CACKLE!
The deafening crackle of lightning tore through the air, louder than any thunder that had ever rolled across the sky, sending a violent explosion of sound that sent a sharp ringing through everyone's ears. Then came the light—a blinding spear of white hot lightning that slammed into the arena's center with a brutal force. The impact carving a smoldering crater into the ground as static filled the air, making hair stand on the end.
The aftershock rippled outward, sending a concussive wave that made even the little patch of earth seem to recoil. For a breathless moment, some of Nika's team faltered, some of Enel's team flinched, and Enel felt himself go still at the ferocity of the cackling lightning, which stained their vision with ghostly afterimages. Enel hadn't planned to strike so hard, so why was it suddenly so powerful?
But that was all the opening Yama needed.
With a thunderous roar, the commander of the divine soldiers hurled himself forward, wasting not a single moment.
"STOMACH MOUNTAIN!" His bellow echoed across the silent drum-beated battlefield as he launched his massive body towards the huddled group of Nami, Usopp, the South Bird and Jozair—the White Beret—not giving them a single moment to brace themselves. His massive shadow loomed over them like an avalanche about to destroy everything and anything in its path.
"AHHHHH!" Nami shrieked, instantly grabbing onto the South Bird's feathers for dear life, leading the fleeing bird to squawk in alarm and flap its wings desperately and lift them both just in the nick of time to evade Yama's crushing weight.
"WAIT! DON'T JUST LEAVE US!" Usopp yelped, his legs kicking into action as he bolted to the side, dragging the fear-frozen Jozair with him.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the two barely managed to avoid getting flattened as Yama's massive form slammed into the ground with a force that sent tremors rippling through the battlefield.
But there was no room to breathe. No time to recover.
Before they could even think of regrouping or what to do next, a blur of movement darted toward them. Three blurs to be exact, hot on their heels, cackling like maniacs.
The triplet Ordeal was upon them, seemingly enjoying the chase they were giving to the weakest members of Nika's team, who looked too scared to even put up a fight.
"Cowards!" The three brothers shouted in an eerie unison, their weapons gleaming under the storm darkened sky as they chased them from their cloudy seats.
Meanwhile, just a little far from the group, Zoro and Braham were dashing forward, both of their eyes locked onto the same target—Ohm and his dog, Holy.
"Back off, stripe-face. That bastard's mine," Zoro growled, gripping his swords tightly.
Braham scoffed, the lights on his dial-powered guns flicking menacingly. "Tch. You think I'll let you have all the fun, swordsman? I have a score to settle. So, why don't you fucking back off?!"
"In your dreams!" Zoro scoffed, racing with Braham towards Ohm.
Neither of them were willing to let the other reach the fat priest first as the air between them sparked with unspoken challenge, with competitiveness overriding common sense.
Two of Enel's divine soldiers noticed their reckless charge, taking the chance they moved to intercept them. One, armed with a lance, lunged at Braham while the other swung a massive club at Zoro.
But that was a grave mistake, which the divine soldiers will remember for the rest of their lives.
With barely a shift of attention, Zoro slicked through the club mid-swing, severing it in two. His Sandai Kitetsu followed next, cutting the soldier down with a single stroke. While Braham, without so much as a glance at his own attacker, used his flash gun to stun him, allowing the bullets to tunnel through the flesh.
The divine soldiers fell, their bodies crumpling against the ground with a thud but neither Zoro nor Braham break a stride towards their goal.
Their goal being a bald and muscular man of relatively average height with a somewhat tanned skin. As a Birkan, he had a pair of small wings sprouting from his back which extended down to near his waist. He even had a small mustache and a beard around his mouth, and wore a pair of small sunglasses over his eyes. His green shirt was sleeveless and his gray pants had several pockets, where he could stash potential weapons.
Ohm, standing at a distance, felt a pity at the sight of Zoro and Braham rushing at him, like some wild animals freed from their leash. He couldn't help but shed a tear for how human nature is to constantly fight one another to achieve happiness, even though such happiness is achieved through peace and humans' frail bodies are destroyed by these conflicts. He shall deliver the mercy and salvation humanity needs through the eradication of the species, since that's the only way to end all the suffering.
"Prepare yourself, Holy," Ohm commanded, his voice steady. He had faced brave and powerful foes before—but even so— his Ordeal of Iron's had a 0% survival rate, there are no doubts about the outcome.
