The situation seemed to turn extremely unfavorable for Nojiko in an instant.
But she herself remained calm.
"I may be weak, but you won't kill me. Whether it's Kaido or you, both of you want to know what my power is, don't you?"
"..."
King's gaze sharpened, but before he could say anything—
Nojiko revealed a sly smile.
"I thought he would be the one to make a move first, but Ren stepped in before him.
Now that I think about it, swordsman against swordsman might not be such a bad matchup."
What?
King frowned. Just as he was about to move, his expression suddenly changed. He drew his sword and barely managed to raise it in defense.
A straight, azure slash wave slammed into him and sent him flying!
Boom—!
As King crashed through several buildings, Zoro quietly appeared with sword in hand.
After glancing at Nojiko's injuries, he stepped in front of his companion.
"Where's Nami? She didn't make a move?"
"This side was my responsibility, after all. She has something important to do on her end too."
Nojiko forced out a pained smile. "Did you finish things over there?"
"If those two idiots aren't complete fools, there shouldn't be any accidents. It just depends on whether they take one position or two."
"That was fast."
"It's because of the scroll Ren gave me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to get back this quickly."
Zoro thought of the item he had used.
.
[Town Portal Scroll]
[Origin: DOTA]
[Type: Rule-Based Consumable]
[Effect: Bind to a building point. After channeling for 3 seconds, instantly return.]
[Cost: None]
.
It was said that a single scroll cost ten million Beli, and it could teleport someone across an incredibly vast distance.
That was the reason Zoro had appeared here.
"Then I'll leave this place to you. I'm going to move those Dressrosa citizens out."
Nojiko covered the wound at her waist and abdomen. Once flames ignited, she transferred the injury onto Tibbers.
"No problem. I just got a new blade anyway, so I was hoping to test it out."
Zoro clenched Wado Ichimonji between his teeth, his expression grave as he tightened his grip on Shusui.
"Still... I really didn't expect to end up fighting against a Yonko crew."
He was one of the people who knew Ren's plan, and in their predictions, this was already close to the worst-case scenario.
The Warlord of the Sea, Donquixote Doflamingo, had been the main planned opponent.
But Ren's plans often left room for contingencies.
Just like right now.
"A swordsman? How troublesome."
King walked out completely unscathed. Even the clothes he had found elsewhere showed no signs of damage.
He frowned as he examined the green-haired swordsman before him.
"Pirate Hunter—Roronoa Zoro?"
"Looks like my reputation's surprisingly good."
Zoro tightened his grip on his swords.
"No. It's only because of Mihawk.
Anyone that man has taken an interest in is bound to be no ordinary person. But—"
King paused for a moment, then said coldly,
"—right now, you're nothing more than a promising seedling.
Step aside. I don't want to snatch away prey Mihawk has his eye on. Hand that woman over to me, and you can leave here alive."
"You want a swordsman to retreat without fighting? You think far too highly of yourself."
Zoro lowered his stance slightly, his eyes full of cold ferocity.
A savage killing intent began to rise from him, faintly outlining a shadowy phantom!
"Idiot. Then die here!"
King stopped wasting words and lunged forward in a single step.
He didn't even bother revealing his Lunarian form, because in his eyes, the man before him wasn't worthy of it.
Though he had suffered in Ren's hands and his injuries still hadn't healed, that didn't mean he needed to go all out against one of Ren's subordinates.
The clash between swordsmen erupted in the next instant.
Blade light flashed and collided again and again, bursting with terrifying force as the entire street was shredded apart in moments!
Boom—!
The injured Zoro was sent flying backward, crashing through several buildings.
King raised his sword and pursued, intending to finish the swordsman in an instant.
Yet before he could truly close in, a slash wave surged up from the ground.
Three-Sword Style: 1080 Pound Phoenix!
"A flying slash? Pathetic!"
King swung his long blade and erased the slash wave. The escaping shockwaves tore apart every building within several hundred meters.
He strode forward without the slightest sign of being hindered.
The attack was strong, but only that!
So I really can't afford to hope for luck? The enemies Ren faces really have reached a whole different level.
But... I'm not the same person I was a year ago either.
At the end of King's advance, Zoro gripped his twin swords tightly, biting down on Wado Ichimonji.
The phantom that had appeared on him earlier surfaced once again.
And then it turned from illusion into "reality."
"Demon Aura... Nine-Sword Style!"
Killing intent swept across the battlefield. As though it were an illusion made real, Zoro transformed into a three-headed, six-armed Asura.
His breathing technique was pushed to its absolute limit, all of his Qi erupting forth and pouring into his blades.
Then, for the first time, he revealed his true edge!
During that year of intensive training, Zoro had not been simply tempering his body.
He had also exchanged ideas with Ren about the Blood Demon Art, using it to complete his own Demon Aura Nine-Sword Style.
Though he had yet to touch something like Conqueror's Haki,
he had already forged this into a true ultimate technique!
The change in his aura alone began to affect the surrounding environment.
