"Haa..."
Exhaling a long breath, Crocodile slowly regained his composure.
"I never imagined I'd need a rookie like you to remind me."
"It seems I've grown far too complacent over the years."
He calmly looked at Kaito as his body gradually transformed into grains of sand, beginning from his feet and spreading upward.
"Come."
"Let's settle this somewhere else."
"I'll find a proper grave for you."
His icy voice echoed through the street.
The next instant, his entire body dissolved into yellow sand.
The swirling sand gathered into a rushing torrent that sped toward the outskirts of Rainbase.
"It looks like you've finally figured something out."
Kaito watched the stream of yellow sand disappearing into the distance.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"That makes this much more interesting."
Touching his chin thoughtfully, he immediately gave chase.
In the original timeline, Crocodile had only awakened to his mistakes after being defeated by Luffy.
The change that followed had been significant.
Most notably...
The Crocodile who escaped from Impel Down later displayed strength far beyond what he possessed before.
More accurately...
That Crocodile had simply recovered the strength that originally belonged to him.
The source of that transformation lay in his state of mind—
Or, to put it more simply...
His spirit.
Those with powerful conviction possessed fearless courage.
Those whose spirits faltered gradually fell into despair and decadence.
By regaining his conviction, Crocodile had rediscovered the resolve that once gave him the confidence to challenge Whitebeard.
Clang!
Sparks exploded into the air.
Blades collided again and again.
Each violent impact sent showers of sparks flying across the battlefield.
The owner of the swords was Zoro.
The owner of the steel blades was Daz Bones.
"Spiral Claw!"
During another fierce exchange, Daz Bones suddenly transformed his right hand into a massive claw-like blade and slashed viciously toward Zoro.
Clang!
Boom!!
Holding Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu, Zoro instantly crossed both swords to intercept the attack.
Powerful shockwaves burst outward.
Instead of retreating, Zoro stepped forward.
Using both swords, he forced Daz Bones' bladed arm aside.
At the same time, his body spun rapidly.
The Wado Ichimonji clenched between his teeth flashed across the air.
Slash!
Blood sprayed outward.
Even with his steel body, Daz Bones' chest was sliced open.
Grimacing in pain, he staggered backward repeatedly.
"How...?"
"How can your sword cut through me?"
After retreating more than ten steps, Daz Bones lowered his head toward the bloody wound across his chest.
Then he looked at Zoro in disbelief.
Throughout every battle of his life...
No swordsman had ever managed to injure his steel body.
He proudly called himself the natural enemy of swordsmen for exactly that reason.
"Huh?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
Even with Wado Ichimonji clenched between his teeth, Zoro spoke clearly.
"Your Devil Fruit lets your body become steel."
"My sword..."
"...can cut through steel."
Years of relentless training allowed him to speak normally despite fighting with a sword in his mouth.
To him, the answer was completely natural.
"...Cutting steel?"
"A swordsman can really do that?"
Daz Bones stared at him in astonishment.
A person's understanding was limited by their own experiences.
Although Daz Bones had followed one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile had never truly trained him.
Instead, he had remained trapped in Alabasta all these years.
"Why wouldn't they be able to?"
Zoro answered calmly.
"Steel isn't the limit."
"Even diamonds can't stop a true swordsman's blade."
"If you'd ever seen our captain swing his sword..."
"...you'd understand just how powerful a real swordsman can be."
Ever since mastering the ability to cut steel and officially becoming a true swordsman, Zoro had never become arrogant.
Part of that was simply his personality.
But there was another reason.
He understood perfectly well...
His current strength meant almost nothing.
Whenever he recalled Kaito slicing apart the mountain-sized whale at Reverse Mountain with a single slash...
He knew there was still an immeasurable distance between himself and the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
"I see."
Daz Bones slowly nodded.
"I admit..."
"I underestimated swordsmen."
"But even so..."
"The winner of this battle..."
"...will still be me."
"The winner isn't decided by words."
"It's decided by strength."
As he spoke, Zoro bent his knees slightly.
His sharp eyes locked firmly onto Daz Bones.
The next instant—
He exploded forward.
"Three-Sword Style..."
"Demon Slash!"
Closing the distance in an instant, Zoro crossed Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu into an X-shaped attack before unleashing a devastating three-sword strike toward Daz Bones.
Seeing what was coming, Daz Bones became completely focused.
Now that he understood Zoro's attacks could truly injure him, he immediately chose to dodge instead of blocking.
Halfway through his movement—
A sword suddenly appeared in front of him.
His escape route vanished.
The blade blocking his path wasn't one of the swords in Zoro's hands.
It was Wado Ichimonji.
The sword held in Zoro's mouth.
Slash!
Blood erupted once again.
Although Daz Bones had successfully avoided Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu...
He failed to evade Wado Ichimonji.
The fresh slash intersected the previous wound.
An enormous X-shaped gash immediately spread across his chest.
"Dust Blade!"
If anyone else had suffered such injuries, they would already have collapsed.
But Daz Bones possessed extraordinary willpower.
Even as blood poured from his wounds, he endured the pain and launched an immediate counterattack.
His bladed arms crossed before swinging outward.
In an instant—
Countless flying slashes burst forth like an enormous steel net.
Zoro's pupils contracted.
Without hesitation, he raised Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu to defend himself.
At the same time, he stomped backward repeatedly, retreating at top speed.
Slice! Slice! Slice!
The flying slashes carved through everything behind him.
A nearby house was instantly shredded into countless pieces, collapsing apart like scattered building blocks.
Even though Zoro had avoided the fatal strikes...
Thin cuts still appeared across both of his legs and shoulders.
Fresh blood slowly seeped from the wounds.
"Three-Sword Style..."
"One Hundred Eighty Pound Phoenix!"
A massive tornado-shaped flying slash erupted forward with a deafening roar.
In terms of determination...
Zoro's resolve was no weaker than Daz Bones'.
If anything...
It was even stronger.
The wounds covering his body didn't cause the slightest change in his expression.
The instant he escaped the barrage of flying slashes, he launched his own counterattack.
Boom!!
The enormous tornado slash crashed directly into Daz Bones.
The violent attack tore open fresh wounds across his steel body before blasting him completely off his feet.
His body smashed into a nearby house.
The entire building collapsed into ruins.
Dust filled the air.
Broken stones rolled across the ground.
Then—
A sharp flying slash burst from within the rubble.
The piled-up debris exploded apart, cut into countless fragments.
Covered in blood from head to toe, Daz Bones charged straight out of the ruins.
Without slowing down in the slightest...
He rushed directly toward Zoro once more.
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