"Roronoa Zoro."
Caesar, shrouded in black energy, cast a vast shadow over Zoro with his mountainous body.
He looked down at Zoro, and Zoro looked up at him.
After scrutinizing Zoro for a long time, Caesar finally spoke with a hint of emotion.
"Every era has its most outstanding prodigies. Seeing a talent as exceptional as you, I almost feel reluctant to kill you."
"You want to alter my memories? Like Akainu and Kizaru?"
Not a trace of fear showed in Zoro's eyes.
His tone was calm, much like his personality—steady and resolute.
Although some time ago, due to comprehending the laws of the soul, he had fallen into a state of soul disorder, causing a drastic change in his temperament.
But now, he had returned to his original state of mind.
To Zoro's slight surprise, the demon-like man before him unexpectedly shook his head.
"Those who comprehend the power of laws can truly be said to have transcended this vast sea, standing at the pinnacle of this planet!"
Caesar extended his massive hand and grasped the longsword, Zhulong.
"Out of respect for you, I won't do that. Bororo! Truth be told, I'm not even sure I can. Because what you've comprehended is the power of the soul's laws. The Memory-Memory Fruit alters the memories of the soul. While I can alter others, it likely won't work on you."
"So, I will kill you with this longsword!"
As Caesar spoke, the blade in his hand emitted a buzzing tremor, and a spiraling, twisting force appeared on its surface, madly pulling in everything around it.
"I truly appreciate that."
Zoro's spirit, energy, and focus reached an unprecedented level of concentration.
In his right hand, the intangible Soul Blade and Wado Ichimonji gradually materialized from illusion to reality.
Caesar also grew serious, not underestimating Zoro in the slightest.
Akainu, moments earlier, had been slain by this soul-cutting blade, his soul shattered.
As the auras of the two surged and clashed, reaching their peak—
In an instant, one-hundredth, one-thousandth of a second, they both drew their swords simultaneously!
"Thunder God Bagua!"
Caesar unleashed Thunder God Bagua as his opening move, summoning a sky full of Conqueror's Haki-infused lightning that bombarded the earth for hundreds of meters, crashing down toward Zoro's head with terrifying force!
"Itoryu! Death—Lion's Song!"
Zoro's blade pierced through the void as if teleporting, instantly slicing through the thick Armament Haki covering Caesar's body and aiming straight for his thick neck!
Caesar sword, entwined with endless lightning, cleaved down directly from above Zoro's head, splitting him in two!
But there was no trace of relief on Caesar's face.
Because Zoro's split body dissolved into nothingness and vanished from his sight.
The next moment, excruciating pain erupted from his chest.
Sssshhk!
A massive wound over two meters long appeared on his sturdy chest!
Caesar's pupils contracted sharply.
"Traversing the Hell with your physical body? What a bizarre ability!"
Not far away, Zoro's figure solidified from illusion to reality, his longsword dripping with crimson blood.
Zoro stared at Caesar's chest, where the wound had completely healed in mere seconds.
"Terrifying regenerative power! Then—"
Multiple heads sprouted from his neck, and numerous arms bloomed like a hundred flowers, each gripping a materialized Wado Ichimonji!
"Ashura Ichibugin!" Zoro roared, his body swelling wildly as his arms grew immensely large.
His four heads each bore different expressions.
Some sorrowful, some joyful, some scowling, some enraged!
Blades gleamed like a waterfall, as if seeking to sever the cycle of reincarnation, to annihilate the Demon God-like man before him in body and soul, condemning him to eternal damnation!
He took a step forward, and the surrounding space shattered inch by inch.
The world spun around them, and the battlefield of Marineford vanished from around the two!
In its place appeared a magnificent, boundless river of stars stretching across the cosmos!
The sudden change did not disturb Zoro's focus in the slightest.
In his eyes, there was only Caesar's figure at this moment!
Step!
Strike!
Eighteen Wado Ichimonji blades crisscrossed, piercing through layers of space, flickering in and out of sight, appearing incredibly eerie!
At this moment, Zoro resembled an ancient deity!
