Chapter 430: The Pinnacle of the Sword
Is he afraid of failure...?
Yes.
Hawk-Eye's words hit the nail on the head. Zoro took a deep breath and calmed down.
He had never been afraid to face his own heart. He was indeed afraid of this result. At this point, he could no longer accept another failure.
For the promise of that year, for his own dream, he had forced himself to come all this way, to stand before this man.
"There's no turning back..."
"The world's number one swordsman... I must achieve this status to help Luffy ascend to the throne of the Pirate King."
Zoro's expression was so calm it was almost cold. He held his two swords horizontally and crossed them in front of him.
He seemed to already know what he had to do.
To cast aside the fear in his heart, to cut off the last trace of hesitation, to turn his faith into the most ferocious blade.
"Kiki Kyūtōryū!!"
Zoro roared in a low voice, and a powerful Haki erupted from his body.
—Whoosh!
A chaotic wave of air blasted out. His aura continuously rose, and the illusion of a three-headed, six-armed figure materialized.
Black lightning coiled around the nine pitch-black blades, like the descent of an Asura!
And on the other side.
Hawk-Eye pointed his sword at Zoro, his sharp eyes as if they had the power to pierce through everything. His aura also suddenly surged!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two's Haki clashed, and countless dark red lightning bolts were sparked, furiously ravaging and bombarding the surrounding giant tree branches.
This aura was none other than the impact of Conqueror's Haki!
"Heh. As expected."
Zoro's expression was teasing, as if he had long since expected this.
As the man who had sat firmly on the throne of the world's number one swordsman, how could he not have this quality?
When Zoro's and Hawk-Eye's auras had both risen to their peak...
Swish—! The two's figures disappeared from the spot. When they reappeared, they were already in close proximity to each other!
Hawk-Eye's movements were wide and grand. He raised his sword with one hand and chopped down swiftly!
Clang!
Zoro's phantom, as if it were real, twisted his body and swung his swords. Six swords, like a spinning top, sent the black blade Yoru flying!
"Asura Bakkei!!"
A red light flashed in Zoro's eyes. His nine swords swung rapidly and approached Hawk-Eye, embodying the word 'ferocious' to the fullest!
Clang! Clang!
Clang! Clang!
One after another, sparks flew in the air. The heavy black blade Yoru was as light as a feather in Hawk-Eye's hands. His wide and grand, simple movements contained the ultimate skill of returning to the basics.
His seemingly slow sword technique, yet each time, it could neutralize Zoro's violent attack at the perfect moment.
While retreating, his two sharp, golden, vertical pupils darted rapidly, trying to find a flaw in this airtight offensive.
Finally.
The moment Zoro had exhausted his breath, Hawk-Eye took a heavy step back, ducked to avoid the last slash, and swung his two-handed sword horizontally!
Clang!
A giant slash was emitted from the blade. Every one of Hawk-Eye's slashes was powerful and heavy, carrying the sword momentum to cut through everything.
Zoro pushed off with both feet and leaped up, barely dodging the slash. Hawk-Eye then flipped his wrist and reversed the blade, slashing diagonally upwards!
To feint low to force the opponent to jump, and then, while the opponent was in mid-air, to launch an even more ferocious attack... a simple technique like this could always be used to perfection in Hawk-Eye's hands.
And it was hard to parry!
Clang!
An unstoppable slash flew out. Hawk-Eye's cold two eyes were fixed on Zoro. No matter what means the other used to deal with it, he could timely press on.
"Kūri-yari!!"
Boom!!
Zoro gritted his teeth and swung his sword, sending out a vortex that struck the air. Using the reactive force, his body was sent flying backward, dodging the slash and at the same time, rapidly falling towards a giant tree trunk behind him.
Thump, thump, thump!
Hawk-Eye's toes tapped the ground continuously. He held his greatsword at his side and charged at Zoro's landing position.
The moment Zoro landed, Hawk-Eye mercilessly swept his greatsword out horizontally!
CLANG!!
In his urgency, Zoro only had time to raise one sword to block. A terrifying force vibrated from the blade to his hand, directly sending his entire arm flying open.
Zoro gritted his teeth and frowned. He only felt that his wrist was sore and weak, and his sword was almost knocked out of his hand.
The sharp tip of the black blade Yoru then pierced his chest, cutting open his skin and flesh and bringing out a few drops of blood.
The next moment.
Before Hawk-Eye's surprised eyes, Zoro's eyes hardened. Instead of retreating, he advanced and stuck close to him. The black blade Shusui in his other hand glinted with a cold light, its tip stabbing straight at the other's chest!
Hiss—
Hawk-Eye hurriedly leaned his body back. The blade cut through his clothes and his skin. A splash of blood dyed his white shirt red. He had barely dodged this fatal blow that could have decided the winner.
