5. Sword Drawn! Zoro's Astonishment!

"But before that, we need to shove some eyesores out of the way."

Chu Bawang looked toward the numerous pirates of the Black Cat Pirates. Among them were the Nyaban Brothers, Jango the Hypnotist, and a large group of pirate lackeys. This group of pirates had come specifically to eliminate Kaya.

Seeing the Black Cat Pirates closing in, the Straw Hat trio stepped in front of Chu Bawang.

Luffy grinned and said, "Ba... Bawang, leave these small fries to us!"

Zoro echoed, "Luffy is right. We can't have you paying for our passage and doing the heavy lifting yourself."

The Nyaban Brothers blocked Zoro, while Jango the Hypnotist squared off against Luffy. As for the remaining lackeys, they targeted Nami and Usopp. Chu Bawang, conversely, remained idle on the sidelines.

"I actually wanted to say that it wasn't necessary to go through all that trouble; a single glare from me would be enough to finish off these small fries... Oh well, since it's their good intention, I shouldn't dampen their desire to return the favor. I'll just watch the battle for now."

The fighting progressed quickly. Luffy faced Jango, and in a mutual knockout, both collapsed to the ground unconscious.

"Luffy, didn't I tell you not to look at the hypnosis ring? How did you get hypnotized again?!" Nami sighed, looking at him with a mix of pity and exasperation.

"Mr. Jango?! How did you manage to hypnotize yourself too?" the lackeys shouted.

"..."

Fine, fine. That was classic Luffy.

The battle between Zoro and the Nyaban Brothers was intense. Even though Zoro was not at full strength, he still managed to keep them on the defensive, even gaining a slight upper hand.

"Nyaban Brothers! Combine!"

The two spun at high speed into the sky, their figures merging as they crossed paths. The defensive power of the Nyaban Brothers became terrifying, and even Zoro could not break through for a moment. Compounded by his existing wounds, Zoro began to retreat step by step. It looked like he would run out of stamina in five minutes at most.

As for Nami and Usopp, their situation was even worse. Despite Nami's impressive agility, she was outnumbered. A lackey snuck behind her and raised his blade to strike.

"Nami, look out!"

Distracted, Zoro left an opening that the Nyaban Brothers exploited, kicking him squarely in his wound and sending him crashing to the ground.

"Nami, move!" Usopp fell to his knees in despair, trying to rush behind Nami to protect her. However, given his speed, it was clear his spirit was willing but his body was unable.

Chu Bawang sighed helplessly. "Ugh! Do I really have to step in after all? Is the Straw Hat crew's combat strength really this pathetic?"

"Forget it. I'll just consider it part of the fare."

*Hum!*

It sounded like metal clashing. Desperate, Nami slowly opened her eyes to find herself held within Chu Bawang's broad embrace. The lackey's blade could not advance a single inch, completely clamped tight by Chu Bawang's fingers.

"This is... such a warm feeling."

As Chu Bawang released her, Nami couldn't help but feel a sense of loss. Just now, she had experienced a feeling of safety she had never known before.

"Usopp, protect Nami. Leave the rest to me."

"Ah... Ah? Ba... Bawang, be careful! These guys will kill you!"

"Don't worry. If I can't beat them, can't I just run?"

The Nyaban Brothers looked at Chu Bawang and instinctively called out his name. "Ba... Bawang."

Chu Bawang nodded slightly, smiling brightly. "Good morning, my dear sons!"

"Damn it! Kill this bastard! How dare he take advantage of us, the Nyaban Brothers!" The brothers brandished their claws and rushed toward Chu Bawang in a fury.

"To deal with these small fries, which move should I use to look coolest?"

"Hmm, this one seems quite good—stylish and flashy!"

Chu Bawang pointed one hand toward the sky and the other toward the earth, shouting, "Come, swords!"

In that moment, hundreds of swords belonging to every swordsman in the vicinity unsheathed in unison and flew toward Chu Bawang. One large cross-shaped blade caught Chu Bawang's attention: *Yoru*, the Black Blade. It was the weapon of the Warlord of the Sea, Dracule Mihawk, one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Swords, known as the world's strongest black blade.

Immediately after, Zoro's three swords were also drawn, soaring majestically toward Chu Bawang.

Two waves of flying swords blocked out the sun.

On this day, the image of Chu Bawang as the incarnation of the Sword God was branded into Zoro's very bones. At that moment, Zoro began to understand what a true swordsman was!

*Slash! Slash!*

Thousands of blades rained down like a torrential downpour. Each blade claimed a precious life. Zoro looked toward Chu Bawang, seeing only a proud, cold back.

(Note: In the world of One Piece, there is no distinction between swords and sabers; a blade is a sword, and a sword is a blade. This is evident from the fact that Zoro’s "Three-Sword Style" is referred to as swordsmanship.)