"Phew..."
Zoro let out a long breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and then looked at Hiroto. "Time is short, your turn."
Although his tone was calm, the smile on his face couldn't be hidden, as if he were asking Hiroto what he thought.
He also gave a reminder about the time. After all, they were on their way to rescue someone, and the Going Merry hadn't stopped but was moving steadily forward. They would leave this sea area in just a few minutes.
"Very good. No, I should say, very impressive."
Hiroto stepped up the stairs to the foredeck, looking at Zoro with immense appreciation and satisfaction.
Despite being overshadowed by Hiroto and having little presence until now, Zoro's talent was staggering.
It was still nearly two years before Luffy would set out to sea, so the current Zoro should not have been as mature as he was then. However, under Hiroto's pressure, in a short period, he had successively learned 'Breath of All Things' from Alabasta and 'Flying Slash' from Skypiea.
Even with the boost from Effort King, it was still terrifying. After all, it had only been a few days, yet he had surpassed the other Zoro who would have taken nearly three years to reach this level.
His talent could be called monstrous. He truly was the man who would compete with Mihawk for the title of the World's Greatest Swordsman in the future.
Because of this, Hiroto was incredibly happy. After all, the stronger Zoro became, the higher his own gains.
Now, it was time to give Zoro a little more pressure and make him learn the value of working 20 hours a day.
"I'll catch up to you."
Zoro grinned, certain of his impending defeat but also certain that he would close the gap with Hiroto bit by bit.
"Good."
Hiroto nodded with a smile, then turned to look beyond the light at the silhouette of the hill hidden in the dark night.
The sea breeze suddenly whipped up around him, sparks ignited in the wind, and the wind and fire rotated until they finally turned into a torrent of crimson flames that shot into the sky.
Shigure was unsheathed, and wind and fire arrived together.
His stamina was consumed rapidly as the raging wind and fire wrapped around the blade, and then Hiroto struck.
A brilliant crimson slash flashed, and a whistling wave rose from the deck.
The sea breeze roared and the crimson flames were overbearing. A crimson slash, three to four meters wide and over twenty meters long, spanned the sea. Then it expanded instantly, turning into a slash wave seven meters wide and fifty meters long.
Whoosh—
Only a tearing sound could be heard as dust flew into the sky.
The unstoppable giant slash split countless rocks, slammed into the hill, and then bloomed with a brilliant firelight that lit up the night sky.
Boom!
Under everyone's shocked gazes, the seventy to eighty-meter-high hill was split in two.
A small portion of the hill collapsed directly, and countless boulders rolled to the bottom of the sea. By the firelight, dense cracks could be seen spreading across the remaining body.
At the cut, a lava-like fluid could be faintly seen, flowing out continuously like blood.
A hill split with one sword strike!
Carina instinctively held her breath, her eyes shimmering with star-like light, just like Nami's.
Yosaku and Johnny were so shocked they were speechless. It could even be said that from this moment on, having witnessed Hiroto's strike, they could die with no regrets. Or rather, seeing this scene made it worth dying for.
'So powerful... is this the charm of the multiplier? Twice the scale, twice the power. To think it could reach this level.'
Hiroto's eyes were also full of shock, feeling more and more that fusing entries was the right move.
With his current stamina, he could only achieve a two times increase. But with this sword strike, as long as he didn't encounter some kind of monster, he could run amok in the East Blue without any problem.
"How was it?" Hiroto looked at Zoro beside him with a smile.
He began to put pressure on Zoro. After all, Zoro was the type who improved faster the more pressure he was under.
At this moment, Zoro stared with his mouth wide open, incredibly shocked by the slash Hiroto had just unleashed.
The gap... has widened yet again.
He was clearly working so hard, clearly feeling himself improve every second, but why...
No, it was because he wasn't working hard enough.
So it wasn't enough. He needed to work even harder, even if he had to keep going until he was practically sleepless. Only then would he avoid being left further and further behind.
Within a few short seconds, the look in Zoro's eyes changed several times, finally settling on a look of determination.
His eyes met Hiroto's, his gaze incredibly firm. "Strong, incredibly strong. It's something the current me can't reach. Even so, I still have to say it—I will definitely catch up to you, Captain."
"Hahahaha, that's just like you, Zoro." Hiroto laughed and patted Zoro on the shoulder.
In his past life, the reason he liked Zoro was because of his charisma. Once a decision was made, he would do it, following through to the end with unwavering determination.
Because of that, he couldn't afford a single moment of laziness.
The Going Merry gradually left this sea area, leaving behind the severed hill.