"How is this possible?"
"How did he do it?"
"Shiryu's iaijutsu was actually seen through? And while he was invisible..."
Seeing Shiryu fall into a disadvantage, the surrounding pirates cried out in amazement, all of them in disbelief.
That brutal, extremely bloodthirsty man, who had always brought fear to people with his sinister and vicious assassination techniques, had actually ended up in such a miserable state.
The intense contrast made it difficult for the pirates to adapt, and they couldn't help but take another look at Zoro.
"So this is the great swordsman with a bounty of 1.7 billion Berries."
"He should be one of the men most likely to challenge for the title of the world's strongest swordsman right now."
"Ah. In terms of swordsmanship alone. After all, that guy Red-Hair is ridiculously strong."
"And Marine Admiral Fujitora. I wonder who is stronger, him or Roronoa."
A few nearby pirates sighed with emotion. This was already a common topic among pirates.
What Hawk-Eye and Red-Hair, Kaido and Reiner... faced with these top-tier powerhouses, since it was impossible for them to win anyway, they could only gossip behind their backs.
Bang!!
A powerful sword aura exploded, blasting away the burying ruins, and a pair of black leather boots stepped out on the rubble.
Roronoa!
Shiryu's face was grim and ugly. The cigar at the corner of his mouth was bent out of shape. His body was covered in sword cuts that were seeping blood. His white cape had become filthy, covered in dust that made the bloodstains on it congeal.
He had to admit, Zoro was indeed the strongest swordsman he had ever met. Whether it was his sword skills, Haki, or will.
Shiryu licked the blood from the corner of his mouth and revealed a sinister grin:
"An opponent like this is more interesting to torture. Your screams will definitely be beautiful."
"Yo. Still able to talk? Do your wounds not hurt?"
Zoro's tone was teasing as he retorted.
He had already personally witnessed Magellan's strength two years ago. Since Shiryu was said to be on par with Magellan, it was naturally impossible for him to be defeated in just a few moves.
He couldn't rule out a bit of luck in dodging that fatal blow just now. Zoro was not so arrogant as to think he could one-shot such a powerful swordsman with his eyes closed.
Clang!
A cold light streaked, and Shiryu's body gradually faded, once again hiding in the air.
"Rain Erosion: Blood-Red Domain!!"
Shiryu held his longsword with both hands, his feet continuously and rapidly stepping. His hidden figure shuttled at high speed around Zoro, and along with it, countless dense sword auras!
Clang!
A spark flew. Zoro raised his sword to block a sudden attack. His sword hand was deflected, and another attack came.
Clang!
Zoro timely swung his other sword to block the attack. His ears twitched, coordinating with his Observation Haki to sense the surrounding movements. Even the hairs on his body stood on end, subconsciously sensing the flow of air around him.
Shiryu's speed grew faster and faster. The blood seeping from his wounds floated in the air and was swept up by the continuously growing sword energy, scraping up a scarlet tornado around him.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sharp, knife-like tornado swallowed Zoro into its eye. From time to time, a spark from a clashing blade would flash.
Hearing, touch, smell...
All of them were affected.
His five senses were continuously weakening. Zoro frowned. While parrying Shiryu's occasional slashes, his face gradually became grave.
The whistling sound of the wind echoed in his ears. His body could only feel the coldness of a blade scraping past. The rusty smell of blood pierced his nostrils.
In Zoro's pitch-black mind, a flash of a blade would occasionally appear, and he could only capture a blurry trajectory.
With his five senses gradually weakening, even his Observation Haki's perception would be affected.
Zoro's sword swung at empty air, and a look of dismay appeared on his face.
The next moment.
Hiss!
A longsword streaked past, bringing up a few drops of blood, leaving a scarlet cut on his chest.
"Heh heh heh. How much longer can you last, Roronoa?"
Shiryu's cold laughter echoed from all around, his figure hidden in the blood-red tornado as he moved at high speed, continuously changing positions.
Clang!
"If you go on like this, your body will soon be torn to pieces."
Clang!
"Come on. Your dying wails... I can't wait to hear them~"
Hiss! Hiss!
In the blink of an eye, two more slashes landed on Zoro's body. The dual torture of his tense nerves and his physical body was already making him pant.
Zoro's expression was grave.
Shiryu's voice was like the devil's whisper, forcing one to want to quickly find a way to break the stalemate. If this continued, just as the other had said, he would sooner or later be torn to pieces by this hurricane.
It wouldn't be difficult for him to break this move, but doing so would probably be playing right into his hands.
Shiryu was definitely waiting for this opportunity. He would absolutely take advantage of the moment he broke the tornado to launch a fatal blow.
