Swordsmen's Duel: Foreseeing the Future

Clang, clang, clang!!

On the shore, two great swordsmen clashed, their swords flashing and tearing apart the earth. The clouds churned in the sky, each strike imbued with their own will and Haki aura. To the onlookers, it even appeared as if the sea was raging and demons were glaring fiercely. Undoubtedly, both Zoro and Smoothie possessed swords with their own 'souls,' capable of slaying anything, tangible or intangible.

"Diamond Power - Immovable!"

As Smoothie drew her longsword horizontally, a tiny liquid, imbued with an aura of Haki, swirled around her like rain or mist, rippling outwards in concentric circles. It appeared as a light, lingering drizzle, but in reality:

"Three-Sword Style: Ultimate Tiger Hunt!"

Shusui, Wado Ichimonji, and Sandai Kitetsu cleaved through the water, their blades creating layers of beautiful, transparent water curtains! But the blades themselves became distorted and unreal, as if they were reflections in the rippling water! They could easily cleave through the thin water curtain with just a fraction of a second more, but the difference was like an insurmountable gap.

"Swordsmanship that incorporates Haki into water is truly breathtaking."

In response to Zoro's praise, Smoothie raised an eyebrow with her left eye. "Haven't you heard the old saying that women are made of water? But my water is extremely deadly. Take this—"

"Diamond Force - Aggression!"

In the next instant, Smoothie's longsword suddenly slashed forward, creating a fierce wind! The wind swept away the clouds, and the surrounding mist was pushed forward by the gale, surging out like a hurricane sweeping everything away. The wind was mixed with Smoothie's Armament Haki, which was at the level of a great swordsman!

Moreover, unlike water, the wind never retreats no matter what obstacles it encounters. It always rushes forward, destroying everything in its path, and roams freely in the vast world.

Cut--!

The moment the sword was unleashed, it enveloped the area within dozens of meters. The ground churned like the surface of a stormy sea, and countless pebbles were instantly blown into the sky, only to be sliced and shredded into dust by the all-pervasive 'Sword of Wind'.

Brush---!!

A flash of sword light, and the suddenly expanding 'Sword of Wind' swept across the earth in the form of a crescent moon, growing from tens of meters to hundreds of meters, and then from hundreds of meters to thousands of meters!! In the end, it seemed to be cleaving the entire Whole Cake Chateau in two with overwhelming force!

Everything that stood in the way of the sword energy—whether it was the various cake-shaped structures or the 'Homies' trees—was instantly cleaved in two. The invisible yet fierce sword light sliced everything in its path in half, cutting across half the island before bursting out of Whole Cake Chateau and disappearing into the vast ocean.

!

This sword strike has the flair of Hawk Eyes's top-tier 'basic attack'.

Although Zoro was also sent flying backward along the trajectory of the sword, a bloody gash running across his chest and abdomen gushing from it, Roman showed no concern, because of the light in Zoro's right eye:

Bright, joyful, confident, and domineering!

"Good!"

"Take my knife too—"

"There is emptiness, there is no emptiness; in stillness one sees one's true nature, in emptiness one sees one's true nature; with one's own true nature, one creates the Three Thousand Worlds!"

?!

Oh, Zoro, you actually have the leisure to chant...

"One-Sword Style: Iai - Black Blade - Death - Lion's Song!"

Although Zoro's chanting sounded like it carried a Buddhist sense of compassion, his sword showed no mercy! A figure suddenly appeared behind Smoothie, a flash of light passing by, seemingly tearing through the void with a single strike. Following the trajectory of the Wado Ichimonji, a combined killing intent, demonic aura, and Haki swept forward, unparalleled in its domineering force, as if to cleave Smoothie's world in two like a 'painting'!

Click—

The howling wind vanished in an instant, the water swirling around her froze in mid-air, and even the ethereal clouds shifted in the middle under the flash of the blade. Everything around Charlotte Smoothie froze.

Pfft,

The next second, blood splattered, and Charlotte Smoothie's tall figure suddenly leaned forward. At the last moment, she managed to steady herself with her longsword, but judging from her difficult kneeling posture, she clearly had no strength left to fight!

"You won,"

Faced Wado Ichimonji Charlotte Smoothie's words behind him, Zoro, who was slowly sheathing Wado Ichimonji, shook his head.

"If you had used your Devil Fruit ability when you hurt me before, you might have been the one to win."

Smoothie's "Suke Suke no Mi" requires physical contact to extract the liquid, but when Zoro was struck in the chest by the "Mist Sword," blood gushed out. If Smoothie had used her ability to extract the liquid from Zoro, she could have taken a large amount of his blood. Then the outcome would have been—

"Heh, I am a swordsman after all."

With her back to Zoro, Smoothie, kneeling on the ground, slowly closed her left eye.

"If you're not as skilled as others, you should admit it! Saying things like 'that's how it was back then' is just a coward's excuse."

"Really? That's a real shame,"

Zoro, his chest a bloody mess, walked toward Roman. Although Roman was only a mediocre doctor, he was still quite adept at treating external injuries.

"If we weren't enemies, I'd love to have a drink with you."

Zoro VS Charlotte Smoothie:

Zoro wins!

