Chapter 65: Black Blade vs Three-Sword Style
Clang!
Zoro blocked the ice blade aimed at Robin, whose body had frozen in shock.
"Tch! Let's call this payment for the sword!" Zoro said as he barely held back Aokiji's icy slash.
"Nice one, Marimo!"
"Slice Shoot!"
Sanji leapt up and delivered a powerful kick, knocking Aokiji's ice blade away.
"Good job, guys!"
"Gomu Gomu no… Pistol!!"
With Aokiji's upper body momentarily exposed, Luffy charged in, aiming to drive his fist straight into him.
"Well now! I'm a Vice Admiral, and you're just going to ignore me completely?"
Before anyone realized, Rengoku was standing right in front of Aokiji, speaking casually.
Smack!
Luffy's fist was stopped with ease.
Like an adult catching the punch of a child, Rengoku didn't use any technique—only pure physical strength.
"Not bad power, but when you get a chance to attack a Marine Admiral, you should open with your strongest move!"
After giving his evaluation of Luffy's punch, Rengoku counterattacked all three at once.
"Fish-Man Karate: Brick Fist to the Ceiling!"
"Fish-Man Karate: Spinning Kick to the Ceiling!"
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—he met punch with punch, kick with kick, sending both Luffy and Sanji flying in a single strike.
Then, for the first time, he drew the black blade Shusui.
Clang!
Zoro barely managed to block Rengoku's downward slash with Shusui in hand.
"Mhm… As expected of a swordsman acknowledged by Mihawk!"
As a fellow swordsman, Rengoku had a fairly high opinion of Zoro.
"Thanks for the compliment… ngh!"
The weight behind Rengoku's strikes left Zoro struggling just to defend.
Seeing this, Rengoku subtly withdrew his blade, throwing Zoro off balance—
"Whoa—!"
—and struck his abdomen with the flat of his sword in a horizontal slash.
"Gah!"
Zoro was sent flying.
The Straw Hats were visibly shocked to see their three strongest fighters taken down in the blink of an eye.
"Luffy, Zoro, Sanji…"
"Arara… I was going to handle them, but you're being a bit greedy, Rengoku-kun~"
"My apologies, Kuzan-san. I'll leave those two martial arts specialists to you, then."
"Oh? So swordsmen can't help themselves after all?"
Kuzan looked curiously at the sight of Roronoa Zoro, sword clenched in his mouth.
Though not a swordsman himself, Kuzan had never seen a style like Three-Sword Style before. He'd seen people tuck blades under their arms or between their knees, but holding one in the mouth… what kind of idea was that?
It made sense that Rengoku, also a swordsman, would be intrigued. Without commenting further, Kuzan moved toward the two who had recovered their senses.
As Kuzan left, Zoro drew all three swords.
"Mhm… Wado Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, and Yubashiri! All fine blades you've got there."
Enrin Kitetsu, despite being from the same Kitetsu lineage, had no resonance with the Sandai Kitetsu.
Not that Rengoku had planned to draw it anyway.
"You're holding two swords… Is that Two-Sword Style? Why not draw that one? Are you looking down on me, like Mihawk did?"
"Ah, I only use one sword. This one was a gift from a samurai."
And he saw no need to draw Enrin Kitetsu just to test Zoro's skill.
Even if it was on par with his main sword, a cursed blade was still a cursed blade—it could burn down the whole house if used carelessly.
Unlike the Enrin Kitetsu, the black blade Shusui—one of the 21 Great Grade Swords—had no special abilities. It was simply unimaginably tough and razor-sharp.
Perfect for testing Zoro's Three-Sword Style.
"Hmph! Oni Giri!"
Zoro charged in with his signature slash, only for Rengoku to halt the three converging blades at a single point—just like Mihawk had done before.
"The advantage of Three-Sword Style is in its three angles of attack and strike routes! But you—despite wielding three swords—make every swing from the same line. Against a skilled swordsman, every one of those strikes will be blocked."
Parrying the Oni Giri, Rengoku countered with a similar stance. It was a simple One-Sword Style downward slash—not a special form at all.
Yet Zoro had to block it with all his strength, his breath hitching under the weight of it.
"Your reaction speed is good. But in defense, despite wielding three swords, you rely only on two—and the durability of that Wado Ichimonji in your mouth is going to waste."
Wado Ichimonji was a remarkably tough blade, yet Zoro wasn't drawing out its full defensive potential.
"That Yubashiri in your right hand—it's a defensive sword. Meanwhile, the Sandai Kitetsu in your left hand is an offensive sword."
Rengoku's blade flashed three times, striking each of Zoro's weapons—Wado Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, and Yubashiri—in turn.
"You're right-handed, so the Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri should be switched. Your swordsmanship and combat sense are excellent, but your strategic sense is still lacking."
Even if the composition of blades was due to availability—finding Great Grade Swords was no easy task—Zoro was wielding two defensive swords and only one offensive blade, and that offensive sword was in his off-hand.
"And judging from the swords you've been seen with since two of yours were destroyed by Mihawk, you've been swapping blades constantly since Alabasta."
"Three-Sword Style… Tiger Hunt!"
Clang!
Once again, Rengoku stopped all three blades at a single point before counterattacking.
"A swordsman's weakness breaks his blade. A truly strong swordsman will never see his sword shatter!"
Clang! Clang!
Two consecutive upward strikes sent both the Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri flying from Zoro's hands.
Zoro quickly gripped the Wado Ichimonji in his hand instead of his mouth, trying to fend off Rengoku's onslaught.
Even though Wado Ichimonji was one of the 21 Great Grade Swords, the permanent black blade Shusui—empowered by Rengoku's hand—was far superior.
And now, Rengoku decided to give Zoro a lesson.
The black sheen of Shusui darkened further as a faint golden hue of Armament Haki layered over it.
"Breath of Stone, Second Form…"
"Heaven-Crushing Strike!"
Even before the blade touched him, Zoro felt as though a massive meteor was descending.
He dodged instinctively.
BOOM!
It wasn't a mere sword strike—it was a blow with the weight of a cannonball.
For a moment, in the force of Rengoku's presence, Zoro thought he saw the towering image of a guardian king.
"Excellent judgment! Had you taken that strike head-on, even the Wado Ichimonji would have been shattered to pieces!"
Wado Ichimonji… shattered?
In that instant, memories flashed—of the short-haired girl who had made him promise, and of his late master who had entrusted the Wado Ichimonji to him.
"A strong swordsman never breaks his blade! Have you understood that 'strength,' Roronoa Zoro?"
As Rengoku finished speaking, Zoro remembered the strange energy surrounding that blade earlier.
That power… what was it?
Lost in thought, Zoro was left behind as Rengoku returned to Kuzan—whose "fight" had already ended.
If it could even be called a fight.
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