The shattered sand, the flying debris, and the eternally suspended blood-red moon, all painted the battlefield with desolate grandeur.
A true duel between swordmasters never needed underhanded tricks or cautious probing.
Because every strike was a strike to the death.
"Two-Sword Style: Hawk Flame!"
"Two-Sword Style: Demon Bear!"
"Two-Sword Style: Tiger Hunt!"
Zoro's entire body surged with terrifying power, muscles bulging, veins straining, as though his blood itself was trying to burst free from its skin-bound prison. His entire being radiated raw, primal heat.
His eyes blazed with an icy, murderous glare, like a demon let loose from the depths of hell.
If his gaze had landed on an ordinary man, that person might've collapsed into a pit of paralyzing fear, dead before they even hit the ground.
The crimson hue in his eyes only deepened the image, Zoro looked more vicious and dreadful than a devil from the abyss.
In his hands, the two blades danced like mad Mental Powers. With each slash, waves of terrifying energy shimmered, cutting through the air like ripples on a black lake. But every strike, after a flash of brilliance, would simply vanish into nothingness, as though they'd never existed.
"What…?"
After unleashing attack after attack, nothing had landed.
Zoro's reason briefly returned. He stared in confusion at the space where his slashes had vanished and shouted in disbelief.
"Hahhh, "
Asura let out a long, strained breath.
He hadn't moved an inch during the entire onslaught, but it was clear he had been enduring something torturous.
His usual stoic expression, the calm, immovable one of a monk, began to twist and tremble uncontrollably.
His breath turned ragged, heavy.
From his mouth, waves of steaming blood-colored mist rose, visible to the naked eye.
Only when Zoro finally paused in confusion did Asura's trembling cease. His expression slowly returned to normal.
Then, he raised his head, and in those golden, mysterious eyes, a strange glint flickered.
He looked straight at Zoro and spoke two syllables with chilling clarity:
"Rahula."
"What did you say?" Zoro frowned.
Asura responded calmly, like a master explaining a lesson to his student:
"This is a technique that creates a domain around me, centered on my body.
It absorbs all attacks that originate outside the domain.
I take no damage…
But I feel all the pain.
Twice as much."
"And when the pain exceeds a certain threshold… it can cause serious damage to my mind."
He held his sword in one hand, standing tall and unwavering as he explained.
"So that's it…" Zoro muttered.
He spun his sword with a flourish and gripped it tightly once more.
"Fine. Show me what else you've got.
I can't wait any longer!"
As he took his stance again, ready to launch another assault,
Asura stared at him and said softly:
"The final ability… hasn't it been active since the very beginning?"
"Vimacitra."
"What are you talking about!?"
But Zoro, now fully in battle mode, ignored the words. Like a beam of light, he shot toward Asura at incredible speed, already at point-blank range in the blink of an eye.
As he brought down his twin swords,
Asura suddenly raised both arms and roared with authority:
"Two-Sword Style!!"
With the sound of a sacred chant escaping his lips, something shocking happened:
In Asura's previously empty left hand, a second blade suddenly appeared, a dark crimson replica of Wado Ichimonji.
One sword rose. The other fell.
"Heaven Demon!!!"
The raised blade exploded with blinding red light.
The sudden burst struck Zoro's eyes like lightning, startling him, because this sight was all too familiar.
"What the hell is this!?" Zoro's expression twisted.
Despite his confusion, his body didn't hesitate. With practiced precision, he crossed his twin blades defensively in front of him.
Clang! Clang!
The clash of four swords lit the air on fire, steel against steel, sparks flying like meteors.
The shockwave from their collision tore through the ground and whipped up a massive storm of dust, obscuring everything in sight.
Zoro was blasted backward by the force, skidding through the thick fog until he finally stopped just outside the cloud.
But he didn't relax. He raised his blades instantly, ready for anything.
And he was right to be wary.
From the swirling dust, a towering blood-red figure burst forth.
It was still Asura, but different. This was the first time Zoro had ever seen such ferocity on his face.
Even when pushed to his limits before, Asura had always maintained a calm, oppressive presence. But now,
His expression was twisted with raw, furious rage.
"Two-Sword Style: Twin Blade Annihilation!!!"
BOOM!!!
The tips of their swords met in a thunderous collision. A massive shockwave erupted from the impact, an invisible pulse that blasted out in all directions.
The force swept the ground clean of debris, leveling the battlefield once more.
"What… is this!?" Zoro growled, gritting his teeth as he struggled against the crushing power.
He forced the words through clenched jaws.
As the attacker, Asura didn't let up, he pressed down with all his might, keeping Zoro locked in place.
Then he finally answered:
"Vimacitra."
"If I feel your sword with my own…
I can copy it.
Not just your techniques,
or your form,
or your movement…
But even your swordsmanship itself."
Zoro's pupils shrank. Then slowly, a grin cracked across his face, and he burst out laughing.
"Hahaha… That's one hell of a power!"
Asura smiled back.
"Yes… It's terrifying, isn't it, Zoro?"
BOOM!
Zoro suddenly slammed his foot into the stone beneath him, breaking it apart and ducking under the crushing blade just in time.
With a powerful leap, he launched himself backward, quickly widening the distance between them.
But Asura didn't pursue it.
He stood still.
Watching Zoro from afar, his voice echoing like an eternal truth carved into the heavens:
"Zoro… there are countless Asura in this world.
And even more Asura Kings.
But only four stand above them all, true rulers of the Asura Path."
"They are:
Payaka,
Kharakanda,
Vimacitra,
and Rahula."
"Each Asura King has their own nature…
their own powers."
"And I, "
"I am not just an Asura."
"I am the Asura Path!"
"This path is yours too, Zoro…But it's not your only path."
"Don't lose yourself in the grandeur of the Asura Way."
"Aaaah, HAA!"
Zoro let out a raspy roar from deep in his throat, hoarse but resolute.
He gripped both blades in forward stance, raising them so their tips, one black, one white, gleamed in his line of sight.
Then he smirked and replied:
"Don't worry.
I know that."
"Do you now…?"
Asura's smile returned, but it was no longer serene. It was wild, mad, chaotic.
He laughed softly at first, like an old man who had seen it all.
Then louder.
Then uncontrollably, howling with laughter.
Grief. Relief. Bitterness. Pride.
Every emotion erupted at once.
This was the full weight of the Asura Path.
Then silence.
Asura met Zoro's gaze, eyes unwavering.
"Come, Zoro.
Come and inherit my power!!!"
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