Caesar's eyes reflected the magnificent display of blade light, and he couldn't help but be intoxicated by it.
He couldn't resist praising, "Splendid swordsmanship!"
Immediately after, an aura as vast as the heavens made his figure appear towering, like an ancient Demon God gazing down upon all living beings.
Caesar sword let out a series of dragon roars, and a massive black sun appeared behind Caesar, its terrifying gravitational force distorting the void!
"Devour! Eight Branches Secret Art: Great Crimson Lotus!"
The blade in his hand expanded violently, tearing through layers of space and instantly shattering several of Zoro's Wado Ichimonji blades.
The shattered fragments of the Wado Ichimonji were immediately sucked into the black sun behind Caesar, transforming into his devouring power.
That was the purest Soul Rule power from Zoro's very being!
The two stood as if in an endless starry sky, their blades clashing wildly!
Each collision tore open massive gashes in space, spanning over ten miles, revealing more of the starry expanse!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Blade light cascaded like a waterfall, forming rivers of light, while blood splattered incessantly!
Their speed reached the extreme, turning them into two blurred phantoms.
Yet, with every clash, Zoro's soul power diminished slightly.
While Caesar's devouring power grew stronger!
As one waned, the other waxed.
In the blink of an eye, Zoro's momentum plummeted rapidly.
This was the terror of the Devour Rule!
Not only could Caesar perfectly unleash his own power, but he could also absorb his opponent's energy during battle!
Caesar threw his head back and roared, his body swelling further, reaching a height of 9.8 meters!
A terrifying aura, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami surging, poured from him, pressing down on Zoro like a ten-thousand-meter peak, causing blood to trickle from the corner of Zoro's mouth and his entire body to tremble.
Zoro sighed inwardly.
'This monster was too strong.'
Even after breaking through his limits, comprehending the pinnacle of demonic energy, and mastering the Power of Soul Rules, he still couldn't defeat Caesar.
He dispersed his Four-Armed, Four-Headed Deva King form, and three Wado Ichimonji blades appeared—one gripped in his right hand, one in his left, and the third clenched between his teeth.
In his left hand, a slender, girlish arm materialized, holding the final Wado Ichimonji.
Zoro's eyes sharpened, his fierce aura seeming capable of splitting the heavens.
"Three-Sword Style Secret Technique: Three Thousand Worlds!"
Three blades sliced through the vast void, piercing space, breaching the barrier between the Underworld and the real world, and silently slashed toward Caesar!
Caesar's mighty physique erupted completely, unleashing an endless torrent of raw physical power.
The black sun behind him grew increasingly massive, resembling a colossal celestial body, radiating unimaginable gravitational force!
"Farewell! Roronoa, Zoro!!"
The colossal arm wielded a blade like a dragon, directly shattering all techniques through sheer force, cleaving through space itself!
Whoosh!
Slash!
Two figures—one tall, one short—crossed paths before coming to an abrupt standstill.
"In terms of swordsmanship alone, Roronoa Zoro! I, Caesar, acknowledge you as the strongest!"
Caesar murmured.
Three distinct blood trails appeared on his waist, chest, and neck, penetrating deep into his body and stopping just before his spine.
These three slashes had nearly severed Caesar into multiple segments.
He sighed, sheathed Candle Dragon, and without looking back, stomped the ground, charging toward the space of Marine Headquarters.
Behind him, Zoro's headless corpse stood erect in the boundless void, a green-bandana-clad head soaring upward.
A shadow as dark as thick ink emerged from Zoro's deceased body, standing in the void, silently gazing at the headless remains.
It was Zoro's soul.
After a long while, another phantom appeared.
It was a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Tashigi.
The two shadows stood facing each other for a prolonged moment, wordless.
After an unknown length of time, Zoro smiled and extended his hand.
The woman smiled in return.
A rift tore open in the void, revealing a hazy, gray space.
Hand in hand, the two stepped into it, their bodies gradually shrinking into two youthful forms.
Holding hands, they walked farther and farther away, vanishing into the misty haze.