One Great Thousand Thousand Worlds VS This Road to the Underworld

Drip, drip.

The sound of blood dripping onto the sand was faint, yet unusually crisp. Zoro knelt on one knee, supporting himself with Kitetsu. A fresh slash ran from his left abdomen to his right chest, a horrifying wound that continued to gush blood until it soaked through the clothes on his upper body!

"Whew! Can you still stand?" Shiryu exhaled a puff of smoke. He had clearly felt the thrill of his blade cutting through flesh with that strike just now! Raiu had slashed upward from below, leaving an incredibly severe wound. As a swordsman, Shiryu had suffered countless blade wounds himself. He knew that the intense pain from that strike could very well make an ordinary person pass out on the spot! Yet this brat before him had not only remained standing—he was even struggling to rise again!

That alone was enough for Zoro to earn Shiryu's nod of approval!

"I can hardly help but admire you! Young swordsman, Roronoa Zoro! What exactly are you carrying on your back? What makes you draw your sword against the strong time and time again? With your strength, you could be valued anywhere! Wouldn't it be more comfortable to just lie down obediently? Tell me! What are you holding on to?" Perhaps because he cherished this long-lost worthy opponent, the usually cold and taciturn Shiryu actually crouched down, staring patiently at Zoro as he awaited his answer!

"Whew, cough, cough!" Zoro forced himself to endure his injuries and refused to fall. The enormous wound on his chest burned fiercely. That slash felt just like the one Dracule Mihawk had given him years ago, as though he were about to be torn apart. But so what?

"Because of my promise to that person, because I have to defeat that extraordinary person,