The Fabled Pirate Hunter! Zoro, the Wandering Swordsman!

Worn out and broke, a younger Zoro stumbles into a tavern and, unable to pay, cuts down a bounty-carrying bandit named Billy seated behind him to settle his bill. Two would-be hunters, Johnny and Yosaku, protest that they spotted the target first, but Zoro waves them off, explaining he only collects bounties to eat and is no hunter himself; his real aim is to find Dracule Mihawk and become the world's greatest swordsman. The exchange stirs Johnny's memory of his own childhood reason for taking up the trade.

The notorious Dick Bandits raid the town's storehouse, and their leader turns out to be Billy's older brother, enraged once he learns who handed Billy to the Marines. Johnny and Yosaku throw themselves at Dick and are beaten down, inspiring a small boy named Harry. Zoro, having retrieved his repaired Wado Ichimonji from a swordsmith, borrows the pair's blades and cuts through Dick's crew, drawing a distinction between merely wielding three swords and practicing Three Sword Style. Harry's well-timed water bucket cancels Dick's gunshot, letting Zoro slash the bandit down.

In the present, Zoro snaps out of the memory with a sneeze as Usopp's cannon fire echoes, and rebuffs Robin's offer of a jacket, guarding his Wado Ichimonji and insisting he never gave himself the Pirate Hunter name. Grateful for the rescue, Johnny and Yosaku ask to join him, and he agrees. This closes the Post-Alabasta Arc and the Alabasta Saga; a much later flashback would contradict the depiction here by revealing Zoro's original katana pair came from Shimotsuki Kouzaburou.