"If you draw a weapon on me, you'd better be ready to die." Kisame slowly drew Samehada, sounding every bit like a villain.
And he really was a villain. The Straw Hat Crew had finally managed to wipe out Arlong's gang, only for another Ho Nam to swoop in and steal the spoils—like two gangs fighting tooth and nail for Causeway Bay, then losing it to an interloper.
"Heh." Enduring the pain of his wounds, Zoro looked at peace. A smile tugged at his lips as he said, "I promised my captain I wouldn't lose again. If I die here, that just means this was all I amounted to as a man."
What was he smiling about?
How could someone so weak still face death so calmly?
Kisame suddenly gained a new insight.
Even when people were incredibly weak, their resolve carried the same weight.
"What a pointless thing to cling to... Without enough strength, your resolve becomes just as worthless." Kisame muttered to himself, remembering the woman who had smiled at him long ago as she faced his killing blade. She had been his comrade.
Dwelling on the past was something weaklings did. Unpleasant memories, in particular, opened a tiny crack in Kisame's icy heart.
Kisame Hoshigaki gave a cruel smile.
Although he had promised Mr. Wu he wouldn't kill them, Kisame decided to break his word.
Perhaps he had never been a proper ninja at all.
Every villager from Cocoyasi Village had sunk to the ground.
Nami and Usopp couldn't utter another word. Both sat on the ground, unable even to tremble, because their muscles no longer obeyed them.
Zoro had already keenly sensed that Kisame's aura had grown far stronger than before. That crushing pressure was even more terrifying than what he had felt when facing Hawk-Eye