Chapter 18: The Terrifying Strength of the Vice Captain!
The battlefield ahead.
"Hmph, Roronoa Zoro. I'll take your head and make a name for myself across the seas!"
Cabaji rode his unicycle, his long blade flashing with a cold light in the air as he charged at Zoro with an arrogant expression.
"You'll be the stepping stone for me to reach the top!"
"A unicycle! So cool!"
Standing in the back, Luffy's eyes instantly turned into stars, completely missing the point.
Zoro only gave a cold smile, slowly drawing three swords and assuming his classic Three Sword Style stance.
"Luffy! Tatsuya! Don't interfere in a battle between swordsmen!"
Biting the Wado Ichimonji, Zoro shouted indistinctly yet with full confidence.
"I'll deal with this circus act in no time."
"Oh!" Luffy nodded obediently, then seemed to remember something as he looked around, "Huh? Where's Tatsuya? He was right next to me just now."
"Arrogant Pirate Hunter!"
In the center of the battlefield, Cabaji saw Zoro's contempt and laughed in fury.
He pedaled the unicycle hard, launching himself into the air and slashing down at Zoro's face from above.
"Acrobatics: Water Vapor Murder Case!"
Despite the name, he didn't use any water.
"Clang!"
Zoro didn't even move his feet, easily blocking the strike with a single sword.
If this were the Zoro from the original story, who had been stabbed in the side by Buggy and lost too much blood, he might have found it difficult.
But the current Zoro was at full health and peak condition!
"Is this the skill you're going to use to make a name for yourself?" Zoro mocked.
Cabaji clicked his tongue, not expecting the other's strength to be so great.
He jumped back, his eyes cold.
"Don't be in such a hurry, the good show is just beginning! Acrobatics: Fire-Breathing Old Man!"
Cabaji took a deep breath and suddenly spat a large ball of fire at Zoro.
Whoosh—!
The flames swept toward him.
Looking at the fire, Zoro couldn't help but recall Tatsuya's Great Fireball.
"Tch."
Zoro gave a dismissive cold laugh and swung his sword casually, the blast of wind splitting the flames apart.
"Compared to Tatsuya's, this fire is as laughable as a tiny spark!"
"What?!"
Cabaji frowned, not expecting his ultimate move to be so belittled.
"In that case... how about this! Heat Wave Murder Case!"
He swung his long blade frantically, instantly kicking up dust from the ground to form a mist that obscured their vision.
"Huh? What kind of acrobatics is this? It's just kicking up sand, isn't it?"
Standing in the dust, Zoro closed his eyes, listening carefully to pinpoint the location.
Just as Cabaji used the dust as cover to lunge at Zoro with a smirk.
Slash!
Zoro didn't even open his eyes; he delivered a backhand slash that precisely cut into Cabaji's abdomen.
"Ah!"
Cabaji was terrified and scrambled backward, clutching his blood-soaked stomach, his face full of disbelief.
Zoro slowly flicked the blood off his blade, his gaze as terrifying as a demon's.
"What's wrong? You circus monkey? Can't keep the performance going?"
"Go for it! Zoro!!" Luffy shouted excitedly from behind.
"Damn it..." Cabaji broke into a cold sweat from the pain.
At that moment, Buggy, who had been watching the whole time, finally couldn't sit still anymore.
"Cabaji! I'll grab him, you use your strongest sword technique to kill him!!"
Buggy roared, his hands suddenly detaching from his body and flying along the ground toward Zoro, intending to pin his limbs.
However.
Thud!
Just as those hands were about to touch Zoro, a straw sandal stepped down hard, pinning Buggy's hands firmly to the ground.
"Ah, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!!!" Buggy screamed.
Luffy stepped on Buggy's hand with an expressionless face and said calmly:
"Don't interfere with Zoro's fight, you guy."
Zoro glanced back, the corners of his mouth curling up.
"Thanks, Luffy."
...
At the same time, deep within the ruins of the Buggy Pirates' base.
Nami put in a great deal of effort to finally clear the collapsed wall and find the Buggy Pirates' treasure vault.
She looked at the wooden door with a giant iron lock and flashed a little devilish smile.
"While those idiots are busy fighting, I'll snatch the treasure and the sea chart and make a run for it!"
Nami picked up a thick wooden stick nearby, took a deep breath, and smashed it hard against the already loosened lock.
"Bang! Crack!"
The lock, which had already been damaged in the explosion, snapped.
Nami dropped the stick and tiptoed inside.
After lighting the oil lamp on the wall, the scene before her made her catch her breath instantly.
Gold coins, gems, pearls... piled up like mountains!
The treasures shimmered with an alluring light in the dim lamp-glow.
"Wow...!!"
Nami's eyes turned into the shape of Berries, and she dove straight into the pile of gold coins, rolling around happily.
