Chapter 60: Alabasta – Zoro Cuts Steel & Sol Stops the Rebellion
"What kind of sword can't cut anything? Can't cut yet can cut steel…? Hah, I don't understand those profound theories at all!" Zoro gritted his teeth, eyes blazing with unyielding fighting spirit. "All I know is to keep moving forward! That's the essence of a豪 sword!"
He suddenly lowered his stance, every muscle in his body taut like a fully drawn bowstring. "Before I fall, I'll cut you in half!!" Before the words finished, his figure shot forward like a cannonball!
Swoosh! His left sword slashed upward in a diagonal arc, the blade tearing through the air with a sharp whine, forcing Mr. 1 to lean back and shift his center of gravity.
"Three Sword Style – Crab Pincer!"
In that instant—BOOM! The sword in his right hand came crashing down like thunder, carving a ferocious diagonal line from top to bottom! The two blades crossed, forming a deadly X-shaped pincer attack!
Yet Mr. 1 calmly blocked with his steel body. Blades met steel in a shower of sparks! A cold glint flashed in Zoro's eyes. "Not done yet!" He slammed both feet into the ground, spinning like a top. His twin blades turned into a storm of slashes, spiraling upward along Mr. 1's left leg in a murderous grind!
Mr. 1 executed a rapid series of backflips to evade the onslaught, landing steadily several meters away. Zoro panted heavily, his fighting spirit undiminished. "Ha… ha… you're really tough!"
"Likewise." Mr. 1 responded coldly. His arms slowly morphed, metallic sheen glinting in the sunlight. "Just so you know—I'm no swordsman. I can produce as many weapons as I need to cut you in half."
Before the words finished, his arms suddenly split into dozens of high-speed rotating blades. The metallic buzzing pierced the air. "Spiral Draw Slash!"
Zoro stared at the bizarre arms and couldn't help mocking: "Since you're not a swordsman, are you a miner?" Before the words finished, he charged again!
Clang! Blades clashed against spinning metal arms in a violent explosion of sparks! Mr. 1's gloomy voice came from within the sparks: "I'm… an assassin."
"What?!" Zoro's pupils shrank in shock at the terrifying speed of the rotating blades. "This kind of friction… damn it! I'm going to get repelled!"
In the next instant, Mr. 1's arms exploded with force. The violent rotation sent Zoro flying backward! Then he raised his right arm high, blades turning into a whirlwind of death, grinning savagely: "Mining? I don't mine—because everything gets dug open by me!"
BOOM! The spinning blades slammed heavily into Zoro's chest. The sickening sound of metal cutting flesh rang out. "One moment of misjudgment means death."
With a pained grunt, Zoro flew backward like a broken kite and crashed hard into a distant stone pillar, rubble scattering!
Mr. 1 walked forward calmly, metal soles scraping coldly against the sand. "Oh? Still not dead." He looked down at Zoro, covered in blood yet still struggling to stand.
"A swordsman… must never turn his back on the enemy…" The instant Zoro gritted his teeth and turned, Mr. 1's arms were already crossed in front of his chest.
"Rending Slash!"
Cold light flashed. Fresh wounds opened across Zoro's chest. At the same moment, the stone pillar behind him was sliced cleanly into three sections. Falling rubble clattered loudly in the deathly silent battlefield.
"What a worthless death." Mr. 1 turned to leave, his cloak billowing in the desert heat. Zoro's body slowly tilted backward, vision blurring. "Today's luck… really sucks…" he muttered. The pillar behind him began to collapse.
Just as Mr. 1 took fewer than ten steps—
"Hey! Where are you going?"
Zoro's voice made Mr. 1 whip around. His pupils shrank. "This guy… how is it possible…" He stared in disbelief at Zoro rising again from the rubble. "With wounds that severe… and all that falling stone…"
Zoro closed his eyes tightly. Wado Ichimonji trembled slightly in his hand. The world suddenly became abnormally clear—the sound of wind, rolling sand grains, even his own heavy heartbeat. "This feeling…" He recalled the epiphany at death's door. "Everything is breathing… the stone's breathing… the earth's breathing…"
With a light swing of the blade, the branch on the left remained motionless while the stone on the right snapped cleanly in two.
