Do You Think Zoro Has Ever Looked At Rayleigh And Felt His Insides Freeze From Fear? Do You Think He

Do you think Zoro has ever looked at Rayleigh and felt his insides freeze from fear? Do you think he sees a version of his own future where despite everything he’s tried, despite all the blood he’s shed and would go on to shed, his captain would still slip away from his hold — and he’d be left adrift for the rest of his days, drinking to oblivion, alone, bereft of any and all purpose?

Or do you think Zoro would be filled with contempt instead, and disgust at how the peerless Dark King failed to save his own captain’s life, even though it was no fault of his? Do you think Zoro, possessing the stubbornness and bravado of a much younger man, would insist that if it were him, nothing — absolutely no man or force in the universe — would be strong enough to rend him from Luffy’s side, and if Luffy had to die like Roger had to die, that Zoro would simply follow him to the afterlife?

Or do you think perhaps he’s unable to picture it at all — a life without Luffy’s warmth — so he ignores the many parallels between them and avoids contemplating the matter entirely? Perhaps he rather pities Rayleigh, because the former right hand man of the Pirate King should be free, but Rayleigh will never again know the meaning of the word, haunted as he is by a ghost he can’t bear to exorcise.