Zoro's Growth, Hawk Eyes' Recognition.

"What? He's that famous Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro?"

"My goodness, no wonder Mr. Baru was completely defenseless against him."

"They say Zoro is the strongest Pirate Hunter in our East Blue."

The surviving fodder pirates of the Krieg Pirates were all shocked after hearing Zoro's self-introduction.

At the same time, they were even more shocked by what was happening now.

"That Pirate Hunter Zoro is going to challenge the World's Greatest Swordsman, Hawk Eyes?"

"Who do you think will win? Both of them look really strong."

"Uh, brother, your opinion is a bit too biased. Although I'm an East Blue native and want to support Zoro, the opponent is the World's Number One."

"But I want to see Hawk Eyes lose!"

"Tsk... don't say that, I want to see Hawk Eyes lose too."

Perhaps it was because Hawk Eyes had killed many of their companions, or perhaps it was because they were all from the East Blue and had temporarily united against an outsider.

Many of Krieg Pirates' subordinates began to support Zoro.

"Go, Pirate Hunter, defeat Hawk Eyes!"

It was fortunate that Krieg was unconscious, otherwise, seeing this scene would likely have made him pass out from anger.

"Shut up, you scum! What does my challenging him have to do with you?"

Zoro, annoyed by the fodder pirates of the Krieg Pirates, cursed back directly.

After speaking, Zoro looked at Hawk Eyes with determination.

"You don't look busy, so accept my challenge."

Hawk Eyes glanced at the young man with the headband and a serious expression before him.

"Why do you challenge me?"

Zoro grinned and replied, "To become the strongest!"

Hawk Eyes was somewhat disdainful of this answer. "A foolish act. Although you are quite famous in these waters and your strength is not bad, you should be able to see how vast the gap between us is."

Zoro did not deny it. He raised his sword with one hand, pointing it at Hawk Eyes, and replied, "I can feel the gap, but I must challenge you. To become the strongest, and for the promise with my dear friend."

Then, Zoro adjusted his fighting stance and uttered his final words with a resounding tone: "Since you have appeared, I cannot take a single step back."

Hawk Eyes felt Zoro's determination. Even if he didn't make a move, Zoro would definitely attack directly.

Thinking of this, Hawk Eyes smiled slightly. "Alright, I accept your challenge."

"But first, you must defeat this dagger."

Saying that, Hawk Eyes picked up the dagger in his hand, straightened his arm, and pointed the blade towards Zoro.

"Bastard, he's looking down on me too much."

Even though Zoro had adjusted his emotions according to what Can Yue had said, he was still enraged when he saw Hawk Eyes confidently pull out a small knife, believing he could defeat him.

"Three Sword Style - Onigiri!"

Onigiri is one of Zoro's ultimate techniques, and the entire move is divided into two parts.

First is the attack wind-up, where Zoro gathers his three swords while slashing forward.

Then comes the actual attack. When the three swords cross, he instantly exerts force, and the three swords slash out in different directions.

No matter how fast the opponent reacts, they can at most block the attack of one sword, and the remaining two slashes will inevitably hit the opponent.

Since Zoro set sail, no one has been able to block this move without injury, except for Can Yue...

And now, there was one more.

The moment Zoro's three swords had just crossed at a single point, before he could exert force to slash outwards, Hawk Eyes placed his small knife at the intersection point of the three swords.

This caused Zoro to completely lose the opportunity for the second stage of his attack, leaving him stuck and unable to exert force.

The unstoppable Three Sword Style sword skill was suppressed by a small knife.

'Such speed, such power, such terrifying ability to seize opportunities!'

Zoro's pupils trembled slightly. The fact that he could seize this fleeting moment of weakness and counter his Onigiri meant that the opponent's attributes had completely crushed him.

'No wonder he was so arrogant as to insult me with a dagger.'

Fortunately, this exchange made Zoro completely calm down. He recalled the scenes of his training with Can Yue.