"Next strike takes your life! Dust Slash Speed Blade!" Mr. 1 extended sharp blades from his soles, sliding forward like skates on ice. His arms turned into deadly blades aimed straight at Zoro's throat.
"This is… the answer!" Zoro sensed the breathing of iron coming from Mr. 1's body. His stance dropped low. "One Sword Style – Iai – Lion's Song!"
Two figures crossed paths.
"Thanks…" Zoro sheathed his sword. The scabbard clicked crisply. "I've gotten stronger again."
A line of blood suddenly burst across Mr. 1's chest, blood gushing like a fountain. "Ha… ha…" He dropped to one knee. "Next time… you'll even cut diamond, won't you?"
"Who knows." Zoro stood with his back to him, voice terrifyingly calm.
"Is that so…" Mr. 1 collapsed heavily into a pool of blood. "I… lost…"
After confirming the enemy was unconscious, Zoro finally couldn't hold on and dropped to his knees.
He tore off the blood-soaked bandana and gave a bitter laugh: "Tch, damn it… lost so much blood…" His trembling fingers checked the wounds. "Good thing they're not too deep… otherwise I'd really have died here…" He looked toward the palace. "Nami and the others… should be fine, right…"
[Battle End – Zoro Victory]
——————
On the city wall, Sol stood against the wind, looking down at the six hundred thousand rebel soldiers arrayed below. A smile curled his lips: "Alright, let me say hello first!"
Vivi beside him suddenly felt a suffocating wave of heat.
Sol's body began to rise with crimson flames. Countless intricate magic circles unfolded before him layer by layer. The magical energy in the air vibrated violently.
"Charged Version – Fire Dragon's Roar!" With a thunderous shout, torrential flames transformed into a ferocious fire dragon that roared across the sky above the rebel army. The scorching heat wave scorched the sand red, distorting the air itself. The rebels instantly fell into chaos.
"This… this isn't an illusion!" Kosa stared in terror at the raging fire dragon in the sky before it vanished, leaving a mushroom cloud in the distance.
Under Vivi and Pell's shocked gazes, Sol leaped down from the wall. With a deafening boom, he smashed a ten-meter-wide crater into the ground. He walked calmly out of the dust cloud, each step making the sand tremble.
BOOM!
A flash of red light passed through Sol's eyes. Then a red-black wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body like a tsunami. Visible shockwaves swept across the entire battlefield.
In an instant, half the rebel army collapsed like cut wheat—ordinary civilians forced to take up arms, completely unable to resist this soul-shaking pressure.
"C-Commander!" one rebel trembled as he reported. "We… half our brothers have fallen!"
Kosa struggled to stay on his feet, staring in disbelief at Sol standing proudly in the field, then looking back at his collapsed comrades. His face was filled with incredulity. Without doing anything, this man had made three hundred thousand soldiers lose consciousness—what kind of power was this?
At that moment, Vivi came riding in on Karoo at full speed. Her voice screamed desperately through the megaphone: "Kosa! Everyone, listen to me! This is all Crocodile's conspiracy…"
After Vivi finished revealing the truth, Sol took the megaphone. His voice boomed like thunder: "That's the truth. If anyone still refuses to believe it, try beating me first!" He slammed his fist into the ground. The earth cracked loudly beneath him.
"Don't believe them! This is the King's trick!" A few Baroque Works agents hidden in the crowd suddenly shouted, trying to stir confusion. But Sol's eyes flashed coldly. His figure blurred like a phantom as he shot into the ranks, instantly grabbing the troublemakers. "Thought you could hide?"
"It's the Million Elders!" Vivi tore open their sleeves, revealing Baroque Works tattoos. Immediately afterward, thousands more hidden agents were dragged out, all with the same mark on their left arms.
"Commander Kosa…" one officer said hoarsely. "These people all have the mark the princess mentioned. Were we… really being used?"
Kosa looked at his unconscious comrades scattered across the ground, then at the man standing like a demon god. He took a deep breath and finally made his decision: "All troops, listen! Drop your weapons! We… surrender."
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