"GO, ZORO!" Luffy cheered from the sidelines, his fists pumped in the air as if he were watching a sports match. "Kick that unicycle guy's butt!"
Nami, hiding beside him, stared in disbelief. "Are you blind?!" she hissed, pointing a trembling finger at the swordsman. "He's about to collapse! He's bleeding all over the place because of that insane stunt!"
She was right. Zoro was swaying on his feet, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Every movement sent a fresh wave of agony through his self-inflicted wound, but his eyes never lost their focus. They were locked onto Cabaji, burning with the intensity of a predator.
"I will not… be defeated," Zoro swore, more to himself than to anyone else. "Not again. Not by another swordsman."
Cabaji circled him on his unicycle, a look of grudging respect mixed with contempt on his face. "Such determination. It's almost admirable," he said. "But it is futile. Once I have defeated you, you can use those foolish wounds as a convenient excuse for your loss."
"Excuses are for the weak," Zoro shot back, his voice a low growl. "If I lose to the likes of you in this condition, then it means this is as far as I was ever meant to go. My dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman would have been nothing but a joke from the start."
His words were absolute. There was no room for excuses, only victory or the death of a dream.
Seeing the two swordsmen locked in their standoff, Nami saw her chance. The other pirates were still unconscious from the cannon blast, and Buggy and his chief of staff were completely preoccupied. She tugged on Luffy's sleeve.
"Hey, listen," she whispered urgently. "While they're busy, I'm going to go find Buggy's treasure. There must be a warehouse or something where they're keeping all the loot from this town."
Luffy glanced at her, then back at the fight. "Okay!"
"The map to the Grand Line is probably still on Buggy himself, so I won't go for that," she continued, laying out her logic. "I'll just grab as much treasure as I can and then get out of here. Whether you two win or lose this fight isn't really my problem, so I can escape without any trouble."
She paused, a sly look in her eyes. "And if, by some miracle, you win and get that map… well, we can 'cooperate' again. Deal?"
"Sure! Good luck!" Luffy replied, his full attention already back on Zoro. Nami shook her head at his simple-mindedness and slipped away into the shadows, a cat burglar on the prowl.
The fight on the street was reaching its climax.
"Let's end this!" Cabaji declared. "Witness my greatest technique! The Acrobat's Finale: March of a Hundred Spinning Tops!"
He reached into his coat and unleashed a barrage of small, sharp, steel-plated tops. They spun across the cobblestones at incredible speeds, ricocheting off walls and coming at Zoro from all directions. It was a disorienting, multi-pronged attack.
At the same time, Cabaji pedaled his unicycle straight up the wall of a building, defying gravity with his incredible balance. He reached the rooftop, then launched himself high into the air, his body spinning like a drill, sword pointed downwards for a devastating final strike.
It was a perfectly coordinated assault, designed to overwhelm any opponent.
Zoro remained grounded. His eyes darted back and forth, tracking the chaotic dance of the spinning tops.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
With masterful precision, he used his two swords to deflect every single top, sending them flying harmlessly away. But dealing with the ground assault had left him open to the attack from above. Cabaji was now plummeting towards him.
Suddenly, Zoro felt a strange presence behind him.
Buggy, seeing his chance, had launched his hand. It was flying silently through the air, aiming to grab Zoro's ankle and hold him in place for Cabaji's killing blow.
But Luffy had been watching.
STOMP!
Just as the hand was about to close around Zoro's leg, Luffy's straw-sandal-clad foot slammed down on it, pinning it to the ground.
"GYAH!" Buggy yelped in pain from across the street.
"Hey now," Luffy said, looking at Buggy with a disapproving frown. "No interfering in a man's duel. That's not fair."
Up in the air, Cabaji saw his captain's interference had failed, but he was already committed to his attack. He continued his downward plunge.
Zoro, now free to move, pushed off the ground, narrowly dodging the attack. Cabaji's sword slammed into the spot where he had just been, shattering the cobblestones.
Zoro landed a few feet away, panting heavily. The strain on his body was immense. "Man… I'm getting tired…"
Cabaji landed gracefully, sneering. "Tired? Is the great Pirate Hunter finally admitting defeat?"
Zoro suddenly shot forward, not with his swords, but with his shoulder. He rammed into Cabaji's unicycle, knocking the acrobat off balance and sending him tumbling to the ground.
Zoro stood over him, finishing his sentence.
"…tired of fighting an opponent with such pitiful skills."
Enraged and humiliated, Cabaji scrambled to his feet for one final, desperate strike. "Don't you dare mock me!"
But Zoro was already moving. He crossed his arms, the demonic aura from before flaring around him.
"Oni… Giri!"
The three swords sliced through the air in a single, devastating motion. A three-way slash that was impossible to block. Cabaji was struck clean across the chest. He froze, a look of disbelief on his face, before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.
"To be defeated… by a common thief…" he muttered, his pride shattered.
With his opponent finally down, the last of Zoro's strength gave out. He sheathed his swords and fell to his knees, then to his side.
"Hey, Luffy…" he said, his eyes already closing. "Looks like I'm a pirate now…"
"I'm… gonna take a nap…" And with that, he passed out.
"You did great, Zoro," Luffy said quietly. "Don't worry. I'll finish this."
Buggy stared at the scene, his two top officers now both defeated. He looked at Zoro's unconscious form in shock. "A pirate? I thought you were a bounty hunter!"
Luffy stepped forward, his carefree demeanor completely gone. His eyes, shadowed by his hat, were cold and serious. "You. Hand over the map to the Grand Line."
Buggy burst out laughing. A loud, arrogant laugh. "The Grand Line? The Grand Line isn't some playground for nobodies like you to just waltz into! It's a pirate's graveyard! What does a pathetic little brat like you even intend to do there?"
Luffy didn't hesitate. His answer was simple, direct, and shook the very air around them.
"I'm going to be the King of the Pirates."
The laughter died in Buggy's throat. His eyes went wide, his painted smile frozen. He stared at Luffy as if he had just seen a ghost. A memory, long buried, flashed in his mind.
Then, he threw his head back and laughed again, but this time it was a manic, almost desperate sound. "YOU?! The King of the Pirates?! DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH! I'M THE ONE WHO'S GOING TO BE THE PIRATE KING!"
"Then there's nothing more to talk about," Luffy said, cracking his knuckles.
They stood facing each other, ready for the final battle. But as they prepared to fight, Buggy suddenly stopped. His eyes weren't focused on Luffy's face, but on his head.
His voice changed, the rage replaced by a strange, nostalgic shock.
"That straw hat…" he whispered, his eyes wide with a dawning recognition.
"It reminds me of him… of that damn, red-haired…"