The fight had splintered, chaotic battles erupting across the town. The main street was a mess of shouts and clashes, but Zoro had skillfully led his opponent into a narrow alley between two tall, broken buildings.
Cabaji the Acrobat circled him on his single wheel, moving quietly on the dirt. His face, a mask of pure, trembling anger.
"Roronoa Zoro," Cabaji hissed, his voice thin with hatred. "Any last words for a dead man?"
Zoro stood relaxed, his single white sword held loosely in one hand. His eyes, sharp and focused, tracked Cabaji's circling movements. What an annoying guy.
"My brother!" Cabaji choked out, his voice cracking with raw grief. "Do you even remember the man you cut down?!"
Zoro didn't react for a long moment. He simply watched, his expression unreadable.
"Goa Kingdom!" Cabaji shrieked, tears starting to cut paths through his makeup. "You hunted us! Chased us! And then you took his head as if it was nothing!"
At this, Zoro's gaze finally sharpened. He paused, a flicker of memory in his eyes. Goa Kingdom. Swordsman. Bounty...
He remembered.
"Goa," Zoro said, his voice low, flat, and dismissive. "The one with the green coat. Yeah."
Cabaji's eyes widened, a desperate, fragile hope blooming on his face. "You... you do remember him! You remember my brother!"
"I remember the fight," Zoro corrected, his eyes turning to cold, hard steel. His voice was utterly devoid of respect, cutting deep. "He was all for show. No real skill. He held his blade like a common street performer."
Zoro's eyes met his, direct and unyielding.
"He wasn't a swordsman," Zoro finished, the words dropping like stones. "Just a mere actor."
Those words struck Cabaji harder than any blade. They weren't just an insult; they ripped away his brother's dignity, his life's meaning, dismissing his very existence as a cheap imitation.
That was the last straw. Cabaji screamed—a raw, guttural sound of pure, unadulterated grief and rage that echoed off the alley walls. He charged, his unicycle kicking up a furious cloud of dust as he sped down the alley, his sword a flash aimed for a swift, lethal stab.
CLANG!
Zoro blocked the attack with his single blade. He didn't even move his feet. The hit was strong, but Zoro's arm was like stone. He flicked his wrist, pushing Cabaji's blade away and making the acrobat wobble on his wheel.
Cabaji spun away and landed safely. He took a deep, rattling breath, puffed his cheeks, and spat a huge ball of fire.
"KAYOKU ZAN!" (Fire-Breathing Slash!)
The fireball filled the alley.
FWOOSH!
Zoro just... stepped to the side.
The flames blasted the empty air where he had been, burning the brick wall. Zoro stepped out from the smoke.
"Is that it?" he asked, his voice low and disgusted. "First a unicycle, now fire-streaming. You're not a swordsman. You're just a clown, like your brother."
The insult was worse than any cut. Cabaji was visibly shaking, and tears of anger cut tracks through his face. "You'll regret that, you heartless bastard!" he shrieked. "You led me right where I wanted! A narrow space is a grave for a man who can't see all angles!"
He reached into his coat and threw a handful of objects. "KYOKUGI: KOMA OKE!" (Acrobatic Spinning Tops!)
The sharp, metal tops hit the ground and the walls, turning the small alley into a death trap.
ZIIIIING!
They didn't just bounce. They ricocheted with purpose, flying everywhere at once. The high-pitched whine was deafening.
Zoro's expression didn't change, but his body did. He was no longer relaxed. He was on high alert, his eyes tracking five different speeding tops.
A top aimed for his throat. He hit it with his sword.
CLANG!
The force of the hit stung his hand, and the top screamed past his ear.
Before he could recover, another top hit the wall behind him and flew at his back. He twisted just in time, but the steel edge still cut his arm.
ZING!
A third one shot low, trying to hit his ankle. He stomped, crushing it under his boot.
CRUNCH!
A fourth one skimmed past his face, nicking his cheek.
He clicked his tongue, a drop of blood trickling down his face. Tch. Annoying. This wasn't a sword fight. This was a shooting gallery, and he was the target.
He stopped reacting. He planted his feet in the center of the alley. He listened—to the whines, the scrapes, the pattern.
A top flew straight at his chest. Instead of just blocking, he met it with a sharp, hard, downward cut. His timing was perfect.
KRAK!
The top split in two.
He spun, his blade a white blur, hitting the next one.
SHINK!
And the third.
SHINK!
In less than two seconds, the air was silent. The ground was littered with broken, useless wooden junk. tops equipped with iron edges, but their core was just cheap wood.
and then the alley become full of smoke. Cabaji was gone.
A trick.
Zoro stood still, his senses screaming. A bead of sweat. The scrape of a unicycle wheel on stone... above him!
He looked up. Cabaji was dropping from a rooftop, silhouetted against the sun, his sword pointed straight down, ready to stab him. "DIE, MURDERER!"
Zoro didn't have time to use his main sword.
SHING!
He drew his second blade and held it over his head in a high block.
KRRRIIIIING!
The sound was deafening. Cabaji's sword scraped against Zoro's, the point stopping inches from his eye. The attack was strong and buckled Zoro's knees, but the block held.