The black blade was suspended in the air. Zoro still wanted to follow up with a slash, but Hawk-Eye raised his leg and kicked him hard in the abdomen, sending him flying.
Bang!
Zoro's back smashed heavily against a tree trunk, and the illusion of three heads and six arms dissipated.
Hawk-Eye took a step back with one foot to stop his retreat. He glanced at the blood seeping from his chest, and his gaze was fixed on the front.
Until now, Zoro's sword had, for the first time, left a wound on his body.
"Not bad. A little more like it."
"Heh heh. Thank you for the compliment."
Zoro sneered. His left wrist, which had been shaken to the point of pain, still had a lingering feeling of soreness and weakness.
One could imagine that if he had chosen to retreat just now, the other's next slash would have surely sent his weapon flying. The result now would probably have been the exact opposite.
After Hawk-Eye's wake-up call, he already understood his own problem. His appearance hadn't changed much from before, but he had just slightly adjusted his mentality. However, his combat power had directly risen a notch.
Only Hawk-Eye, who had trained with him for two years, knew that Zoro's sword style was inherently wild and ferocious. Only an aggressive fight to the death could bring out his own strength.
To be overly cautious, to have one's heart bound by various promises... would only dull one's blade.
On the contrary, to cast everything aside and immerse oneself in the battle without any distractions... his sword would only become faster, more ferocious, and more violent.
"Kiki Kyūtōryū!!"
Zoro spread his legs into a half-squat horse stance. His two swords were撇 to his sides. His aura surged again, and his eyes, like a sword, radiated a cold light.
—Swish!
Hawk-Eye swept his greatsword, and a fierce wind arose. He took his stance, ready to fight.
In less than a second, Zoro had once again transformed into his three-headed, six-armed form. In the form of a ferocious Asura, he charged up. A large patch of sword lights and blade shadows flashed in an instant!
"Ma! Kyū! Sen!!"
Clang!!
Hawk-Eye's gaze focused. He used attack as defense, and his pitch-black blade chopped down vertically but was forcefully deflected.
Seeing that Zoro's offensive was not diminishing, Hawk-Eye finally frowned. While retreating, he used the technique of four taels to move a thousand jin to quickly swing his giant blade, and immediately switched to a defensive blocking posture.
Clang!! Clang!! Clang!!
Sparks flew in the deep and serene sea of trees. Zoro's one heavy blow followed another. His aura rose with each blow, like a tide upon a tide. Each blow was heavier than the last.
Hawk-Eye's movements were so steady that not a trace of deformation could be seen. Each time, he would precisely find the most suitable angle to block.
But even with such a superb deflecting technique, as Zoro's sword grew heavier and heavier, he gradually began to struggle.
Only then did he realize that he had already been drawn into the other's offensive. To try to break free... he would probably be caught by the other when he changed his move.
To maintain the status quo and wait until the other ran out of breath... he also might not be able to withstand the terrifyingly powerful final blow.
Faced with this dilemma, a hint of long-lost excitement appeared in the depths of Hawk-Eye's sharp pupils.
Finally, after a somewhat strenuous block, Hawk-Eye used the force to slide back two meters.
Zoro's final blow, which carried a majestic sword momentum, was swiftly cut out!
Hawk-Eye, however, relaxed his blocking posture and instead, he pointed his blade forward, one hand on the hilt, the other on the ornate sword guard.
Since dodging and blocking both carry a high risk, then...
Before Zoro's unexpected eyes, Hawk-Eye exerted force with both hands and thrust his sword out!
CLANG!!
Squelch—
Squelch—
A spark flew, followed by a splash of blood, accompanied by the cutting sound of two sharp blades.
Zoro's one slash cut diagonally through his flesh and directly opened a shocking gash on Hawk-Eye's chest.
And the black blade Yoru had also pierced through Zoro's body. It was just that the target, which had been aimed at his chest, had been deflected by one slash and had deviated to his ribs, only a hair's breadth from his heart!
In a duel between two evenly matched swordsmen, it could go on for days and nights with no winner, or it could be that a single decision was enough.
He released his left hand, and Yukibashiri fell and was stabbed into the ground.
Enduring the intense, heart-piercing pain, Zoro, with cold sweat on his forehead, tightly bit Wado Ichimonji in his mouth, grabbed the back of the black blade Yoru, and raised the black blade Shusui high in his right hand.
"It's over..."
And then, he chopped down without any flourish.
As a swordsman, to abandon his sword was no different from surrendering. Hawk-Eye did not retreat, but held the black blade Yoru, calmly facing the falling sharp blade.
Squelch—!
Blood gushed out.
(End of chapter)