Chapter 16: Gray Cat, the Power Called Zanpakutō[1]
"Ah!"
Nami let out a yelp. Frightened, she instinctively spread her arms and hugged Rozi's arm tightly against her chest.
Rozi raised an eyebrow and looked at Nami beside him.
Even though Nami wasn't like her self from two years later yet, Rozi still felt that the softness against his arm was beyond what ordinary people could compare to.
"Alright, Nami. I already told you—those are all illusions. They can't cause me real harm."
"So don't be that scared."
"That said, I don't mind lending you my arm."
"After all, being hugged like this feels pretty nice."
Rozi wore a smile and even deliberately flexed his arm a little.
"You jerk."
Nami spat the words out, blushing as she hurriedly let go of Rozi's arm.
Even so, seeing the smile on Rozi's face, Nami couldn't help feeling that maybe Rozi wasn't as terrifying as she thought.
No, Nami, wake up.
That man is a great pirate with an 800,000,000 Berries bounty.
Don't be fooled by appearances.
Nami patted her cheeks. When she opened her eyes again, clarity returned to them.
Rozi, watching it all, could only smile helplessly.
Looks like Nami needs a proper talk.
Otherwise, there's no way to get her to accept a Heroic Spirit template sooner and start training faster.
Rozi shook his head and looked over at Zoro, who had fallen into thought after Kokushibo's demonstration ended.
"Zoro, save your thinking for later."
"The 'Drunk' trait, Rangiku Matsumoto, and the 'Directionally challenged' trait, Kenpachi Zaraki, are waiting for you to choose."
Hearing Rozi, Zoro slowly turned his head and looked at the other two names on the semi-transparent panel.
"Rangiku Matsumoto and Kenpachi Zaraki, huh… I wonder if they're swordsmen."
"If they are, then compared to Kokushibo, how do they measure up?"
Zoro exhaled. After glancing at the words "Directionally challenged" above Kenpachi Zaraki's name, he raised his hand and slapped it onto "Rangiku Matsumoto."
In the end, those words "Directionally challenged" made Zoro leave Kenpachi Zaraki for last.
After a familiar tremor, a mature woman appeared—long orange wavy hair, a voluptuous figure, and a short blade strapped at her lower back.
This woman, Rangiku Matsumoto, sat at a table and kept pouring alcohol into her mouth.
In a short moment, several bottles were already downed.
"What a drunk. Zoro, she's just like you—hahahaha!"
Luffy remembered how Zoro drank back at the town's restaurant, compared it to Rangiku Matsumoto's drinking, and burst out laughing.
"Bastard, you've got no right to laugh at me. I heard your Heroic Spirit templates include a 'Glutton.'"
"Hehehe, that's right—I chose the 'Glutton,' Toriko. But anyway, are you going to choose this 'Drunk' Rangiku Matsumoto? Feels like it would be fun."
Luffy grinned.
Hearing that, Zoro frowned slightly. He looked at the new scene in front of them and drew the short blade at his waist, facing Rangiku Matsumoto as she confronted several monsters wearing bony masks.
Even before seeing Rangiku Matsumoto's combat skills, Zoro already felt she was far less compatible with him than Kokushibo was.
A swordsman's intuition.
"Let's watch first."
As Zoro finished speaking, Rangiku Matsumoto swung her short blade and charged at the masked monsters known as Hollows.
After several sharp slashes, her blade landed directly on the faces of each Hollow.
The powerful strikes instantly shattered their masks, and their bodies gradually dispersed into black particles.
"Sharp slashes, strong power… but compared to Kokushibo, her swordsmanship doesn't seem that impressive."
Zoro crossed his arms, brow slightly furrowed.
"You can't judge it like that. In terms of overall strength, she's far stronger than Kokushibo."
"Besides swordsmanship, she also controls other special power."
"Of course, the most special thing is the weapon called a Zanpakutō."
Rozi smiled.
As soon as he finished speaking, three Hollows over fifty meters tall suddenly appeared in front of Rangiku Matsumoto.
Rangiku Matsumoto raised an eyebrow and lightly rested her left hand on the hilt.
"Growl, Haineko!"
With her low chant, the blade portion of her short sword instantly turned into smoke made of sand-like grains.
She lightly swung the weapon that now had only a hilt, and the smoke in front of her surged forward, quickly reaching the giant Hollow's head.
Rangiku Matsumoto swung the hilt again, and a crack instantly appeared on the giant Hollow's neck where the ash had touched.
Under Zoro and the others' stunned gazes, the giant Hollow's neck snapped cleanly apart.
"…What was that?"
"What's going on with that sword?"
Zoro exclaimed.
"The Zanpakutō, Haineko—Rangiku Matsumoto's personal weapon."
"It has two stages of release. What you just saw was the first stage."
"After release, the effect is exactly what you saw."
"Zoro, if you choose Rangiku Matsumoto, you may be able to obtain her weapon."
"Of course, whether you can make it release depends on your own ability, and on your compatibility with Rangiku Matsumoto."
Rozi said with a smile.