Freezing wind swept across the broken stone walkway clinging to the exterior of the skull dome.
Far below, the dark ocean churned against the jagged rocks of Onigashima. High above, the pale moonlight struggled to piece the heavy, drifting smoke rising from the burning fortress. The sounds of the massive war echoing through the interior corridors felt disconnected from this isolated, crumbling precipice.
Standing on the uneven stone, Zoro adjusted the grip on his three swords.
Wado Ichimonji rested firmly between his teeth. Sandai Kitetsu hummed quietly in his right hand. Enma pulsed in his left.
Across the ruined walkway, King the Wildfire stepped forward.
The All-Star remained in his human form, clad head-to-toe in black leather. A spiked mask concealed his features, leaving only cold, calculating eyes visible. Thick, leathery wings folded neatly behind his back, while a steady, burning flame flickered continuously between his shoulder blades.
No words were exchanged. The time for posturing had ended the moment they crossed blades inside the dome.
Kicking off the cracked masonry, the masked commander launched the first assault. Drawing a massive, serrated katana from his waist, King closed the distance with terrifying speed. The heavy blade descended in a brutal, two-handed vertical chop.
Meeting the charge, Zoro crossed Sandai Kitetsu and Enma.
Steel clashed against steel. A sharp, ringing shockwave blasted outward, blowing the loose dust and snow off the walkway.
Holding the block, the pirate swordsman felt the weight of the ancient Zoan pushing down. However, the pressure did not overwhelm him. Tapping into the dense, blackened Armament Haki coating his own blades, Zoro pushed back effortlessly, parrying the heavy strike to the side.
Stepping into the opening, the pirate twisted his torso.
Two-Sword Style: Hawk Wave.
A compressed, razor-sharp blast of air shot toward the commander's exposed chest.
King did not attempt to dodge. Standing still, the All-Star allowed the flying slash to strike him squarely in the sternum. The attack tore through the black leather uniform, shredding the fabric.
Beneath the ruined clothing, dark skin remained unblemished. Not a single drop of blood spilled.
Narrowing his single eye, Zoro noted the lack of damage. The flying slash carried enough Haki to cleave solid steel in half, yet it failed to leave even a faint scratch on the commander's flesh.
"Is that the best the Straw Hat crew has to offer?" King mocked, his voice muffled slightly by the spiked mask.
Ignoring the taunt, Zoro pressed the offensive.
Dashing forward, the swordsman unleashed a rapid flurry of precision strikes. Thrusting Sandai Kitetsu toward the throat, bringing Enma around in a sweeping horizontal arc, and following up with a descending slash from Wado Ichimonji, the pirate tested the enemy's defenses.
The serrated katana moved to intercept.
Catching Enma on the jagged teeth of his blade, King twisted his wrists abruptly. The specialized notches on the sword locked onto the pirate's weapon, trapping the blade.
"Sword-catcher," Zoro muttered around the hilt in his mouth.
"I never claimed to be a traditional swordsman," King stated coldly.
Pulling a hidden mechanism on his left gauntlet, a row of sharp, metallic spikes popped outward. Throwing a heavy punch at the trapped pirate's face, the All-Star aimed to end the duel with an underhanded strike.
Coating his forehead in dense Armament Haki, Zoro did not flinch.
The spiked gauntlet struck the blackened forehead. The metal spikes bent and warped against the superior Haki. Using the momentary pause, the pirate twisted the hilt of Enma shattering the teeth on the commander's serrated blade and freeing his weapon.
Leaping backward to create space, Zoro analyzed the brief exchange.
The strength of the enemy commander fell short. The swordsmanship felt rudimentary, relying heavily on tricks rather than genuine skill. The power gap between them leaned heavily in the pirate's favor.
Yet, the durability remained mystery.
I hit him cleanly, Zoro thought, studying the intact skin showing through the torn leather uniform. Even without Supreme King coating, basic Armament should cut flesh. He didn't use Haki to defend. His body naturally deflected the strike.
Looking closely at the enemy, the swordsman's gaze drifted past the mask and the wings, locking onto the steady fire burning on the commander's back.
"You are a strange one," Zoro noted aloud, resting Enma against his shoulder. "Wings, weird skin, and a fire that never goes out. Does anyone in Kaido's crew just fight normally?"
"My race was considered gods long before your kind built castles in the dirt," King replied, adjusting his grip on the broken katana. "You cannot comprehend this power."
"Gods?" Zoro scoffed, a dark smirk crossing his face. "I've cut down a few of those already. They all bleed the same."
Deciding to test a different approach, the pirate dropped his stance lower. If standard flying slashes failed, direct, highly concentrated Haki application became the next step.
