In the western district of Alubarna, the once-prosperous streets lay in ruins. Under the blistering sun, two figures were locked in a fight to the death.
"Three Sword Style Secret Technique—Three Thousand Worlds!!!"
Zoro, swords in hand and the Wado Ichimonji clamped in his teeth, spun his blades like a gale-force windmill. He struck with a momentum meant to cleave the world, landing a heavy blow directly on the chest of Mr. 1 (Daz Bonez).
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!!
There was no spray of blood, no torn flesh. Not even a scratch marred the surface. Instead, a shower of brilliant sparks erupted, accompanied by the jarring screech of metal on metal. Zoro's ultimate secret technique had been stopped dead.
"Useless, swordsman." Mr. 1 stood his ground, casually patting the unblemished skin of his chest. His eyes were cold and mocking. "I told you, flesh and blood cannot triumph over steel."
"I am a full-body blade human who ate the Dice-Dice Fruit. I am a man of steel with absolute defense." As he spoke, his arms transformed into razor-sharp edges. He became a high-speed meat grinder. "Atomic Spurt!!!"
Slash-slash-slash-slash!!
Countless invisible strikes erupted instantly. The surrounding buildings, stone pillars, and even Zoro's body were shredded in an instant.
"GUAH!!"
Zoro was sent flying, blood trailing behind him like a broken kite. He crashed heavily into a pile of rubble, and the rising dust buried his frame.
Consciousness... began to blur.
In that near-death darkness, Zoro felt the roar of the world fade away. The shouting on the battlefield, the howling wind, even the thumping of his own heart grew distant.
This feeling...
Deep within his mind, a memory surfaced. A childhood memory of a dojo courtyard filled with fallen leaves. His master, Koshiro, stood holding a simple dry twig.
'Zoro, there are swordsmen in this world who can cut nothing... and yet, they can cut through steel.'
'It is about listening...' The master's voice was gentle yet profound. 'Listening to the "Breath of All Things".'
Beneath the rubble, Zoro's eyes snapped open. But he didn't use them to see; he used his heart to sense. In that deathly silence, he "heard" it.
He heard the heavy, rhythmic breath of the precariously balanced stone above him. He heard the sharp, whistling breath of the wind through the cracks. And he heard the cold, hard, murderous "Breath of Steel" radiating from the man standing nearby—Mr. 1.
"Ah... I see now."
Zoro lay in a pool of blood, yet his lips curled into a slight smirk. "Stone has its own sound. And steel... steel has its own breath."
He had found it. But...
Zoro looked at the sword in his hand. Even if he could hear the breath, if his blade wasn't hard enough, it would still shatter against the steel. What was missing?
Then, another memory struck him like a bolt of lightning. The night at Little Garden under a canopy of stars—the giants Dorry and Brogy swinging their weapons to cleave a massive Island Eater.
'Boy, a sword is a dead thing, but the one swinging it is alive!' Brogy's laughter had been boisterous.
'Turn your "will" into an invisible "armor"!' Dorry's voice had resonated like thunder. 'Wrap it around your weapon!'
'If you do that... you can even cleave the sea!!'
"Will... turned into armor..."
Zoro gripped the Wado Ichimonji. It was no longer about brute strength or just sensing the breath. He took his intense will to "cut," his obsession with protecting his friends, and his vow to become the World's Greatest Swordsman. He poured it into his arms—and more than that, he tried to shroud the blade itself, just as the giants had described.
Hum—
The white hilt of the Wado Ichimonji trembled. While the blade didn't turn jet-black into a "Black Blade," the air around it distorted. A heart-stopping current of energy swirled around the edge.
Rumble. The debris was shoved aside. A blood-soaked Zoro rose unsteadily to his feet. Though scarred and battered, his aura had transformed completely. The weakness of near-death was gone, replaced by a razor-sharp edge that felt as if it could sever reality itself.
Mr. 1 frowned, his eyes narrowing. "Still standing? You have a persistent life force." His arms shifted back into blades, glinting under the desert sun. "Or have you finally figured out how you want to die?"
Zoro didn't answer. He sheathed two of his swords, gripping the Wado Ichimonji with both hands in a low, focused Iai stance. His eyes, sharp as a hawk's, locked onto Mr. 1.
"I can hear it... your breath," Zoro whispered, his voice terrifyingly calm. "Since you are steel... then I will become a harder steel to cut you down!"
The moment of decision arrived. Mr. 1 looked at that stance and felt an inexplicable chill. His veteran instincts told him to end this now.
"Hmph! Trying to act mysterious?"
"Then let's see you try!!"
The ground beneath Mr. 1 cracked as his hands became massive, high-speed rotating blade-wheels. He turned into a lethal silver cyclone, surging toward Zoro with a momentum that pulverized the earth. "Atomic Slash!!! DIE!!"
Faced with this terrifying strike, Zoro didn't dodge. He didn't even blink. He waited. He waited for the rhythm of that breath.
The moment Mr. 1 entered his range, Zoro's will and his blade became one.
Draw.
"One Sword Style: Iai—"
In that split second, it seemed as if only a single, searing flash of light existed between heaven and earth.
"SHISHI SONSON!!!!" (Lion's Song)
SHING—!!
The two figures crossed paths. Time seemed to stand still. Mr. 1 remained in his charging posture, frozen behind Zoro.
Click. A soft sound. On Mr. 1's proud, "indestructible" steel body, a massive, clean wound erupted from his shoulder to his abdomen.
SPURT—!!!
A fountain of blood erupted, staining the ruins.
"How... is this... possible..." Mr. 1's pupils shook. He looked down at the wound in disbelief, his body losing all strength. "You... really cut... steel..."
Zoro, back turned to his enemy, slowly stood straight.
Chak. The Wado Ichimonji clicked into its scabbard. Zoro adjusted his headband, his tone indifferent. "That's a shame, then."
"If you were made of diamond... I would have cut through that, too."
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