At that moment, Carina seemed to think of something and pointed at Smoker, asking, "Speaking of which, how should he be handled?"
She didn't suggest anything like killing him, even though Smoker's Devil Fruit Ability seemed extremely troublesome and terrifying to her, and it would be best to deal with him in advance.
But since Hiroto had made a decision and stated it was part of the plan, she wouldn't question it. On this ship, Hiroto's word was absolute.
"If nothing goes wrong, those Marines should be following us. We can just drop him off at the next island."
"Understood."
Carina nodded and then saw Hiroto stretching his body. "Captain, what are you doing?"
"I've gained a little something and want to try it out." Hiroto said.
"You have you really improved again?" Zoro clicked his tongue.
After his duel with Hiroto, he had also improved a lot, and with Koushirou's guidance, he had already vaguely touched the Breath of All Things. But compared to his captain, Zoro felt that Hiroto was the truly incredible monster.
He couldn't help but widen his eyes, wanting to observe Hiroto's progress and see if he could learn anything.
However... an unexpected situation occurred.
Hiroto moved his limbs, then with a shift of his feet, his entire body disappeared from where he stood.
Instantaneous Burst!
In Zoro's eyes, Hiroto vanished instantly. No matter how he looked, he couldn't see even a trace of a shadow. He could only barely see a trajectory left in the air.
What is this?
Zoro was shocked. It had been nearly a month since his first defeat to Hiroto. During that time, he had worked hard to get stronger and was confident he could take the One Sword Style: God Slaying Spear from back then.
But now, he suddenly realized something was wrong. After only a few battles, Hiroto had become so strong that he couldn't even see his movement trajectory?
On the deck, Hiroto moved using Instantaneous Burst, feeling this extreme speed that far exceeded Shakushi.
If the intensity of Shakushi was 1, then the intensity of Instantaneous Burst was 3, and it was still rising. With every step he took, his speed would increase by a notch.
The most terrifying part was that the techniques based on Nukiashi made his movements completely silent.
Just like this!
Hiroto tapped his toe on the bow railing, raised his hand toward Zoro, and then the accumulated kinetic energy suddenly exploded.
The next moment, Hiroto's fingertip touched Zoro's Adam's apple. He watched as Zoro's green hair instantly exploded, turning into a green sea urchin.
Not only that, his pupils suddenly shrank, and his hair stood on end—a state of being tense to the limit.
The previously sheathed Hanazuru was also drawn, slashing forward with incredible ferocity.
As the sword slashed down, Hiroto's afterimage shattered and disappeared. Only then did Zoro realize what he had done.
"Captain..."
"Was that instinct just now?"
"Yeah..."
Zoro unconsciously touched his throat, his clothes already soaked with cold sweat.
"Sorry." Hiroto bowed his head sincerely in apology.
The explosive speed of Instantaneous Burst was far beyond his normal state, even he couldn't react to that move just now.
That's right, it was that uncontrollable state Kuro was in when he activated Shakushi. The speed exceeded one's own reaction speed.
But don't forget that Hiroto's perception attribute was D- grade, just a bit short of the level for a tens-of-millions bounty. Even so, the explosive speed of Instantaneous Burst exceeded his reaction limit, and it wasn't even at its peak speed yet. The build-up just now hadn't lasted very long.
"It's fine."
Zoro shook his head and couldn't help but ask, "What was that just now?"
What was it?
Smoker also wanted to ask clearly. He felt that in less than a single day, Hiroto had actually gotten stronger again.
This exaggerated speed made Smoker instinctively realize the terrifying growth rate of the man before him.
He had to arrest this man as soon as possible. Otherwise, if he continued to grow, there might be another Emperor.
Smoker reached the same conclusion as Tashigi at this moment.
He might not be able to do it, but the Headquarters was full of powerhouses. Although the current Hiroto was powerful, he hadn't reached a point where he couldn't be handled.
'I'll find a way to notify Kuzan.' Smoker made a silent decision.
"Instantaneous Burst, a technique of my own developed based on Nukiashi."
Hiroto gave a general explanation of the situation.
Zoro couldn't help but say, "From what you're saying, it sounds like you only learned that move from Kuro this morning. And now you've mastered it and turned it into an even more powerful technique?"
He was somewhat shocked.
"After all, it's me." Hiroto said with a smile.
"Exactly, our captain's a genius." Carina chimed in, giggling.
She meant every word from the bottom of her heart.
Zoro might not realize it, but how could she not?
The Hiroto who'd fought Alvida back then had been nowhere near this strong.
Hiroto's talent was like those of the Four Emperors in the stories: limitless potential obvious from the very start.
'This might be the best decision I ever make in my life.' Carina silently applauded her past self.
"Tch. What a monster." Zoro muttered, a rare flicker of jealousy in his eyes.
It vanished in an instant, he took it as just another part of his training. Only by defeating Hiroto could he keep moving forward and aim for the throne of World's Strongest Swordsman.
Hiroto said, "By the way, there's something I want to discuss with you later."
Zoro asked, "What is it?"
"You'll know when the time comes, something important and beneficial for both of us."
Zoro was puzzled, but Hiroto clearly had no intention of explaining in front of Smoker, so he went back to training.