"There's so much! I'm rich! These are all mine now!"
"Hey! Woman, what are you doing!!"
A coarse voice suddenly shattered Nami's dream.
"Hee hee hee, a little mouse has entered the warehouse!"
"Ha? Where did this little thief come from? Trying to steal Captain Buggy's treasure?"
Nami froze, her head turning mechanically.
At the entrance of the treasure vault, six smirking pirates had blocked the way at some point.
They held gleaming cutlasses in their hands, their eyes fixed greedily on Nami.
"Oh no... I let my guard down!"
Watching them slowly approach, Nami's heart pounded wildly.
She gripped the wooden stick tightly, cold sweat sliding down her forehead. "Six people... I can't beat them..."
"Heh heh heh, the little girl is quite pretty. Why not stay and keep us company?" The lead pirate licked his lips as he approached.
Just as Nami was preparing to fight for her life.
"Yo, it's quite lively here."
A clear, smiling voice abruptly rang out at the doorway.
Nami looked up sharply, a flash of joy in her eyes: "Tatsuya!!"
Tatsuya's figure leaned against the doorframe, his hands behind his back, his black eyes appearing exceptionally deep under the oil lamp.
The six pirates whipped around: "Huh? Trying to play the hero, pretty boy?"
One of the pirates raised his blade to slash: "You're dead..."
"Bang!"
Before he could finish his sentence, he was sent flying back like a cannonball, slamming into the wall and losing consciousness on the spot.
Tatsuya slowly retracted his right leg, that harmless smile still on his face.
"When did he?!" The remaining pirates were aghast.
"Kill him!!"
"One."
Tatsuya counted softly.
By now, his eyes had turned red, the single tomoe spinning frantically.
Facing the incoming blade, he didn't retreat but instead advanced, his body crouching low in a strangely fluid motion, easily dodging the strike.
He followed up with a sweeping kick, knocking the man off balance and into the air.
Tatsuya caught the man's falling blade and thrust it back with a reverse grip.
Squelch.
The sharp blade pierced through the pirate's chest.
"Two."
Tatsuya pulled out the blood-stained sword and swung it casually, blocking a sneak attack from the side with a "clang."
But behind him, another pirate was charging with a roar, blade raised: "Die!!"
"Watch out behind you!!" Nami shouted a warning.
Tatsuya didn't even turn his head, only tilting it slightly as his crimson Sharingan met the attacker's gaze.
"Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique."
The attacker's body froze instantly, his pupils dilating as if he had seen something utterly terrifying, and the blade in his hand clattered to the floor.
Tatsuya took the opportunity to deliver a vicious groin kick to the pirate he had just parried.
Crack.
A sickening sound of "balls" shattering.
"Awoooo—!"
The man clutched his crotch and collapsed in agony, his face turning purple.
Tatsuya followed up with a casual stab, ending his misery.
Then, using the momentum of his turn, his long blade traced an arc, sweeping across the neck of the pirate standing frozen in the illusion.
Slash—thud!
A head rolled off.
"Three, four."
The remaining two pirates behind Tatsuya, one tall and one short, were already paralyzed with fear.
Looking at the corpses littering the floor and the red-eyed youth who was counting while killing, their spirits completely broke.
"A demon... he's a demon!!"
"You're a devil!!"
The two screamed, dropped their weapons, and turned to run out the door.
Tatsuya didn't chase them, merely weighing the weapon in his hand.
With a toss of his right hand, the long blade became a javelin, instantly piercing through one man's heart from behind.
At the same time, his left hand flicked, and a Kunai flew like black lightning, embedding itself into the back of the other man's head.
Thud! Thud!
Two dull thuds, and the battle was over.
The whole process took less than ten seconds.
Tatsuya patted the dust off his hands, stepped over the corpses on the ground, and walked toward Nami in the back with a smile.
Nami sat slumped on the pile of gold coins, swallowing hard.
Although this man had just saved her, the coldness and efficiency with which he killed made her feel a shiver from the depths of her soul.
In short... this man... is terrifyingly strong!
Seeing Tatsuya approach, Nami took a deep breath, forced a smile, and reached out her hand to him:
"Tatsuya... th-thank you..."
However.
Tatsuya didn't even look at her outstretched hand, walking right past her with a smile.
Nami: "???"
Tatsuya pulled out a huge sack from out of nowhere.
He crouched in front of the gold coins and began frantically stuffing treasure into it.
"Hmm... this gold cup is nice, valuable. This pearl necklace, I'll keep it. Oh, is this a crown? Good stuff..."
Nami's hand froze in mid-air, her expression gradually shifting from touched to stunned, and finally to fury.
"Tatsuya!!!"
Nami roared: "That's my treasure!! And! Are you even here to save me!! Can't you be a bit more of a gentleman!"