Chapter 14: Forged in Battle
I stood calmly with Zoro and Tiche at my sides as we watched Nami and Usopp face off against the dozens of Black Cat Pirates.
Thanks to the time we'd had to prepare, the pirates barely made it a few steps up the cliff before they suddenly yelped and lost their footing on the slippery ground.
“W-Whoa!”
“What the hell is the ground covered in!?”
“It’s super slippery!”
While they panicked, several of them were suddenly silenced as iron pellets struck them one after another.
Usopp, wearing his goggles, fired his slingshot as fast as he could, picking off pirate after pirate with surprising accuracy.
“S-Shit! Take cover!”
“I can’t! Aaah!”
“Shoot that kid!”
I chuckled at the sight of the idiots practically turning themselves into open targets as Usopp took them down one after another, much to his own surprise, while Nami cheered beside him.
“Whoo! Keep it up, Usopp! At this rate I won’t even have to fight~” Nami exclaimed happily.
“H-Help me, damn it! Don’t just stand there! I’m running out of ammo!” Usopp shouted in a panic.
“Right!”
Taking that as her cue, Nami lit one of the Molotov cocktails we had prepared the previous evening and threw it into the distance, landing it just in front of the still-panicking pirates.
“Take cover!” one of the pirates yelled as the bottle hit the ground, causing the others to panic even more.
The Molotov wasn't meant to hit them, however.
The bottle shattered against the ground, instantly igniting the flammable liquid we had spread the day before. Flames rapidly spread from one side of the cliff to the other, forming a blazing wall between the pirates and the island.
“Fire! Back away!”
“Those bastards were waiting for us!”
The pirates immediately retreated from the flames, scrambling back to where they had first landed.
“They seem to be doing pretty well.” Zoro commented casually beside me while keeping a watchful eye on the battlefield in case he needed to step in.
“Yes, though I don't think they should start celebrating just yet.” I replied with a small smile.
At the rear of the group, Jango scratched his head nervously as he watched the flames rage.
“Shit! These damn kids are going to get us killed by Captain Kuro for taking so long.” he muttered before pulling out one of his chakrams attached to a string and swinging it back and forth.
“Everyone, look over here! One, two... Jango! You don't fear fire! Now kill them already!”
Sure enough, every single idiot fell under his hypnosis before turning toward the stunned Nami and Usopp and charging once more despite the blazing wall still blocking their path.
“Don’t tell me that actually worked!” Nami yelled in disbelief before her fears were immediately proven right as the pirates leaped straight through the flames without a hint of hesitation.
“That’s crazy!” Usopp shouted, equally shocked by the absurd sight.
Several things happened all at once.
While the pirates might have lost their fear of fire, that didn't make the flames any less hot.
As they jumped through the blaze like complete idiots, the ones in front immediately suffered first- and second-degree burns. The pain snapped them out of Jango's hypnosis almost instantly, causing them to scream in agony as they crashed to the ground.
Rolling around desperately to extinguish the flames consuming their clothes, their bodies inadvertently smothered the fire itself.
Around a dozen pirates were effectively taken out of the battle because of Jango's idiotic order.
Unfortunately, it also created another problem.
Their bodies had cleared a safe path through the flames.
With renewed anger at seeing their burned comrades, the remaining pirates charged up the cliff once more, this time with nothing blocking their advance.
Usopp immediately panicked and resumed firing his slingshot while Nami nervously swallowed and tightened her grip on her staff.
“You can do it, Nami! Usopp!” I shouted encouragingly with a wide grin on my face.
“I’m scared! Help us!” Usopp immediately yelled back, tears streaming down his face as he fired shot after shot in a panic, several of them missing their targets.
Nami, on the other hand, nervously swallowed before letting out a slow breath and inhaling deeply as she entered Total Concentration Breathing.
Even from this distance, I could see the slight strain it put on her body as her muscles tensed. Still, she didn't hesitate.
The moment the first pirates reached her, she stepped forward and swung her staff.
