Clang!!!
Like a meteor streaking across the night sky.
The first clash of blades between Zoro and Shiryu erupted in an instant, scattering scorching sparks in every direction.
The overwhelming shockwave surged outward like a raging tempest.
Boom!!!
In the blink of an eye, rows of buildings collapsed under the force of their collision, reduced to rubble as tiles and splintered wood exploded outward.
"Th-This… is this their true strength?!"
At the same time, the female warriors who hadn't yet gone far felt the tremendous impact behind them. One after another, they halted, raising their arms to shield their faces from the flying debris, staring in awe toward the direction of Zoro and Shiryu.
But before their exclamations could fade, two even more violent and ferocious auras suddenly surged skyward before their eyes!!!
For a moment, even the Sky Island above—already rumbling endlessly—was affected, tilting slightly in midair.
In the warriors' vision, countless brilliant beams of light burst forth from Zoro's body, rapidly forming the silhouette of a colossal dragon behind him!
Before that dragon, Shiryu looked no different from an ant standing beside a giant.
Tch!
Shiryu suddenly exerted force, slashing his famed blade Raiu in a brilliant white arc.
At the same time, Shiryu seized the opportunity to pull away and widen the distance between them.
His expression darkened slightly, confusion flashing across his face."This… is this your Devil Fruit ability?!"
"A Paramecia!? Or a Mythical Zoan?!"
Sensing that dragon—illusory yet solid—even someone as experienced as Shiryu found it difficult to determine the source of Zoro's power.
But in the next instant, a greedy glint suddenly flashed through his eyes.
Blackbeard's ability to steal Devil Fruit powers was no longer a secret in the world.
Within the Black Lion Alliance, nearly every powerhouse had already obtained a Devil Fruit ability perfectly suited to them.
Shiryu himself was one of the rare non–Devil Fruit users among them!
It wasn't that he didn't want to become an ability user and accept the sea's fatal weakness.
It was simply that, until now, he had never found a Devil Fruit worthy of himself.
But the moment he saw the dragon erupting behind Zoro, he made up his mind.
No matter whether it was a Paramecia, a Zoan, or some other special power—
He wanted that fruit!!!
Because at this very moment, he felt an unprecedented aura emanating from Zoro!
As a top-tier swordsman, Shiryu instantly sensed it—this presence didn't come from Zoro himself, nor from his swordsmanship.
It came from that mysterious power condensed into the dragon behind him!
Domineering. Arrogant. Overwhelming… supreme!!!
With just one glance, Shiryu was utterly captivated by Zoro's ability.
If he could obtain such power, his strength would undergo a tremendous leap!
He might even shatter his current limits and reach the level of a Marine Admiral!
At that thought, Shiryu's greed surged uncontrollably.
Yet in response to his questions, Zoro merely curled his lips and let out a light chuckle.
"Heh."
"Don't lump me together with those guys who rely on Devil Fruits to get stronger."
After pointedly mocking a certain curly-browed cook, Zoro's eyes gleamed, his pupils turning a deep, ferocious gold.
"I've heard your reputation…"
"Rain Shiryu—former head jailer of Impel Down, with strength on par with the prison warden himself!"
"One of the world's top-class swordsmen!"
"Oh?!"
"Knowing my name and still daring to challenge me—your guts are impressive!"
"But I should thank you…"
"For delivering such a powerful Devil Fruit ability right to me!"
With a cigar clenched between his teeth, Shiryu grinned, clearly not taking Zoro's words seriously.
"Forget it. Looks like no matter what I say, you won't believe me."
Zoro's tone sank, and he stopped wasting words, instead condensing his aura as he smiled.
"Fine."
"Then let you test whether I've gotten a little stronger lately!"
Boom!!!
A vast, surging pressure erupted violently from Zoro's body.
Ever since Sanji had surpassed him in combat strength, Zoro had pushed his body to its absolute limits.
