Meanwhile, in Zoro's mind.
It was eerily quiet—not the calm kind, but the suffocating kind.
The swordsman felt like he was sinking deeper and deeper into his own mind.
As his soul teetered on the edge of life and death, he heard Kairo's words once more.
"Before Haki was split... you could connect to your other self through the Abyss."
That was Kairo's voice. He had been asleep back then, but his mind had picked up on that.
He exhaled slowly.
"Other self, huh..."
He didn't have any eyes right now, and all he saw was darkness, so while he was here, he might as well test that theory out.
Closing his eyes, Zoro's Observation Haki began working. Since he was already between the Abyss and the human realm, it was easy. He felt a presence eerily similar to him and locked onto it.
As he opened his eyes, the ground beneath him formed into black stones which seemed to stretch infinitely in every direction. There was water falling upside down. They seemed to be inside a dojo, and someone was sitting there looking bored.
The figure looked at Zoro and smiled, its face a carbon copy of the swordsman—except he had black hair and red eyes.
Zoro turned to look at the creature, who seemed to have already been aware of his existence, a smile playing on its lips.
Its teeth were sharper, and its skin was a shade whiter than Zoro's, speaking Usopp Egghead Island level white.
It looked at Zoro as if he were a bug waiting to be crushed.
"...So you're the other half," Zoro muttered. This creature felt strong. Kairo did say they scaled off his strength, so this creature wasn't stronger than him. They were basically equals.
The other Zoro tilted his head slightly.
"I am the superior side," it said with a smile twirling on its lips, before blitzing Zoro and appearing in front of him.
"You are the inferior one here."
Zoro didn't say anything. This creature was different from anything else he had faced.
Zoro didn't say much. He knew he had to subdue this guy if he wanted any hope of winning.
"So you are my opposite," Zoro finally said. The vibe this man gave off wasn't the best. For just a split second, he almost felt like a racist... just a second.
"I am the upgrade, so now listen here, you unseasoned cracker."
Well damn.
"You are a damn warrior, a samurai, and here you are bending your will to serve another." The creature looked disgusted at Zoro, as if the fact he bowed to Luffy was the worst thing ever.
"His goal aligns with mine, and he is my captain." Zoro didn't need to offer more explanation. That was enough.
"And for that alone you are willing to throw away your goals?" The creature looked annoyed.
"What about your drive, your promise to Kuina?"
Zoro showed no emotion, but his lips did tighten a bit.
He should have expected this creature to possess some of his memories too.
"Now look at you—missing an eye and on death's door, just because you decided to follow an overgrown baboon." Ah, it seemed like this other self was a bit more eccentric.
"Luffy may be an idiot, but I never regretted joining him." Wado Ichimonji spawned in Zoro's hand.
"I don't have time for small talk. I want to be the strongest in the world, and if you are my key to that, I will crush you too."
The creature smiled, though it wasn't referring to Luffy when it called someone a baboon.
"Show me your best, Pirate Hunter."
Zoro only had one sword, and it was the sword Kuina used to have.
So without waiting any more time, he rushed at the creature, clashing against it. Steel met steel, yet the creature looked unaffected, blocking and weaving through all of Zoro's blows as if they meant nothing at all.
It blocked an overhead strike before slashing Zoro's chest, forcing the swordsman to block the attack unless he wanted an X-shaped mark to appear on his chest, having the same ass mark that his captain might get sometime in the future by a certain donut maker.
'He is strong.'
Zoro rushed back, swinging his sword, aiming to catch the creature. But as his slash landed, the creature's hand falling to the floor, it simply laughed.
"Hahaha, I am sure you know by now."
Its hand began to regenerate at a speed visible to the naked eye, while the hand on the floor vanished.
"Without Conqueror's Haki... you cannot defeat me."
The creature fully healed his hand. He was ready for this smoke, and he knew if he won, he could take control over Zoro's body. It couldn't wait.
Meanwhile, Zoro was ready for this. Clenching his sword tightly, a second yet smaller pair of hands clenched the blade alongside him.
Zoro did not notice as the figure of a little girl could be seen by his side, clenching the same sword he was holding.
A/N
Question of the week, let say, a dude decide to transition into a chick.
At what level does it stop being gay to fuck them, 1, or find them attractive 2.
Is it after the meat gets chopped off, or when they appear female enough, cause if it's the later, femboy is tintering on the edge there.
On an unrelated, chapter 33 of my novel is out fo check it out.