Zoro calmly observed the surrounding pirates, a smirk playing on his lips.
"You're this angry just because your vice-captain was handed over to the Navy? Seriously?"
Zoro showed complete disregard for these pirates. As a bounty hunter, killing pirates was merely a means to an end—making money. As they surrounded him, he scoffed, clearly unimpressed.
The pirate captain addressed the restaurant patrons, "Everyone eating here, get out! Don't blame us if you get accidentally killed!"
Everyone scrambled to their feet and fled, except the restaurant owner, who was sweating profusely, his heart sinking.
"Please, fight outside! This is a small place; we can't handle your fight!"
The pirate captain felt a surge of vanity at the owner's plea. But he said, "Think that's possible? I said, staying here means death!"
As he spoke, the pirate captain's body transformed into a mass of black ink, terrifying the onlookers. The owner fell to his knees, his face enveloped by the ink.
Zoro's eyes narrowed. He didn't understand the ink transformation, but without hesitation, he drew his blade, severing the ink. The ink splattered across the floor, staining it black.
Though the owner was saved, the pirate captain's arm instantly regenerated, seemingly unharmed.
"Cough, cough!" The owner clutched his throat, gasping for breath.
He coughed again, then stumbled out of the restaurant, desperate to escape.
Only Zoro, Ryuya, and Kuina remained. Ryuya and Kuina, unafraid, watched the unfolding drama.
The pirate captain, however, noticed them but dismissed them. He laughed maniacally, "I'm cursed by the sea! I can transform into ink; no attack can harm me! I'm the strongest on the sea!"
Zoro, lacking the experience he'd later gain, had never encountered such an ability.
Ryuya and Kuina exchanged glances. Ryuya murmured, "I didn't expect to find a Logia-type Devil Fruit user in this backwater of the East Blue. It's all about the user, though."
Kuina added, "True. But in the East Blue, this is enough. As long as he doesn't get too arrogant." A smirk played on her lips.
The pirate captain turned to Zoro, "Let's start with you, then I'll kill those two watching. I gave you a chance, but you didn't take it!"
Ink surged from the pirate captain, erupting towards Zoro like a fountain.
Zoro leaped aside, the ink engulfing his underlings. The captain, unfazed, continued his ink attacks.
Zoro dodged repeatedly, searching for a weakness. Soon, all the captain's men were knocked down, yet Zoro remained untouched. Zoro had nowhere left to dodge.
How could this be? This man was immune to his attacks! Zoro was astonished!
"Kuku kaka ka! Let's see where you run! I'll suffocate you with my ink!"
The pirate captain laughed, the ink surging towards Zoro, attempting to engulf and suffocate him.
Zoro, determined to find a way to defeat him, continued to attack, but his slashes were ineffective.
He gritted his teeth. "I can't die! I have to fulfill Kuina's dream and reach the peak of swordsmanship! If I fall here, I'll disappoint her!"
He struggled, but the Logia-type Devil Fruit ability was practically invincible in the East Blue, where no one had mastered Armament Haki.
The ink climbed higher, enveloping Zoro. Suffocation set in, and he felt his life draining away. Only the pirate captain's maniacal laughter echoed in the restaurant. The ink surged, reaching towards Ryuya and Kuina.
Ryuya smirked. Before he could act, Kuina drew Ominous.
A Supreme-Grade Swordsman mid-level Battōjutsu slash! A solid, condensed line of light sliced through the air, surging towards the pirate captain.
Thanks to Armament Haki, the pirate captain's laughter ceased abruptly. The ink dispersed, revealing the pirate captain's corpse and a barely conscious Zoro…
____________________
for more advance chapters visit my p@treon
p@treon.com/kane45
Casual Reader - 20 Advance Chapters
Intermediate Reader - 40 Advance Chapters
Expert Reader - 60 Advance Chapters