One-Sword Style: Flying Dragon Blaze.
Gripping Enma with both hands, Zoro lunged across the broken walkway. The speed of the technique left a faint afterimage in the moonlight. Slashing horizontally, a massive wave of blue fire erupted from the blade, carrying immense destructive power into the commander's midsection.
The attack connected with devastating force.
The resulting explosion shattered the stone walkway. Chunks of heavy masonry tumbled down into the ocean below. A thick cloud of smoke obscured the precipice.
Standing on the very edge of the remaining stone, Zoro waited for the dust to clear.
Stepping casually out of the smoke, King brushed a speck of ash from his shoulder. The black leather uniform hung in ruins, exposing a large, dark-skinned torso. The fire on his back continued to burn steadily, unaffected by the surrounding destruction.
Not a single scratch marred his skin.
"A waste of energy," King stated, raising a hand.
Pulling the spiked mask away from his face, the commander tossed the broken accessory off the cliff. White hair fell loosely around a sharp, tattooed face. The reveal held no significance for the pirate, who lacked any historical context regarding the ancient Lunarian race.
"Still not a scratch," Zoro muttered, gritting his teeth in mild annoyance. "So it wasn't a trick of the uniform."
The puzzle demanded an immediate solution. Fighting an invincible opponent wasted precious stamina, especially with the true battle waiting on the roof.
Watching the enemy closely, Zoro tracked the subtle shifts in posture.
Suddenly, the fire burning between the commander's shoulder blades extinguished.
The moment the flame vanished, King disappeared.
Advanced Observation Haki flared in the swordsman's mind. The spiritual perception bypassed eyesight, sensing a massive, hostile presence materializing directly in the air behind his neck.
Reacting with honed instinct, Zoro threw himself forward, spinning mid-air and bringing all three swords around in a defensive guard.
A heavy, leather-clad boot slammed into the crossed blades.
The impact felt different from the previous clashes. The kick generated a shockwave that threw the pirate backward, sliding across the stone for several yards before finding traction.
Standing where the pirate had just been, King lowered his leg. A split second later, the flame on his back ignited once more, burning brightly in the cold wind.
He traded his defense for speed, Zoro realized, the tactical picture finally clicking into place.
The observation brought a confident grin to the swordsman's face. The enemy was not an invincible god. He simply possessed a biological gimmick. When the fire burned, the durability reached impenetrable levels. When the fire extinguished, the speed skyrocketed, but the invulnerability vanished.
"I see," Zoro laughed softly around the hilt of Wado Ichimonji. "You aren't a god. You're just a puzzle waiting to be solved."
Frowning, King narrowed his eyes. "Understanding my body will not save you."
"We'll see about that," the pirate challenged.
To exploit the weakness, catching the commander during the high-speed, vulnerable phase became the primary objective. However, predicting the moment the flame extinguished and countering the blinding velocity required something more than standard, brute-force strikes.
Shifting his grip on Enma and Sandai Kitetsu, Zoro relaxed his shoulders. The aggressive, forward-leaning posture faded, replaced by a calm, steady stillness.
Sensing the shift in demeanor, King recognized the subtle danger. The pirate no longer radiated raw, unfocused aggression. The spiritual pressure settled, condensing into a sharp, quiet lethality.
Deciding to end the duel quickly, the Lunarian went on the offensive.
Igniting the fire on his back to a blinding intensity, King drew his arms back.
Tempura Udon!
Pulling his mask slightly, the commander fired a highly compressed, laser-like beam of pure heat from his face. The attack warped the air, shooting across the walkway with the speed of light.
Instead of raising his swords for a heavy block, Zoro initiated his newly inspired technique.
Three-Sword Style: Hazy Demon.
Stepping lightly to the side, the swordsman did not simply dodge. His entire body seemed to waver and blur, leaving faint, trailing afterimages in the moonlight. The movements lacked the sharp, rigid stops of his usual style. The three blades flowed continuously in slow, looping arcs, never settling into a static guard.
The heat beam passed cleanly through a fading afterimage, melting the stone behind the pirate into slag.
Confused by the missed strike, King fired again. Two more rapid, sweeping heat beams tore across the precipice.
Flowing like water around jagged rocks, the pirate slipped through the lethal grid effortlessly. The continuous, weaving motion made tracking his true position impossible. The blades drifted lazily through the air, obscuring the lethal intent hiding beneath the fluid movements.
Frustration flared in the commander's eyes.
"Stop dancing and fight!" King roared.
The flame on his back extinguished.
Vanishing from sight, the Lunarian tapped into his blinding, untraceable speed. Relying on the immense velocity to overwhelm the shifting defense, King materialized directly on the pirate's left flank, aiming a devastating, Haki-coated punch at the exposed ribs.
