Arlong Park (3)

"Octopus—Hachi—Ink Spray!" Though Hachi was furious at Zoro's provocation, the move he used was a completely harmless ink spray.

If this ink spray were used underwater, it could both serve as a surprise attack and buy time for escape. But with Hachi's intelligence, he actually used it on land. Not only could it not hit Zoro, but even if it did, it would merely cover Zoro in black ink. All it would accomplish was angering Zoro.

"I'll cut you down in five seconds!" Gripping Wado Ichimonji with both hands, Zoro slashed at Hachi with One-Sword Style. Though such a wide movement might tear open his wounds, he could no longer worry about that.

When he had challenged Hawkeye, Zoro had taken Hawkeye's slash head-on. Even if such an injury did not kill him, he should have been bedridden for over half a year. Yet only a few days had passed, and Zoro had already been forced back into battle. He could now feel his body failing and his consciousness growing hazy. In his current state, he could only keep fighting for a few more minutes before collapsing.

"Ah! My head!" After realizing that Zoro had cut off his head with a single slash, Hachi was nervous for a moment before quickly dismissing it. "It's just a head. It'll grow back even if it's gone!"

Zoro was helpless against Hachi's constant dodging and hiding. Under normal circumstances, he would not have minded playing with Hachi, but he was in terrible condition now. If not for his willpower surpassing that of ordinary people, he would have collapsed long ago. Every swing of his sword tugged at his wounds, and the pain throughout his body tormented him, yet he did not let out a single cry of pain.

"That guy! I knew there was no way he could fight like nothing was wrong!" Sanji, who was currently exchanging blows with the Fish-Man Kuroobi, also noticed that something was very wrong with Zoro. He had personally witnessed Zoro taking Hawkeye's slash. That injury had been far more serious than William's.

"Looking around carelessly will shorten your life," Kuroobi reminded him kindly. Though he hated humans, especially this human who had taken out quite a few of his comrades, he disdained sneak attacks. Besides, he did not think Sanji was worth ambushing.

Since he considered his opponent beneath him, why would he need to launch a sneak attack? He only needed to defeat his opponent openly and fairly. That would not only win complete conviction, but also display the Fish-Men's formidable strength to humanity.

"You dare say I'll die young? As a fish, you'd better not make an enemy of a cook!" Sanji flipped backward and kicked at Kuroobi, warning him in annoyance.

"Octopus Triple Disarm!" Hachi had originally wanted to show off his ability to disarm someone barehanded, but Zoro's sword was faster than his movements. The tip of the blade cut his forehead. "Ah! That hurts!"

"What an infuriating octopus. I don't have time to play with you!" Feeling that he was not only being looked down on but even being treated like a clown, Zoro roared furiously, "Just die already, you rotten octopus!"

"Octopus Suction Cups!" Hachi leaped into the air to evade Zoro's furious slash, then stuck himself to a stone pillar and refused to come down.

"Get down here already! Are you trying to stall for time?" For a moment, Zoro could not tell whether Hachi was simply stupid or whether this was all part of his scheme.

Anyone who was not blind could tell from the bandages around his body that he had suffered serious injuries. In such a situation, he should avoid fighting to keep his wounds from reopening.

"I heard you use Three-Sword Style. Why are you only holding one sword?" Not only did Hachi show no intention of coming down, he even curiously questioned Zoro.

"One sword is enough to kill you!" Zoro did not feel proud that the Fish-Man knew of his reputation. Instead, he considered it only natural.

"Shut up. I haven't gotten serious yet!" No one could refute Hachi's words.

Though Hachi had been cut several times by Zoro, none of the injuries were significant. Zoro, on the other hand, had not been hit even once, yet the situation was growing increasingly unfavorable for him. To put it bluntly, every time Zoro swung his sword, whether he struck his enemy or not, he suffered damage from his own injuries. If it were anyone else, they would probably have wanted to end it all themselves.

"My chance! Die, Roronoa Zoro!" Seeing Zoro suddenly drop to his knees, Hachi immediately leaped down from the stone pillar and unleashed Octopus Fist.

