Demon Aura: Nine-Sword Style: Asura: Ichibugin!

Flames blazed high, waves crashed, and the smell of metal mingled with the smoke of gunpowder.

Zoro stood alone on the collapsed stone steps, his three swords drawn, his aura as powerful as the roar of mountains and seas.

--Three Sandai Kitetsu, Enma, and Ame no Habakiri.

In an instant, the world darkened, and the air currents were forcibly torn apart by the blade!

The rocks beneath his feet crumbled, and sword energy surged like a storm.

Under that fierce aura, a blood-red Shura shadow seemed to emerge behind Zoro.

With six arms and three faces, its eyes blazed with fury, and its ghostly aura was overwhelming.

"--Bang!!"

The Shockwave exploded, sending smoke and dust billowing outwards.

Inuarashi and Cat Viper were forced to take a half step back, their eyes flashing with horror and anger.

"That's--!" the Cat Viper roared, its eyes wide open.

"That's Oden Oden's sword! Enma —and Ame no Habakiri!!"

Inuarashi's voice was filled with a roar, "You bastard!! Where did you get those two swords from?!"

Upon hearing Zoro, Enma, and the blade of Kitetsu trembled slightly, as if responding to its master's killing intent.

He sneered, his eyes calm yet chilling. "You mean that—the ignorant 'Your Highness'?"

Those few words, like a blade, slashed through the air.

Even the flames around them seemed to have frozen.

Inuarashi and Cat Viper froze, their anger solidified on their faces, and even their breathing became erratic.

Two years have passed, how could they not know the truth?

Kaido is dead.

Wano Country has been "liberated".

But none of Oden's successors— Momonosuke, Kin'emon, the Nine Red Scabbards —survived.

That country where they placed their hopes and traditions.

Now it has been replaced by iron and order.

And the person who made all of this a reality—

It was none other than Marine Admiral Roy.

That was a name they both feared and hated to the core.

They tried to comfort themselves-

He joined Blackbeard so that "he could take revenge one day."

But in the face of the strong, they are merely deceiving themselves.

Zoro clearly saw through it all at a glance.

A slight smile played on his lips, the Enma hummed, and the blade reflected the unfocused eyes of the two men.

"Really."

"The Incompetent Samurai's Pet--"

"They don't even dare to raise a sword in the face of hatred; they only bow their heads before the strong."

"Utterly cowardly."

The words fell like thunder.

A cat and a dog roared simultaneously, their muscles bulging, fangs bared, their eyes filled with both anger and shame.

"You--!"

"You brat—!"

High in the sky, Lafitte spread her wings and swooped down like Phantom, yelling with a shrill laugh, "Don't just stand there!! Attack together!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a sonic boom exploded in the air, and his staff drew a dark arc, transforming into a sharp gust of wind that rushed straight towards Zoro!

On the ground, Inuarashi's longsword, crackling with lightning, slashed down, while Cat Viper attacked from the flank, its claws leaving afterimages!

The three forces intertwined, like three Tyrannosaurus roaring as they pounced on the same prey!

Zoro simply looked up, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Snort."

"Good timing."

He murmured softly, stomped his right foot on the ground, and his aura instantly solidified, unleashing a simultaneous clash of three swords!

"Let me see--"

"How many of my blows can three weaklings withstand combined?"

"Roar--!"

Inuarashi's longsword flashed with lightning, its blade descending from the sky with immense force, its weight like a mountain.

The Cat Viper arrived with the wind, its Cat Claws flashing as it launched a series of sneak attacks, moving so fast it was almost a blur.

High in the sky, Lafitte spread her pure white wings and unleashed dozens of mental Shockwaves with her staff, causing the air to roar and creating continuous sonic booms.

The power of the three combined, and in an instant, the sky and earth changed color, the air pressure collapsed, and space itself seemed to be distorted by the pressure of these three killing intents!

However, the man at the center of the storm— Zoro —remained unmoved.

He slowly exhaled and closed his eyes.

The atmosphere changed abruptly the next moment.

An aura emanating from the deepest Purgatory, a sense of oppression resembling blood, ghosts, and the very essence of Shura, erupted from his body!

"Enduring suffering without weariness..."