Zoro had been waiting for the fire to drop.
The flowing, formless motion of the blades snapped instantly into focus.
Secret Technique: Moon-Viewing King of Hell.
Bypassing a standard parry, the swordsman utilized the fluid momentum he had already built. Guiding Sandai Kitetsu in a tight, looping circle, he caught the incoming fist, wrapping his blade around the commander's arm without halting.
Using the enemy's own blinding speed against him, Zoro redirected the heavy punch.
The sudden shift in leverage pulled King forward, shattering his balance.
With the opponent stumbling into his guard and the protective flame extinguished, Zoro unleashed the trap. Bringing Enma and Wado Ichimonji around in a rapid, devastating cross-slash, he poured advanced Armament Haki into the unarmored flesh.
The two blades bit deeply into the commander's chest.
Blood sprayed across the broken stone. A sharp grunt of pain escaped the Lunarian's lips. The heavy impact threw King backward, crashing violently into a ruined pillar and bringing the heavy stone down upon himself.
Standing amidst the settling dust, Zoro resumed the fluid, swaying stance, the blades humming quietly in the cold air.
"Found it," the pirate noted, spitting a small trace of blood from a bitten lip. "Your speed is impressive, but you leave your front door wide open when you run."
Pushing the heavy stone pillar aside, King climbed slowly to his feet.
A deep, bleeding cross-slash marked his chest. The invincible facade had shattered.
The realization stung worse than the wound. The superiority of the swordsman was no longer a debate; it was a proven fact.
Igniting the flame on his back once more, the bleeding commander glared across the walkway.
"You possess a sharp mind for a lowly pirate," King admitted, wiping blood from his torso. "But analyzing a weakness and surviving my true power are two different things."
Tapping into the pinnacle of his Lunarian heritage, the fire on the commander's back erupted. The flames shifted from standard orange to a blinding, searing white. The intense heat instantly melted the remaining snow on the precipice, turning the surrounding stone cherry-red.
"I will incinerate you and your entire crew," the All-Star promised.
Manipulating the superheated flames, King shaped the fire into a terrifying construct. A colossal, white-hot dragon materialized above the walkway, composed of magma-like fire. The ambient temperature spiked drastically, scorching the air and making breathing difficult.
Imperial Flaming Wings!
The scale of the attack threatened to melt the side of the skull dome. The giant magma dragon roared, preparing to descend and consume the lone swordsman.
Watching the massive construct form, Zoro's flowing, hazy stance faded. The time for fluid parries and evasive footwork had passed. Meeting an attack of this magnitude required dominance.
Taking a wide, grounded stance, the pirate gripped his three swords tightly.
Releasing all internal restraints, the swordsman allowed his Haki to flow freely.
He did not merely push Armament Haki into the steel. Tapping into the color of the supreme king, the Conqueror's Haki flared to life.
Jagged, violent streaks of black and red lightning erupted from the three blades. The spiritual pressure crashed outward, pushing back against the searing heat. The air warped and fractured around the pirate, unable to contain the density of the aura.
"If you are a god," Zoro declared, his voice cutting clearly through the roaring flames, "then I will become the King of Hell."
High above, King commanded the magma dragon to strike.
The massive construct dove toward the walkway, bringing a wave of incinerating heat.
Simultaneously, the flame on the commander's back extinguished.
Choosing to follow the dragon closely, King utilized his maximum speed, intending to strike the pirate the moment the heat forced a defensive opening. The dual-layered assault represented the pinnacle of the All-Star's combat capabilities.
Opening his eye, the swordsman tracked the incoming threats effortlessly. The advanced perception saw through the blinding light of the magma.
Combining the fluid, space-altering concepts of the Moonlight style with the devastating, world-cleaving power of Supreme King coating, Zoro prepared his ultimate response.
King of Hell, Three-Sword Serpent: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation!
Leaping toward the descending magma construct, the pirate swung all three blades simultaneously.
The attack did not merely cut physical matter. The advanced Conqueror's Haki severed the very space the flames occupied. The massive magma dragon split down the middle, parted by an invisible, overwhelming force.
Sailing straight through the parted flames, Zoro emerged on the other side, untouched by the heat.
King, rushing in behind the construct with his flame extinguished, found himself face-to-face with the oncoming, blackened blades. The speed advantage meant nothing against a strike that already occupied the inevitable point of impact.
The three swords struck true.
The black lightning tore through the commander's remaining defenses. The spiritual pressure shattered the ancient Zoan durability. A devastating gash opened across the Lunarian's chest, accompanied by the deafening crack of breaking bone.
