Zoro had long dreamed of new cool swords — was he a swordsman or just out for a stroll? — and considering the amount of money available to their crew and Luffy's possibilities, Zoro could easily buy the best swords in the world… among those that were for sale. However, from the very beginning of their acquaintance, Luffy had not been particularly keen on buying new blades for Zoro. There were two reasons for this. The first was that new swords didn't last long with Zoro — they always broke. Except for Kuina's sword. Not only was it too good, but Zoro also tried to use it only in exceptional cases. The second reason Zoro had not yet acquired new katanas was Luffy's firm belief that every swordsman should choose their own swords. Zoro definitely agreed with this. Named swords — and no other kind were even considered by Luffy and Zoro — had… it was hard to call it a mind, but it was certainly something very similar. Plus, character. One couldn't forget about character. For this reason, even if some swordsman could get their hands on the best sword in the world — even Zoro himself — it might turn out that they couldn't use it properly. Or they could, but only as a regular sharpened stick, albeit a metal one. Where a perfectly suited sword noticeably enhanced its owner, another blade, even if it was of much better quality, might actually reduce the swordsman's strength.
So, concentration aside, Zoro couldn't stay silent any longer:
"And what's the chance of finding a good sword in this city?" the swordsman inquired in a deliberately indifferent tone, trying not to show his true feelings. And though a few uncharacteristic inflections slipped into his voice, they could be attributed to the need to maintain his aura in its contained state. Zoro honestly hoped so for a full two long seconds, but Luffy's ironic look immediately shattered the initially pointless hope. Although Zoro knew Luffy better than anyone else in the world — in this regard, the swordsman had certainly surpassed even Luffy's brothers — Luffy, in turn, knew Zoro inside out. The captain knew all of his first mate's few unique tricks by heart… not to mention all the tricks Zoro had learned from Luffy's own repertoire. In other words, Luffy could detect Zoro's lies even before the swordsman decided to lie. A glimpse into the future!
"Actually, the chance of finding an excellent sword in this city is much higher than anywhere else in the East Blue," Luffy replied. "After all, this is the last island of our watery backwater, which means that the best goodies from all over the East Blue come here... Think about it, where would you sell a treasure worth, say, several million, or even tens of millions of Berries? Here, in a city famous throughout the world, through which the strongest and wealthiest people of the East Blue constantly pass, or somewhere like Usopp's village? I won't argue that there are exceptions — how could there not be? — but usually, such dumb merchants quickly go out of business."
"Then maybe we should go get the swords first?" Zoro, despite the futility of such efforts, was still trying to control his voice. But after Luffy's rather promising words, even Usopp — the newest member of the crew, and thus not yet very knowledgeable about the people fate had brought him together with — could catch the note of anticipation in the swordsman's voice. So, what was there to say about Luffy?
"Where do you think we're going?"
"Aren't all the shops near the port?"
"Not all of them," Luffy answered, showing Zoro a large piece of paper folded several times, on which a detailed map of the city was hand-drawn with labels. The green-haired swordsman immediately understood why Luffy was so confidently navigating a completely unfamiliar city. "The largest sword shop is almost in the center of the city... as are all the other stores whose revenues can reach seven figures after the one. Rich people generally try to settle further from the water... for reasons you can understand."
Zoro nodded. Pirates are a real pain in the ass for the modern world, to put it mildly. And Zoro understood this perfectly. The only thing Zoro didn't understand was when Luffy managed to get a map of the city, then apparently memorize it, and finally, where he had been hiding such a 'sheet' all this time when he was only wearing shorts and a shirt? A rhetorical question. Zoro also didn't know where Luffy kept pulling out his endless ice creams. And as the swordsman strongly suspected, Luffy was doing it on purpose... No, he was definitely doing it on purpose! Not because it was some incredible secret — if that were the case, Luffy would have spilled the beans five minutes after they met, no doubt! — but simply because this incomprehensible ability of his was another excellent way to mess with people's heads. And it worked. Zoro had become his captain's right hand more than two years ago, but still — still!!! — he didn't know where Luffy kept managing to pull out his ice creams and everything else. Zoro couldn't stop thinking about it. Nor could anyone else. It was beyond their control. And it could be said with confidence that as long as they all kept guessing about their captain's mysterious ice creams, they would never learn the secret of where those ice creams and other things came from. Luffy would never in his life give up such a tool to mess with people's heads... unless by accident... or in exchange for an even bigger tool... And the second option was far more likely than the first, which was almost impossible.
And at that very moment, when all of Zoro's thoughts were occupied with Luffy's ice creams and his future swords, a meeting occurred. Or rather, a Meeting! Although it wasn't quite the same kind of MEETING as when Luffy and Zoro first met, a Meeting nonetheless took place... and while that may sound a bit tautological, it was true. With whom exactly did the guys meet? A girl. And, naturally, not just any girl... Although... no, clarification is needed here. The girl might have been ordinary from other people's point of view, but not from Luffy and Zoro's perspective. Especially Zoro's.
The meeting happened right on the doorstep of the sword shop—not a 'weapon shop' where not only swords but all kinds of weapons, including firearms, were sold. Being just ten meters from the shop's porch, the guys saw some marines running towards them. To be exact, they saw about a dozen lively sailors. Luffy and Zoro immediately slowed their pace, trying to figure out exactly where the Marines were headed. They couldn't possibly be coming towards the guys themselves because there wasn't a single strong enough person among the sailors who could 'see' Zoro and Luffy. However, as it soon turned out, the marines were heading towards the aforementioned girl. And as soon as the guys saw this girl, Zoro instantly lost all his concentration. To say he lost concentration is putting it mildly. The guy literally froze in place with his foot lifted, like a stone statue. And if it hadn't been for Luffy catching him by the elbow in time, Zoro would have definitely smashed his face against the pavement. And in the very next moment, everyone present felt the effect of Zoro's 'slipped' concentration.
Grabbing her sword, the girl standing on the steps of the porch sharply turned toward where... the feeling had come from. This feeling wasn't something that could be explained in words everyone could understand, but the girl knew for sure that somewhere out there, among the stream of people walking or rushing about their business, there had been someone very, very strong just a moment ago. So strong that even the most ordinary passersby, far removed from any battles and therefore almost insensitive to such abstract things, were now glancing around in confusion. But the feeling disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. As if a wave had passed through. The girl even doubted herself. Was it just her imagination? Unlikely, and how else could she explain the reaction of other people?