As Zoro channeled his energy into his blades, power surged back through the connection, flooding his body with strength.
The ghostly aura from Sandai Kitetsu intensified, mixing with the enchantments. But there was something else too... It was a strange sensation that seemed to tug at his emotions, pulling them in a darker direction.
So this was what it meant to wield a cursed blade.
Under the influence of the demonic energy, his eyes began to glow red. The desire to go berserk and paint the clouds red with blood surged within him.
For a split second, he felt himself slipping toward that edge.
Then, just as suddenly, the feeling vanished. His eyes cleared, and his mind snapped back to clarity.
He blinked in surprise, then glanced down at Wado Ichimonji in his off-hand. He'd been channeling energy equally into all three swords, treating them the same way he always did.
But Wado Ichimonji had just counteracted the curse's influence.
"Huh. I didn't know you could do that," he muttered to the sword.
It was as if some unseen force was guiding him, keeping him grounded. For a moment, he could almost feel Kuina's presence again.
A small smile curved at the corner of his mouth.
Still looking out for me, aren't you?
The feeling faded, but the clarity remained. He shifted his stance, settling into a familiar attack form. The demonic aura from Sandai Kitetsu continued to pour out.
"Oni Giri!"
Across from him, Ohm's Mantra screamed a warning. His eyes widened as he sensed the incoming danger, but his body couldn't respond fast enough to dodge.
In desperation, he transformed his Eisen Whip into a wall, hoping the defensive form would buy him enough time to recover. The moment he lost sight of his opponent, he knew he'd made a mistake. And the wall's hardness clearly wasn't enough to withstand what was coming.
CRASH!
The Eisen Back shattered like glass.
Zoro burst through the debris. Before Ohm could even process what had happened, he felt steel press against his throat.
The fight was over.
Cold sweat poured down his face in streams. The threat of death froze every muscle in his body. One wrong move, and those blades would open his throat.
This man was terrifyingly strong.
Zoro looked at his opponent and saw that Ohm had completely lost the will to fight. "That's it? That's all a priest can do?"
Ohm was a priest of Skypiea. And this Blue Sea dweller was looking at him like he was nothing.
He gritted his teeth, desperation giving him a burst of courage. He swung his arm, and the shattered Eisen Back responded to his will. The destroyed pieces liquefied and began flowing like water, reforming into liquid metal that wrapped around his arm. In the next instant, that liquid became a blade thrusting straight for Zoro's throat.
It was a clever technique, the kind of trick that had probably saved his life more than once in the past.
But it didn't even slow Zoro down.
Slash.
The blade flashed once.
Ohm's Eisen Whip was split cleanly in two, the cut so perfect it looked like it had been sliced by a laser. The two halves fell away from each other. Only then did he realize the horrifying truth: the weapon he'd been so proud of was nothing but a toy before this man. Hell, calling it a toy would be too generous.
Zoro sheathed his swords.
He'd assumed that someone with Observation Haki would also have Armament Haki. That was usually how it worked, Haki users tended to develop both types eventually. But apparently not this guy. If his three swords hadn't been enchanted, he might have had some trouble with the Eisen Whip. The flowing metal properties were something he'd never encountered before, and without the enhanced sharpness, cutting through it might have been a challenge.
But with both edge quality and cutting power enhanced to this degree? He didn't even need to activate the Fire Aspect enchantments.
The so-called unbreakable Eisen Whip might as well have been made of paper.
Experiencing such an overwhelming difference in power left him feeling oddly unsatisfied. Where was the challenge? Where was the thrill of a real fight?
Behind him, Ohm stood frozen, unable to believe what had just happened. He was defeated in less than thirty seconds, and spared by his enemy like a child being taught a lesson.
"What... what just happened?" He stared at his hands, at the broken remains of his weapon. "Why did it end like this? I'm the priest of the Ordeal of Iron..."
