"You have trained leg martial arts and your stamina is also really good. I want you to return to the ship every half hour. I would have given this job to Zoro but his sense of direction isn't suited for this job." Zack explained.
"You didn't have to explain the reason." Zoro shouted at him with his face turning red. Usually, he would have gotten angry but for some reason, he didn't get any when Zack tells him about it.
"Anyway, can you do it?" Zack asked.
"Don't worry, I've got it covered." Sanji nodded his head. With his running speed, it really wouldn't problem to run around this island.
"Anyway Luffy, be ready to use Gomu-Gomu no R….. Where did he go?" Zack turned around while speaking but before he could finish, he didn't see Luffy.
"He flew away the moment you started giving Sanji that task." Usopp helplessly sighed.
"That moron! Doesn't he know how many monsters live in that island?" Nami slapped her forehead and shouted.
"Don't worry, I have already expected this. Anyway, we will explore the island together and after we finish our exploration, let's just search for the most chaotic place on the island and we will find him." Zack gave them the order as the ship finally got close to the island.
"You couldn't be more wrong about that." Zoro answered he went near the anchor. As the ship drifted closer, he finally threw the anchor into the sea and they finally jumped down from the boat.
Of course, Nami and Usopp used the stairs.
"Man, this island is green." Zack looked at the front and he could see nothing but green grass, green trees, and even green insects.
"Let's go around the island!" Zack pointed at his left and walked toward it. Others casually followed him as they made their way through the vines and trees.
Screech!
Suddenly, Zoro moved to the right and unsheathed his sword. The sharp end of the sword collided against the scales. The snake backed away but the sword didn't even manage to cut its scale.
The snake was completely green which was the reason why they couldn't sense it.
"Guys, be careful!" Zoro reminded them and took out all three of his swords. Zack swiftly moved back and Sanji moved to the side. At this moment, they covered Nami and Usopp in the middle.
"Usopp, use the fire! Snakes and trees are weak against the fire." Zack spoke.
Usopp who was trembling with fear suddenly gained a boost in confidence.
'I can't live in fear. I need to start a fire.'
"Fire Star!"
Usopp immediately shot a ball that caught fire when he shot another one to hit the first strike and create a spark.
The fire landed on the tear but because the tree was so green, it didn't catch fire at once rather it only managed to move several animals away. Most of them were insects but some were snakes as well.
Screech!
Suddenly, a snake jumped toward Nami but before its fang could touch Nami, Zack caught its tail. The snake wrapped its tail around his arm with its instinct but it only made things easier for Zack.
Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat!
He smashed the snake into the tree until its head exploded. Sanji noticed something when he saw Zack's hand.
"Are you afraid of snakes?" He asked.
Zack's hand was literally shaking just like how Usopp's legs trembles.
"No, I am not. It's just that snake caught my hand hard." Zack was startled for a moment and hurriedly shook his head.
Others noticed something but decided not to say anything. It wasn't hard for them to see that Zack was actually afraid of snakes. After all, Zack had trained his hands the most, so it would be absurd that the grip of the snake would make shook his hand so much.
"Anyway, we need to finish these snakes. They are still staring at us." Zoro spoke as he rushed toward the snake. He only took one sword in his hand and slashed it up.
The snake dodged the slash but at this moment, Zoro took a step back and slashed horizontally. This time, his blade managed to pierce the scale and the green blood came out of the snake.
Seeing that, Zack was surprised. He didn't expect the snakes to have green blood. He couldn't help but frown not knowing why everything here was green.
But, he didn't waste much time thinking but rather started fighting against those snakes. After a few minutes, they finally killed all of those snakes and walked away.
"Don't you think this forest is quite strange? The air is so heavy here." Nami spoke.
"Not just air, even the gravity seems quite strong on this island. It is not surprising to find this kind of island in the Grandline but the East Blue? I feel like something is definitely wrong with this island." Zack responded.
"S-s-s-s-shouldn't we go back to the ship then?" Usopp shuttered as he asked.
"Of course not! Didn't you hear what he just said?" Zoro asked and jumped but he couldn't even jump more than two feet.
"The gravity here is strong that means if we train here, we would get stronger a lot faster."
"Now that you mention it, we could get a lot stronger if we train here." Zack turned his head at Sanji and asked "Can you bring those weight training equipment here when you return?"
"Okay!" Sanji nodded his head.
"For now though, let's explore more about this island in case there are some hidden dangers." Zack spoke as they continued to advance toward the forest.
After a long journey inside the forest, they encountered a lot of different animals. But surprisingly enough, none of those animals were going deeper into the forest, especially at the hill.
While they were moving around, Sanji went to check the ship many times.
This got them curious and they decided to go there. Since it was a hill and the gravity was higher, they were struggling to move especially Nami and Usopp.
Surprisingly, Nami asked Zack to lift her. She said it would be good for training while only she knew what she wanted. So, they continued with Nami on Zack's back.
But after two hundred meters, Zack and Usopp started struggling. It was getting harder to reach the top. Usopp gave up at three hundred meters. The gravity literally smashed his nose on the ground.
