Chapter 52: O Weak One, Why Initiate This Duel That Leads Only to Death?
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Zoro's hand, resting on the hilt of his sword, trembled slightly.
Thump, thump.
He tried to calm his heartbeat with deep breaths, but found it impossible.
It wasn't fear; it was an excitement that made every cell in his body scream.
He hadn't expected it to be so soon... that he would truly meet him this quickly.
An unprecedented, burning battle intent erupted in Zoro's eyes, as if it would ignite the very air before him.
The promised moment... has finally arrived.
Tatsuya, standing nearby, glanced at him. Seeing Zoro's tense posture—looking as if he were ready to die at any moment yet filled with fanatical zeal—he couldn't help but feel a stir in his heart.
"Is this... what they call ambition?"
Tatsuya looked up slightly toward the vast, boundless sky.
"Then, what is my ambition?
"Endless treasure? Simply surviving in this world? Or perhaps wielding absolute power?"
Looking at the curly-browed chef lighting a cigarette in the distance, Tatsuya suddenly felt a strange urge to try the taste of tobacco.
Perhaps that stuff was useful when pondering life.
"Luffy! Do me a favor!"
Zoro shouted suddenly, interrupting Tatsuya's thoughts.
He pointed toward a large, relatively intact piece of wreckage in front of Hawkeye, his gaze resolute.
"Send me over there!"
"Oh! Leave it to me!"
Luffy pressed down his straw hat and agreed with a grin. His arms stretched instantly, grabbing Zoro's back.
"Gum-Gum Rocket!!"
...
On the other side, atop the floating wreckage of Don Krieg's pirate ship.
The atmosphere of fear continued to spread.
A pirate who looked like a squad leader, his eyes bloodshot, forced himself to stand and roared at the man on the small boat:
"You bastard!! How did we offend you?! Why must you hunt us down so relentlessly!!"
"Calm down, Boss!" his subordinates pulled at him in terror.
"Boss, shut up! He'll kill us!"
However, the only response was silence.
Hawkeye Mihawk simply sat there quietly, his golden pupils not even bothering to glance at the squad leader.
Silence was the ultimate contempt.
"You bastard!!"
Driven to a frenzy by this disregard, the squad leader lashed out in shame and anger, drawing a pistol from his waist and firing wildly at Hawkeye.
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
Tongues of fire spat out as bullets whistled through the air.
Hawkeye remained expressionless, not even rising from his seat.
He merely reached out his right hand and drew the massive Black Blade Yoru from his back.
With a light flick of his wrist.
The giant black blade traced an elegant and gentle arc through the air.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
There was no massive slash as one might expect; he simply used the broad side of the blade to parry the incoming rounds.
The trajectories of the high-speed bullets were instantly altered, easily deflected into the sea where they kicked up tiny splashes.
"H-How is that possible!!"
The gun fell from the squad leader's hand, his jaw trembling. "I clearly... I clearly aimed right at him..."
"He used the edge of his sword to gently change the bullets' trajectory."
A deep voice rang out from behind.
"What?!" The squad leader turned back in horror. "How could a human do such a thing! Those were bullets!"
Zoro didn't bother answering these frogs in a well.
He pushed through the pirates blocking his path and walked forward step by step, each footfall on the broken deck making a dull thud.
The nearby pirates looked at the three swords at Zoro's waist and his green haramaki; suddenly, someone's eyes widened.
"Three swords... that outfit..."
"Could it be..."
Zoro ignored the gazes around him.
He stared fixedly at the man sitting on the small boat, a fanatical curve hooking his lips.
"Despite being such a cumbersome-looking heavy sword, it showed such softness in that moment... It's the first time I've seen such swordsmanship."
Hawkeye finally turned his head slightly, his sharp hawk-like eyes glancing at Zoro.
"A sword of mere strength possesses no true power."
His tone was flat, yet it contained profound truth.
"Was this giant ship also cut down by that sword?" Zoro's hand gripped the hilt of Wado Ichimonji tightly.