"Huff, huff, huff~~"

Compared to Zoro's epic yet perilous sword duel, where victory or defeat is decided in a single blow, Luffy and Charlotte Katakuri appears dull and tedious, yet it is full of masculine passion and indomitable will!

"I don't understand why you still stood up."

Charlotte Katakuri was also panting heavily, looked at the man in front of him as he faced Luffy, who was covered in wounds.

"The difference in strength between us is obvious. I've seen everything about you—your moves, your abilities, even your conversation—"

Despite saying that, Katakuri wasn't as calm as he appeared. He noticed that Luffy was occasionally making seemingly pointless dodges during the battle—a sign that he too had foreseen the future!

"Enough with the nagging, I haven't lost yet!"

Katakuri sighed as he watched Luffy get up.

"Our fight is pointless because 'Mom's' Hunger Pangs are acting up and she needs your family's cook and... Brulee's help, so I won't do anything to you. Your family's strategist won't allow that to happen either."

"You're already in a sorry state; continuing this fight will only damage your captain's reputation! It's best to stop here—"

"No!"

Wiping his mouth, Luffy, covered in wounds Luffy his head.

"Precisely because I am the captain, I cannot admit defeat!"

"You're amazing! Even a man like you is inferior to an 'Big Mom,' which means the Big Mom is even stronger..."

Luffy, who had once again assumed a fighting stance, let out a long breath. Even though he was bruised and battered, his eyes did not flinch.

"If I can't defeat you, I can't become the King of the Pirates, and I won't have the face to say anything about protecting my crew."

"I can't strategize, I can't swordsmanship, I can't sail, I can't pilot a ship, I can't fire a cannon, I can't cook, I can't heal, I can't translate classical texts, I can't repair ships, and I can't even sing in tune... So:"

"If I can't defeat you, what right do I have to be captain?!"

Facing the strongest enemy alone—is this your way of being a captain...?

Katakuri said nothing more, because the man's will had been clearly expressed, so he stretched out one hand and gently pressed down.

"Awakening!"

In an instant, the ground where the two stood churned and writhed, and everything within a radius of several hundred meters turned into rice. This transformed the battlefield into Katakuri's home turf. Then, the rice from the earth flew into the air:

"Mochi Donuts!"

The glutinous rice formed the shape of a giant donut, and then arms covered in Armament Haki stretched out from the donut.

"It's not over yet—"

One, two, three... a dozen, dozens!

"Awakening - Mochi Ball Chant!"

Behind Katakuri, countless fists covered in Armament Haki spread out like a peacock's tail, each exuding a chilling Haki. Blood-red light rose from the metallic gleam, much like Netero's Hyakushiki Kannon from the Hunter Association next door.

"Then, I'll use this move—?!"

Opposite Katakuri, Luffy slowly closed his eyes.

"Although we all use Observation Haki, everyone's Observation Haki is very different, Luffy."

"Just like my Observation Haki is more like 'X-ray vision' for reconnaissance, Usopp's Observation Haki is more like 'television' for sniping, and Robin's is more like enhanced alertness against attacks..."

'And your ability is to perceive others. Even before you developed Observation Haki, you could instantly tell whether someone was compatible with you. So...'

Recalling Roman's words, Luffy calmed down completely in the face of Katakuri.

' Luffy, if you just focus, you'll be able to see other people's futures!'

I believe you can do it!

That was the complete trust of a comrade. Although Roman 'knew' that Luffy would definitely Awakening his Future Sight, in Luffy's eyes:

Do you really believe I can do something so absurd?

Roman, then I'll show you!

In Luffy, Katakuri's fists traced trajectories as they hurtled towards him from behind. Then:

In the blink of an eye, thousands of whooshing sounds accompanied by a flurry of fist shadows ripped through the battlefield, and the explosions in the air continued incessantly!

In an instant, Luffy felt as if he had fallen into a raging torrent of fists covered in Haki, countless fists attacking him from all directions! The Haki covering them was as Haki and turbulent as a tidal wave, leaving him no way to escape. But:

Visible!

The trajectory of the fist was visible, and it was—

In an instant, Luffy's figure suddenly blurred, gradually turning into a series of phantoms, phantoms, and countless phantoms! Katakuri's fists shattered one phantom after another, but the real Luffy seemed to have vanished from this world.

"Do you also see the same 'future' as me?"

With a deafening clang, the sound of metal clashing echoed throughout Whole Cake Chateau. As Luffy was engulfed in Luffy fists, a burst of jet-black Inazuma suddenly erupted, radiating outwards in all directions! The Inazuma struck the ground, tearing the earth apart with unparalleled force, creating deep, radiating ravines.

Bang!

A figure flashed by. Although Katakuri reacted instantly, his arm suddenly raised in front of him to block the attack, a fist passed through the gap in Mochi's arm and slammed into Katakuri's cheek!

?!

"Retract your previous statement,"

Katakuri, his face already covered in Armament Haki, glanced at the man opposite him with his outstretched arm. Although he didn't know why Katakuri's Observation Haki had advanced so rapidly during the battle, reaching the point of 'Future Sight,'...

"I apologize for my previous disrespect, and at the same time—"

"I accept your challenge."

"I will not fall here, because someone believes I can defeat you."

Katakuri let out a long sigh as he watched Luffy serious.

"I have already answered you."

Brush--

Brush--

The two figures charged at each other again, throwing punches, and the battle continued!