Zoro lifted him up and climbed the hill. As they went up, at the four hundred meters mark, Zack almost collapsed on the ground.
"Let's take some break before moving on." Zoro suggested as he was also a bit tired from lifting Usopp.
"Nami-San, please let me carry you!" Sanji immediately rushed toward Nami and shouted with lusty eyes.
"Never!" Nami punched him.
"Oi Nami, why are you only making it harder for Zack?" Usopp asked while panting.
"I am not making it harder for him. I am helping him train and besides, I will never let Sanji lift me with those lustful gazes." Nami shrugged her shoulders and spoke.
"You couldn't be more right." Zoro nodded his head and agreed.
"Oi, Marimo, are you saying that I will harm Nami-San?" Sanji glanced at him and spoke with a cold tone.
"Even if you don't, your perverted nature might." Zoro's veins almost came out when he heard Sanji calling him by that name.
"Humph! I will never let anything hurt Nami-San." Sanji snorted.
"Zoro, are you ready?" Zack asked.
Zoro narrowed his eyes and asked, "What about you?"
Zack slowly stood up and removed the weights from his forearm and legs.
"I don't think I can climb up with these. I will take them while returning to the ship."
"Alright then!" His words made Zoro's passion to get stronger and soar. He immediately stood up and lifted Usopp on his shoulders.
"Want to race?" After that, he looked at Zack and asked.
"Alright!" While Nami get on his back, Zack agreed. He took a deep breath and counted.
"Three…. Two... One!"
Whoosh!
With the last count, both of them started running with their full force.
"I am going to win." Zack shouted as he sprinted as fast as he could.
"Hell no! I am going to win." Zoro sprinted as well to catch up to Zack. Although he was stronger than Zack, it didn't mean his speed was faster.
After all, he still hasn't forgotten how much leg training Zack has been doing constantly. And, due to losing those weights, his speed was getting faster as well.
'There is it.' Zack eyes brightened when he saw the peak. Since this was only five hundred meters tall, they were basically moving on a straight line with few turns at the top.
'I won't lose.' Zoro laughed blazed with fire as he picked up speed but on another hand, Zack started losing. His stamina couldn't keep up with Zoro's. Even though he was faster, he couldn't maintain that speed on this hill.
His legs were giving up. They were trembling but he was holding on. He had noticed one reason he could win and there was no way, he would give up that easily.
"Hah! I win."
Zoro shouted as he jumped to the top. But suddenly, he couldn't help but notice that his hands were actually empty.
"Haha! I win."
Although Zack stepped to the top later, he was still holding Nami on his back, or rather, Nami was holding him tightly. But after he reached the top, his legs gave up as he fell on his face.
Thud!
"Hey, it's not my fault that Usopp fell from my hands. I should be the winner." Zoro shouted at Zack who was bragging about his win.
"Can you not embarrass yourself anymore? If you win with Zack still lifting Nami-San, it would be a true embarrassment to even Marimos." Sanji spoke as he let out a big smirk.
"Shut up, perverted cook!" Zoro immediately threw his frustration at Sanji and both of them started bickering.
"Zack, you got to see this." Usopp shouted from a bit far. He was standing next to a big hole on that hill like a volcano.
Zack got curious and walked near Usopp. He also glanced at the pit and saw a giant plant in the middle. Seeing this, his eyes narrowed. It felt like the place where Usopp landed before time-skip.
But, he could clearly conclude that it wasn't this island. But, the plant in the middle of this island was almost the same as the whole plant island where Usopp went.
"I didn't expect this island to have this plants. If we fall, we might get consumed by the plant and never come out." Zack muttered as he analyzed the plant.
He picked up a rock and threw it at the plant. When the rock touched the plant, nothing happened.
"Are you sure? It didn't open its mouth." Usopp turned his head at Zack and asked.
Suddenly, Zack caught Usopp's hand and lifted him upside-down above the plant.
"Ahhhhhhh! Zack… what are you doing?" Usopp screamed when he realized his own situation. Zoro and Sanji stopped bickering as they looked at Zack with confusion.
They knew he wasn't going to put Usopp's life at risk but then why did he do this? Nami was also confused.
Ckrwak!
Suddenly, the plant opened its mouth and sprung up. Zack pulled Usopp with all of his strength and managed to pull him away from the plant. It didn't manage to eat Usopp but it didn't immediately go down rather attacked Zack.
"Poitrine!"
Bang!
Whoosh!
"One Sword Style- Leopard Strike!"
Ka-cha!
One of the branches of the plant fell to the ground. Zoro landed a few steps away. Suddenly, he ducked as another branch passed by his previous position. But, before the plant could move further, another figure rushed toward it.
Zack clenched his fist and poured all of his strength at his fist. There was no holding back. He stomped on the ground and jumped. His body floated above the head of that plant and before it could open its mouth.
Bam!
Zack tightened his muscles and punched the plant with all his strength. The shrunk down for a moment but that punch didn't harm it much. So, it immediately countered with a branch that wrapped his wrist.
Ka-cha!