He shoved the acrobat off. Cabaji landed, skidding, ten feet away.
Zoro stood up straight. He wasn't just bored anymore. He was angry.
"Fire... tops... attacking from the shadows," he said, his voice low. He put the second sword back in its sheath. He then took the hilt of his first sword—the white Wado Ichimonji—and placed it firmly between his teeth.
CLICK.
"I am done playing with you."
His hands moved to his other two katanas. He drew them both in a smooth, menacing motion, settling into his three-sword stance.
Suddenly, the feeling in the alley changed. It became heavy and dangerous.
Cabaji felt it. That wasn't just skill; it was killing intent. He panicked, his confidence gone, replaced by a sudden, desperate fear. He charged one last time, all form forgotten, screaming his brother's name.
Zoro met the charge.
"ONI..."
The world seemed to slow.
"...GIRI!" (Demon Slash)
SHIIIIIIING!
It wasn't a fight. It was an execution. Zoro passed him, his three blades a blur. He landed, his back to the acrobat, and held the pose for a single, brutal second.
Behind him, Cabaji froze. He was still on his unicycle, his sword still raised.
He looked down.
Deep, crossing cuts had appeared on his chest, his gaudy uniform falling apart.
"B-brother... I... sorry..."
He toppled, crashing to the ground in a heap of tangled limbs and metal.
THUD.
He was unconscious, bleeding heavily in the dust. Zoro didn't look back. He just clicked his tongue, sheathing his swords.
"What a waste of time."
__________
At the same time, Alvida was running, and her heavy steps made the ground shake. She was chasing Mohji the Beast Tamer.
Mohji was on his lion, Richie, and was already far ahead. The big lion was surprisingly fast, jumping over the broken pieces of the town.
"Mwahahaha!" Mohji laughed from Richie's back. "Look at the fat pig run! Is that all the speed you have, 'Iron Mace'? You're too slow, you ugly hag!"
Alvida's face turned purple with anger. "GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE GNAT!" she roared, but she just couldn't catch up.
Richie was fast, and Mohji used it to fight from a distance. He would make the lion circle back, jump in to attack with its claws, and then leap away just as Alvida swung her heavy club.
While the lion jumped back, Mohji would attack with his whip.
"KEMONO NO MUCHI!" (Beast Whip!)
CRACK!
The whip, which had sharp barbs, hit her across the arm. An angry red mark appeared on her skin.
"Feel that, you ugly—"
Mohji's taunt died in his throat. Alvida hadn't even flinched. The whip had clearly hit her, and it must have hurt, but it hadn't cut her. It didn't draw any blood.
What... what is she made of? Mohji thought, a flicker of real fear in his eyes.
CRACK!
He struck again, this time hitting her across the face. Another red welt appeared. Still no blood.
Alvida just... smiled. It was not a nice smile.
"Is that all you got, little rat?" she seethed. "My turn!"
This just made her angrier. She was strong, but she had no speed. She swung her club in wide, powerful swings, but Mohji just laughed and made Richie dodge every time.
"Too slow! Too slow, you fat cow!"
He steered Richie in a tight circle, trying to dodge another heavy blow from Alvida's mace.
But he made a mistake. He'd misjudged the space.
Richie, in its high-speed jump, slammed its back hard against the brick wall of a broken-down post office.
THWACK!
The lion roared in pain. Its footing was gone, and it stumbled for a single, fatal second.
It was all the opening Alvida needed.
She stopped running. She planted her feet in the dirt. Her heavy, angry breathing stopped. A low, creepy, satisfied laugh came from her chest.
Mohji and the lion, still tangled up and trying to get their balance, looked up.
They saw her. Her face was a mask of pure, ugly triumph. She held her iron club back like a baseball bat.
"Got you," she whispered.
She swung the club with all her might. Mohji and the lion watched in horror as the club connected, dead-on, right on the lion's jaw.
KRRR-CRUNCH!
The sound was terrible. It was a sickening explosion of bone. The mace spun the 800-pound lion, its head snapping sideways. The lion's body was thrown—not backward, but sideways—slamming with its full weight into the brick wall it had just stumbled against.
KABLAM!
A cloud of red brick dust and broken pieces exploded into the street. The lion and its rider had been hit clean through the building.
Alvida, breathing heavily but satisfied, walked calmly through the new, jagged hole in the wall.
Inside, Richie was knocked out, half-buried in a pile of rubble and mail.
Mohji was trapped underneath his pet, his leg pinned at a bad angle, struggling weakly.
He heard her footsteps. He looked up, his face pale. His bravery was gone, replaced by pure, pathetic terror.
"Wait! Wait! You're beautiful!" he yelped, his voice high and thin. "The most beautiful woman in the East Blue! Have mercy! I was... I was just joking! It was a test! You passed!"
Alvida just stood over him, her mace resting on her shoulder. She grinned. It was a truly ugly expression, full of spite.
"I know."
She raised her club.
THWACK!
Alvida left with a satisfied, ugly smile, leaving the beast tamer and his lion half-buried in the ruins of the post office.
__________
hlooooo
I am sick.