The giant dog bared its fangs, its hackles were raised as it let out a vicious, guttural growl. The beast was ready to pounce at the word of his master.
And yet, the two warriors recklessly charging at their enemy didn't even hear the warning tell tale signs. They weren't even paying attention, having been completely lost in their banter.
"Your aim's sloppy. You'd probably hit yourself more than hitting anyone." Zoro sneered at Braham.
"At least I don't need three swords to fight." Braham scoffed.
Ohm could hear the banter. They were within his range and presenting a golden opportunity on a silver platter to him.
Ohm's Eisen Whip lashed out, letting a barbed iron cloud shoot forward, striking both fighters in their mid-sprint. His intention was to clearly go for the kill but only sharp pain erupted as the whip's jagged edges tore through fabric and flesh, sending Zoro and Braham crashing onto the metal floor with heavy thuds. A smear of blood followed where they slid.
Braham groaned, rolling onto his side. Zoro spat out a curse, pushing himself up on his elbows. They both glared ahead.
Ohm sighed as if he was disappointed. "If you two are done bickering, I suggest you pay attention. I shall grant you the mercy of the salvation that humanity needs. Don't fight back or you'll only make things harder for yourself."
Zoro and Braham gritted their teeth, both of them realizing the grave mistake they were making in order to get to their target. For a moment, they just sat there, catching their breath, neither moving to get up. Then, their gazes met. And a silent agreement passed between them.
No words. No insults. Just the understanding that their frustration was better spent elsewhere—on the smug bastard, who looked far too overconfident in himself, who believed death was an ideal outcome. How absurd!
Zoro stood first, offering a hand to Braham, who wanted to swat it away for half a second before gripping it and pulling himself up. They, together, turned to face Ohm, their competitive energy redirected into something more dangerous.
Ohm's smirk faltered and felt slightly let down, but quickly amusement and pride replaced those emotions. He couldn't help but feel excited to fight, he fancied to fight the condemned after all.
"Alright, stripe-face. Let's finish this." Zoro rolled his shoulders.
"For once, green head, I agree." Braham cracked his knuckles.
Holy snarled and Ohm raised his whip again.
But this time, neither Zoro nor Braham were distracted.
.
High above the battlefield, Gan Fall and Pierre circled the chaos below. The iron cage gleamed under the artificial sunlight, its towering walls making the fight feel even more like a grand spectacle. But Gan Fall had no interest in theatrics—his concern was on the skirmishes unfolding beneath him.
His eyes scanned the battlefield, quickly catching sight of the triplet priests—Satori, Hotori, and Kotori—laughing as they hurled their deadly surprise balls at two figures desperately dodging them.
Usopp and Jozair.
The White Beret officer was more composed now than before, firing a volley of milky arrows—some at the triplets, some in the opposite direction. The result was effective as the arrows formed barriers on the cloud surface, disrupting the momentum of the triplets' surprise balls. Some of the spheres veered off-course, while others collided with the milky paths and exploded prematurely.
Gan Fall's lips curled in admiration. 'That boy thinks fast.'
But just as he was about to descend and assist, movement to the side caught his attention.
Nami, who was barely hanging onto the fleeing tail feathers of the massive south bird. He could see her legs swinging dangerously as the bird flapped frantically to escape the fight. Why the bird was even in the game was beyond his thoughts. But not a concern for him to address now when the orange haired girl's in trouble.
"Pierre, let's move!" Gan Fall commanded.
Pierre, the pegasus soon descended towards the struggling navigator, with wind whipping against Gan Fall's face as they swooped down.
The South Bird, startled by Pierre's sudden presence, squawked and flailed mid-air, nearly throwing Nami off entirely.
"W-Whoa, WHOA!!" Nami yelped, arms tightening around the bird's tail feathers as it screeched in protest. "Don't shake so much, you stupid bird! I'm not doing this on purpose!"
Gan Fall acted fast, leaning over Pierre's saddle, he extended his arm toward her. "Hold on, young lady! Grab my hand!"
Nami gritted her teeth, trying to reach, but the erratic movements of the South Bird made it impossible.
Pierre neighed, sensing Gan Fall's intent, and tilted his wings sharply to align them closer.
Gan Fall lunged—gripping Nami's wrist just as the South Bird lurched again. With a firm pull, he hoisted her up enough to swing her leg over the bird's back, properly seating her in place.
