Luffy, leadership. Zoro, loyalty.
I love this scene so much in episode 146.
First off, Bellamy, slamming Luffy into the table and Zoro reacting only a second later with his sword. But there is one thing I love even more. Now I love Nami, she's a great character. But I do believe that on these occasional moments (like in water 7 when she's about to argue with Luffy. But she gets better about this in the post-timeskip) she tends to get a big head and forget she's not the leader.
I do see her as the day to day leader, meaning she makes sure everyone on the ship gets work done since really, Luffy doesn't want or need to do that. He trusts his crew and has no problem with it. But these tense, fighting, team-up moments are where he shines and everyone knows that.
So I love it when Zoro is the one to remind her that she's not in charge and it's the captain that they listen to.
This moment highlights that.
And Zoro doesn't move an inch once Luffy says this. Zoro takes a literal beating for this. That kind of loyalty is just amazing. When I watch this scene I remember the flashback when Luffy is younger and Shanks tells Luffy the same thing. "It's nothing to get angry about".
Nami is younger Luffy. Luffy is Shanks. And Zoro is Shanks crew. Goes to show how much of an impact and influence Shanks has made on Luffy and how he's matured.
And then we have Blackbeard's iconic speech to Luffy about dreams and how they won over what happend in the bar despite the injures. What a great episode.