"Zoro?" Luffy, who was struggling against Arlong, saw Zoro suddenly fall. The brief distraction let Arlong swat him away and send him flying into the sea.

"Your captain is a landlubber, right? Why not see whether that Straw Hat brat drowns first, or whether you get taken out by my men first? Hahaha!" Arlong laughed wildly.

"You're the one who should die!" At the critical moment, Zoro dodged Hachi's Octopus Fist, seized the back of his head, and hurled him away with all his strength. The collapsing rubble buried Hachi and knocked him unconscious.

However, Zoro's movements had been too violent. Unable to stay on his feet, he collapsed to the ground in a haze. Perhaps one more movement would cost him his life. Perhaps he should not have survived until now at all, but his ambition had prevented even the Grim Reaper from taking his life. He was now only a thread away from death. While fighting Hachi, he had also been fighting the Grim Reaper.

"Argh!" Sanji was struck directly by Kuroobi's straight punch, his body blasting through the wall of Arlong Park and flying out. Ordinarily, Sanji would never make such a mistake in battle and get hit because he was distracted. But first Zoro had suddenly collapsed, then Luffy, a Devil Fruit user, had fallen into the sea. His concern for his companions had divided his attention.

"Didn't I tell you not to look around? I'm a fourth-degree Fish-Man Karate master!" Kuroobi glanced at Sanji disdainfully before reporting to Arlong, "Boss Arlong, I've taken care of one!"

"Do you know that, on Fish-Man Island, aside from one person, I am known as the number one swordsman, 'Six-Sword Style Hachi'!" Hachi crawled out from the rubble after regaining consciousness, shouting as he gripped six swords. This time, Hachi was finally going to get serious. He knew that if he kept fooling around, Arlong would get angry again and take his prey away.

Boom! Before Hachi could display the true might of his Six-Sword Style, a Special Buggy Ball blasted him away.

"Sorry, I didn't know!" William suddenly appeared beside Zoro. After producing a Special Buggy Ball from his palm—the one he had obtained from Buggy—and blasting Octopus Fish-Man Hachi away, he asked Zoro, "Zoro, you're still alive, right?"

"I won't die just yet!" Enduring the pain throughout his body, Zoro barely forced out the words. No matter what, he absolutely could not die before fulfilling his ambition.

William knew that even if he had not appeared, Zoro could have successfully taken down Hachi. However, that would have caused tremendous harm to his body. Zoro was his companion, the vice-captain he had personally appointed. Even if it had been any other crewmate, he would not have stood by and watched Zoro suffer.

"Hachi?" Seeing Hachi blasted away, Arlong asked with a dark expression, "You're a Devil Fruit user too?"

"You bastard shark, how dare you knock my captain into the sea!" William did not answer Arlong's question. Instead, he snapped at him without the slightest politeness.

William had thought that even if Luffy could not defeat Arlong on land, he could at least hold him off. Without protagonist luck, had Luffy become this helpless? William had only left for a short while, yet things had already gone wrong. But he was also a Devil Fruit user, so he could not possibly go into the sea to save him. As for Zoro, in his current condition, he could not enter the sea either. Otherwise, even if they saved Luffy, Zoro's worsening injuries would cost them Zoro.

"A Marine captain? A pirate hunter? What does that Straw Hat brat have that would make two men opposed to pirates become pirates themselves?" Though Arlong wanted to kill William and Zoro immediately, his curiosity overcame his impulse.

"Who knows?"

One was a Marine captain from the Grand Line, with strength no weaker than Arlong's, and a man whose very profession made him the enemy of pirates. Yet he had not only betrayed the Marines and become a pirate, he was even calling an immature brat his captain?

The other was a famous pirate hunter from the East Blue, whose name was far more renowned than Arlong's. He made his living by capturing pirates for their bounties, yet he had joined some brat who had appeared out of nowhere and become a pirate?

Why? Were all humans this stupid? Arlong simply could not understand why these two people would commit such foolish acts.