The attack connected cleanly, coming far faster than the pirates had anticipated. Their eyes widened in shock before the blow struck them squarely in the head, knocking them unconscious and sending their limp bodies crashing into the cliffside from the sheer force behind the attack.
Seeing what she had done, Nami blinked in disbelief, her gaze shifting from the unconscious pirates to her own hands as if she couldn't quite believe she had been the one to do it.
Even the charging pirates faltered for a brief moment, staring in equal disbelief at how such a seemingly frail girl could possess that kind of strength.
The hesitation didn't last long.
Shaking off their surprise, they roared in anger and rushed at her once again.
Nami let out a frightened yelp and stumbled backward, tripping over her own feet before landing on her rear. She looked up at the incoming pirates with fear plainly written across her face.
At that moment, however, a leg suddenly stretched to an impossible length, passing right over her head before crashing into the charging pirates.
They barely had time to cough up saliva before they were launched all the way back down the cliff.
“Shishishi! Try again!” I called out happily as my leg snapped back to its normal length. Setting it back on the ground, I looked at Nami with an encouraging smile.
“Told you I had your back, didn't I?” I teased, making her cheeks flush slightly.
My smile then softened into a more serious one.
“Now you understand, don't you? You're much stronger than you think, Nami. You just have to believe in yourself and trust all the training you've gone through.”
Having said my piece, I returned to my original position while Zoro and Tiche each gave Nami an encouraging nod, making the girl blush even harder.
She quickly shook herself out of it as Usopp cried out for help again.
Getting back to her feet, Nami tightened her grip on her staff, a newfound confidence replacing the fear from moments earlier as she faced the advancing pirates once more.
‘There’s the fire I was looking for.’ I thought with a pleased smile as I watched her stand her ground, proud of how far she had come since the day we first met.
=====
A While Later
With Nami's renewed confidence and Usopp's superb aim with his slingshot, another ten minutes passed.
The two actually made a surprisingly good team, with Usopp sniping pirates from a distance while Nami took care of any that managed to slip past him, knocking them unconscious with a single swing of her staff.
As their numbers quickly dwindled, Jango finally began to panic.
“Get out here! Nyaban Brothers!” he shouted desperately toward the ship.
By this point, both Usopp and Nami were running on fumes, with Nami in an even worse state due to the constant strain Total Concentration Breathing was putting on her body.
“Hah... hah... T-There's more!?” Usopp cried out fearfully between heavy breaths. “I'm completely out of ammo!”
“D-Damn it... I don't think I can keep this up much longer.” Nami muttered weakly with a wince. “My body's screaming at me.”
A moment later, a fat pirate dressed in a black-and-white cat outfit leaped onto the shore, followed by a tall, skinny man with green hair and a permanently hunched back.
Before either of them could say a word, Jango pulled out his chakram once again and immediately hypnotized them.
The brothers let out feral roars as their muscles noticeably swelled.
“Kill them!” Jango ordered, pointing toward the exhausted Nami and Usopp.
Without hesitation, the two charged forward at full speed.
“W-We can't beat those guys!” Usopp exclaimed fearfully as he instinctively backed away.
Even Nami, who wasn't quite as intimidated, couldn't stop herself from breaking into a nervous sweat.
“Don't worry, you two.” I said before either of them could panic any further as I stepped in front of them, resting one hand on Muramasa's hilt with a confident grin. “Take a breather. You've earned it.”
Sliding into an Iaido stance, I gripped Muramasa's hilt with my right hand while my left steadied the sheath.
Taking a deep breath, I drew even more air into my lungs pushing Total Concentration Breathing as much as I could feeling my muscles swell immediately afterward.
“Thunder Breathing... First Form.”
The world blurred.
In the next instant, a bolt of lightning tore across the battlefield as I crossed the distance separating me from the charging Nyaban Brothers.
Instead of finishing the draw, however, my body flowed seamlessly into another stance.
“Third Form: Thunder Swarm.”
My figure vanished once more.
Like a streak of lightning, I circled around the startled brothers, unleashing a relentless barrage of wide, arcing slashes from every direction. My speed was so great that it left behind a trail of afterimages.
