I cannot retreat! Otherwise, I would be unworthy of being his unofficial disciple.
Hawkeye turned defense into offense, pressing a fruit knife right at the intersection of Zoro’s four swords.
Mihawk had found the weakness of the Demon Slash!
Zoro was forced to switch from offense to defense!
Otherwise, he would be stabbed in the heart with no chance of survival!
Yet even so, that bizarre fruit knife directly suppressed Zoro’s Four-Sword Style, leaving everyone present in disbelief.
Is this the true power of the world’s greatest swordsman?
Truly terrifying!
Luffy’s eyes twitched wildly with worry as he blurted out, “Zoro!”
Red-Leg Zeff’s face grew cold, and he said gravely, “Zoro’s Demon Slash... was actually stopped just like that?”
Damn it!
He can’t move!
What exactly has he done?
No one had ever seen through this move before!
With the help of the sword spirit Koemi, the Demon Slash was supposed to be an unbeatable technique!
But it was somehow stopped by something that looked like a mere toy...
How is this possible...
Is the gap between us really this vast?
Zoro stared stiffly at the fruit knife, cold sweat trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The irony was overwhelming!
A simple fruit knife had actually blocked his proudly mastered sword technique?
Hawkeye Mihawk chuckled lightly, “Your reaction isn’t slow, but is that all you’ve got? I’m quite disappointed in your strength!
If I could claim this spirit sword as mine, I’d be ten times stronger than I am now!”
What a pity.
The reason spirit swords are called spirit swords
lies in those very words—‘spirit’!
A world-renowned blade awakened with intelligence is truly enviable!
Yet it’s wasted in the hands of such an unremarkable swordsman.
Mihawk glanced subtly at Chu the Overlord, his curiosity growing:
“Overlord... how exactly did you cultivate a sword spirit? If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would’ve thought this was something from ancient texts!”
“Damn it! Why did I just call him ‘Overlord’ again?”
Zoro’s anger boiled over as he quickened his sword swings, the ringing of metal echoing through the air.
But unfortunately, the difference in strength was simply too great!
Even with Koemi’s help, Zoro couldn’t so much as graze Hawkeye’s cloak!
Thunk!
Zoro was pushed down to the ground by a single strike from Hawkeye.
***
Usopp shouted, “Don’t just stand there, Zoro! Use your real skills and beat him!”
Zoro flipped over, knees hitting the ground, hands crossed, his face twisted in a grimace:
“Damn it! Is the gap between his strength and mine really this wide?”
Chu the Overlord looked at Zoro with disappointment, shaking his head:
“Zoro’s already lost—he’s started to lose his composure.
If he had used his unrefined sword from the start, maybe he could’ve exited with some dignity.”
Chu the Overlord felt a flicker of temptation.
Is Zoro avoiding his half-baked sword out of fear of shame?
After all, it’s the only swordsmanship Chu himself taught him.
If he fails to make a mark, it would be embarrassing!
“Zoro, you’re thoughtful enough. I might help you improve a little more from now on.
Then you can fully repay the score from today!
Once you master my Six Vein Sword, the Lone Sword Style, the Celestial Flying Sword, the Celestial Flying Sword again, and the Ten Thousand Sword Return...
you’ll grasp the true essence of the sword!
Is it just a fruit knife? Then you might as well ‘repay’ Hawkeye with the same!”
Sanji felt a chill beneath his feet, eyes fixed on the center of the battlefield:
“Using only a fruit knife to block Zoro’s Three-Sword Style completely...
That guy is a monster beyond the monster Zoro!”
At that moment,
Zoro’s ‘think of comrades’ buff triggered, causing distraction and carelessness as he swung his sword.
Hawkeye transformed his palm into a blade and slashed toward Zoro’s neck.
“Ahhh~!”
Zoro seemed to be transported back to the times when his comrade Kuina repeatedly defeated him.
Back then, he and Kuina had promised:
One day, either he or Kuina would become the world’s greatest swordsman!
To become the strongest, he endured hardships many times that of his peers.
But fate is unpredictable.
His comrade was now dead.
“I will become stronger for both of us! I will make my name resound in heaven! I will become the world’s strongest swordsman!”
“That was our promise! I... I must become the strongest swordsman!”
Exhausted, Zoro swung his blade, but Hawkeye dodged with ease.
Watching Zoro, panting yet refusing to admit defeat, charging at him again and again,
Hawkeye was moved!
“Roronoa Zoro, what do you carry on your back? At the edge of strength, what do you yearn for? Pitiful weakling!”
Zoro’s two comrades furiously raised their swords:
“How dare you say Zoro’s weak, you damn bastard!”
“Shut up! Our big brother Zoro is the strongest in the world!”
Chu the Overlord placed his hand on the shoulders of the two young men with the weight of a mountain, effortlessly suppressing them.
“Stop! Joseph, Johnny. Do not interfere in the fight between Zoro and Hawkeye—hold your ground!”
Usopp seemed lost in thought: “Over... Overlord.”
Zoro glanced back at Chu, whom he called his master, struggling to rise:
“I absolutely cannot lose!”
Time seemed to freeze in that moment.
Zoro stood up once more.
The sea roared and churned, all eyes wide with astonishment at the exhausted Zoro.
“Is this really the unregistered disciple of Overlord—Roronoa Zoro?!
Such a strong will to win!
It’s unbelievable that someone this powerful is only Overlord’s unregistered disciple!
Then if Overlord’s true disciple took action, could they even compete with Hawkeye?!”
“Hiss! Thinking like that, it seems Overlord may be even stronger than Hawkeye!
Who exactly is this guy? Why have I never heard his name on the seas before?”
Zoro assumed a stance holding two swords as if carrying them on his back.
“Tiger—Hunt!!!”
But before Zoro could finish his skill’s incantation,
Hawkeye had already plunged the fruit knife into Zoro’s chest!
Congratulations to little brother Zoro for completing the ‘Real Heart-Piercing, Bro’ achievement!
Tick.
Tick!
Tick!
Blood dripped down the handle of the fruit knife.
For the first time, Hawkeye showed a look of admiration toward Zoro, his gaze burning:
“Why don’t you retreat? Do you want to be pierced through the heart?”
Sunlight poured down along Zoro’s gaze.
Blood stained his lips, but he still managed a faint smile:
“I don’t know. I don’t know myself!”
“I just feel that if I took a step back here, all the important vows and promises I’ve made so far would disappear!”
“I can never come back here again, nor deserve to be called that person’s unregistered disciple!”