Sharp shockwaves split apart everything nearby.
This guy... the vice-captain?
King, who had just advanced into range, frowned and unconsciously halted, adopting a guarded stance.
It was hard to believe, but in a place like Dressrosa, this was the second time he had felt a bone-piercing sense of danger.
"But don't look down on me too much!"
Flames ignited behind King's back, and at the same moment, the danger in his perception exploded.
Zoro stepped forward, the nine blades spinning into a single streak of light!
There were no dazzling effects, only an extremely condensed sword flash.
Clang—clang—clang!
Within that split-second exchange, King swung his giant katana again and again against the three-headed, six-armed Asura.
The recoil from every clash stacked together and pulled at the injuries on his body.
Inevitably, a tiny opening appeared.
"Asura: Drawn Blade—Dead Man's Game!"
Zoro seized the opportunity without hesitation. The nine blades rotated, becoming a single streak of light that slashed through!
Boom—!
Within that fleeting sword flash, the ground instantly shattered into tens of thousands of neatly cut cubes.
A violent shockwave burst outward, blasting all of the rubble away.
Zoro appeared not far off, slowly sheathing his blades as he turned his head.
Within his line of sight—
King stood frozen, staring in utter shock at the giant katana in his hand, now missing a section of its blade.
His sword had broken!?
Splurt!
Almost at the same instant, a magnificent spray of blood burst from King's chest, scarlet blood splashing across the ground.
Once again, even in his Lunarian flame-burning state, his defense had been broken.
Yet he did not fall. After swaying for a moment, he gripped the broken blade and turned around in fury.
"Bastard! How could you possibly cut through my weapon!?"
A weapon coated in Armament Haki should not break.
Unless the Armament Haki behind the attack was even stronger than the Haki wrapped around the weapon.
But King simply did not believe Zoro's Armament Haki was superior to his own!
"No. It's only because your weapon had already shown signs of damage earlier. I just noticed it."
Zoro's gaze turned strange as he tightened his grip on his swords.
Sure enough...
Even now, was it still a bit too much?
"That bastard..."
King immediately thought of the punch Ren had thrown earlier, when the two Rens had attacked him together.
Most likely, that was the moment his sword had suffered irreversible damage.
"Stop thinking so much. Let's continue!"
Zoro taunted him.
This was only a temporary setback. It didn't mean King had no chance to win.
And claiming victory at the limit wasn't a bad thing either!
Meanwhile, inside the toy factory, the extremely lucky Baccarat had finally found her target.
The structure here was complex, and more importantly, once the fighting began, the target—Sugar—had hidden herself away.
Clearly, the Donquixote Family fully understood how important this officer was.
Because of that, one of their top officers, Trebol, had been staying by Sugar's side to protect her.
And now, after defeating a large number of controlled toys and some members of the Donquixote Family,
Baccarat had found her target in the Underground Port!
Without hesitation, she crushed two beads.
There were only two people those Ender Pearls were linked to.
Vivi and Nami!
Wind and sand swept through the Underground Port, followed by the violent roar of crackling lightning.
"Sugar, get ready to fight."
Standing before the tower, Trebol's face darkened as he stared fixedly at the enemies who had appeared so abruptly.
Without question, they were members of the Demon Pirates—but they were not within his intelligence network!
Even the one he knew best, a woman called Nami,
had only been understood by him as little more than a decorative vase.
But the lightning filling the underground structure declared that such information was already outdated.
And besides, how had these people gotten such precise intelligence?
To find this place, discover them, and immediately summon reinforcements—it was obvious they had come with an extremely clear objective.
"Don't worry, Trebol. My toys are ready."
Sugar did not seem particularly tense. Behind her stood a densely packed army of dolls.
They had enormous heads, iron barrel-like bodies that looked as hard as steel, and exaggerated gigantic builds.
Every toy was six or seven meters tall.
But what truly made them terrifying was their near-unkillable nature.
Even Luffy had once been stalled for quite some time by this horrifying army of giant-headed toys.
However, the moment Nami arrived, she spoke in a cold voice.
"Surrender?"
She did not want to waste too much time here. Ren needed more of her attention.
After all, his opponent over there was none other than the Yonko Kaido!
"Hah? Stupid woman, why would I surrender?"
With the face of a child, Sugar glared viciously.
"We won't even need Young Master to step in. I'll take care of you two first!"
"Young Master? Your Young Master is already dead."
Vivi said coldly.
"As if I'd believe that."
Sugar snorted in disdain.
"There's a limit to how ridiculous your tricks can be, idiot."
"Do it, Vivi."
Nami could not be bothered to waste more words. Raising one hand, she summoned a bolt of lightning that blasted through the ceiling.
A thunder drum emerged from the electric light, and then transformed into an incomparably violent dragon of lightning!
The moment it appeared, it filled the sky above the Underground Port!
In that year of intensive training, it was not only the others who had grown stronger.
She had as well!
Because the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was the ability most perfectly suited to her!
(End of Chapter)