"You… just who are you people?!"
Having finally snapped back to his senses, Kuro fixed Red with a deathly glare, his face turning an ashen blue in an instant.
He simply couldn't believe it. Someone capable of blocking his slashes couldn't possibly be an unknown nobody in the East Blue.
Yet Red clearly had no interest in wasting words on him.
Truth be told, if Zoro hadn't needed a suitable opponent to hone his skills, Red would have had Luffy finish Kuro off in a single blow long ago.
Their time was precious.
Ignoring Kuro entirely, Red turned his head and spoke to Zoro.
"Don't let him get past you again, Zoro."
"Otherwise, I won't be able to hold myself back from intervening."
"Yes!"
A trace of shame surfaced on Zoro's face.
Letting an enemy break through his defense was nothing short of an insult.Even without Red saying it, he would never allow himself to make the same mistake a second time.
"Hey! Kuro of the Black Cat—your opponent is me!!!"
Zoro's eyes gleamed as an overwhelming aura burst forth from his body, instantly seizing Kuro's attention.
The next moment, an inexplicable sense of dread stirred inside Kuro, forcing him to instinctively take a step back.
Zoro's trait—Pressure—was taking effect!
Before Kuro could even react, Zoro lunged forward in a powerful stride!
"Three-Sword Style · Flame Dragon!!!"
BOOM!!!
A nameless blaze erupted from Zoro's blades, taking shape in midair as the phantom of a domineering, roaring fire dragon.
"This is—?!"
Red narrowed his eyes slightly.
Though he'd anticipated something like this, seeing it with his own eyes still sent a shock through him.
There was no mistake.
Although still faint, the swordsmanship Zoro was using at this very moment unmistakably carried traces of Dragon-type Pokémon energy!
After days of contemplation, Red had already begun to understand why the system had assigned Zoro the Dragon attribute.
Dragons were sovereigns of all beasts—hailed as the strongest of living creatures!
Compared to Fire-, Water-, Lightning-, or Flying-type Pokémon energies, Dragon-type power was far more all-encompassing, a fusion of many strengths into a singular, overwhelming force!
Dragon-type moves could mimic fire with Dragon Rage, wind with Twister, water with Dragon Pulse, rock with Draco Meteor, normal attacks with Dragon Claw, and even fighting styles with Dragon Rush…
Though attributes were about advantage and disadvantage, not absolute strength—
In Red's view, the very purpose of the Dragon type was to create the ultimate attribute.
And among the Straw Hat crew, if there was anyone most obsessed with the title of "the strongest"…
It was undoubtedly Zoro!
Among the three main fighters, Luffy dreamed of becoming Pirate King, while Sanji sought the ALL BLUE…
The other members all harbored lofty ambitions of their own.
But from start to finish, only Zoro's goal had remained constant—to become the world's greatest swordsman!
Red suspected this was precisely why Zoro had been granted the Dragon attribute!
And Zoro clearly hadn't sullied the Dragon's name.
Despite never learning a single Dragon-type move, he had forcibly fused the Pokémon energy within his body with his own comprehension of swordsmanship—creating a fearsome, exclusive sword technique of his own!
This was no different from inventing an entirely new Pokémon move in the Pokémon world…
Calling it a miracle would not be an exaggeration at all!!!
Whoooom!!!
Scorching flames caused the room's temperature to spike sharply!
Facing Zoro's ferocious slash, Kuro could only raise his cat claws, crossing all ten blades in front of him to form a shield of steel!
The next second—
BOOM!!!
The raging flame dragon engulfed Kuro completely, searing heat crashing into him and blasting him straight through the villa wall, sending him flying into Kaya's estate.
As cold wind rushed in from outside, Zoro dispersed the flame dragon aura, and the temperature in the room quickly returned to normal.
"Is that your new technique?"
Red suddenly asked, the admiration in his eyes impossible to hide.
"Yeah."
Zoro nodded excitedly.
Even he hadn't been sure whether he could actually pull it off.
He'd only noticed that whenever he gave rise to killing intent, destruction, or urges of devastation, a strange resonance would surge within him.
And the successful execution of that sword technique just now had completely confirmed it—he had truly grasped an extraordinary power!
"Thank you, Red!"
Zoro suddenly said.
He knew all too well who had made this possible.
But Red merely smiled lightly.
"What are you thanking me for? I never taught you how to condense Pokémon energy into sword techniques."