Nami gasped, holding onto the bird's neck for balance. Her heart was still hammering.
Gan Fall chuckled. "You're quite the tenacious one, aren't you?"
Nami shot him a glare. "Tenacious?! I almost died just now!"
He simply smiled, patting the South Bird's head to calm it. "You'll be fine now. The key to riding a South Bird is to guide it with small tugs to the feathers near its neck. Too hard, and it'll panic."
She looked down at her grip, noticing the exact spot where her fingers had been clutching too tightly. "Oh. So that's why it was freaking out..."
Gan Fall nodded. "Now, hold steady."
With Nami somewhat stable, he finally turned his attention back to the battlefield.
Below, Usopp's terrified wails echoed as he clung onto Jozair's jet ski.
"J-JOZAIR! WATCH OUT!!"
"Relax, Long Nose!" Jozair barked back, gripping the controls tightly as they sped across the cloud surface, zig-zagging between obstacles.
The triplets, momentarily distracted by the volley of milky arrows, were forced to jump and maneuver around the obstacles now littering the battlefield. Some of the arrows had activated the surprise balls prematurely, causing small explosions that further blocked their line of attack.
Gan Fall's respect for Jozair grew. 'Clever. His arrows don't just disrupt their movements, but also turn the triplets' own weapons against them.' His grip on his lance tightened as he realized that the moment was the perfect time to strike and ambush the triplets from above.
"Do you wish to fight, or would you rather stay back?" Gan Fall asked, turning to Nami.
Nami, still catching her breath, hesitated. She had just narrowly avoided being crushed, then falling to her doom and her body was still trembling from the adrenaline. But as her fingers brushed against the Clima-Tact at her waist, a smirk curled at her lips.
An idea struck her—one that was both strategic and, more importantly, profitable.
She looked up at Gan Fall, her earlier fear replaced by sharp cunning.
"I'll fight," Nami stated with determination, pulling out her Clima-Tact. "And I've got a plan."
Gan Fall raised a brow, intrigued. "Oh? You seem... rather confident all of a sudden."
Nami twirled the new-and-improved Clima-Tact in her fingers, eyes gleaming with mischief.
"I don't like getting into fights," Nami admitted. "But I do love getting the upper hand."
Gan Fall chuckled, sensing the shift in her demeanor. 'This girl... she's more shrewd than I first thought.'
The battle was about to take an interesting turn.
.
The battlefield was chaotic, but Robin's attention was elsewhere.
She stood among the remains of an ancient civilization, her fingers tracing the faded carvings on a weathered stone tablet. These ruins were remnants of a time long forgotten, whispers of history etched into the very bones of Skypiea. She had spent years chasing knowledge, and now, surrounded by these silent stories, she could almost hear the voices of the past calling to her. Her thirst for knowledge, her curiosity, wanted to unravel the secrets and voices of the past—
CRASH!
A loud, earth-shaking impact shattered the fragile silence. Robin's head snapped up, and her eyes immediately locked onto the source of destruction.
A massive man, draped in white robes, was tearing through the ruins like a mindless beast. His heavy steps crushed sacred stones underfoot, his brute strength sending debris flying as he hurled entire sections of buildings toward a group of familiar figures.
'Yama.'
Robin recognized him immediately—the leader of Enel's Divine Soldiers. His sheer size alone was imposing, but his reckless rampage was even worse. Her gaze flickered to the intended targets—Nami, Usopp, Jozair, and the South Bird—who were barely evading his attacks. But something was off.
Yama wasn't looking at them anymore. His eyes, dark and burning with violent intent, were locked onto her.
Robin met his stare evenly, her expression unreadable, even as tension coiled in her muscles.
Then, in one fluid motion, Yama crouched.
A sinking feeling settled in her gut.
'He's going to jump.' Robin's mind raced.
If Yama landed near her, it wouldn't just be an attack—it would mean total devastation for the ruins beneath her feet. The weight of his body alone would shatter these ancient structures beyond repair, and the knowledge they held would be lost forever.
Her hands moved before she could think. "Dos Fleur: Net."She crossed her arms, and instantly, dozens of arms bloomed between two towering remnants of ancient buildings, weaving together into an intricate, human-formed net.
