lots of drawing that Zack made on the paper.
"So, when you calculate the distance, it's not accurate?" Sanji asked.
"Of course not! How can I measure the distance with just my eyes? Previously, I told Usopp about this. I use both talent and maths." Zack rolled his eyes and answered.
"You know, these theorems are actually amazing. With these, I might be able to measure the precise size of the island, the distance between the islands, and more. Thank you, Zack!" Nami's eyes sparkled as she excitedly hugged him. But suddenly, she realized something and her face blushed a bit.
"Umm..... It's okay. I am glad I could help." Zack replied with a slightly different tone.
"What are you guys doing? What's up with these funny drawings?" Luffy interrupted which gave Nami time to move away from Zack. At the same time, Zack lowered his head and felt his heartbeat soaring.
'What's going on? This doesn't feel normal. Why is my heartbeat racing so much? Damn it! Don't tell me it is I think it is?'
Zack didn't know whether he was frustrated or a bit happy. He slowly sneaked a peek toward Nami but when he saw her face, he noticed her eyes looking at him as well.
But, at the same time, they turned away their eyes and their blush became even more obvious.
'Hu! Ha! Hu! Ha! Hu! Ha!'
'Calm down, Zack! This is not the moment. This is not the time. You need to focus on getting stronger and going on different adventures. If you let this feeling get in the way of communication between crew members, it would be disastrous.'
...…..
'But, do I really have a chance with her?' He didn't notice that his blood was basically pumping twice as fast.
At the same time, Nami was thinking the same.
'Calm down, Nami. This is not the time to feel awkward. I am the navigator of the ship and he is a vice-captain. We need to talk casual and if we can't do that, we will put the entire crew at risk.'
'Journey in the Grandline won't be easy. I need to calm down and take this slowly.'
'But...… he was blushing. Oh my god! He also feels the same way. I can't believe it. But wait, I can't make the first move. I will wait.'
...
'I will bury these feelings until he/she makes the first move.' Zack and Nami thought at the same time. Their heartbeat also returned to normal and they finally looked at Usopp who was explaining things to Luffy but he wasn't understanding anything at all.
"Guys, we are arriving near the island," Zoro shouted from the top. Hearing his words, Luffy was the first to run out of the cabin. Others quickly followed them and saw a massive island in front of them.
It was probably three times bigger than Syrup Village. It was full of greenery and there were lots of trees. In the middle of the island, there was a five hundred meters tall hill which surprisingly looked more like a volcano but without any steam coming out of it.
"Can you feel that aura?" Zack clenched his fist and spoke.
"It's spooky and quite bloody as well. I guess this island isn't going to be easy." Sanji lit up his cigarette and spoke.
Thud!
Zoro jumped onto the deck and held the hilt of his sword.
"So, we are going?" He specifically looked at Zack. Even though Luffy was the captain, and he would truly do whatever Luffy tells him, he started to feel like taking orders from Zack was much more reasonable.
"Zack, a-a-a-are really going?" Usopp started trembling as he hid behind Zack and asked.
"Don't tell me you are already scared?" Zack laughed.
"W-w-w-who would be scared? The Great Captain Usopp is not afraid of anything." Usopp shouted with pride but still hid behind Zack.
"So, what do you think, Captain? Are we .....?"
But suddenly, he paused when he saw the bright light shining out of Luffy's eyes.
"Why did I even bother to ask? Anyway, let's drop the anchor near the island. Let's explore this island but Sanji, I have a task for you." Zack sighed and looked at Sanji.
"What?"
...