An instant later, I stood behind them with Muramasa extended.
Slowly, I slid the blade back into its sheath beneath everyone's stunned gaze.
Click.
The instant the sword was fully sheathed, sprays of blood erupted behind me.
Buchi and Sham cried out in pain as deep slashes opened across their bodies before both brothers collapsed to the ground, arcs of electricity appearing over their bodies.
With this being a Skill from the Chaos Gacha, I had an advantage over the regular breathing style in the fact that I could actually manifest thunder as long as I had mana. Something which I had gotten way back thanks to Magic Well.
Turning around slowly, I met Jango's horrified stare.
One of the few pirates still conscious, his face had gone deathly pale as he stumbled backward before collapsing onto the ground and desperately crawling away from me.
“I-I couldn't see anything...” he stammered, trembling uncontrollably. “H-He's just as fast as Captain Kuro...”
I was tempted to gloat, mocking him with the fact that my speed was much greater than the fake butler.
Instead, I released a small burst of Haoshoku Haki.
Jango's eyes rolled into the back of his head before he slumped unconscious, along with those still conscious.
Turning my gaze toward the top of the cliff, I watched a lone figure slowly approach.
‘Looks like that asshole butler has finally arrived.’ I thought with an amused smile.
Kuro came to a stop at the top of the cliff, a blank expression on his face as he took in the scene before him.
The entire Black Cat crew had already been defeated.
A scowl slowly formed on his face as he raised a palm to adjust his glasses. His gaze swept over each of us before finally settling on the exhausted Usopp.
“It seems I made a mistake by not killing you the moment you discovered the truth.” Kuro said coldly. “Very well, I'll correct that mistake now. As for your little act of defiance... I'll make sure Miss Kaya's death is slow and painful before I finally put an end to her.”
Setting down the briefcase he had been carrying, Kuro calmly slipped on a pair of gloves fitted with long, razor-sharp claws.
“You bastard! Leave Kaya out of this!” Usopp shouted, all traces of fear disappearing beneath a look of pure rage as he struggled to force himself back to his feet.
“You're not killing anyone.”
Zoro's calm voice cut through the air as he stepped forward, tying his green bandana around his head before resting his hands on his swords.
“Or did you forget we're here too?” he asked with a faint smirk.
Chuckling as Zoro's taunt successfully got under Kuro's skin, I used Soru to appear beside the exhausted Nami and Usopp.
“Back off, Usopp. This is Zoro's fight. We already agreed on that, remember?” I said before casually scooping Nami into a princess carry.
“Wha—!”
Nami let out a startled squeak as I leaped a good distance away with her in my arms. Tiche followed after us immediately after without needing to be told anything.
Usopp shot one last glare toward Kuro, who returned it with an icy look, before reluctantly making his way over to us, leaving Zoro and Kuro standing alone.
“Hmph. So you fancy yourselves heroes?” Kuro mocked, adjusting his glasses once more. “How laughable. You and your friends should have left this island while you still had the chance. Now that option is gone.”
Zoro tilted his head for a moment before a smirk spread across his face.
“Heroes?” he repeated. “I don't remember anyone saying we were heroes.”
He drew his swords, biting down on Wado Ichimonji's hilt as he settled into his stance.
“We're pirates.”
His grin widened.
“So stop wasting my time and come at me. I've been wanting to test myself against someone strong.”
“Pirates, huh?” Kuro scoffed as he lowered himself into his own stance. “I suppose it makes sense that scum would attract more scum.”
A cruel smile spread across his face.
“But you're right.”
“The time for talking is over.”
Watching from a safe distance with a grin, a faint handprint still visible on my cheek from where Nami had slapped me after I startled her with the princess carry, I folded my arms in anticipation.
“This should be interesting.” I murmured. “Let's see how much you've grown, Zoro.”
=====
Zoro vs Kuro
After weeks of harsh training out at sea in an attempt to awaken his Haki, Zoro felt his blood pumping as he clashed with Kuro.
Despite retiring from piracy for the past few years, the man was still leagues above the clown he had faced in Buggy's crew, so he was glad Luffy had entrusted this fight to him.
