"I won another round."
Shirogai's calm voice drifted through the smoky air as he and Aokiji watched CP-9's Kumadori collapse, having taken Sanji's Diable Jambe, Broiled Lion Head head-on like a fool.
There was no suspense in the outcome.
Even with Armament Haki and Iron Body reinforcing him, Kumadori had been kicked into a trembling heap of roasted misery by that curly-browed cook.
"You're in the lead for now," Aokiji muttered lazily, his gaze indifferent as he looked at the unconscious CP-9 agent. "But your crew's swordsman looks one step away from passing out from blood loss."
Shirogai's lips curved into a confident, knowing smile.
"Never underestimate our swordsman. He always dances closest to death when he wants a breakthrough."
Zoro, drenched in blood and panting, wiped his chin with the back of his hand.
"Damn it, forced into this state again…" he murmured, steadying his breath. "But it's in moments like this that I see techniques hidden between life and death."
Across from him, Kaku—still in his awkward giraffe hybrid form—clutched his nearly severed arm, scorched from Usopp's earlier explosion. His eyes were cold and sharp.
"Three-Sword Style swordsman," he growled, "don't think an injury like this means you have a chance at winning."
Zoro lowered the head wrapped in his bandana, his voice dropping into a quiet murmur that seemed to echo from the depths of the underworld.
"Onigiri… Nine-Sword Style… Asura."
A suffocating aura burst outward.
It was not Zoro's life slipping away—rather, a terrifying manifestation of killing intent formed behind him, merging into the figure of a demon with three heads and six arms.
"Asura… Dying Lion."
Nine blades rose at once, slashing mercilessly toward Kaku.
"D-Damn it!" Kaku's entire body tensed. The crushing aura paralyzed his instincts.
By the time he regained clarity, the nine-blade strike had already descended.
"Iron Body… Armament!"
It was all he could do.
"You won't break through me!" Kaku snarled, as the swords crashed into his defense.
But Zoro's technique was never about simple physical damage.
Kaku's eyes widened.
Because the moment the blades struck him—everything around him shifted.
A long corridor stretched endlessly ahead.
"Where… is this?" he whispered, bewildered.
Dozens of strange doors lined the walls, each sealed shut.
Something compelled him forward.
His trembling hand reached for a door handle—
and pulled.
—WHOOSH.
He was back in the CP-9 training facility.
Young, starving children tore into each other like wild beasts, clawing for the single promise of a full meal.
"Die!"
A much younger Kaku collided with a larger opponent, knocking him down. But the moment he tasted victory—
STAB!
A metallic sting pierced the back of his skull.
He gasped sharply, turning to see another young trainee attacking him with a sharpened fork.
"Get lost!" Kaku, bleeding heavily, kicked the attacker away and staggered toward the watching instructors.
"Sir, he used a weapon—rules say no weapons—"
BANG.
A brutal kick sent him crashing to the ground.
"Idiot," the instructor said coldly. "Do you expect your assassination targets to follow rules? No weapons… no guns… what nonsense."
The young Kaku stared numbly, pain throbbing through his skull.
Then the earlier attacker rushed him again.
"Die, long-nose!"
Hands clamped tightly around his throat. He stared into the small braid and sly, triangular eyes of the boy strangling him—
Jabra.
His future comrade.
He struggled until the world faded.
Then—
"Haa… haa…"
He found himself back in the corridor.
"I… I died?" Kaku whispered, dazed.
Again, his hand moved to another door.
It opened.
"You've all done well," an instructor announced. The teenage trainees stood in rigid rows. "The Government is rewarding your perseverance."
The door beside him opened.
A group of young girls stepped inside—beautiful, delicately dressed, whispering with shy confusion.
A sweet fragrance filled the air.
"You may choose any girl and spend the night in her room," the instructor said with a lewd smile. "What happens tonight is up to you."
Shock. Confusion. Excitement. All mixed on the boys' faces.
"Ten seconds. Choose."
Kaku stared blankly. He didn't understand the point of this reward. Training, discipline—those mattered. This did not.
But he knew disobedience meant punishment… fatal punishment.
"Three, two…"
Kaku reached forward at random and grabbed a shy, yellow-haired girl, dragging her to his room.
Night fell.
From the thin walls came muffled sounds from other rooms—restless, impatient, awkward noises.
Kaku ignored the girl sitting timidly by the door and focused on his push-ups, strengthening his arms.
Suddenly, the girl sat lightly on his back, kneading his shoulders with trembling hands.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I was forced…"
---