Chapter 112: The Breath of Steel! Use "Steel" to Cut "Steel"
In the West District of Alubarna, the once-prosperous streets were now a field of ruins.
Under the scorching sun, two figures were engaged in a life-and-death struggle.
"Three Sword Style Secret Technique: Three Thousand Worlds!!!"
Zoro held a sword in each hand and bit down on the Wado Ichimonji. The two swords spun like windmills, carrying an aura that could cut through anything, as they slashed heavily against Mr. 1's (Daz Bones) chest.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!!"
No blood splattered; even the skin wasn't scratched.
Only a series of dazzling sparks flew into the air, accompanied by the crisp sound of metal clashing.
Zoro's finishing move was stopped dead in its tracks.
"It's useless, swordsman."
Mr. 1 stood his ground, patting the unscathed skin on his chest, his gaze cold and mocking.
"I told you, flesh and blood cannot defeat steel."
"I am a Full-Body Bladed Human who ate the Dice-Dice Fruit, and a steel man with absolute defense."
As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. 1's arms instantly transformed into sharp blades, and his whole body became like a high-speed rotating meat grinder.
"Atomic Spurt!!!"
Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh!!
Countless invisible slashes erupted instantly.
The surrounding buildings, stone pillars, and even Zoro's body were cut to pieces in that instant.
"Gah!!"
Blood sprayed from Zoro's body, and he was sent flying like a ragdoll, crashing heavily into a pile of rubble.
Dust flew, burying the swordsman's figure.
Consciousness... began to blur.
In that near-death darkness, Zoro felt all the clamor around him disappear.
The battle cries on the battlefield, the sound of the wind, even his own heartbeat became incredibly distant.
This feeling...
Deep in his mind, an image emerged from his childhood: in that dojo courtyard filled with fallen leaves, his master Genzo held a withered branch.
'Zoro, there are swordsmen in this world who cannot cut anything, yet they... can cut through steel.'
'That is to listen...'
His master's voice was gentle and profound.
'Listen to the "Breath of All Things".'
Beneath the ruins, Zoro suddenly snapped his eyes open.
But he didn't use his eyes to see; he used his heart to sense.
In this deathly silence, he "heard" it.
He "heard" the heavy breath of the precarious falling rock above his head, and the sharp breath of the wind passing through the cracks.
He also "heard" the cold, hard, murderous "Breath of Steel" emanating from that man in the distance—Mr. 1.
"Ah... I see."
Zoro lay in a pool of blood, but the corners of his mouth curled slightly.
"Rocks have the sound of rocks, and steel... has the sound of steel."
He found it.
But...
Zoro looked at the sword in his hand.
Even if he could hear the breath, if the sword in his hand wasn't hard enough, he still wouldn't be able to cut steel, and it would still break.
What should he do?
Just then, another memory exploded in his mind like a thunderclap.
It was a night in Small Garden, under a sky full of stars, where the giants Dorry and Brogy swung their weapons together to split a massive Island Eater.
'Kid, the sword in your hand is dead, but the person swinging it is alive!' Brogy's laughter was boisterous.
'Turn your "will" into an invisible "armor"!' Dorry's voice was deafening, 'Wrap it around your weapon!'
'If you do that... you can even split the sea!!'
"Will... turned into armor..."
Zoro suddenly gripped the Wado Ichimonji in his hand tightly.
It was no longer just brute force, nor just the sensing of breath.
He took his strong will to "cut," his obsession to protect his comrades and become the Worlds Greatest Swordsman.
He poured it frantically into his arm, and even tried to cover the blade with it, just as the giant had said!
Hum—
The white blade of the Wado Ichimonji trembled slightly.
Although it hadn't completely turned into a "Black Blade," at that moment, the air around the blade seemed to distort, and a heart-palpitating current wrapped around it.
Clatter.
The rubble was pushed aside.
Covered in blood, Zoro stood up unsteadily.
Despite being riddled with wounds, the aura about him had completely changed.
That near-death weakness had vanished, replaced by a sharp edge that seemed capable of cutting through anything.
Mr. 1 looked at the standing Zoro, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Still able to stand? What tenacious vitality."
His arms turned into blades once more, glinting coldly in the sunlight.
"Or rather... have you figured out how you want to die?"
Zoro didn't answer.
He returned his other two swords to his waist, gripped the Wado Ichimonji with both hands, slowly sheathed it, and assumed an extremely low Iai stance.
His gaze was sharp as a hawk's, locking onto Mr. 1 in the distance.
"I hear... your breath."
Zoro said in a low voice, his tone terrifyingly calm.
"Since you are steel..."
"Then I shall become even harder steel to cut through your steel!"
The moment of decision.
Looking at that stance, Mr. 1 suddenly felt an inexplicable chill in his heart.
This intuition made him decide to stop talking and strike first.
"Hmph! Just parlor tricks!"
"Then let's see you try!!"
The ground beneath Mr. 1's feet cracked as his hands transformed into massive, high-speed rotating blade wheels.
He turned into a lethal silver whirlwind, rushing toward Zoro with an aura that could tear everything apart.
"Sparking Daisy!!! Die!!"
Facing this terrifying slash, Zoro didn't dodge, nor did he even blink.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the rhythm of that breath.
At the instant Mr. 1 closed in, Zoro's will and the sword in his hand became one.
Drawing the sword.
"One Sword Style: Iai—"
In that instant, it was as if only a single, piercing flash of a blade remained in the world.
"Lion's Song!!!!"
Slash—!!
The two figures passed each other.
Time seemed to stand still.
Mr. 1 remained in his charging posture, stopping behind Zoro.
Crack.
A soft sound.
On Mr. 1's steel body, which he took pride in and called absolute defense, a massive and clean wound suddenly split open from his shoulder to his abdomen.
Spurt—!!!
A massive amount of blood gushed out like a fountain, staining the rubble-strewn ground red.
"How... is it possible..."
Mr. 1's pupils shook violently. He looked down at his wound in disbelief, his body falling forward powerlessly.
"You... really cut... steel..."
Zoro, with his back to his enemy, slowly stood up.
Click.
The Wado Ichimonji was sheathed, making a crisp sound.
Zoro tied his bandana, his tone indifferent.
"Then that's a pity."
"If you were diamond... I would have cut you just the same."
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