The two walked in silence until they left the village, to a nearby clearing where they stopped and looked at each other.
"Alright, kid, I gave you my name. I'd like to know the name of the person I'm going to defeat. Would you mind sharing it?" Zoro asked with a smile.
Luffy grinned at the question. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to be the Pirate King!" he shouted. "Let's go! Let's fight!"
"Very well, if you're going to make such a declaration, I suppose I should also declare my ambition..." He looked Luffy in the eye, "My name is Roronoa Zoro and I will be the greatest swordsman in the world."
A slightly familiar feeling washed over Luffy, and his eyes widened. "Was that...?" Before he could finish the sentence, his brain registered Zoro's statement, and his eyes lit up like stars: "That's awesome! The best in the world? You have to join my pirate crew!"
The swordsman was silent for a moment before replying, "I have no intention of becoming a pirate. I will only pursue my goal, and nothing will stand in my way," he stated sternly.
"Come on! We could have some awesome adventures! And there must be some super strong people to fight on the Grand Line. I know you probably want to get stronger! Me too! What better place to do it than there?!" Luffy exclaimed.
"Sorry kid, it's not going to happen. I told you I won't let anything or anyone stand in the way of my dream," Zoro replied firmly. "If there were any strong people on the Grandline, I'd go there alone."
The two stared at each other for a moment, after the verdet's refusal.
"I refuse," Luffy stated simply.
Zoro gasped at those words. "YOU CAN'T REJECT ME! I JUST REJECTED YOU!" he yelled, his teeth baring like a shark's.
"Well, I refuse to accept your refusal. Now come be a pirate with me! You can be my first mate!" argued the teenager in the straw hat. "Well... you can be my first mate... later..."
"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! YOU CAN'T REFUSE A NO! AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!" shouted the exasperated swordsman.
"Well, I just did it," Luffy said, sticking his tongue out at the older boy and ignoring all his questions.
Zoro had had enough; he just wanted to fight. "Alright, I'll propose another deal. If you manage to defeat me somehow, I'll join your pirate crew, or whatever. Happy now?" he asked with a snort.
"YES! ALRIGHT! LET'S DO IT!" Luffy shouted. Then he saw his opponent draw two of the three katanas from his warmer. "Are you going to use them all?" he asked, pointing at the swords, one still sheathed.
The clinking of Zoro's swords echoed in the air as they were drawn from their sheaths. "Yes, I practice a style that uses three swords. Santōryū," he stated.
"That's awesome! You're definitely joining my crew!" Luffy shouted excitedly. He was just too cool not to have on his crew. Three swords? Awesome. Dreaming of being the world's greatest swordsman? Awesome. Green hair? Awesome. Belly warmer?... Somehow, he even made it look cool!
Zoro chose to stare at Luffy instead of replying, his gaze unfocused. It was almost as if he hadn't heard him say a word. "The rules are that if you get knocked out or give up, you lose," Zoro explained, ignoring Luffy's exclamation and drawing his third sword. He unwrapped the dark green bandana from his bicep, tied it around his head, and put the white-hilted katana in his mouth. "Understood?" he murmured through his sword.
"SHUT UP ALREADY AND FIGHT ALREADY! YOU'RE AWESOME AND YOU'RE JOINING MY CREW! BESIDES, I'M STARVING, DAMMIT!" Luffy yelled, leaping toward his opponent. His fist flew toward Zoro's face, and instinctively, the swordsman blocked it, joining his two swords in the center to stop the blow.
When the metal and the skin collided, Zoro could only gasp at the reverberating sound. "That didn't sound like skin at all!" he thought in disbelief. What on earth was the kid made of?
Quickly snapping out of his daze, Zoro pushed away the boy's fist, trying to create some distance. He was stunned again when he realized that not only could he not push his opponent back, but he was the one being pushed! He leaped out of the way of the collision, realizing he couldn't overpower his enemy, before launching himself forward again with a shout: "Tiger Hunt!"
Hoping Luffy would dodge, Zoro slashed as fast as he could, trying to see if what he lacked in strength he could compensate for with speed.
Seeing the frontal attack coming, Luffy couldn't help but smirk as the swords rained down with blinding speed. The blades hurtled toward Luffy, who raised his arms in a crossguard stance and leaped toward the swordsman. The blades struck his skin, producing a strange sound that once again confused Zoro. His swords bounced off the approaching guard, leaving him completely exposed, and the young man seized the opportunity to deliver a powerful punch to his chest, sending him flying several meters backward.
"Damn it! This kid is stronger than me!" Zoro thought, panicking. He had grossly underestimated his opponent! How was he blocking his swords? He should have shattered his arms with those two blows! Ignoring the pain in his chest from his opponent's retaliation, Zoro rushed back toward his enemy and braced himself for a fight far tougher than he had anticipated.
The two teenagers moved with unimaginable speed, exchanging punches and slashes. They traded multiple blows in the blink of an eye when, suddenly, Luffy leaped into the air and struck the other's head with his heel.
Zoro raised his swords just in time to intercept the blow, but he struggled against the strength of the straw hat boy, who seemed to float in the air with all his weight pulled down. The swordsman propelled himself forward with all his might, forcing Luffy into a backflip and gaining the upper hand for the first time in the fight. He didn't even have time to celebrate, as Luffy was already charging toward him.
Verdet groaned to himself. What on earth had he gotten himself into? Yet he couldn't help but smile at the same time. The unbridled grin the straw-hat boy wore as he approached was contagious.
The fight between the two teenagers lasted much longer than expected, and although it seemed to both of them that it went on for hours, no more than ten minutes could have passed since it began. Although Zoro appeared to be in worse condition, that didn't mean Luffy hadn't suffered any damage. Looking at the young man's arms, several red, punctured wounds were visible, along with various bloodstains from Zoro's repeated blocks.
Although Zoro hadn't cut his opponent very deeply, he had made him bleed, and he could be satisfied with that, for now. "I'm going to finish him off with this move. No one has ever stayed conscious after seeing this technique. Be proud of having pushed me this far," he said, his breath ragged.
"Bring it here," Luffy replied, equally exhausted, without taking his eyes off his green-haired opponent.
Crossing his arms, a sword pointed skyward on each side, Zoro crouched as if about to lunge forward. "Santōryū:", a sinister purple glow appeared in his eyes as he glared at Luffy, "Demonic Slash!" Faster than he had been throughout the entire fight, Zoro lunged forward and struck his opponent with his swords for a final blow.
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