No matter how much he trained, Zoro had always learned more through actual combat, so finally facing a competent opponent again was exactly what he needed.
As Luffy had repeatedly told them ever since their Haki training began, Haki truly bloomed in battle, something Zoro wholeheartedly believed. The same was true for swordsmanship.
Even in the worst-case scenario that Kuro turned out to be another disappointment, Zoro still had the promised spar with Luffy to look forward to once all this was over.
The bastard insisted he wasn't really a swordsman, but from the little Zoro had seen just now when Luffy drew his blade, his swordsmanship was still leagues above his own despite claiming he had only picked up the art a little over a year ago.
If what Luffy said was true, and Zoro had no reason to doubt him, then what kind of monster was his captain when he truly fought at full strength?
Just the thought of crossing blades with him sent chills of excitement down Zoro's spine.
For now though, he would have to content himself with the bastard standing in front of him.
As they exchanged blow after blow, Zoro intentionally held back, wanting to gauge Kuro's true ability.
Then, without warning, his eyes narrowed as a strange vision flashed through his mind.
He saw Kuro's next attack before it happened.
Sure enough, an instant later the vision became reality.
Zoro blocked the strike effortlessly before blinking in surprise at the strange sensation. It only took him a moment to realize what had just happened before a grin slowly spread across his face.
It seemed fighting a capable opponent had been the final push he needed to awaken his Observation Haki.
With renewed excitement, Zoro stopped holding back.
To his surprise, the momentum of the battle shifted almost immediately as he quickly overwhelmed Kuro, forcing the former pirate to leap backward after Zoro effortlessly broke through his guard and slashed across his chest.
A little disappointed, Zoro looked at Kuro with an emotionless expression before quietly muttering a few words without even meaning to.
“…Is that it?”
Hearing those words, Kuro scowled as he clutched at the shallow slash across his chest. Then, without warning, he went completely still before beginning to sway back and forth.
Zoro immediately raised his guard, ready for whatever came next.
His eyes followed Kuro's every movement as the man kicked off the ground a total of six times.
Recognition flashed across Zoro's face.
He had seen that technique before with Luffy and Tiche.
They both used it all the time.
This version, however, was far sloppier, and the number of times Kuro kicked the ground was much fewer. Because of that, Zoro could easily follow his movements as the man darted around wildly, slashing everything in his path.
‘He can't see!’
Realization struck him as Kuro blindly cut through everything around him, even several of his unconscious crewmates without the slightest hesitation.
Taking a deep breath, Zoro entered Total Concentration Breathing for the first time since the fight had begun.
The next instant, he exploded into motion.
“What!?” Kuro exclaimed in shock as Zoro intercepted his attack with ease.
Zoro looked at him with an emotionless expression.
“That technique of yours...” he said calmly. “I've seen it plenty of times before.”
Kuro's eyes widened.
“Yours is just a bastardized version of the original.”
“Lies!”
“I've seen enough.” Zoro lowered himself into a stance. “If that's the best you can do... then let's finish this.”
“Tora Gari!”
Empowered by Total Concentration Breathing, Zoro burst forward at a speed even greater than Kuro had displayed only moments earlier.
Three blades flashed.
Then silence.
Zoro stood with his back to Kuro.
A spray of blood erupted behind him as Kuro let out a grunt of pain before collapsing to the ground, defeated.
As his breathing gradually returned to normal, Zoro took a quiet moment to appreciate his newfound strength and just how much he had grown since choosing to follow Luffy.
“Even if you were trash...” he muttered while sheathing his blades, “thanks to you, I managed to become a little stronger.”
Turning around, he found his captain grinning broadly at him while Nami gave him an approving nod. Beside her, Usopp simply stared with wide eyes, still struggling to process everything he had just witnessed.
“Good job, Zoro!”
Zoro let out a quiet huff at Luffy's cheerful praise before looking at him with a challenging grin.
“I hope you haven't forgotten our spar.”
“Shishishi.” Luffy's grin only widened.
“Wouldn't dream of it.”