The razor-sharp blades whirled in Zoro's hands like a windmill, stirring up violent gusts of wind.
In this moment, Zoro poured his entire being into the three swords in his grasp.
Years of desperate training—of pushing himself to the brink—were his greatest source of confidence.
"Come on—let's settle this!!!"
Tap!
Zoro kicked off the ground, instantly bursting forth with a speed almost comparable to Soru, charging straight toward Luffy!
Luffy also went all out, stretching both arms as he shouted excitedly:
"Gum-Gum… Rocket Launcher!!!"
Whoosh!!!
His two arms snapped back from their stretched state, the recoil generating even greater force thanks to his rubber body.
To Zoro's eyes, those palms were like two blazing cannonballs.
If he took that hit head-on, the sparring match would end right then and there.
Yet faced with such a violent attack, Zoro's speed didn't decrease—instead, he accelerated, hurling himself toward Luffy without hesitation.
Opportunities existed only within a single instant.
Every great swordsman understood this truth.
If he backed down now, he wouldn't just lose this fight—
He would lose far more.
"Don't underestimate me, Luffy!!!"
Step—!
Zoro lowered his center of gravity, shifting his trajectory while still moving at high speed.
A sharp tearing sound ripped past his ears, the compressed air slicing across his cheek like blades.
But in that instant, Zoro's lips curled upward into a confident smile.
He dodged!!!
Boom!!!
Luffy's attack scraped past him and slammed into the already-ruined remains of the wall, blasting it again as if struck by cannon fire.
A cloud of dust shot skyward.
Zoro—now right before Luffy—showed no fear.
In his eyes, all that existed was the flickering trail of sword light.
"Got you!!!"
His heart surged with excitement.
In that brief exchange, he had clearly felt something—
His long-stagnant swordsmanship had advanced again.
As expected—
Nothing grew one's strength faster than fighting strong opponents!
Zoro twisted his torso sharply—
And several cold flashes flickered through the air, three blades carving their deadly arcs toward Luffy's body.
Luffy—you're strong.
But this time—
I win!
However—
BANG!!!
A thunderous impact exploded across the training field.
A shockwave blasted outward like a hurricane, dust spiraling into the air.
Zoro's eyes widened.
There, blocking his slashes—
was Luffy's sandal-covered foot.
"Impossible!?" Zoro gasped.
Balanced on one leg, Luffy grinned:
"Sorry, Zoro."
"Your future—has already been 'seen' through by me!"
"What!?"
Zoro froze, a bad feeling rising in his chest.
Luffy then smoothly pulled his arm back, as if he had expected his strike to miss all along.
At the same time, the sandal pressing on Zoro's blades suddenly pushed off, catapulting Luffy high into the air.
"Careful, Zoro!"
"Because what comes next is my strongest attack!!!"
Zoro looked up, eyes tracking Luffy.
And then—
To his shock—Luffy bit into his thumb, inhaled deeply, and blew air into his arm.
In an instant—
A colossal arm, large enough to rival that of a giant, ballooned high above Marine Base 153.
Its looming shadow swallowed the entire field in darkness.
"You've… got to be kidding…!?"
Nami—watching from afar—covered her mouth in disbelief.
The sight was beyond anything she could comprehend.
Arelon stepped forward, shielding her:
"Remember—whatever happens next, don't step out from behind me."
"…o…okay…"
Her mind nearly blank, Nami nodded stiffly, her gaze never leaving the titan-sized arm.
High above, Luffy flashed a bright grin.
"Third Gear."
"Gum-Gum Giant Pistol!!!"
RUMBLE…!
It was as if the Marine base faced the apocalypse.
Darkness swallowed the sky.
Even before the fist descended, the pressure alone nearly crushed Zoro's lungs.
Loose stones on the ground were lifted by the storm winds and blasted outward like bullets.
Nami quickly tucked herself fully behind Arelon, clinging tightly so she wouldn't be blown away.
Amid the chaotic winds, Arelon stood unmoving—solid as bedrock.
The tiny stones striking him didn't even scratch the surface.
"Zoro," Arelon murmured, eyes sharp.
"Welcome to the real world."
The next second—
The titan's fist crashed downward, engulfing Zoro's world in utter blackness.
"How… how can this be!?"
For the first time, the confident swordsman looked truly terrified, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
"How can the difference in our strength be this big!?"
"This is impossible!!!"
Yet even faced with an unimaginable attack, Zoro refused to step back.
He roared, blades in hand, charging toward the falling giant fist.
"Three-Sword Style—Oni Giri!!!"
CLANG!!!
His blades cut into the giant fist, slicing open Luffy's skin and drawing blood—
But compared to the enormity of that hand, the wound was little more than a pinprick.
Stopping the attack?
Impossible.
BOOOOOOM!!!!!!!
A deafening explosion rocked all of Shells Town.
The ground trembled violently.
Citizens screamed, turning toward the source of the blast with pale faces.
Inside the Marine base, soldiers who had been watching from the windows collapsed to the floor, legs shaking uncontrollably.
Even if they could stand, none of them had the courage to look at the battlefield now.
Dust filled the sky, completely obscuring the training field.
In the midst of the violent shaking, Nami clung desperately to Arelon, barely avoiding being knocked over.
Cracks split the ground around them like lightning.
Only after a long moment did the tremors finally fade.
"Is… is it over?"
Nami opened her eyes slowly, her heart pounding uncontrollably.
Arelon smiled and gently patted her arm.
"It's over."
Though the dust still lingered heavily…
A small, shrunken figure soon emerged from the haze.
"Cough… cough… Arelon, help me!!!"
Because of Third Gear's side effects, a tiny, chibi-sized Luffy was dragging Zoro's limp body toward them.
"No need to carry him."
Arelon flicked his arm, spending 20 minutes of game-time energy to exchange for a healing spray from the Pokémon game.
He tossed it to Luffy.
"Spray this onto Zoro. It should be enough to wake him."
The spray restored 20 HP in Pokémon terms.
Zoro's HP was unknown, but considering that even the tanky Luffy barely had 200 HP at this stage, 20 HP would represent a large portion for current-level Zoro.
One bottle was definitely enough.
This also showed how absurd Arelon's handheld game device truly was.
The stat boosts from the game were clearly not simple linear increases.
For example:
Luffy with 100 HP in this system had vastly more endurance than ten monsters with 10 HP each.
Every single stat point was a full-tier boost in power.
And no matter how monstrously strong Luffy became, as long as he wasn't dead, a few healing sprays could instantly restore him from critical condition to full health.
These were truly—
rule-breaking healing items!!!
~~--------------------------
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