A deep chanting sound arose, like a hymn from the depths of hell.

The ground cracked, debris floated, and the air suddenly turned icy cold.

Black and red ghostly energy surged forth from Zoro's body like a tidal wave, instantly engulfing the entire Battlefield!

Inuarashi and Cat Viper's attacks faltered, their pupils contracting sharply in that instant.

In their sight, Zoro's figure had completely changed.

--Three heads and six arms, ghostly eyes burning with blood.

An invisible phantom of Shura slowly unfolded behind him, nine sword lights swirling in the void.

Every blade burned with blood flames, every eye burned with rage.

This is the Way of Shura.

Zoro opened his eyes, which had transformed into blood-red vertical pupils!

"Demon Aura: Nine-Sword Style - Shura: Ichibugin!!"

"Boom--!"

Zoro moved.

There were no superfluous movements, no flashy moves.

Only a faint red light,

In the next instant—it tore the entire world apart.

Nine sword beams erupted from Zoro's body.

It was as if nine demonic swords were drawn simultaneously, crisscrossing, Cut, and crushing around the three at an unimaginable speed!

Inuarashi's lightning sword shattered in mid-air, scattering Inazuma in all directions;

The Cat Viper's claws snapped, and its body was torn open with dozens of bloody gashes by an invisible slash;

High in the sky, Lafitte's wings were disintegrated into a bloody mist, yet an incredulous smile still lingered on his face.

There was no roar.

There was no loud clang of metal clashing.

All that remained was that barely audible "breath of wind" --

Then, everything stopped.

All three lost their strength and fell to the ground.

Blood mist filled the air, transforming into silvery vapor.

A chill shimmered in the pre-dawn light before the sun had risen.

"Click."

The sound of the three swords being sheathed was like the final clarion call of a war.

Zoro slowly turned around, his back straight as a mountain.

The phantom of Shura behind him slowly dissipated, and the nine sword lights also disappeared.

A deep voice carried on the wind: "The Way of Shura— "

"Stop war with killing, destroy thoughts with the mind."

The wind blew again, dispersing the blood mist and smoke.

The silver light faded, Shura dispersed.

Only that solitary, proud figure remained, standing atop the ruins.

The aura of Shura on Zoro's side had not completely dissipated when the air on the other side suddenly froze.

Doc Q lay sprawled on his horse, which had one wing severed, his face sickly pale, coughing out two chilling laughs.

"Ahem... Let me show you my 'illness,' little girl."

He raised his withered finger, the tip swirling with dark purple miasma.

The next moment, a thick fog surged out—

It corrodes the air, erodes metal, and the gravel along the way instantly turns green and melts.

--Sick-Sick Fruit, Plague Domain.

Kuina paused slightly, as if some invisible poison had invaded her body with each breath.

Her skin turned ashen, and the color drained away rapidly.

"Got it...?" Doc Q's lips slowly curved into a smile, a morbid smug gleam in his eyes.

Van Augur, high above, immediately caught the moment, activating his Vision-Vision Fruit and causing his Data Eye to flash with light patterns.

--Three red lines lock onto the target!

"Bang! Bang! Bang--!"

The three bullets shot out at supersonic speed with incredibly precise trajectories, sealing off all possible escape routes for Kuina!

However--

"Buzz--"

The air trembled slightly.

Kuina's figure suddenly blurred and distorted in sight, like a torn mirror image, turning into countless blood-red fragments that scattered in the air.

Three bullets pierced through, merely shattering the air.

"What?!" Van Augur's pupils contracted sharply, and he immediately unleashed his Devil Fruit power at full force.

The Vision expands, penetrating walls and piercing through dust and fog, scanning a radius of several kilometers.

--But not.

No body temperature.

There was no heartbeat.

There wasn't even a breath of air.

"She... is gone?!" Cold sweat trickled down his temples.

The instant his words fell—

A cold, sharp voice sounded softly behind him, like a blade slicing through his ear:

"Are you looking for me?"

Van Augur felt a chill run down his spine, and the hair on his body stood on end.

He turned around abruptly and saw his shadow slowly twisting beneath his feet, and a pair of cold, eerie eyes opening from the darkness.