Among the four priests, he had always been the strongest. That wasn't arrogance, it was simply fact. His trial had a zero percent survival rate for a reason. And yet someone like him had been destroyed in half a minute by a random man from the Blue Sea.
He slammed his fists against the ground, his entire body trembling. Part of him wanted to attack again. But his survival instincts wouldn't allow it. His body refused to move against someone who could kill him so easily.
"Hohoho-o You're so weak! To think you were taken down so easily by a Blue Sea dweller!"
The mocking voice came from the Going Merry's deck.
Chopper's head whipped around in surprise.
A round-shaped man who looked more like a ball than a human had somehow appeared right next to Shira. He was wearing yellow gloves, and one of those gloved hands was wrapped around her throat.
"Now I've got one of your crewmates," he laughed. "Hohoho-o~ What will you do, swordsman?"
Zoro's eyes immediately snapped toward the deck. He'd been so focused on his opponent that someone had managed to sneak aboard the ship. When had that happened? How had he missed it?
His mind raced through possibilities. Ever since Shira had been created by Marcus, she'd never really displayed her combat abilities. Back on Asuka Island, she'd used her Devil Fruit powers mainly for interference, spreading mushroom spores, controlling Marines who'd been affected by demonic energy.
But his concern faded almost as quickly as it had appeared.
On the deck, Shira was staring at the hand gripping her throat. Her expression was one of pure revulsion.
"Let go. You're disgusting."
Frost was already spreading across the deck beneath her feet. Her eyes had gone dark and cold as winter night.
Nearby, Chopper, who had transformed into his Heavy Point form to help in the fight, saw the killing intent radiating from her and immediately reverted to his small, vulnerable form.
"Kyaaa! Shira's scary!"
Satori continued laughing. "Hohoho-o, you think I'll let go just because you said so? You're really... eh? My hand... why can't I feel my—"
The words died in his throat as horror replaced amusement on his face. His entire arm had gone numb.... Not just numb, completely unresponsive, as if it had been severed from his body. Then a freezing cold erupted from within him, spreading through his organs like liquid nitrogen.
Only now did his Mantra trigger a warning.
It was far, far too late.
All across his body, ice-blue mushrooms began sprouting. They grew rapidly. They looked like delicate glass sculptures. But judging from Satori's expression, beauty was the last thing on his mind.
Chopper stared in shock. Even though he'd been born on Drum Island and had natural resistance to cold, he couldn't help but shiver at what he was witnessing. The temperature around Shira had dropped so drastically that his breath came out in visible clouds.
Shira pried the frozen hand from her neck, breaking off two of Satori's fingers in the process. They shattered like icicles hitting concrete.
"I'm contaminated now. I need to take a bath."
Without another word, she turned and walked toward the ship's interior, leaving Satori frozen in place.
Chopper nodded blankly, still trying to process what he'd just seen.
Zoro scratched his head at the scene. Shira had always seemed so quiet and gentle around the crew. Nothing like Goliath, who was loud and energetic. He'd just assumed she was shy or reserved.
Only now did he realize she had an extreme aversion to men. No, aversion wasn't the right word. It was more like visceral revulsion bordering on phobia.
Come to think of it, she'd never had any physical contact with male crew members. Ever. Not even accidental brushes in passing.
Even during meals, she avoided any food that a man had touched. She'd eat only what Nami or the other women served her directly.
He thought about this for a moment, then shrugged it off. Everyone had their issues. As long as she could fight when needed, the rest wasn't his concern.
Ohm, meanwhile, had witnessed the entire scene from his position on the ground. He saw what happened to Satori and felt no sympathy. Instead, from deep within his chest, a new emotion began to surface: fear.
What kind of monsters had climbed up to Skypiea this time?
Had God foreseen this?
Was that why the supposed God had disappeared?
Had they all been abandoned to face these demons alone?
The thought crept unbidden into his mind, and for the first time in years, he felt something he'd almost forgotten.
Terror.