"The one you should thank is the version of yourself who never slacked off."
"And besides, the enemy isn't completely defeated yet. This isn't the time to relax and chat."
"Right!"
Zoro nodded firmly.
Gripping his blades, he approached the shattered wall, leaped down, and landed in the courtyard below.
At this moment, Kuro was struggling to stand back up as well.
But half of the blades on his Cat Claws were already shattered!
"Cough—!"
A trace of crimson blood slid from the corner of Kuro's mouth.
The pain didn't dampen his fighting spirit. Instead, it drove his killing intent into madness!
At this moment, he was completely unhinged.
Lowering his head, he revealed a pair of sinister, shadowed eyes.
"You damn brats!!! I'll kill you all!!!"
The moment his words fell, Kuro abruptly dropped his arms, his body beginning to sway rhythmically.
This was his trump card—the technique he still believed could kill them even after witnessing Red's defense and Zoro's slash—
"Shakushi!"
By pushing Silent Step to its absolute limit, it was an ultimate combat technique so fast that even Kuro himself couldn't tell what he was cutting!!!
It was his greatest pride!
"Be careful, Zoro. That thing I warned you about… it's coming!"
Seeing Kuro assume that bizarre stance, Red immediately called out from the ruined second floor.
With Zoro's current strength, keeping up with Shave-level speed was nearly impossible.
Thankfully, due to flaws in Kuro's own combat talent, Shakushi possessed a fatal weakness—lack of control.
And that would be the key to breaking this situation.
"Speed on par with Shave, huh?!"
"Then let's test it!"
Without the slightest fear, Zoro stomped forward just before Kuro vanished, his body shooting out like an arrow.
"Three-Sword Style · Oni Giri!!!"
In pursuit of speed, Zoro didn't attempt to integrate Pokémon energy again, instead using the technique he knew best.
The fierce slash, like a dark gleam from the abyss, swept toward Kuro—
Yet in an instant, Kuro's figure vanished from where he stood!
Step!
Zoro slammed his foot down, carving a long furrow several meters across the ground.
"No wonder this was worth Red's warning—this really lives up to its name!"
Failing to catch Kuro didn't discourage him at all. Instead, anticipation gleamed in his eyes.
Rip—!
Several deep slashes suddenly appeared in the ground.
In the next instant, the entire courtyard—ground, walls, and trees alike—was covered in identical blade marks!
In that moment, the courtyard became a domain filled with slashes and lethal danger.
And Zoro stood right at its center!
He refrained from moving rashly, raising his blades into a defensive stance.
While bracing for incoming attacks, he struggled to adapt to Kuro's speed.
Metallic clashes rang out in rapid succession, enough to make onlookers break out in cold sweat for Zoro.
"Zoro!"
From a corner where she'd hidden with Merry, Nami peeked out just in time to see Zoro's waist sliced open, blood spraying into the air.
Yet Zoro seemed unfazed, continuing to swing all three swords, his eyes desperately tracking Kuro's movements as he defended and searched for an opening.
"Red said…"
"There are countless people in the World Government and Marines who've mastered Shave—or techniques even stronger than it!"
"And in the Grand Line, there are even more powerful monsters out there!"
"If I can't overcome this, what right do I have—"
"—to call myself the world's greatest swordsman!!!"
BOOM!!!
An invisible force erupted from Zoro's body, like a pitch-black ferocious dragon coiling high above Kaya's estate.
"Ha—!!!"
Zoro let out a furious roar as his arms suddenly swelled, brimming with boundless strength!
"Three-Sword Style · Black Dragon · Great Dragon Twister!!!"
ROOOAR—!!!
A deep, resounding dragon's roar echoed within everyone present.
Along with that domineering cry, a ferocious jet-black tornado erupted around Zoro, expanding and howling outward!
Within the dark storm, brilliant flashes of cold light flickered continuously—the razor-sharp slashes hidden beneath the vortex's surface!
Clang! Clang! …
Suddenly, crisp sounds of steel being severed rang out across the courtyard.
From within the tornado, several broken blades were flung out—the shattered claws of Kuro's weapon!
And immediately after came an agonized scream.
"AAAAAH—!!!"
"W-What… what is that?!"
On the villa's second floor, Usopp stared at the scene from Kaya's bedroom, his face frozen in shock.
Yet as he looked at Zoro spinning within the storm, an unprecedented brilliance ignited in his eyes.
It was longing—
longing for true strength.
(End of Chapter)