The capital was in chaos as flames spread from street to street, their glow reflecting off tiled roofs and painted paper walls. Smoke curled into the night sky, and the cries of frightened citizens mixed with the clash of steel.
Dozens of samurai already lie defeated across the cobblestones. Some bore clean slashes, others lay blackened and motionless, struck down by fire. The stench of blood and ash lingered in the air.
A circle of soldiers had formed around the cause of it all.
Two men were sitting calmly in the very center of the destruction.
The captain at the front of the group clenched his blade, his face twisted with rage.
"You're surrounded!" He roared. "Submit now and spare yourselves... or we'll cut you down where you sit!"
The men around him echoed his fury, shouting curses and threats, trying to build their courage. Yet the sight before them was so casual, so fearless, it gnawed at their resolve.
Zoro sat cross-legged on the ground, swords resting across his knees. His expression was flat, almost irritated, as if the swarm of enemies before him was nothing more than an inconvenience.
'So noisy,' He thought, tapping the hilt of a blade. 'If they're going to attack, then just get it over with.'
Beside him, Luffy reclined against the fallen bodies of the samurai they had already beaten, a crooked grin tugging at his lips. His eyes glittered with restless energy.
"Still not enough," He muttered, almost to himself. "The real ones are still hiding. These small fries won't bring them out."
Zoro cracked one eye toward him. "Then let's finish this quickly."
The tension broke in an instant. With a shout, the captain ordered his men forward. Steel clashed and boots thundered across the ground as they charged from all sides.
Zoro rose smoothly to his feet, blades flashing free with a sharp shing. His movements were precise, deliberate as he moved around, a clean cut here, a swift parry there. Each stroke carved a path through the attackers as though he were slicing through paper.
Luffy, in contrast, moved like a storm let loose in the streets. His laughter rang out between the crash of fists and the crackle of sparks that danced across his skin. Every blow he struck sent men sprawling, armor dented, and bodies flung back like rag dolls.
The ring of enemies began to falter. For every step they pressed in, they were forced two steps back. Fear crept into their eyes as they realized what they faced were not ordinary men, but monsters wrapped in human skin.
At last, the charging slowed. The shouts turned into desperate cries. Some fell back, others collapsed outright, clutching their wounds.
Zoro exhaled through his nose, sheathing one blade with a quiet click. "Hmph. Pathetic."
Luffy dropped back down onto the pile of defeated foes, still grinning. "Better than nothing. At least they made some noise."
His gaze lifted toward the looming shadow of the castle in the distance. "The real fun hasn't even started yet."
The flames crackled on, the smoke rising higher.
The Flower Capital trembled, and above the ruin, two figures stood unshaken, waiting for the true enemy to show themselves.
The circle of samurai tightened, their blades glinting under the red hue of fire that spread across the capital. Their captain raised his sword high and screamed, "Cut them down now!"
Before the men could rush in, Luffy's voice cut through the chaos, sharp and commanding.
"Oi, Zoro! Duck!"
Zoro's brow twitched. "Hah? What now—?"
"Just do it!"
"Tch… fine." With a reluctant grunt, Zoro bent low, pressing one knee into the ground, annoyance etched on his face.
Above him, Luffy raised his arm toward the blackened sky. Sparks danced madly across his skin, crackling and snapping like caged beasts begging to be released. His grin widened, shadows of firelight flickering across his face, giving him a wild, almost sinister look.
The air thickened and electricity swirled in violent streams around his hand, condensing into dozens or hundreds of miniature thunderbolts. The surrounding soldiers froze mid-step, eyes wide with horror as the sky itself seemed to rumble in answer.
"El Thor!" Luffy's roar split the night.
KRA-BOOOOM!
Bolts rained down like divine judgment, each one striking true. The screams of the samurai filled the air, before they were silenced in crackles of white-blue lightning.
"Gyaaahhh!"
"It burns—!"
Dozens of bodies collapsed in smoldering heaps, armor sizzling, the acrid smell of charred flesh spreading across the battlefield.
And yet, not a single stray spark touched the fleeing civilians hiding at the edges of the street.
Luffy's control was absolute, and his targets were only those who dared raise their swords against him.
Zoro groaned, standing back up and brushing the dust off his shoulder. "Oi, you bastard…"
He jabbed a thumb toward the field of smoking corpses. "Couldn't you leave some for me? You're hogging all the fun."
Luffy turned, still crackling faintly with electricity, and laughed loudly. "Bwahaha! Sorry, sorry! But don't worry, Zoro… more bugs are crawling out. And some of them look tough enough for your training."
"Tch." Zoro's lips curled into a dangerous grin, his hand resting on his sword's hilt. His sharp gaze swept the streets, pupils narrowing with predator-like excitement. "Good. I'll take the strong ones. You keep your hands off them, got it?"
Luffy tilted his head, amused, before pointing forward with a single finger. "Can't promise anything."
A spark surged to the tip, condensing into a brilliant sphere of light. In an instant, he fired.
ZZZTT-CRACK!
A jagged bolt of one hundred thousand volts split the night air, faster than a blink. It struck an armored warrior mid-charge, punching clean through his chest with a deafening thunderbolt.
BZZZZZT!
The man's scream never left his throat. His body spasmed violently, twitching like a puppet before collapsing with a heavy thud onto the stones, smoke rising from the gaping hole burned straight through him.
The rest of the samurai staggered back, pale and trembling. The confidence they had built in numbers dissolved in the face of such merciless power. Their grips on their swords loosened, the clang of metal hitting stone echoing faintly as a few dropped their blades altogether.
Zoro spat to the side, eyes narrowing. "Hmph. Scared already? Pathetic. The real fight hasn't even started."
Luffy's grin widened, his teeth flashing under the glow of burning rooftops. He cracked his knuckles, sparks racing across his arms again.
"Come on out already," He muttered, voice carrying like a growl of thunder. "Stop hiding. Show me something fun."
The battlefield quieted for only a moment, filled with the lingering stench of ozone and smoke, before the next wave of footsteps thundered toward them.
--- ✦ ✦ ✦ ---
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