Thanks to the Pokémon Center's unlimited healing capabilities…
Recently, aside from sparring with Luffy or Sanji, Zoro had been subjecting himself every single day to brutal training far beyond his body's endurance!
Fortunately, with the machine's miraculous power, no matter how extreme the training, it left behind no hidden injuries.
And the rewards gained after enduring that pain were naturally immense!
After Sanji's latent technological power awakened, he could gain massive experience every day even without doing anything, forcibly boosting him to Level 58.
But through Zoro's insane training, his current level had now reached—
Level 59!
Once again surpassing Sanji!
Boom!!!
The towering dragon suddenly spread its wings and soared into the air, transforming together with Zoro into a streak of lightning that charged straight at Shiryu.
Everywhere they passed looked as if it had been ravaged by a violent storm, leaving behind a deep, torn trench.
"And you still say this isn't a Devil Fruit ability?!"
Seeing the dragon grow even more solid as Zoro attacked, Shiryu sneered as if he'd exposed a lie.
But immediately after, a cold glint flashed through his eyes.
"Next, as long as I bring you before Blackbeard, my power will rise even further!"
Facing Zoro's eruption, Shiryu was equally unwilling to fall behind.
Though he couldn't manifest energy into near-physical form like Zoro, he possessed a sword path uniquely his own!
Tch—
A wave of blood-soaked killing intent instantly spread outward, dyeing the surrounding air crimson.
The supreme aura of the dragon and the sinister aura of slaughter collided and spiraled through the ruins of Amazon Lily.
In the blink of an eye, Zoro arrived before Shiryu, wielding his three swords.
"Three Sword Style · Flying Dragon · Ultimate Guard!"
Boom!!!
The dragon fused with Zoro's sword intent roared, extending massive claws as it tore fiercely toward Shiryu!
Clang!!!
Another deafening clash of blades rang out.
But this time, Shiryu—his body wrapped in blood-red Armament Haki—suddenly changed expression!
Though Zoro still lagged slightly behind Shiryu in raw physical attributes,
The tyrannical dominance of the Dragon attribute, combined with the Steel attribute's enhancement and assimilation of blade damage, caused Zoro's swordsmanship to utterly overwhelm Shiryu's slaughter-focused style.
Roooar—!!!
A thunderous dragon's roar burst forth from the edges of Zoro's three blades.
Under the influence of Pokémon energy, a colossal dragon silhouette instantly formed around him.
Lightning, flames, and frost—three Pokémon energies mastered through Tri Attack—coiled around Zoro, transforming him into an elemental dragon with wings of steel!
"What?!"
For the first time, shock flashed in Shiryu's eyes.
Before he could even react, the dragon behind Zoro transformed again, becoming a bizarre three-headed dragon.
Each head contained a different elemental power.
Under Shiryu's horrified gaze, all three dragon heads opened their massive jaws, gathering overwhelming energy.
"Dragon Blade Style · Tri Attack!"
Zoro spoke softly once more as he confronted Shiryu head-on.
In the next second, three streams of Pokémon energy carrying distinct elemental effects erupted from the dragon's mouths, firing toward Shiryu from three different directions!
"Damn it! Could this really be a Mythical Zoan ability?!"
At this sight, even Shiryu dared not underestimate his opponent.
He immediately mobilized his full vitality, coating his entire body in Armament Haki.
Whoom!Crackle!Slash—!
Under the miraculous effects of Tri Attack, three completely different elemental energies acted upon Shiryu's body simultaneously.
Flames scorched his coat, clinging to his shoulders and radiating intense heat.
Lightning spread across his entire body, disrupting muscle control and continuously paralyzing his limbs.
Frost crept upward from the ground, freezing his lower body in place and briefly restraining his movement.
For a moment, the three special effects of Tri Attack appeared on Shiryu's body at the same time—an unbelievable phenomenon.
Roronoa Zoro!
A true top-tier genius who stood shoulder to shoulder with gods using only a human body!!!
He lacked Luffy's destiny as a bearer of the "D," and he lacked Sanji's inborn technological enhancements.