The force of the technique carried the commander backward.
Unable to arrest the momentum, King flew off the ruined walkway. The defeated All-Star's flames extinguished for good.
Landing smoothly on the edge of the broken stone, Zoro held his pose for a second.
The black lightning faded from the blades. The intense heat dissipated, leaving only the cold night wind howling across the empty precipice.
Slowly, methodically, the swordsman sheathed his weapons. Sandai Kitetsu and Enma clicked softly into their scabbards, while Wado Ichimonji returned to his hip.
A heavy, ragged breath escaped his lungs.
The massive expenditure of Supreme King Haki drained a significant portion of his stamina. Every muscle in his body ached with a dull, throbbing fatigue. The battle had demanded focus, but the victory secured a crucial advantage for the alliance.
Turning his back on the ocean, the pirate began the slow walk toward the interior corridors. Reaching the roof to support the captain remained the primary objective, though navigating the confusing layout of the fortress presented a different kind of challenge.
"Now," Zoro muttered, scratching the back of his head. "Was the stairs to the left or the right?"
Taking three steps down the ruined walkway, the swordsman stopped abruptly.
A warning flared in his Observation Haki. The sensation did not originate from the corridors ahead, but from the dark sky above.
Without hesitation, the pirate sidestepped smoothly, sliding two paces to the right.
A fraction of a second later, a heavy object plummeted from the heavens, crashing into the stone floorboards where he had just been standing.
The impact splintered the masonry, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
Coughing heavily, a figure slowly pushed himself up from the small crater. The spotted hat was torn and covered in soot. The long white scarf hung in rags around his neck, and a large, bleeding gash ran down his left arm.
Trafalgar Law rested on one knee, gripping his nodachi tightly, his chest heaving with exhaustion.
"Torao?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow at the sudden, bruised arrival.
Before the surgeon could offer an explanation, a massive, terrifying shadow eclipsed the moonlight.
Looking up, the swordsman spotted the source of the crash.
Descending rapidly from the sky, a giant thundercloud crackled with electrical energy. A miniature, blazing sun floated right beside it, casting a harsh, orange glow over the precipice.
Standing atop the storm clouds, Big Mom glared down at the broken walkway. The Emperor's pink dress was scorched, and her wild hair flew wildly in the wind. Fury radiated from her massive frame. Having been thrown off the roof by the rubber captain and intercepted mid-air by the surgeon, the giant woman was out of patience.
"I will turn your bones to ash, Trafalgar!" Big Mom roared, brandishing the massive sword, Napoleon.
Sighing heavily, Zoro abandoned the search for the stairs. Reaching down to his sash, the pirate slowly drew his three swords once more. The fatigue in his muscles would just have to wait.
"Did you trip and fall down the stairs, or do you need a hand?" Zoro asked, resting Wado Ichimonji between his teeth.
Struggling to stand, Law wiped a smear of blood from his chin.
"I tried to fight her," the surgeon replied, his voice hoarse. "She is more durable than anticipated. My internal strikes are causing damage, but she recovers too quickly."
A series of rapid, sliding footsteps echoed from the interior corridor behind them.
Stepping out onto the ruined walkway, Sanji arrived. The cook's dark suit remained pristine, though a few scorch marks dotted the fabric. Having finished his own battle with Queen and followed the sounds of heavy destruction, the cook assessed the situation instantly.
Taking a long drag from his cigarette, Sanji exhaled a cloud of smoke, eyeing the descending Emperor.
"I leave you alone for five minutes, moss-head," Sanji noted calmly, keeping his hands in his pockets, "and you immediately pick a fight with a giant, angry woman. Your manners are atrocious."
"Shut up, curly-brows," Zoro grunted, keeping his single eye locked on the massive threat above. "She dropped out of the sky. Deal with it."
Ignoring the familiar bickering, Law gripped the hilt of his nodachi with both hands. The surgeon knew a drawn-out battle of attrition against a Yonko guaranteed a swift death. The only viable path to victory required a decisive strike.
"My stamina is running low. I have one final technique prepared. If I can land it directly, it will bypass her exterior defenses and shatter her internal organs."
"But the activation sequence leaves me vulnerable," Law explained. "I need time, and I need a clear opening."
Flicking his cigarette over the edge of the cliff, Sanji rolled his shoulders, a spark of blue fire igniting on his left shoe.
Tightening his grip on Enma and Sandai Kitetsu, Zoro dropped into a low, aggressive stance.
No verbal confirmation was necessary. The two pirates understood the assignment perfectly. Providing an opening meant charging directly into the path of an enraged Emperor, drawing her attention away from the surgeon.
"Don't miss, Torao," Zoro muttered around his sword.