Out of Control

Withered Leaf Village's East Blue coast, Temporary Camp.

Red prided himself on having seen it all, but the sight of Rubick left him wide-eyed. He didn't even have the attention to spare for Zoro, who had killed five or six of his men in a row.

Rubick stood motionless in the middle of the clearing as pirates charged him with all kinds of weapons.

The contrast made for an eerie sight, as though Rubick had frozen in fear.

Zoro stole a glance at Rubick. He wasn't about to ignore him; they had come to fight the pirates together, after all.

One glance was enough to make Zoro's face change. "Watch out, old man!"

Rubick wore the Crooked-Mouth Dragon King's sneer, paying no heed to the weapons closing in from every direction.

Whoosh!

In an instant, seven or eight cutlasses hacked Rubick to pieces.

"What?!"

Even the pirates cried out in shock, along with Zoro.

Rubick's body had completely taken on its Elemental Form. The places the blades had struck scattered into wisps but remained connected. His face had split into three, yet everyone could still see his contemptuous smile.

"You think the likes of you can hurt me?"

Rubick's body swelled. His upper half returned to normal, but his lower half became smoke, making him look like something out of Aladdin's Lamp.

"Let me show you what real strength looks like!"

Rubick threw a punch with all his might. As he swung, his arm became a long column of smoke as thick as a tire, extending his reach in an instant. At its end, his fist grew as large as a room and swept four men backward, smashing through a tree.

Smoke surged from Rubick's lower half, propelling him into the sky. The four pirates caught in his grip rose with him.

"Earth Spike!"

From midair, Rubick dived, using gravity to slam the four pirates into the ground. The fall from more than ten meters up shattered their bones.

Cries of agony spread across the coast.

"Monster!"

"He's a monster!"

Ordinary pirates had never seen anything like it. Some of the more timid ones dropped their weapons and fled.

Rubick remembered the pirates' cold, dismissive faces when they had spoken of the villagers. Anger rushed to his head until it felt as though only one emotion remained.

Rubick picked up a cutlass and assumed his half-smoke form again. With attacks passing harmlessly through him and the ability to fly, he cut the pirates down with ease.

Killing the first man hadn't troubled Rubick. It had only sent a rush of excitement through his mind. After the second and third, that excitement kept growing. His thoughts felt clearer and faster.

Now he was sinking into the fierce thrill of killing. His eyes reddened, and his smile grew more sinister.

Zoro saw that things had turned ugly. He knew what was happening to Rubick; in all his years in the East Blue, he had seen that look too many times.

Some people couldn't bring themselves to kill. Others felt sick and conflicted afterward. But some grew excited by it.

Rubick was born for the battlefield.

But this was no time to dwell on that. Zoro fixed his eyes on Red, who was just as stunned as everyone else. He wanted to finish him quickly, then try to knock some sense into Rubick. Zoro doubted he could even land a blow on him, but he couldn't stand by and watch Rubick sink into a bloodlust he might never escape.

"I'll finish this with my ultimate move."

Zoro steadied his breathing and gathered his strength.

Red finally came to his senses. A murderous intent locked onto him, and he saw Zoro glaring his way.

"Three Sword Style: Oni Giri!"

Zoro's feet pounded the ground as he closed in on Red. Faced with the force of that charge and three blades rushing toward him, Red felt there was nowhere to run.

Gritting his teeth, Red gripped his sword with both hands and swung it around in a sweeping slash, sending out a crescent arc of light.

Zoro struck with all three swords at once, shattering the arc. His blades carried on into Red, slicing through him with ease. Blood sprayed from three wounds and stained the ground red.

Zoro didn't look back at Red. He knew the man was dead. Instead, he looked up at Rubick and felt the weight of what came next.

"Hey, Rubick!"

Zoro took Wado Ichimonji from his mouth and shouted, trying to catch his attention.

It worked. Rubick descended.

"Heh, Zoro, did you see that? Did you see how strong I am?"

"Snap out of it! Don't let the urge to kill swallow you whole!"

"The urge to kill?"

Rubick stretched his mouth into a grin, baring his white teeth like a clown. He laughed wildly. "Ha! No need. I feel great!"

"You've lost your mind!"

Zoro took his Three-Sword Style stance. If he didn't stop Rubick now, the man might lose himself for good and become a mindless killer.

"I haven't lost my mind! They're the monsters! I'm going to kill every last one of them!"

Zoro said no more. He charged Rubick and struck him three times, catching him off guard.

Then Rubick's face twisted with rage. He pointed at Zoro and shouted, "You're taking their side and attacking me? Don't think I won't fight back!"

Rubick turned and rushed Zoro, swinging two cutlasses.

But Rubick had overestimated himself. Neither blade could touch so much as the hem of Zoro's clothes, while he couldn't fend off Zoro's attacks at all. After only a few exchanges, Zoro had struck him more than a dozen times.

If Zoro had known Haki, Rubick would already have been bleeding on the ground.

"What kind of Devil Fruit is this?" Zoro cursed. "Why is it so hard to deal with? Isn't there any way to stop him?"

Rubick laughed from above. "Finally realized how small you are? This is a Logia Devil Fruit! Your attacks are nothing but a clown act to me!"

Splash!

Rubick was still reveling in his triumph when a splash of cold seawater struck him. All the strength seemed to drain from his body at once. Unable to stay airborne, he fell helplessly to the ground.

One Pirate shouted, "The seawater's weakened him! Come on, boys, cut him down!"