"Indeed," Hawkeye replied calmly.
"Heh..."
An even more turbulent battle intent surged in Zoro's eyes, his blood boiling.
"As expected of the World's Strongest."
He slowly untied the dark green bandana from his arm and tied it solemnly around his head. His gaze instantly became sharp as a blade, staring straight at Hawkeye.
"I set out to sea specifically to meet you."
Hawkeye looked at the young swordsman, a flicker of interest flashing in his eyes.
"Oh? And what is your goal?"
"To defeat you!!"
Zoro roared, drawing all three swords in a flash of cold light, their tips pointing directly at the World's Strongest.
"And then—to become the strongest!!"
"Since you're so free right now, let's have a duel!!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding crowd broke into an uproar.
"Hey!! That guy is Zoro!!"
"What?! It's the famous Pirate Hunter of the East Sea—Roronoa Zoro!!"
A pirate finally recognized Zoro's identity and looked at him in shock. "Is he crazy? He dares to challenge that monster!"
On the deck of the Baratie restaurant, everyone's eyes were wide.
"Just who on earth are these guys..."
Patty's mouth hung open, feeling as though his worldview was being continuously shattered today.
"That moss-head..."
Sanji stood by the railing, looking deeply at the green figure ahead, unaware that his cigarette had burned to the filter.
Below, Usopp was shouting anxiously:
"Luffy! Tatsuya! Now isn't the time to watch a duel! The mist on the sea is too thick, we're losing sight of the going merry! Nami is really going to get away!"
Luffy held his hat, looking straight at Zoro's back, and said without turning around:
"It's okay, Zoro is dueling."
Tatsuya raised his arm and issued a command to the Crow still circling above.
"Clay, stop watching the show. Go catch up to the going merry. If you lose them, I'll eat you!"
"Caw caw! Master! Leave it to Master Clay!"
Receiving the command, Clay gave a strange cry and soared high, turning into a black bolt of lightning as he flew toward the distant, vanishing speck.
Then, Tatsuya looked at the anxious Usopp with a smile and pointed at the battlefield ahead.
"Don't worry, Usopp. This is a duel between true swordsmen, a rare sight on these seas. Just watch."
Usopp sighed helplessly, leaning against the railing.
"Ah... you people..."
In the distance.
From his small boat, Hawkeye looked at Zoro, who had taken a combat stance. His expression didn't change at all, as if he were looking at a posturing ant.
"Pitiful weakling."
He gave a light leap, his body landing as light as a feather on the deck in front of Zoro.
"If you were truly a first-class swordsman, you would be able to see the massive gap in our strength without even crossing blades."
Hawkeye stood firm, raising those hawk-like eyes that could pierce a person's soul to look directly at Zoro.
"Under the gaze of these eyes, your probability of victory is—zero."
"So... O weak one, why initiate this duel that leads only to death?"
Faced with this soul-piercing question and the terrifying pressure washing over him.
Zoro lowered his head, his body trembling slightly.
It wasn't fear, but his body's instinct resisting an invincible enemy.
Then, he suddenly bared his teeth and let out a low laugh.
"Heh... heh heh..."
"Probability? Zero? What do those boring things that only mathematicians like have to do with me?"
Zoro snapped his head up, his gaze showing no hint of wavering, only a relentless determination.
"It's not a half-hearted question of 'can I win' or not. It's... I must stand here!"
Zoro gripped his sword hilts tightly, his nails sinking into his palms.
"Behind me, there is a promise I must keep! There is an ambition I cannot abandon even in death!!"
Kuina's face flashed through his mind.
"If I were to retreat even a single step because 'I can't win'... those past oaths and the weight of that promise would snap in an instant, crushing me completely!!"
Zoro bit down on Wado Ichimonji, his voice muffled yet thunderous:
"To me, the defeat of retreating in that moment is more terrifying than death!!"
"So... do not underestimate my ambition!!!"
"Because, behind me there is no longer a path to take!!"
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