Zoro gripped the sword that had transformed from Guina and tested its weight—it felt exactly like Wado Ichimonji.
Suddenly, Guina's voice echoed in his mind: "Stop staring, Zoro! The monster is here!"
"Guina?" Zoro asked, confused.
Her voice grew impatient: "Yes, it's me! Don't just stand there—dodge!"
In the blink of an eye, the monster reached Zoro. One of its massive arms swung downward.
Zoro immediately spun backward, narrowly avoiding the blow.
The monster's strike hit the ground, leaving a deep trench over two meters long.
Seeing the damage, Zoro finally relaxed slightly.
"This is far from the monster in my dream… I thought we were done for."
Although the creature's destructive power was high, it wasn't insurmountable. As long as he still had strength to fight, it was enough.
The monster's next strike missed, and Zoro leapt away, quickly repositioning, while the monster advanced like a predator on the hunt.
The sound of its footsteps grew closer. Zoro's hands gripped the sword tightly.
The monster's nine bladed arms lifted, forming a deadly fan that blocked all escape routes.
Zoro raised Wado Ichimonji above his head. The nine blades came down in unison, generating a fierce wind pressure with each strike.
Relying on his exceptional reflexes, Zoro leapt onto one of the blades to push off, jumping left, evading the remaining strikes.
But the monster had nine arms. As he dodged the ninth strike, the first one rose again.
Zoro, still in midair with no room to escape, braced Wado Ichimonji in front of his chest.
The monster's blade collided with his sword, generating violent wind pressure that sent nearby debris flying.
Zoro used the momentum to launch himself forward, landing clumsily and rolling a distance before recovering.
He quickly rose to his feet, assuming a defensive stance.
The monster pressed the attack, each blow like a mountain descending, the cold glint of the blades chilling Zoro to the bone.
He swung Wado Ichimonji with speed and precision, parrying wave after wave of strikes.
"Clang!"
A crisp metallic impact allowed Zoro to create some distance. Sweat streaked across his face, highlighting the intensity of the battle.
"This won't work… its attack rhythm is entirely predictable, and I can't even touch its body."
Zoro shook the sweat from his eyes and tightened his grip, readying himself.
"Zoro, don't rely on brute force!" Guina's voice echoed in his mind.
Her words calmed him.
"Not brute force… that's it!"
He remembered the lesson from Master Goro:
When Zoro first joined the dojo, he asked innocently whether there really existed swordsmen who could cut iron like mud. Master Goro demonstrated by trying to cut a falling piece of paper—the wind from his blade pushed it aside.
"Some swordsmen may not cut through everything, yet they can cut through iron as if it were mud. The strongest sword isn't just about cutting—it's about protecting what you must and destroying what you must. That's all," Master Goro had said.
The words replayed in Zoro's mind.
He remembered leaving the dojo, leaving Guina's home, following Luffy to the seas, and being pierced by Luffy's sword—all for a purpose.
He remembered Master Goro's teachings, the promises made in the moonlit fields with Guina, and his immediate trust in Luffy's words: "I can make you stronger."
Zoro lifted his head, his eyes glowing crimson. The aura emanating from him was more terrifying than the monster itself.
The monster gave him no time to rest. The sky remained dark, the earth dim.
The "clash-clash" of steel rang endlessly through the silent space.
Zoro parried the monster's wind-like attacks again and again.
Finally, spotting an opening, he sheathed his sword and readied himself, aiming for a weakness.
"Ittoryu Secret Technique – Iaigiri!"
A flash of green light streaked across the battlefield. Zoro moved in an instant, appearing behind the monster. Wado Ichimonji rested in its sheath.
"Shiiing…"
The monster's left leg erupted in blood, gushing uncontrollably.
Yet it didn't seem to feel the pain. It pivoted, nine blades raised high, emanating a lethal aura, targeting Zoro's back.
Zoro remained still, back turned, calm as if recovering from the previous strike.
The monster drew closer, undeterred by its injuries.
As the blades neared Zoro, he finally turned. His crimson eyes cut like blades, piercing the world.
The dark clouds dispersed, the cracks in the earth healed.
The moon rose high. Fresh green grass sprouted on the restored ground, swaying in the breeze.
The only things unchanged were the nine red blades aiming at Zoro and Zoro himself, ready to face them.
He slightly bent, Wado Ichimonji upright to his right side, sheath in front of his left leg, right hand gripping the scabbard, left hand holding the hilt.
"I never understood my master's words. All I know is: persistence and tenacity—that is my swordsmanship!"
Zoro's crimson eyes blazed, his grin filled with wild confidence.
"I can see it! I can feel it! The wind, the grass, and your breath!"
"This is it—the power to cut steel like mud!"
"Ittoryu – Iaigiri – Shishigatame!"
Zoro and the monster's forms blurred, as if time paused.
"Crack… crack… clang…"
A series of crisp sounds rang out. The monster's arms shattered, pieces falling to the ground.
"Splat!"
The monster's torso erupted in blood, splitting in two. Its body collapsed.
Soon, the monster's corpse vanished, leaving behind a black-sheathed sword with a matching hilt.
Zoro now held the monster's essence—fully merged with his Wado Ichimonji—signaling the completion of his first real partner synergy combat.