"Where the hell did you run off to just now?!"
Although he had just been saved by the other man, Mr. 5 still didn't have a good look for a certain green-haired swordsman. Pushing up the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, he said sarcastically:
"Didn't that guy with glasses agree back then? The three of us were supposed to act together, so why are you only showing up now?"
"Could it be... you got... lost...?" Mr. 4's slow-drawn words felt like a heavy punch straight to the directionally-challenged swordsman's sore spot, causing the corners of the latter's mouth to twitch violently.
"Shut up!"
Zoro snapped with a slightly unnatural expression. After all, getting lost right after breaking through the prison gates wasn't exactly a glorious achievement.
"Leave this sword-wielding Marine to me. You guys handle the rest."
With that, Zoro looked back at Commander Ike in the distance, his eyes burning with intense fighting spirit.
"Tch, if it weren't for that four-eyes bastard, I wouldn't want to cooperate with you pirates at all!"
The afro-styled Bomb-Bomb Fruit user spat lightly, pulled out a silver pistol from his vest, and blew gently into the muzzle.
"Let's go, big guy!"
"Ohhh..."
As Mr. 4 nodded slowly, his beloved pet dog (gun), Lassoo, opened its mouth and spat a spherical bomb toward him. Immediately after, this seemingly sluggish, tall man swung his bat with a reaction speed completely uncharacteristic of his usual self.
— Breeze Breath Bomb!
Mr. 5 aimed the muzzle at the Marine soldiers ahead and lightly pulled the trigger.
— Four Hundred Batter!
Clang! With a crisp sound, the bomb struck by the bat traced a beautiful parabola and landed right in the midst of the Marine ranks.
A violent explosion instantly engulfed the surrounding Marine soldiers. The fierce wind whipped up by the shockwave sent dust billowing from the ground, and thick smoke drifted into the cool night air.
Although these two assassins were nowhere near Sherlock or Luffy in terms of strength, their miraculous abilities derived from Devil Fruits were more than enough to deal with ordinary Marine soldiers.
At the same time, along with those two deafening explosions, the flames of war ignited once more on the great bridge!
"Hold the line! We must not let these pirates escape!"
"Die, you damn pirates!"
Perhaps they had already grown accustomed to a real battlefield, or perhaps Commander Ike's personal entry into the fray provided them with a backbone—the performance of these Marine recruits was significantly better than before. Facing the enemy's fierce onslaught, the two sides clashed back and forth, fighting so intensely that heaven and earth seemed to darken, locked in a fierce, chaotic struggle.
Yet, no matter how intense the surrounding combat became, the two confronting swordsmen remained standing quietly in place, and everyone else tacitly cleared out an open space for them.
"Three swords... Are you the Three-Sword Style swordsman from the East Blue, the 'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro?"
The Marine Commander showed a look of sudden realization. "A first bounty as high as 63 million Berries... what a remarkable rookie.
"And for a swordsman like you to willingly serve under someone else—heh, I'm becoming more and more curious about your captain, 'Straw Hat'."
"Oh, really? Then I expect you'll be very disappointed when you actually meet him," Zoro said, tying his dark green bandana into place.
"Furthermore..."
Schwing! The razor-sharp tip of Sandai Kitetsu pointed directly at the Marine instructor in the distance.
"...I don't think you'll ever get the chance to see my captain!" The wicked smirk at the corner of Zoro's mouth was as wild and arrogant as ever.
"Hmph, sharp-tongued brat."
Commander Ike snorted softly, gripping the hilt of his long sword tightly with both hands. Beneath his thick eyebrows, his piercing eyes suddenly flashed with a fierce light as sharp as a steel blade unsheathing!
"Now then, let me experience your original Three-Sword Style..."
— Shave!
Whoosh— Ike's figure vanished before Zoro's astonished eyes. When he reappeared, he was already right behind the swordsman. With a swift draw and thrust, his slender blade drove straight toward the center of Zoro's back!
(So fast!)
Zoro's breath hitched. Though he was surprised by the opponent's speed, when it came to facing speed-type enemies, the green-haired swordsman was already far more adept than he had been when they first entered the Grand Line.
— Three-Sword Style: Dragon Twister!
First, with a violent twist of his waist, the Three-Sword Style swordsman spun his body along with his three precious blades in a rapid circle. The powerful air pressure kicked up by his sword strikes converged into a tempest-like vortex!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Amidst the clashing din of blades, Zoro's move not only successfully deflected the Marine Commander's sudden assault, but the powerful updraft even swept Ike's body uncontrollably up into the midair.
(Hmph! Let's see how you dodge this time!)
— Two-Sword Style: Tower Climb!
Without a shred of hesitation, Zoro gripped his dual swords and slashed fiercely upward toward Commander Ike! Fast as the wind, fierce as thunder!
Logically speaking, an ordinary person would have no leverage to dodge while suspended in midair. It looked as though this Marine instructor was about to intimately experience the sharpness of Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu.
But don't forget, how could the chief instructor of the Marine recruits be a mere ordinary person?
— Moonwalk.
Ike violently kicked his right leg against empty air. A sharp, muffled thud instantly rang out where his sole met the atmosphere, and his body shifted half a meter sideways as if he had actually stepped on something solid, narrowly evading Zoro's slash.
(What the hell was that? Did he just step on something?)
The green-haired swordsman, having missed both slashes, was left entirely bewildered. But before he could get a single moment to catch his breath, another flash of a blade gleamed, and Commander Ike's follow-up attack arrived in swift succession.
A rapid succession of crisp metallic clashes rang out like popping corn, and a fierce battle belonging strictly to swordsmen unfolded...
"Zoro's fight has already begun. I wonder how many Marines they can draw away."
Sherlock hid behind a concealed boulder, gazing out at the battlefield on the distant great iron bridge. Although they were quite far from the action, the Sorcerer could still faintly hear the distant explosions and battle cries, a testament to just how fierce the combat was.
"Yes, but back when we broke through the prison gates, I noticed Mr. Swordsman seemed to run in the wrong direction."
The corners of Robin's mouth curled up elegantly. "I wonder if he ever managed to find the right way afterward."
"If that's the case, why didn't you warn him in time...?"
Letting out a sigh, Sherlock lightly pushed up his glasses and turned his gaze toward Miss Goldenweek, who was standing nearby. Feeling the Sorcerer's stare, the little girl with pigtails trembled slightly, hiding her petite frame completely behind Miss Valentine.
(Am I really that terrifying?)
Looking at Miss Goldenweek's timid expression, Sherlock's face became a bit strained. For some reason, this young painter's reaction to the Sorcerer was exactly like a mouse encountering a cat.
(Could it be because I pointed a gun at her during our first meeting, leaving a psychological scar on the child?)
Sherlock pondered for a moment, then adjusted his demeanor and asked in a gentle voice, "Speaking of which, are you really not a Devil Fruit user?"
"Yeah, seriously! The way you blend colors is way too magical."
Usopp nodded with profound solemnity. He had seen it with his own eyes just now—this little girl had merely done some simple doodling with a few different pigments, and those previously half-dead prisoners instantly became bursting with life and vitality. Not only were they incredibly fierce in combat, but they were also surprisingly obedient.
"No, I haven't eaten a Devil Fruit."
Miss Goldenweek shook her little head and explained to everyone, "This is merely utilizing psychological suggestion through different colors. You could call it a professional ability of mine as a painter."
(A painter? A professional ability?)
Miss Doublefinger and the others pondered silently for a moment, each of them inexplicably feeling a twinge of regret. Why hadn't they studied painting properly back in the day?
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze