Chapter 53: The Pride of a Swordsman
"The world's strongest grand swordsman versus the most famous pirate hunter in the East Sea... what kind of battle will this be?"
On the deck of the Baratie, Patty gripped the fork in his hand nervously and swallowed hard, feeling the air grow thick.
"Big Brother won't lose!!"
Below, Johnny and Yosaku leaned over the railing and shouted at the top of their lungs, "Go for it, Big Brother! Show him how powerful the Three Sword Style is!"
In the center of the deck.
Mihawk looked at the young swordsman before him, who still possessed a soaring fighting spirit even in the face of certain defeat.
A flicker of emotion finally crossed those golden eyes, which were usually as calm as an ancient well.
He slowly raised his hand and unhooked the small golden crucifix hanging around his neck.
"Heart-wrenching."
Mihawk said indifferently, his tone neutral. "But reality is reality. I am different from a foolish beast like you who only knows how to howl."
Clink.
He gently pulled out the bottom of the crucifix, revealing a sharp knife only a few centimeters long.
"Even though you are a somewhat famous swordsman, this is, after all, the East Sea, the weakest of the four seas."
"Regrettably, for an opponent of your level, I don't have a smaller blade than this."
These words were like a resounding slap across Zoro's heart.
Zoro bit down hard on the hilt of the Wado Ichimonji, his teeth even drawing blood.
"There is a limit... to how much you can look down on someone!!"
Thump!
Zoro's feet shattered the deck as he charged toward Mihawk like an enraged tiger.
"Don't regret it after you're dead! You bastard!!"
Facing this menacing charge, Mihawk simply stood his ground quietly.
He watched Zoro rushing toward him and lightly raised the 'toy' knife in his hand.
"Frog in a well, let me show you how vast the world truly is."
"Oni Giri!!"
Zoro held nothing back, unleashing his strongest move right from the start.
The three swords were like ghostly fangs, sealing off all paths of retreat.
"Ha!!"
However, the next scene caused everyone present to drop their jaws in shock.
Mihawk's expression didn't change at all; he didn't even move his feet an inch.
He simply held the small knife and made a seemingly casual thrust forward.
Clang!!
Following a crisp, heartbreaking sound of metal clashing.
Zoro's seemingly unstoppable momentum came to a dead halt!
That knife, only a few centimeters long, was pressed with unerring precision against the central stress point where Zoro's three blades met.
It was as if it were a pillar anchoring the sea, preventing Zoro from advancing a single step further, no matter how much strength he exerted!
"Zoro... how... how is that possible..."
Watching the battle, Luffy's mouth hung wide open.
Johnny and Yosaku were breaking out in a cold sweat, their pupils trembling.
"That... that's the ultimate move Big Brother uses to blow enemies away 100% of the time! It was actually stopped by a toy knife..."
Sitting on the railing, Tatsuya's two-tomoe eyes spun rapidly, taking in the entire scene.
"Remarkable."
He sighed with heartfelt admiration.
He saw clearly that, despite it being their first meeting...
Mihawk had used his terrifying insight in that split second to accurately find the single weakness in Zoro's technique.
This was a complete dimensional suppression of swordsmanship realms.
"This move likely has decades of accumulated skill behind it," Tatsuya whispered.
On the other side, Zoro gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, and the muscles in his arms expanded to their limit.
But no matter how hard he pushed, that small knife was like a great mountain, filling him with despair.
"How... could it be... by a toy-like thing like this..."
"You've got to be kidding me! How could the world... be so far away!!"
Zoro let out a roar, retracted his swords, spun his body, and launched a storm-like assault on Mihawk once again.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
But no matter what technique he used or how tricky the angle of his attack was...
Mihawk was like he was taking a stroll in a garden, using only that one small knife to effortlessly parry everything.
His movements were so slight that even the hem of his clothes didn't flutter.
This was clearly a case of an old man playing with a naughty child.
"Too slow."
Mihawk gave a slight, forceful shove.
Thud!
Zoro instantly lost his balance and fell clumsily to the ground, rolling several times.
"Ah!!"
Johnny and Yosaku shouted in panic, "No way! Big Brother!"
"Big Brother! Use your full strength! Stop playing around with him!"
"Shut up!!"
Zoro roared as he scrambled up from the ground, his eyes bloodshot.
His three swords became completely violent, like a wild whirlwind.
"Tiger Hunt!"
But Mihawk, facing this beast-like frenzy, only took half a step back, his gaze remaining calm.
"What a violent sword style; it's absolutely riddled with openings."
Zoro swung again, but was still blocked nonchalantly by Mihawk.
The surviving pirates broke into a cold sweat as they watched.
"So... so strong. That's Roronoa Zoro!"
"To actually use that nail-trimming toy... to block all of Zoro's Three Sword Style! Is he even human?!"
"I... I didn't swing my sword until now just to be toyed with by this piece of junk!!"
A desperate roar echoed in Zoro's heart.
The image of a short-haired girl holding the white Wado Ichimonji on a moonlit night appeared in his mind.
"Kuina..."
In the moment his focus wavered.
Thwack!
Mihawk seized the opportunity, accurately stabbing Zoro in the shoulder and then knocking him to the ground.
"Ha... ha... damn it!"
Zoro propped himself up with a tremble, blood dripping onto the deck.
"I have... a reason why I absolutely cannot lose!!"
He pulled his two swords back to build momentum, his entire body tensed like a bow, all his strength converging on this one strike.
"Three Sword Style—Hunt!!"
However.
Facing the charging Zoro, Mihawk simply made another plain thrust.
Squelch!
The small knife sank deep into Zoro's chest.
Zoro's charge stopped instantly, his hands falling limp, but he did not retreat a single step.
"Do you want your heart pierced?"
Mihawk looked at the young man who would rather die than retreat and asked in a low voice, "Why not back down?"
Blood overflowed from the corners of Zoro's mouth, staining his teeth red.
"I don't know... I don't know either..."
Zoro's voice was weak yet firm:
"I only know... if I take even a single step back here... all those past oaths, and so many other important things, will crumble and break in this instant..."
"If that happens... I will never be able to return to this place."
Mihawk's tone was flat: "That is what defeat is."
"Yeah... in that case, I definitely can't retreat."
"Even if you die?"
"Dying... is better than losing!!"
Zoro looked up, a flame called 'pride' burning in his eyes.
Despite this being the weakest sea, Mihawk had encountered the strongest heart here.
Upon hearing these words, Mihawk's originally languid gaze finally sharpened completely, and his air of indifference vanished.
"You would rather die than suffer defeat?"
He slowly withdrew the small knife from Zoro's chest and then solemnly put it away.
"Boy, state your name."
Zoro took a deep breath and resumed his Three Sword Style stance, the highest etiquette for a swordsman.
"Roronoa Zoro!"
"I shall remember it."
Mihawk nodded. "A strong one I haven't seen in a long time."
Then, he asked in a low voice: "Why do you swing your sword? To cut down the enemy before you?"
Zoro was taken aback and roared as if it were obvious:
"Of course! To become stronger! To defeat powerful people like you! To become number one in the world!"
"That... is why you are weak."
Zoro's pupils constricted violently: "What did you say?!"
Mihawk didn't look at him, but instead at the crucifix knife in his hand, as if talking to himself:
"A sword is a thing that becomes more fragile the tighter you grip it."
"Your sword is filled with 'desire'—the desire to win, the desire to cut, the desire for fame."
"These desires are like weeds, tightly entangling your blade and making it dull."
Mihawk's golden eyes looked directly at Zoro again:
"When your eyes are only on the goal of being 'the strongest,' you cannot see the path beneath your feet, the flow of the wind, or the vastness of the world."
"Right now, you are like a beast that only knows how to charge blindly."
"And a beast... can never defeat a man!"
Zoro felt like he'd been struck by lightning, freezing in place.
"A beast...?"
Mihawk slowly held the black blade, Yoru, horizontally in front of him.
"However, as a sign of etiquette and respect for you as a swordsman, I will use this world's strongest black blade to send you to your grave in the sea."
Zoro snapped back to his senses, looking at the black blade radiating a terrifying aura. A smile of relief actually played across his lips.
"Then... I am truly grateful!!"
The wind rose.
Zoro stared intently at Mihawk charging toward him, his two swords spinning rapidly.
"Three Sword Style: Secret Technique!!"
"Three Thousand Worlds!!!"
The two crossed paths.
Clang—!!
Then came the heart-shuddering sound of breaking metal.
Clatter.
The two ordinary katanas in Zoro's hands snapped into two and fell to the ground.
Only the Wado Ichimonji in his mouth remained intact.
Zoro slowly sheathed his sword, turned around, spread his arms, and faced Mihawk calmly.
"Lost... I never thought... I would lose..."
"What?" Mihawk looked at his actions with some surprise.
Zoro gave a brilliant smile, his eyes firm and clear:
"Scars on the back... are a swordsman's shame!!"
Mihawk looked at the man, and a smile of genuine appreciation appeared on his lips.
"Magnificent!! Roronoa Zoro!!"
Slash!!
The black blade swung down.
A massive gash appeared on Zoro's chest, and blood erupted, staining the sky red.
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