Yama with a twisted grin, ripped out his primary weapon—a long sash embedded with ten Axe Dials midair.
Robin's breath hitched. She could already see how this would end, if those dials were to be activated all at once.
"Meriya!" Yama bellowed in glee as he fell toward the human net.
"Stomach mountain, ten fold axe!" Yama roared, swinging his sash as the dials whirred to life.
The impact was immense—like catching a falling boulder covered with knives with bare hands. An explosion of slicing wind and brute force tore through the air, sending razor-sharp cuts slashing across Robin's summoned arms. The hefty force rattled through Robin's entire body, her heels digging into the soft white clouds beneath her as she absorbed the shock. A muffled scream forced its way through her gritted teeth as the pain seared up her spine.
Her entire body scrunched up, face contorted in pain—but Robin did not let go. She refused to let the pathetic excuse of man walk away after the destruction he was sure to leave in his wake. Hence, Robin used the momentum against Yama.
With a flick of her fingers, the arms of the net sprang back, hurling Yama upwards.
His body rocketed toward the top of the iron cage, but Robin wasn't finished.
As he soared, new arms sprouted from the ground, grasping his legs tightly before he could correct himself.
"You're not escaping this after everything you did." Robin gritted her teeth as more of her arms bloomed along his sash, twisting the Axe Dials around.
In just a moment, the ten-axe dials turned inward, now aimed at Yama's most vulnerable points.
Robin exhaled through the pain, watching with quiet satisfaction as Yama plummeted. Straight toward the center of the battlefield. Toward where Zoro and the Shandorian warrior, Braham, were locked in battle with Ohm and his monstrous dog.
Robin did not look to see where he landed as her hands lowered, and the summoned limbs dissolved into petals of energy. They were trembling and aching from the strain, slash wounds covering her once unmarked skin. She winced, flexing her fingers. The sensation of having dozens of her own limbs sliced into was disorienting, and it was oh so painful, but it was also worth it to save these ruins that might be probably filled with the history of the void century.
Still, she allowed herself a small moment of satisfaction. The ruins around her remained untouched. But that didn't guarantee their safety.
The battle needed to end soon. As the longer they fought, the more chances for more destruction of history arose.
Robin straightened, her mind set up. It was time to join in the battle and assist her crew.
.
Thick white clouds were swirling beneath Zoro's feet, offering him little stability as he barely dodged yet another attack from Ohm, whose blade was slicing through the air with precision, a silver blur in the chaotic storm of combat.
Every time Zoro moved to counter, Ohm adjusted, twisting before the strike could land, not letting him attack as if he knew Zoro's movements before they even happened.
This wasn't normal and Zoro would have been struggling a lot more if not for Luffy, who had trained them in Haki.
With a sharp clang, his sword met Ohm's Eisen Whip, the strange, metallic looking weapon that had already proven to be a damn nuisance and was pushing him back. Unlike a normal sword, this weapon was bending and twisting at will, its fluid nature making it unpredictable and deadly. It wasn't just a whip, nor was it truly a blade. Zoro knew it was something in between, something that defied the rules of swordplay.
But that wasn't the most annoying thing.
What irritated Zoro the most was the way Ohm kept attacking, not leaving a single gap in his defence nor giving Zoro any time to even think of a counter attack.
No matter how fast he was counter-striking, Ohm never slowed down his attacks.
"Tch." Zoro clicked his tongue as frustration curled in his chest. He took a leap back, allowing a brief moment of stillness between them as his grip on his swords tightened.
"You're not just fast, are you?" Zoro muttered, observing each move of Ohm carefully.
"Oh? You noticed?" Ohm smirked slightly, tilting his head and for the first time, knowing very well that he could crush the swordsman and stop this foolish fight and let the green-headed man rest in pieces.
Zoro's eyes gleamed with sharp understanding. "You're using something else. Something that's letting you predict my moves."
At this, Ohm's smirk widened. He casually twirled his sword-whip, its flexible metal shimmering in the light of the golden sky. "We call it Mantra. A technique only those blessed by the heavens can wield."
"Tch. It's just Observation Haki." Zoro scoffed, knowing that anyone can learn it with enough practice.
"Observation.. Haki?" Ohm raised an eyebrow at the weird name.
