Zoro's eyes narrowed, and his body instantly vanished from his spot, circling around Momousagi's side as sword light swept forth like a storm!
"Three Sword Style: Tiger Hunt!!"
"Clang—!!"
Momousagi still used only one hand to wield her sword, easily parrying!
She didn't even change her expression in the slightest; with a flick of her wrist, Zoro was instantly sent back several meters, leaving two deep drag marks in the desert sand beneath his feet!
"Tch... this is really tricky."
Zoro licked the corner of his mouth, stomped his feet, and exploded forward, charging at Momousagi again!
"Three Sword Style: Dragon Twister!!"
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Zoro's three swords transformed into streaks of sword shadows, and terrifying Sword Qi rained down like a fierce storm; each strike carried the power to tear the earth apart!
However... Momousagi's movements remained effortless, she didn't even use both hands, wielding her sword with only one hand throughout!
She simply swung her sword calmly, blocked, and pushed back... all attacks were neutralized by her in the simplest manner!
With each clash, Momousagi's expression remained unchanged, while Zoro continuously accelerated his rhythm, pushing himself to his limits!
"...Too slow."
Momousagi sighed softly, a faint hint of disappointment in her eyes.
"Like this... you won't be able to defeat me."
Zoro's pupils suddenly constricted, his heart trembling!
Momousagi's basic attacks were so strong that he could barely fend them off!
No matter how he attacked, she could neutralize it in the simplest way, and her movements were clean and precise, without any unnecessary flair!
This feeling was somewhat similar to when he fought Hawkeye... Is this... the strength of a Great Swordsman?!
Despite this, Zoro's Battle Intent showed no signs of weakening!
His gaze grew even sharper, his feet suddenly sank, his entire body's muscles tensed, and Armament Haki surged wildly as he unleashed his full power!
"One Sword Style — All-Encompassing Rending Void!!!"
At this moment, Zoro's Aura abruptly reached its peak!
He abruptly sheathed his sword, his Qi contained, and then in an instant, unleashed a devastating Sword Pressure!
The moment wado ichimonji was swung, the entire world seemed to be torn apart by this single strike!!
A terrifying black Saber Qi tore through the air, ripping through heaven and earth, striking towards Momousagi!!!
At this moment, Momousagi's eyes finally changed!
Her initial casualness and playfulness completely vanished, replaced by an unprecedented serious expression!
"...What terrifying talent."
She slowly raised her hand; this time, it was no longer with one hand, but with both hands holding the sword!
konpira's blade, at this moment, bloomed with terrifying Sword Qi, Armament Haki covered it, and purplish-black Sword Qi coiled around the blade, like surging lightning!
"Boom — — — —!!!"
Zoro's "All-Encompassing Rending Void" and Momousagi's slash collided head-on in mid-air!!!
The terrifying Sword Qi shockwave instantly swept across the entire battlefield, tearing a massive gully into the ground, and yellow sand swirled wildly!
The entire sky was covered in red lightning, as if the end of the world had arrived!!!
As the dust settled, Zoro's figure slowly emerged.
His clothes were torn, and a deep sword mark was left on his shoulder, blood slowly trickling down.
Momousagi looked at him calmly, her tone flat: "...Your strength is indeed good."
"But you... are still far from it."
Despite being at a disadvantage the entire time, Zoro still looked directly at Momousagi, a stubborn smile curving his lips!
"Heh... as expected... a Great Swordsman... is an interesting goal..."
Momousagi frowned slightly: "Aren't you afraid of death?"
Zoro grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth: "If I were afraid of death, I wouldn't be standing here."
"I've made a vow, I will never lose again!"
Momousagi was silent for a moment, then sighed softly, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on her lips.
"...What a troublesome fellow."
She gripped her sword again, her eyes sharp—
Momousagi gently flicked the blood beads from her blade, her gaze cold, ready to get serious and completely crush Zoro, this young swordsman who dared to challenge her!
But just then—
"Rumble — —!!!"
The distant ground suddenly trembled, and a low rumbling sound came from the edge of the desert.
Everyone looked up to see dense figures rapidly approaching from afar; thousands of Marine Soldiers were surging towards the battlefield!
They wore white Marine uniforms, held weapons, and had serious expressions on their faces as they quickly approached the battlefield!
The Marine reinforcements had finally arrived!
At the very front of this massive Marine force, a familiar figure stood amidst the sandstorm.
With two cigars in his mouth, his eyes as sharp as blades, his gaze fixed intently on the Straw Hat Pirates!
Smoker!
This man, who was soundly defeated by Lin Ning's Conqueror's Haki Coating in Loguetown, had returned!
But unlike last time, Smoker this time exuded a completely different Aura.
Compared to his previous impulsiveness and anger, the current Smoker was clearly calmer, more profound, and his entire demeanor had undergone an astonishing transformation.
His hands were slightly clenched, and Armament Haki slowly covered his fists, as black as ink!
He had finally mastered Armament Haki!
After his defeat at Lin Ning's hands in Loguetown, Smoker did not wallow in despair but trained day and night, mastering both types of Haki, making himself even stronger!
Now, he had finally found news of the Straw Hat Pirates, and in his investigation, he discovered that the Shichibukai Crocodile was actually attempting to overthrow Alabasta!
This shocked Smoker immensely!
A Shichibukai recognized by the World Government was secretly plotting a coup, intending to control a World Government affiliated nation?
And what was even more unbelievable to him was — the Straw Hat Pirates were playing a righteous role in this incident!
"How is this possible... those pirates, protecting a country?"
Smoker initially refused to believe it, but as the investigation deepened, he found that this fact could not be denied!
Crocodile's crimes were laid out before him with irrefutable evidence, while the Straw Hat Pirates had been trying to prevent this disaster from happening!
Smoker was in a dilemma... he was a Marine, and pirates were enemies.
But this time, the one truly disrupting the World Government's order was the "Seven Warlords of the Sea" recognized by the World Government, and not the Straw Hat Pirates!
Finally, Smoker made the first exceptional decision in his life—
He requested support from Marine Headquarters!
This was the first time Smoker had ever asked his superiors for help; he was very reluctant, but he knew.
If Crocodile succeeded, Alabasta would be overthrown, and the Marines' reputation would be completely ruined!
After careful consideration, Marine Headquarters decided to dispatch Vice Admiral Candidate Momousagi to quell this storm!
At this moment, Smoker, standing at the forefront of the Marine contingent, his eyes blazing, stared intently at the Straw Hat Pirates!
"Straw Hat! Surrender now!!"
"Buzz—!"
Smoker's entire body instantly transformed into swirling white smoke, which then formed a raging dragon-like smoke stream.
It charged towards the Straw Hat Pirates from the sky with terrifying speed, stirring up a violent surge of air!
The smoke swept through, as if to completely engulf the Straw Hat!
Boom!!
Facing Smoker's sudden attack, Luffy, Lin Ning, Sanji, Nami, and the others immediately entered combat mode!
"Wait... someone will make a move."
Lin Ning's voice was calm, as if he had already foreseen the upcoming change.
Sanji was startled, then immediately vigilant, staring at the sky, his Observation Haki rapidly expanding, trying to pinpoint the person Lin Ning had sensed!
"Boom!!!"
Just as Smoker's smoke was about to engulf the Straw Hat Pirates—
A searing flame descended from the sky, fiercely colliding with the surging mass of smoke!!