Should I continue this stalemate and see who makes a mistake first, or should I just go all out...
"This is troublesome. I'm not very proficient with that move. If I fail, I'll have to leave my life here."
Zoro said softly. There was not a trace of worry in his tone. Instead, a corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
For others, it might be a difficult choice, but for Zoro, the moment the thought was born, he already had an answer in his heart.
To find life in death... he had always been like this.
"Three Sword Style!"
Zoro sank into a half-squat, his arms rotating as he got into his stance. His two longswords were held horizontally at his head and chest, and his aura suddenly began to climb!
"Rising Dragon: Reverse Twister!!"
With an explosive roar, Zoro fiercely twisted his waist and swung his swords. Three brutal slashes emanated from him as the center, converging into one as they shot up into the sky like a rising dragon!
Boom!!
The outer blood-red tornado was shattered by the roar. A violent wind blasted out, and the inner green tornado spread out to protect Zoro's body!
Now!!
The moment he swung his sword, the opportunistic Shiryu's eyes hardened, and he decisively charged up with his sword in both hands.
He was betting that after Zoro's sword had broken his move, it wouldn't have enough power left to stop him.
"Iai: Zangetsu Danrai!!" (Iai: Lingering Rain, Severing Thunder!!)
Shiryu held the hilt of his sword, his eyes ferocious, actually intending to trade an injury for a life, to forcefully break through the tornado and deliver a fatal blow!
His speed was as fast as a bolt of white lightning. The moment he stepped into the soaring reverse tornado, he instantly drew his sword!
ZING!!
With a sword cry, a blade light floated up and slashed towards Zoro at high speed, as if it would cut him and this tornado in two at the waist!
But at this moment.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
Dense sword cuts appeared on his body. Blood and gore flew, and Shiryu's eyes suddenly constricted in shock.
The sword he had swung had also cut into Zoro's body at the same time. However, the expected scene did not appear. After breaking through the tornado's defense and slashing into Zoro's chest, it opened a bloody gash.
Although it had heavily injured Zoro, it was far from a fatal blow!
How could this be...!!
Shiryu's eyes were filled with disbelief. Zoro's move was inexplicably far more powerful than he had expected.
In his shock, he immediately sensed a strange yet familiar Haki in the wind scythes that were cutting his body, which was shaking his very soul.
"This is... Conqueror's Haki?!"
The disposition of a king that only one in a million possess...
Shiryu looked at Zoro with astonishment. His three pitch-black sword blades were covered in Haki, faintly giving off black lightning.
Conqueror's Haki was not something all powerhouses possessed, but in the New World, it was not that rare. Rather than calling it a power, it was more of an aura.
In the sixth level of Impel Down, Infinite Hell, Shiryu had seen many owners of Conqueror's Haki. But...
This was the first time he had seen an attack that used Conqueror's Haki coiled around a weapon.
"Although I'm not very skilled at it yet... this is roughly how it's used, right?"
Zoro murmured. Before Shiryu's shocked eyes, the aura on his body surged again.
Boom!!
Although his eyes were blindfolded, it made Shiryu feel as if he were being stared at by a fierce wild beast, which was simply chilling.
Zoro's three sword blades were wrapped in Haki, as if they were wrapped in a dark purple flowing fire that was burning fiercely.
"Three swords combined, there is nothing I can't cut!"
He pushed his hands forward, the hilts of his swords meeting, his two swords spinning in his palms. Zoro's face hardened, and he pushed off with his legs with mighty force!
Bang!
The earth cracked and spread out like a spiderweb. His figure transformed into a streak of light and instantly appeared in front of the invisible Shiryu!
Shiryu subconsciously raised his sword horizontally to block. He felt the terrifying aura on the other's blades and, sensing he couldn't resist, he quickly retreated.
Just at this instant!
"Three Sword Style Secret Technique: Ichidai: Santōryū Ogi...!"
"Sanzen Daisen Sekai!!" (Great Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds!!)
With an explosive roar, Zoro swung his blades with all the strength and Haki he had gathered.
ZING!!
An extremely terrifying sword light flashed like a startled light, as if heaven and earth had dimmed in comparison!
Crack—crack—crack.
One crack after another spread over the famous sword Raiu, and then it shattered with a 'clang'. Blade fragments, mixed with blood, flew!
"Urk, ah...!"
Shiryu's pupils were unfocused. He tilted his head back and spat out blood, his eyes rolling back as he completely lost consciousness!
Hiss—hiss!
Zoro landed on the ground with his legs spread, his feet digging into the earth and plowing a trench several dozen meters long before he barely managed to stop. He sheathed his blades and stood up.