Zoro didn't respond. Instead, he exhaled, shifting his stance. His mind raced, recalling the brief moments he had witnessed Luffy's ability to sense things before they happened. Luffy hadn't been able to explain them much—probably because he was an idiot when it came to explaining anything—but Sabo had helped, answered any and all questions he had. Even the giants in Little Garden had guided them and adding Luffy training on the top was definitely practical.
But the question was how much could Ohm foresee? How much further? Was it mere seconds or entirely minutes? Though, Zoro doubted anyone could foresee the future like Luffy always does.
"I don't care what you call it. If it means you can predict my attacks, I'll just have to become even more unpredictable." Zoro let a smirk form on his face as he rolled his shoulders and without another word, he lunged forward.
Zoro's swords whistled through the air as he swung, aiming for Ohm's side, but at the last second, Ohm shifted effortlessly, avoiding the strike by mere inches.
But that was something Zoro was expecting. He had already anticipated him to dodge.
Instead of following through with his initial attack, he, without thinking, abruptly twisted his body mid-strike, spinning into a second, much sharper swing.
Ohm's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't predicted this move.
The Eisen Whip lashed out, curling around Zoro's blade in an attempt to deflect, but the sudden shift in Zoro's angle disrupted the motion. His sword carved through the air, slicing a shallow cut across Ohm's shoulder.
Ohm hissed in pain, leaping back. His free hand clutched the wound, his face twisted in a mixture of pain and irritation.
"Well, well," Ohm muttered, voice lower now. "It seems you aren't entirely hopeless. Why can't you accept the mercy of not having to fight anymore? To have inner peace? Humans are truly bizarre acting with little to no logic about th—"
"You talk too much." Zoro growled, impulsively slashing at the downed man once more, who managed to dodge the slash and got into an defensive stance.
.
Braham hadn't expected himself to fight the labrador looking dog. But he was fighting it somehow. How had he landed in this situation? Even he wasn't sure to know the answer. He can't even see where Zoro and the sun-glasses wearing bald guy even is anymore, that's how far this dog-fight had driven him.
But, he had expected the dog to be just that—a dog. A large one, yes. A monstrous creature with razor-sharp teeth and battle-worn fur, but a dog nonetheless.
What he had not expected was for the beast to fight like a trained warrior.
Braham barely dodged as Holy, the massive war hound, leapt toward him with terrifying agility. Its paws twisting mid-air to launch a brutal spinning kick aimed directly at his ribs.
A kick of all things!
The damn dog had just tried to roundhouse kick him.
Braham's brain had just enough time to process his confusion before Holy followed up with a second strike—this time, a sharp downward slam that forced him to roll away. The impact cracked the floor beneath them.
Braham exhaled sharply, his heart hammering. "What the hell?! What kind of dog fights like this?!"
Braham had no time to argue. Holy lunged again, claws extended, and he barely had a second to react. With a sharp burst of movement, he flipped backward, pulling his twin pistols from their holsters.
BANG! BANG!
Two shots rang out, bullets racing toward the monstrous hound—only for Holy to twist his body mid-air, dodging both seemingly with little effort.
Braham barely had time to curse before Holy was on him again. A flurry of kicks, swipes and lunges followed, forcing him to stay entirely on the defensive. Despite his best efforts the gap between them was closing fast.
Braham gritted his teeth as he twisted his body mid-dodge, for the tenth time, barely avoiding the hound's powerful front paw as it slammed into the ground with a deafening crash. The force of the impact sent ripples through the ground, displacing chunks of solidified vearth and sending dust into the air.
This was insane.
The dog—no, the damn war beast—fought like a trained martial artist, dodging his bullets and countering his every move with a series of precise attacks. It just wasn't strong. No, it was smart too. Fighting with him as if it had studied his every move and knew his weak points.
No matter how fast Braham moved, no matter how sharp his shots were, the damn mutt always adjusted. Braham wasn't an idiot. He'd fought hundreds of battles before. But this?
"Tch! Just sit still, you mutt!" Braham snapped, his patience finally breaking.
And then, to his utter shock—
The dog did exactly that.
Holy, the monstrous hound that had been terrorizing him with precise, well-placed kicks and lunges, suddenly planted his rear onto the battlefield with the obedience of a well-trained house pet and sat, waiting for further orders.
Braham froze, watching as Holy's tail curled around his massive paws, with ears perked up as he sat there like the world's biggest, most well-behaved good boy.