When it caught his wrist, Zack opened his mouth wide and bite the branch with all of his strength. Spinach! It was just like spinach. He simply chewed it.
But, it didn't end there. As soon as he got out of its grip, Zack caught its branch and used it to propel himself above the plant once again.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
His body started spinning around as his right leg changed into a nail. With a powerful force, he fell toward the plant
Ka-cha!
His toes pierced the plant because of his insane speed and force. Seeing this, Sanji who was waiting for his turn dropped the cigarette and muttered.
"Damn! He already got the basics?"
Actually, after Sanji joined while they were training, he asked Sanji about his Black Leg Martial Art. He wanted to learn some core understanding of this martial art.
As for basics, he already knew. He have watched One Piece 10 times without skipping any arcs.
He tried at home like Black Leg Martial Art, Three Swords Style, Fishman Karate, just for fun. He didn't expect that all those things that he did would come in handy.
But, Zack didn't stop there. When he kicked the plant, he used the force generated by his leg to somersault high in the sky. At this moment, he spread out both of his hands.
"No Sword Style"
"God's Chop!'
Ka-cha!
"Damn, not mine too!" Zoro shouted when he saw Zack using No Sword Style. But unlike Sanji, Zack got a lot of time to train with swords. Even in the beginning, he was using the sword to train.
Although he didn't train to become a great swordsman, he did learn a few tricks especially the No Sword Style. This style allowed him to be more versatile with his fist alone.
Before, he couldn't cut with his arm. Even now, he can't cut properly with his arm. But, he can still inflict damage just like swords.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, the plant released two different vines at the same time. Zack managed to dodge one of them but the next one struck him on his chest. It was like a whip and really powerful.
Crack!
Just a single attack and he could feel his bones cracking.
"Gomu-Gomu No- Gatling!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Suddenly, a figure sprung into the sky and fell toward the plant. Luffy put all of his strength into his fists and launched a barrage of punches, each striking the plant with the force nearly five times more than Zack's punch.
The plant slowly started shrinking back to the pit but suddenly, it released dozens of vines toward Luffy. This caught Luffy off guard but just when it was about to wrap him, Zack pushed him away and got wrapped instead.
Whoosh!
In front of the eyes of straw hats, Zack got eaten by the plant and the plant returned to the pit. Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Nami, and Usopp looked as if they have seen their family member dying.
But, suddenly, Zoro shouted.
"Luffy, jump!"
While shouting, Zoro jumped toward the pit without even hesitating for a second. Sanji did the same and Luffy also did the same. He stretched his legs as they caught his legs while he caught the side of the pit and slowly helped them reach the bottom.
The bottom was quite empty. Except for that plant, there was almost nothing around. And, the plant was in the middle.
"Bastard, give my friend back!"
"Gomu-Gomu No- Gattling!"
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
Luffy punched again and again but it didn't work at all. NO matter how many punches he used, it couldn't break the plant or even move it.
"One Sword Style"
"Leopard Strike"
Ka-cha!
Zoro's sword managed to pierce it a little bit but in an instant, the plant recovered. It didn't even leave a scar.
"Collier!" Bang!
"Epaule!" Bang!
"Cotellete!" Bang!
Strike after strike, Sanji also used all the attacks from his arsenal but it didn't manage to burst open the plant's belly.
"Luffy, DO SOMETHING!"
Nami shouted from the top of the pit. She was almost on the verge of crying. While everyone was feeling the loss, she was feeling a lot of it.
"Gomu-Gomu No- Pistol"
"Gomu-Gomu No- Spear"
"Gomu-Gomu No- Battle Axe"
"Gomu-Gomu No- Bazooka"
Luffy also used every attack on his arsenal but none of them work. Nami seeing this let out some droplets of tears. At this moment, Zoro suddenly turned at Luffy and shouted.
"Luffy, do that contraction! It increases your power by a lot."
Luffy hearing Zoro's words realized it as well. He instantly clenched his fist and started contracting his muscles. He walked closer to the plant. He knew he had to put all of his strength into this strike if he wants to help Zack get out of it.
After contracting a lot of his muscles, he started feeling pain. He gritted his teeth.
'No, it won't be enough. I need stronger power. I am going to get Zack out of this. No matter what it takes.'
Luffy kept on going until his arm contracted to the size of a baby's arm. It wasn't like baby Luffy which was the side effect of Gear Third. No, in fact, this was the true shape of the contraction.
Normally, the contraction is generally understood as the natural length of rubber but it is false. Even from that length, the rubber can still be contracted though it would be more difficult than stretching.
"GIVE MY FRIEND BACK!"
"Gomu-Gomu No- Retrieval Fist"
Bang! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!
The punch struck the plant so damn hard it managed to burst the plant into pieces. Inside the plant, it was all a green liquid. And on that green liquid, it was Zack.
He was barely able to open his eyes and for some reason, they see his body slowly losing its strength. They hurriedly rushed next to him. At this moment, Zack slowly opened his mouth. He had curled his body and between his hands, he was holding a fruit with a weird shape and color.
"C-c-c-a-ptain… look what I've found!"