"Onigiri!"

On the Merry, Zoro skillfully used the move to attack Can Yue, and was similarly suppressed at the point where Can Yue's Demon God Slayer tip blocked the intersection of his three swords, rendering him immobile.

"Zoro, your moves are too aggressive.

When facing opponents weaker than you in strength and speed, you can naturally win steadily."

If the opponent's attributes are all stronger than yours, your skills are meaningless.

"You are completely suppressed by me right now. What's your next move?"

Zoro's forehead dripped with sweat, and his eyes revealed anxiety. This was a problem he hadn't considered.

His past self-training had always adhered to the concepts of strength and ferocity, with every sword skill he created focusing on explosive power. Once unleashed, there was no room for adjustment.

"Your mindset of forging ahead is not wrong. But sword skills can be flexible."

Zoro's brow furrowed. How could he be flexible without compromising his mindset?

The memory ended.

Zoro felt the pressure from Hawk Eyes' small knife, further confirming the correctness of Can Yue's words.

If he wanted to break through this step, there were only two methods.

One was to strengthen his own attributes like power and speed, and crush the opponent directly.

The other was to adjust his techniques and respond in a different manner.

At this thought, the shock in Zoro's eyes subsided, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Two methods? I want both!"

"First, King Kong Force, Second, King Kong Force."

Zoro's arm muscles bulged, appearing to contain explosive power.

Then, using his enhanced strength, Zoro changed the forward momentum of Onigiri, lightly jumping and rotating his body in mid-air.

Can Yue, watching from a distance, nodded slightly at the scene.

The technique Zoro used in this move wasn't actually that advanced; it was merely utilizing momentum.

Under normal circumstances, when two masters fought, they wouldn't make such a low-level mistake as exposing a weakness due to their own momentum.

However, because Hawk Eyes underestimated Zoro, he failed to react in time the moment his opposing force was nullified.

As Zoro shifted his weight to the side, Hawk Eyes' body moved forward a small step due to inertia.

Seeing this, Can Yue nodded and murmured to himself, "If it were a long sword, this small step would be nothing, and the distance between them would still be considerable. But since he's using a small knife, this momentary opening is enough to place him in the most violent position of the tornado."

As expected, Zoro, who was spinning, seized the opportunity. Using his temporarily enhanced strength, he exerted force with all three swords simultaneously, stirring the surrounding airflow. "Three Sword Style - Tornado."

Even the formidable Hawk Eyes, now at the most violent point within the tornado, could barely stabilize himself, and still needed to use his small knife to deal with the sword energy contained within the tornado.

Zoro turned, holding his swords with both hands raised to the side above his head, the blades crossing over his head as he brought them down.

"Three Sword Style - Tiger Hunt."

Taking advantage of Hawk Eyes being temporarily controlled by the tornado, he unleashed his most ferocious sword skill.

Hawk Eyes' heart tightened. 'This kid, even with my mistake, he's managed to push me this far.'

The sword energy within the tornado and the 'Tiger Hunt' attack completely surrounded Hawk Eyes, preventing him from adopting the most effective posture to counter Tiger Hunt.

If he were to still use his small knife to deal with Zoro, he could block 'Tiger Hunt,' but he would be cut by the sword energy.

Getting injured here would be a huge loss of face for the World's Greatest Swordsman.

"Good kid, I acknowledge you!"

Hawk Eyes reached behind his back with one hand, and with a 'clang,' the tornado shattered, and Zoro was sent flying by the slash of 'Black Blade - Night.'

Hawk Eyes looked at Zoro, who was slowly getting up from the ground, a smile appearing on his lips as he began to speak with growing excitement.

"Hahahaha, Roronoa Zoro, I shouldn't have underestimated you. Come on, I officially accept your challenge, using this world's strongest black blade - Night."

Zoro, who had stood up, smiled, his fighting spirit soaring.

"I couldn't ask for more!"