For a long second, both Braham and Holy stared at each other, equally dumbfounded.
What—
The—
Hell.
Braham's mind blanked. He barely heard the distant sounds of combat. His brain struggled to process what had just happened.
Did.. did the damn dog just listen to him?!
"...What in the holy hell is happening?!" Braham blurted, still aiming his pistols at Holy, waiting for the dog to spring back into action at any second.
But Holy didn't move. He just sat there. His big, intelligent eyes were locked onto something above—something that wasn't Braham.
No, not something.
Someone.
Braham followed his gaze, lifting his head toward the battlefield above.
The sky.
Or rather—
The kami who claimed to rule it.
High above the chaos of battle, amidst the shifting clouds and the storm brewing in the heavens, Nika's presence lingered. Even if his physical form wasn't hovering over them like it was in the last round, his presence was there. The air carried the weight of his existence.
And the dog? The damn dog was seemingly behaving because of it. He couldn't even fathom there being another reason anyway.
Braham wasn't stupid. He knew the world, the creatures inhabiting it, reacted to the gods. His parents had told him stories, passed down from their parents and their ancestors about how the creatures seemingly behave. How they bowed their heads in reverence when the gods walked among them.
Braham had always thought that it was some tale, to invoke respect for the gods. For the ones who once bestowed their grace on the land and the sky.
But now, here, in the heart of the battle, the mutt, the trained killer, was not trying to kill him but was trying to prove itself, bowing his head to the kami who was playfully making those drum beats roar encouragingly through the battlefield.
Holy was being a good boy.
And if Braham had any doubts on the kid being the real kami, all the doubts were in the drain.
"...You've got to be kidding me," Braham muttered under his breath.
Holy, still perfectly still, wagged his tail once.
Braham had fought many enemies in his life. He had never been this confused.
For a brief, insane moment, he considered seeing if the beast would shake his hand if he asked.
Then he snapped himself out of it. He wasn't about to question his luck. If the mutt wanted to sit there and behave, then hell—he wasn't going to complain.
Zoro was still fighting Ohm, and if Braham had to guess, the bastard with the whip-sword was probably starting to become a problem.
This was his chance.
He stepped back slowly, keeping his eyes on Holy, just in case the damn dog changed its mind. Then, in a low, testing voice, he said, "Stay."
Holy did not move.
Braham was officially losing his mind.
But he didn't have time to deal with whatever divine nonsense was going on right now.
He turned on his heel and ran towards the direction of the swordsman, whose sight he had lost in the chaos.
.
Zoro's grip tightened around his swords as he exhaled slowly through his nose. His muscles burned—not from exhaustion, but from frustration. He had been blocking for far too much instead of attacking like he wanted.
Ohm was moving like a ghost, his strikes fluid and unpredictable. But that wasn't the real issue. The damn Observation Haki of Ohm was.
Zoro had never been the type to enjoy being read like an open book. He almost hated it.
Ohm's iron-cloud sword, Eisen Whip, twisted and stretched unnaturally, bending in ways that defied logic. The damn thing made it impossible for Zoro to close the distance. He could feel the sharp, whistling wind whenever the Eisen Whip barely missed his skin. Close. Too close.
Zoro adjusted his stance, waiting for an opening. That was the time, when he saw his opponent's movements falter. His eyes widening slightly in surprise.
For the first time since they first began, Ohm was distracted, giving Zoro an opening which he took without wasting a single second.
Zoro lunged, his body moving on instinct and his swords flashing through the air like streaks of silver. He was closing the distance, about to catch and slice through the damn priest—
BOOM!
A deafening crash exploded behind Zoro, who barely had time to react before the shock wave blasted past him, sending gusts of wind and dust in all directions.
The battlefield trembled. The air rang with the shrill, agonized shriek of a dying man.
Zoro twisted his head slightly to glance back and there he saw it.
Yama, the massive brute of a man, lay crumpled on the ground.
His grotesquely large body was convulsing, his face twisted in agony. The Ten-Fold Axe Dials, which had once been his strongest weapon, had become his executioners. The sheer force of his fall had activated every single one of them, the blades slicing deep into his flesh, carving through bone.
Zoro knew death when he saw it.
Yama was done. His body stilled as blood seeped into the ground beneath him.
Zoro clicked his tongue, finally understanding why Ohm had been distracted. He turned back to see his opponent no longer surprised, but disappointed.
