The sharp and fierce blades spun like windmills in Zoro's hands, stirring up gusts of wind.
At this moment, Zoro had poured his entire focus and spirit into his three swords. Years of life-risking training were now his greatest source of confidence.
"Let's settle this once and for all!!!"
*BOOM!*
With a burst of strength from his legs, Zoro suddenly launched forward at a speed nearly comparable to the Soru technique, charging fiercely at Luffy!
Luffy, also going all-out, stretched both arms and shouted excitedly:
"Gomu Gomu no…Bazooka!!!"
Whoosh!!!
The two stretched arms suddenly snapped back with explosive force, unleashing an impact far greater than Luffy's natural strength due to his rubber body.
To Zoro, those incoming palms looked like two blazing cannonballs.
There was no doubt, if he got hit, this sparring match would end right here!
Yet despite the ferocity of the attack, Zoro didn't slow down; on the contrary, his speed increased as he fearlessly charged straight at Luffy.
There was only a split-second chance!
The better the swordsman, the more they understood how critical that moment was!
If he backed down now, he wouldn't just lose the match, he'd lose something far greater!
"Don't underestimate me, Luffy!!!"
Zoro's foot pressed down. While in high-speed movement, he shifted his body just slightly.
A shrill wind-roar rang past his ears as the intense air pressure sliced past his face like blades.
But in that moment, a confident smirk appeared on Zoro's face.
He dodged it!!!
*Boom!!*
Luffy's attack grazed past Zoro and slammed into the ruins of the courtyard wall behind, sending rubble flying like a cannon blast and raising clouds of dust.
Now, right in front of Luffy, Zoro's eyes glinted fiercely, everything else faded away. All he saw was the glint of blades cutting through the air.
"Got you!!!"
He grinned, unable to contain his excitement.
In that fleeting exchange, he had clearly felt it; his swordsmanship, which had been stuck for a while, had just made another leap forward.
'As expected!'
'Fighting strong opponents was the fastest way to grow!'
Zoro's body twisted violently.
In an instant, several cold flashes of light slashed through the air, with razor-sharp blades striking at Luffy!
'Luffy, you're strong…'
'But this time, I'm the one who wins!'
However-
*Bang!!*
A thunderous boom echoed across the open ground.
A shockwave spread outward like a hurricane, stirring up a storm of dust.
Zoro's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw a sandal block his sword attack. His face froze in shock.
"What!?" he shouted.
Luffy, standing on one leg, grinned and said:
"Sorry, Zoro."
"I already 'saw' your next move!"
"What!?" Zoro froze. A bad feeling surged in his heart.
He then saw Luffy smoothly retract his arm, as if he had known he would miss from the start.
At the same time, the sandal stepping on Zoro's blade pushed off hard, launching Luffy high into the sky.
"Watch out, Zoro!"
"This next move… will be my strongest attack yet!!!"
Zoro looked up, eyes tracking Luffy's ascent.
And then, to his shock, Luffy bit his thumb, took a deep breath, and blew into his arm!
In a flash, a gigantic arm loomed over the 153rd Marine Branch.
The enormous shadow covered the entire open ground below.
"No way… this has to be a joke!?!"
Watching from a distance, Nami gasped and clutched her mouth in disbelief.
Red stepped in front of her and said:
"No matter what happens next, stay behind me."
"...O-Okay…"
Nami nodded blankly, eyes still fixed on the monstrous arm in the sky.
Up in the air, Luffy grinned brightly.
"Gear Third!"
"Gomu Gomu no… Gigant Pistol!!!"
RUMBLE RUMBLE…
It was like the end of the world had come for the Marine Branch. The sky turned pitch black.
Even before the fist hit, the wind pressure alone crushed down on Zoro, making it hard to breathe.
The descending air current swept in all directions, pelting the ground with countless small rocks like a hail of bullets.
Seeing this, Nami quickly obeyed and clung to Red tightly to avoid being swept away.
Amidst the chaos, Red stood like a boulder, completely unmoved.
Countless rocks hit him, yet not a single one could scratch him.
"Zoro, welcome to the real world," Red muttered, eyes flashing.
The next second-
The gigantic fist came crashing down, completely engulfing Zoro in darkness.
"Impossible…!!!"
At last, the usually confident Zoro looked panicked. Cold sweat poured down his face.
"How can the difference be this huge?!"
"This can't be happening!!!"
Even faced with such overwhelming power, Zoro didn't back down. Roaring madly, he charged toward Luffy's fist with swords in hand.
"Three-Sword Style...Demon Slash!!!"
*CLANG!!!*
The blades pierced into Luffy's giant fist, leaving a thin cut.
But compared to that massive hand, the wound was barely worse than a pinprick.
Let alone stopping it.
*BOOOOOM!!!!!!!*
The deafening explosion shook the entire town of Shells.
Everyone looked in the direction of the Marine base in alarm.
Inside the 153rd Branch's HQ, the marines watching through the window collapsed in fear, unable to stand.
Even if they could, none dared look at the battlefield now.
Dust covered the entire area, blocking everything from view.
In the violent tremor, Nami clung tightly to Red, avoiding being knocked down.
Cracks like lightning spread from beneath them.
Only after a long time did the trembling subside.
"...Is… it over?" Nami opened her eyes slowly, heart pounding wildly.
Red smiled gently, patting her arm to comfort her.
"It's over."
Though the dust didn't clear quickly, a small figure emerged from the haze.
"Cough… Red, help me out here!!!"
It was Luffy, now shrunk due to the Gear Third drawback, dragging Zoro's limp body toward Red.
"No need for that."
Red gave his arm a flick, spent 20 minutes of game energy, and exchanged a healing potion from the game world, tossing it to Luffy.
"Spray this on Zoro. It should be enough to wake him up."
The potion could instantly restore 20 HP.
They didn't know Zoro's total HP, but considering Luffy, a tank, had less than 200, 20 HP at this stage was significant.
One bottle was enough!
And this brings us to the wonder of the system:
The attribute boosts in the game world clearly weren't just a simple 1+1 formula!
For example, a Luffy with 100 HP definitely had way more endurance than ten Pokémon with 10 HP each!
Each point of stat increase was a major leap forward.
No matter how powerful Luffy became later, with just a few potions, he could go from the brink of death back to full strength in seconds.
This was, without a doubt, a game-breaking healing item!