Just like back then

"So strong... so incredibly strong... so strong I can barely breathe..."

Zoro slowly closed his eyes, forcibly calming his racing heart and compelling himself to become utterly still.

The wind, the waves, the scent of the sea breeze, the slightest changes in the angle of his opponent's dagger—every detail registered in his senses.

He no longer deliberately searched for openings or tried to predict attacks. He followed only a swordsman's purest instincts.

When he opened his eyes again, nothing remained in them but pure sword intent.

"Three-Sword Style: Shishi Sonson!!"

He lunged forward, all three swords striking at once, three fierce flashes of steel slicing through the air.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A rapid barrage of metallic clashes rang across the deck as Zoro's assault abruptly accelerated.

It was not that he had become faster. His state of mind had transformed. His techniques were no longer bound by set patterns; every slash was an edge honed to its utmost, moving entirely at his will.

He could even sense the path of Mihawk's parries in advance, his eyes blazing red with battle fervor.

The thirty-first slash, the thirty-second, the thirty-third...

As the thirty-fourth slash descended, an extremely faint halo appeared around the blade, clear and keen.

The strike slammed into the dagger, its force concentrated to the utmost.

Creak.

A thin crack appeared in the planks beneath Mihawk's feet.

Both of them faltered for a moment.

Mihawk's perpetually calm, hawklike eyes finally widened a little, a flicker of surprise crossing them.

"Steel Cutting."

He uttered the words quietly, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"To think you would find your way to this threshold right here before me."

Zoro's breath caught. He looked down at his blade, shaken to his core.

The ranks of swordsmen advanced level by level.

Above an