"Well... it seems I overdid it a little."
Zoro raised his hand and pulled off the bandana that was covering his eyes, slowly turning around. He tied the bandana on his left arm and said faintly.
He saw that the entire space in front of him, the houses, the trees, everything, had been cut in half by his one slash!!
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You bastard, you were actually hiding this move?"
Just then, a voice was heard.
Zoro turned to look. Reiner, holding the bound Avalo Pizarro in his hand, leaped down from the roof of a building.
"So you've awakened your Conqueror's Haki. Why didn't you come and ask me about it? Were you afraid of losing face?"
Bang.
Reiner said with a half-smile and casually threw the 'hostage' onto the ground.
Pizarro was gagged, and although he was still conscious, he didn't struggle. The Seastone handcuffs on his hands meant that all resistance was futile.
"Isn't this thing something you can't grow through training? What's the point of asking?"
Zoro looked down at his palm, clenched it, and said nonchalantly.
He had awakened this power in the previous battle with Kaido, but he hadn't discovered it himself at the time. It was only after the battle that he had vaguely sensed it when he recalled it.
He could feel that this was the same power that was contained in Luffy's and Reiner's attacks. It was, without a doubt, Conqueror's Haki. Unfortunately, he couldn't even release it at will.
If he couldn't skillfully control his Conqueror's Haki, then practicing Conqueror's Coating was no different from relying entirely on luck. In a battle state, stimulating this power under the pressure of a dangerous situation would allow him to grow more.
To be honest, this time, there was a certain element of luck involved. But his luck had always been good when he gambled with his life.
"Now how do you feel? If you can use it once or twice, you should be able to grasp the technique, right?"
Reiner asked, staring at Zoro.
He had mastered the control of his Conqueror's Haki during his two years of training before he started training in Conqueror's Coating.
Although it had taken him a little longer to master it, it wasn't a particularly difficult technique. Luffy's situation was similar to his.
Zoro, on the other hand, was different. To try to do it without even being able to release his Conqueror's Haki at will... relying on the pressure of a dangerous situation to stimulate his Conqueror's Haki...
If he succeeded, it was called finding life in death. If he failed, he was just a degenerate gambler. It served him right if he died.
Fortunately, Zoro had a hard life. Reiner didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
He could feel that Zoro's control of his Conqueror's Haki just now was still too rough. His Haki was not condensed enough. The power seemed great, but it was actually a waste.
With the same power, Reiner could achieve it with less Haki, and the effect would only be stronger, not weaker, than Zoro's slash.
"Pretty much. At the very least, I don't have to worry about failing to release my Conqueror's Haki. I'll try again later."
Zoro let out a long breath and replied faintly.
When it came to the range of his Conqueror's Haki and accurately targeting an individual, he had no idea right now. To put it bluntly, his control was not yet proficient.
But he could release his Conqueror's Haki and coil it on his swords. Although it was still crude, the success rate could be much higher.
The important thing was that as long as he could control the release, he would have the foundation to practice his Conqueror's Haki through training.
The rest was just a matter of time before he could completely control this power. As for the growth of his Haki...
He had long heard from Reiner that it was impossible to improve his Conqueror's Haki through training methods. He could only hone his spirit through various experiences.
It was a bit premature to worry about this problem now.
"What do we do now? Have them contact Blackbeard?"
Turning his head, Zoro looked into the depths of the island. The fierce clash of blades and the roar of cannon fire were incessant.
The number of pirates on Hachinosu was extremely large. Although they had an overwhelming advantage and had been steamrolling them all the way, to make so many pirates lose their will to fight was not something that could be done in a short time.
Unless Reiner went on an indiscriminate killing spree, but that would deviate from the plan. These were all hostages for exchange.
If they left Blackbeard with a dead city, the other would probably just kill Hancock in revenge, regardless of everything else.
"Besides him and Shiryu, there are two other great cadres on the island. Luffy and Sanji should be finishing them off soon. As long as we take down these four, it will be enough."
Reiner had already interrogated him. He didn't know the remaining two cadres.
During the Summit War, several of Blackbeard's subordinates had either died or been captured and taken back to Impel Down. But Hachinosu was not short of pirates, so they had held a deathmatch to select two people with considerable strength to fill the vacancies.
He had also learned a piece of good news. Several more of Blackbeard's cadres had been petrified by Hancock during this trip.
If he lost Shiryu and Pizarro and his other men, Teach would be back to square one, a complete commander without an army.
The other party probably wouldn't be able to accept this price.
The exchange of hostages was basically a done deal. He just didn't know what kind of expression the other would have when he came back and saw his main base in this state.
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