One Slash!
On the verge of death, Zoro finally awakened his mastery of Armament Haki, achieving the realm he had long pursued—Cutting Steel!
"How... did you do it..."
Blood trickled from Daz's chest as he knelt on the ground, disbelief in his voice. Facing away from Zoro, he asked in a low tone.
Zoro slowly sheathed Wado Ichimonji.
"I simply conveyed my will... to the blade."
Zoro, though visibly weakened, stubbornly remained standing.
"..."
Hearing this, Daz fell into silence.
He was no swordsman and could not comprehend Zoro's words.
Moments later, his towering figure collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Hearing the thud behind him, Zoro did not look back. His lips moved slightly.
"Thank you... I will become even stronger."
Whether he was thanking the powerful foe behind him or the one who had profoundly influenced him—Maude—was unclear.
"Ugh, it hurts... And I can't muster any strength... Damn it, is it because I've lost too much blood..."
"I wonder how the others are doing..."
"Did Nami escape successfully..."
"Did Vivi catch up..."
"Everyone should be fine... I really want to know what's happening now..."
Zoro glanced at his broken swords, then struggled to take a few steps forward.
Blood pooled behind him.
"Ah... I can't collapse at a time like this..."
His mind wandered as his limbs grew heavier, and his vision blurred.
Even with his indomitable will, he could not defy reality and eventually fainted, falling into his own pool of blood.
Inside the clock tower.
"Not bad."
Watching Zoro's growth in the face of death, Maude couldn't help but feel admiration.
What a man worthy of respect.
"Well then, it's yours now, Roronoa Zoro."
Maude's fingers lightly brushed the hilt of Chidori before raising the flintlock pistol formed by Bailey.
Under his control, a shadow bullet materialized and loaded itself into the gun.
Bang—!
Maude pulled the trigger.
The shadow bullet shot through the barrel, traversing thousands of meters to precisely strike Daz's heart, ruthlessly claiming his last breath of life.
As Daz died, the clear sensation of gained experience coursed through Maude.
Feeling the changes within himself, Maude smirked.
"You didn't disappoint me."
He then woke up Perona, who had been napping.
"I need you to take care of something."
Looking at the drowsy Perona, Maude issued his request.
Three minutes later.
Holding her small umbrella, Perona floated above the street, gazing down at Zoro, who lay motionless, his clothes soaked in blood.
"Is he already dead?"
"By the way, where's that raccoon who knows medicine?"
Muttering to herself, Perona glanced disdainfully at Zoro's blood-stained clothes.
However, bound by Maude's orders, she had no choice but to carry Zoro to Chopper, no matter how much she disliked it.
Among the Straw Hat Pirates, Zoro was the first to resolve his battle by unlocking Armament Haki, but the price was a near-fatal injury.
Still—
If Perona could deliver him to Chopper in time, he might yet survive.
Inside the clock tower.
After assigning Perona the task, Maude observed Sanji's situation, falling into silence.
After a long pause, he sighed.
"What a tragedy."
Under Bon Clay's relentless and flamboyant assault, Sanji—one of the Straw Hat Pirates' main fighters—was completely powerless, left with a face resembling a honeycomb.
If not for Bon Clay holding back out of consideration for friendship, Sanji might not have lived to see another sunrise.
However—
Though Sanji looked pitiful, his life was not in danger.
The real concern lay with Chopper—
Fighting three opponents at once had left Chopper utterly outmatched.
If not for the resilience of his Zoan Devil Fruit and the enhancements from the Rumble Ball, he would have been downed by the combined assault of Mr. 4, Lassoo, and Miss Merry Christmas.
If it were only Mr. 4 and Lassoo, Chopper might have stood a chance.
But with Miss Merry Christmas, the Zoan Mole-Mole Fruit user, his remaining chances were crushed.
This was a battle with no suspense.
Unless Chopper consumed a third Rumble Ball, sending his powers into a berserk state and transforming him into a giant monster—
But in doing so, he would lose his consciousness and might inadvertently massacre both the Royal Army and the Rebel Army.
"I can't beat them..."
Considering this, Chopper hesitated, clutching the last Rumble Ball.
Miss Merry Christmas, in her mole form, mocked him, "To think you're a Devil Fruit user... and still this weak..."
She swung her clawed paws, slapping Mr. 4 beside her.
"Hey, Mr. 4, stop dawdling. Hit a home run and send this guy out of the game."
"Okay."
Mr. 4 slowly nodded, gripping his oversized bat.
Beside him, Lassoo snorted, ready to fire another explosive baseball.
"Damn it."
Chopper clenched his fists.
If he got hit by another exploding baseball, it would be the end.
Against this combination, Chopper realized he had no chance of victory—but he still couldn't use the third Rumble Ball...
Just as Chopper despaired, a pitch-black bullet flew from afar, cleanly piercing Lassoo's head.
Blood splattered as Lassoo died instantly.
The shooter was none other than Maude, stationed a kilometer away.
Judging Chopper to be hopelessly outmatched, Maude intervened to reap the Devil Fruit experience.
"Huh?"
Miss Merry Christmas and Mr. 4 froze, while Chopper stared blankly.
"Who's there?"
Miss Merry Christmas scanned her surroundings in panic.
Swish—
A second pitch-black bullet whizzed through the air, striking Mr. 4's temple from above.
The bullet pierced through his head, leaving a bloody hole and embedding itself in the ground.
Mr. 4's face stiffened, and his massive body slowly toppled with a heavy thud.
He was dead before he hit the ground.
"Mr. 4..."
Watching Mr. 4 fall, Miss Merry Christmas shivered with fear.
She glanced at the bullet hole but found no trace of the bullet.
Terror gripped her heart.
"Who is it!!!"
She screamed, lowering her mole claws to burrow underground.
No gunshot.
No visible shooter.
No discernible direction.
The threat of a top-tier sniper had never been clearer.
Chopper stared dumbfounded at the corpses of Mr. 4 and Lassoo.
He had no idea who the shooter was.
The enemies who had pushed him to the brink of death had been dispatched in mere seconds.
"Found you at last."
At that moment, a relieved female voice echoed from the street corner.
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