Yet with only a trace of thin Shimotsuki blood and a childhood promise, Zoro had endured countless hardships to reach this point.
His talent had long surpassed the limits of his ancestors.
And his comprehension had shattered the barrier set by the gods themselves!
As the first among the Straw Hat crew to truly apply Pokémon moves and energy in real combat…
Even Red had never imagined that one day Zoro would grasp the essence of Pokémon moves like this and wield them so freely.
Pokémon moves were, in essence, simply different applications of Pokémon energy under preset rules!
Once one understood how those moves manipulated energy, they could be modified or enhanced.
Though rare in the Pokémon world, it was hardly unheard of.
Just as some Pokémon could ignore the recoil of Hyper Beam…
Powerful Trainers all possessed the ability to guide Pokémon to refine their moves.
However…
That was ultimately an animated world, and Red himself wasn't a formally trained Trainer.
At the very least, in the pirate world, no one had ever told Zoro that Pokémon moves could be used this way.
Yet, without a teacher, he had forged a completely new path.
Even though Tri Attack wasn't a particularly powerful move, Zoro used his own strength to prove—
Once again, he stood at the very forefront of the Straw Hat Pirates!
—With a mortal body!
…
…
"Damn it… just what kind of Devil Fruit power is this?!"
Feeling the abnormal states within his body, Shiryu cried out inwardly.
Seeing Zoro once again assume his Three Sword Style stance, clearly preparing another strike, Shiryu discarded all irrelevant thoughts.
Only now did he truly realize—
His opponent was nothing like the weakling he'd first perceived.
880 million Beli?!
Heh?!
As the former head jailer of Impel Down, Shiryu would bet his life—
Zoro's strength surpassed that of many pirates with bounties over one billion Beli!
This aura, this power, this swordsmanship…
Whoever had set Zoro's bounty was clearly blind.
What he didn't know was that—
During the Enies Lobby battle a month ago, Zoro truly had only been that strong.
Everything here was simply the result of one month of explosive growth!
Crack… crack!
With crisp shattering sounds, the ice imprisoning Shiryu instantly exploded into fragments.
Zoro's attack was indeed formidable.
But fortunately, Shiryu was also one of the world's top-tier elites!
Before Zoro could fully condense his next slash, Shiryu had already broken free of Tri Attack's effects, transforming into a blood-red blur as he lunged toward Zoro.
"As expected, you're not an opponent that can be dealt with so easily."
Zoro showed no surprise at the sight.
After all, Shiryu's strength was undeniable.
"But…"
He suddenly grinned, sharp light flashing in his eyes.
"My progress isn't just this much!"
"Dragon Pulse…"
Boom…
A wave of energy filled with destruction and arrogance suddenly flowed across Zoro's body.
In an instant, a holy, pure-white glow burst forth from his form!
If Red were present, he would have shouted in shock—
Because this light was identical to the visual effect of Pokémon evolution!
Dragon Pulse.
With a base power of only 85, it wasn't much stronger than Tri Attack.
But it was one of the moves that best represented the Dragon attribute in the Pokémon world!
So special that even the pure Poison-type Poipole could evolve into the Poison/Dragon-type Naganadel after learning it!
That alone demonstrated the move's uniqueness.
And since Zoro had already comprehended Tri Attack, a Normal-type move, he naturally gained insight into the purely Dragon-type Dragon Pulse as well.
However, evolution itself was one of the Pokémon world's greatest mysteries.
So even though Zoro could uncover the hidden essence of Dragon Pulse, he could only exploit it temporarily, unable to make it a permanent state.
In other words—
Zoro had touched the light of Pokémon evolution, but this was more akin to an ancient legendary Pokémon like Kyogre or Groudon tracing the deep roots of its power—
A special form of Mega Evolution!!!
Snap!
The white light vanished in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, a brand-new form of Zoro appeared before Shiryu…
Thanks everyone for the monthly ticket support!!!
(End of Chapter)