Chapter 66: Sanji and Zoro’s Duel Five Years Early
“Kouzaburou, I’d like to spar with you.”
“Spar?”
Kouzaburou Shimotsuki took a deep puff from his pipe and unceremoniously extended his hand: “Give me your sword.”
Hawkeye barely hesitated, drawing the long blade from his back and handing it to Kouzaburou Shimotsuki.
“So this is the Supreme Grade Black Blade Night.”
Kouzaburou Shimotsuki touched the blade inch by inch, as if caressing a lover’s body, not missing a single detail.
This almost perverted behavior made Hawkeye frown slightly, as if he had been NTR’d.
After a long while, Kouzabou Shimotsuki had touched every part of Black Blade Night.
“As expected of the World’s Strongest Swordsman.”
A hint of admiration appeared in Kouzaburou Shimotsuki’s eyes: “Soft yet firm, is this your swordsmanship?”
Hawkeye’s eyes lit up, “That’s right.”
“Please come in, if you’re willing to listen to an old man like me ramble.”
Kouzaburou Shimotsuki gestured towards the wooden house, inviting him in.
Hawkeye stepped in first.
Koshiro Shimotsuki and Kozuki Hiyori, who were interested in their conversation, also followed them inside.
For Kane, listening to swordsmanship theories was not as good as watching Sanji and Zoro’s duel five years early.
At this moment, the two were already locked in combat.
It must be said, the principle of ‘a long inch is a strong inch’ still holds true.
Sanji, who had only trained on the ship for a few days, was clearly a bit hesitant when facing Zoro’s three swords.
“Are we just going to watch?” Reiju’s worry was evident in her eyes.
“No need to worry.”
Kane said meaningfully, “Sanji, he is the Vinsmoke Family’s greatest masterpiece.”
Reiju’s beautiful eyes widened in disbelief: “That’s impossible. He never showed anything special growing up, otherwise my father wouldn’t have…”
Kane stated emphatically: “Just wait, one day, Sanji will surprise all of you. Of this, I am deeply convinced!”
To activate Sanji’s exoskeleton, Judge’s Raid Suit was the key.
For this, Kane specifically asked for the Stealth Black Raid Suit that Judge had prepared for Sanji.
His Raid Suit had been ready for a long time, but since Sanji hadn’t awakened his exoskeleton, Judge hadn’t given it to him.
As a result, it became a Catch-22.
No Raid Suit meant no awakening, and no awakening meant no Raid Suit.
Back on the battlefield, Sanji, without his exoskeleton activated, was currently just a normal human.
Under Zoro’s fierce Three-Sword Style attacks, he sustained several injuries on his body within just a few rounds.
“Hey! Curly-browed bastard.”
Zoro took a step back, voluntarily withdrew his swords, and a hint of impatience showed on his face: “You’re no match for me at all, just admit defeat and get out of the way.
I don’t want to kill someone for no reason.”
“What did you say?!”
Zoro’s seemingly well-intentioned words completely enraged Sanji: “Since you can use swords, then it’s not bullying if I use this!”
He decisively pulled out a black canister marked with the letter ‘3’ and inserted it into his waist.
“Oh? Can’t hold back already?” Kane smiled.
“Henshin!”
A dazzling light instantly enveloped Sanji.
As the light faded, Sanji was already clad in a black Raid Suit, sporting a red-lined, black-faced cloak.
“Don’t say I’m bullying you, I won’t use my invisibility ability!”
Sanji smiled confidently: “Again!”
“Tch, so you just changed clothes?”
Zoro didn’t understand where Sanji’s confidence came from.
But it didn’t matter, all the answers lay in the battle.
He charged forward again, his three swords transforming into a chilling net of blades, slashing fiercely at Sanji.
Clang, clang, clang, clang...
The three swords struck Sanji’s body, but instead of breaking through his defense, they produced the sound of metal clashing, sending sparks flying.
To his surprise, Zoro found that his slashes could only leave a few shallow, almost invisible white marks on the opponent’s body, which were rapidly disappearing.
“Wahahahahaha—!” Sanji put his hands on his hips and laughed triumphantly: “This is the power of technology!”
“Damn it!” Zoro frowned deeply, annoyed.
He wasn’t annoyed that Sanji was using cheating-like equipment, but rather that his own strength was still not enough.
If he couldn’t even defeat someone his own age, how could he fight Hawkeye!
“I originally intended to save this move for Hawkeye.”
Zoro straightened up, his two swords in hand began to spin rapidly like a windmill, creating a strong gust of wind.
“Now… let you have a taste of it first.”
“Three-Sword Style Secret Technique: Three Thousand Worlds!”
With an unstoppable momentum, he charged fiercely towards Sanji.
Sanji’s eyes narrowed, and he suddenly sprang forward with the tip of his foot, aiming at Zoro’s abdomen: “Abdomen Shoot!”
Zing! Zing! Zing!
Piercing cutting sounds accompanied by sparks erupted.
The next second, a green figure flew backward, crashing heavily onto the grass in the distance.
Sanji stood in place, slowly retracting his leg.
The Raid Suit on his body only had a few shallow cuts, which quickly disappeared under the effect of the memory metal.
“Just as I thought.” Kane was not surprised at all.
The lower limit of improvement provided by the Raid Suit was too absurd for the current Zoro; he couldn’t break through its defense at all.
Defeat was only a matter of time.
In gaming terms, Zoro was more like a late-game hero.
In his early stages, he was merely a talented and hardworking swordsman, even losing to Kuina over two thousand times.
Although Kuina’s astonishing talent was a factor, it was still evident.
Not to mention comparing him to the many young prodigies in the Grand Line.
But in the later stages, after years of diligent training began to show results, Zoro’s progress could be described as rapid.
“Cough—… Damn it, is the gap really that big?”
Not far away, Zoro struggled to prop himself up with his sword, coughing violently, a trickle of fresh red blood at the corner of his mouth.
The intense pain in his abdomen made him almost unable to straighten his back.
But the next second, Zoro surprisingly resumed his Three-Sword Style stance.
Sanji’s brows furrowed tightly: “Do you still want to continue? That was your trump card, wasn’t it? You should know the gap between yourself and me, it’s a chasm you can’t cross right now!”
“So what? Give up just because the enemy is strong?”
Zoro shouted loudly: “I once lost to a girl two thousand and one times, and now, I can lose another two thousand and one times!
“It doesn’t matter if I die in the process of challenging, I will definitely become stronger! I will definitely become the World’s Strongest Swordsman!”
That was his promise to Kuina, and to himself.
He wasn’t someone who refused to admit defeat, but rather someone who refused to stay defeated.
Can a person in this life just give up on themselves because of a few failures?!
He, Roronoa Zoro, would never be that kind of man!
“Hey, Kane, I kind of like that guy now.”
Yamato poked Kane’s waist with her elbow.
Zoro’s unyielding spirit was too much like hers.
Kane nodded slightly.
Many people in his previous life liked Zoro precisely for his unwavering belief in never giving up, and he was no exception.
On the battlefield, Sanji suddenly let out a soft chuckle.
He raised his hand and lightly pressed a certain part of his waist, and the Raid Suit instantly transformed back into a canister, which he put into his pocket.
“You, you really are something—it would be unfair for me to continue using the Raid Suit.”
Sanji slowly raised his right leg in front of him: “Let’s continue with the resolve that only one of us can remain standing!”
“Just as I wished!”
Zoro grinned broadly.