"Oh? Only three have fallen so far?" Ohm muttered, his voice unreadable. He barely spared Yama's corpse a glance. Instead, his golden eyes flickered back to Zoro, as if he had already dismissed the fallen warrior as unimportant.
Zoro let out a slow breath, feeling a small but undeniable sense of relief. Realizing that the crew was fine and handling themselves well.
A small smirk tugged at Zoro's lips, his body and mind feeling lighter. Now, he could focus entirely on ending this fight without worrying about anyone. 'Not that I was worrying about them.'
Zoro shifted his stance, loosening his grip on his swords before tightening it again. He exhaled, steadying his breathing. He needed that.
"Your blade isn't just a weapon, Zoro. It's an extension of you. And if you're strong enough, your will can coat it."
Luffy had made that sound so simple but Zoro knew it wasn't. He had been able to coat his will on his katana once, during the battle with Mr. 1 but after that, he hadn't been. He had tried and tried, but had failed.
But right now, he had no choice but to try again.
Across from him, Ohm was tapping into his Mantra, his golden eyes glowing faintly. His grip on Eisen Whip tightened, the iron-cloud sword extending, twisting above his head like a viper poised to strike.
Zoro ignored the growing ache in his muscles, letting go of his annoyance and allowing his mind to calm down. He had one shot at this.
They moved at the same time.
Ohm's Eisen Whip lashed forward, cutting through the air with blinding speed.
Zoro stepped forward, raising his blade—
—And for the first time in a while, he felt it.
A familiar sensation spread through his sword, like something clicking into place. A thin, barely visible black coating spread along the edge of his blade.
The moment stretched—Ohm's whip descended, Zoro's sword rose.
And then—
SLASH!
The Eisen Whip was cut into pieces.
The iron-cloud sword splintered into pieces, the unnatural weapon finally meeting something stronger.
Ohm's eyes widened in shock. He barely had time to react before Zoro closed the distance completely. With a single fluid, powerful strike, Zoro's blade sliced through flesh and bone a little too easily.
Ohm staggered. His eyes flickered with disbelief—then pain as blood sprayed into the air and Zoro landed gracefully, his breathing steady despite the sheer force of his attack.
For a moment, there was only silence, shattered by the thud of Ohm's body collapsing.
Zoro exhaled slowly, tilting his head back and lifting his sword to the sky, towards Luffy, whose grin echoed through him, radiating happiness.
The black coating that had barely flickered over his blade was already fading, but Zoro didn't care. He knew Luffy had seen it. Seen his accomplishment and that was enough.
He turned, spotting two figures approaching from opposite directions.
Braham and Chopper.
Braham, who had clearly come running in a hurry, slowed his pace as soon as he realized Zoro wasn't in any real danger.
"Hah. Well, at least you didn't get yourself killed." Braham scoffed, crossing his arms, pretending to not have worried about something, or rather someone.
Zoro rolled his eyes, already regretting this conversation.
Chopper, on the other hand, rushed toward him with pure concern.
"Zoro! Are you okay? You took a lot of hits—wait, you're not even bleeding that much?! How?! Are you secretly a monster?!" Chopper fretted.
Zoro snorted. "I've had worse."
Braham chuckled. "Tch. Don't let him fool you, reindeer. This guy's just built different." Then, without missing a beat, Braham smirked and added, "By the way—I trained that damn dog to obey me."
Zoro's eyebrow twitched. "...The dog?"
Braham grinned. "Yeah. The big scary war hound? It listens to me now." He boasted.
Chopper blinked in surprise. "Wait, really?!"
Zoro looked skeptical. "You expect me to believe that?"
"Believe whatever you want." Braham shrugged, looking way too smug. "Point is, I made him sit."
Zoro narrowed his eyes.
The fact that Luffy was watching from afar, looking incredibly amused and proud, only made him more suspicious.
Still, he couldn't help but smirk.
He had something to brag about as well, his own accomplishment—finally able to call a haki-infused strike, even if just for a moment.
Chopper saw the smirk plastered on Zoro's face and knew he was about to gloat in a way to cause another argument between him and the redhead. He sighed and had zoned the two voices out as he started checking both bodies for any major injuries.
He hoped the others are in a better or the same physical condition as the two guys he's checking now, but he can't help but think otherwise.