Under Nami's direction, the White Pearl passed through the stretch of sea shrouded in storm clouds and reached land the next day.
With clear weather a rare treat, Norton emerged from the captain's cabin onto the deck and stretched lazily.
"What a shame. It's just an uninhabited island."
Before the White Pearl lay an island covered in lush jungle.
The terrain resembled a primeval forest. As far as the eye could see, there were only birds and an endless sea of green treetops. There was no smoke from cooking fires, which meant no one lived there.
Norton had originally planned to buy better weapons for the twelve pirates under his command after landing, then splurge at a tavern.
Now it seemed he wouldn't get the chance.
Still, having an island to land on and breathe some fresh air was always good.
There had been pirates who went mad from being cooped up at sea too long.
Norton knew one such story: a band of pirates had spent so long at sea without finding an island to land on that everyone aboard went insane.
A fisherman had told him the story, supposedly based on real events.
"Everyone, head ashore and get some fresh air! Meet back here this evening!" Norton told them.
"Sanosuke, go into the forest and bring back a few animals. Ones with tender meat. Can you manage that?" Norton then instructed Sanosuke.
"As you command!" Sanosuke accepted without hesitation.
Just then, Nami suddenly noticed something. "Hey! Norton! Look! There's a small boat over here!"
Norton looked in the direction Nami was pointing and spotted a small sailboat in a secluded bay.
The boat was concealed by thick branches and would have been impossible to spot without looking closely.
"Someone else landed on this island?" Funing paused in surprise. Most people wouldn't want to land on such a desolate island.
"Probably, but who knows if they're still alive," Nami said quietly, casting a wary glance into the island's interior.
This was clearly an island teeming with dangerous beasts, because she had heard a tiger roar!
"Anyway, just be careful. I'm not going any farther inland!" Nami said as she pitched a tent on the shore.
The shore was undoubtedly the safest place. If a beast attacked, they could return to the White Pearl immediately.
Most animals wouldn't dare approach a ship a hundred meters long.
They feared things much larger than themselves and instinctively avoided them. It was a survival instinct that ran in every animal's blood.
"Funing, what about you? Want to explore the island?" Norton looked at her.
Most of the crew had plunged into the forest, leaving only a few cooks and shipwrights to set up camp and light fires.
Norton didn't feel comfortable leaving Nami and Funing alone on the shore. The companions around him weren't trustworthy yet.
"I'll stay aboard too. That way, Nami will have some company," Funing said after a moment's thought.
For a noble young lady like Funing, everything on this uninhabited island was fascinating, but novelty often meant danger.
Funing wasn't afraid of danger, but she didn't want to cause Norton trouble.
Norton nodded.
Since neither Nami nor Funing intended to venture into the forest, he couldn't be bothered to go in either.
"Nami! Bring me my fishing rod! I'm going fishing!"
Meanwhile, Sanosuke had already passed through the outskirts of the forest and entered its quieter depths.
Gnarled old trees surrounded him, and tangled vines hung from the dense canopy. The air was damp and chilly.
Even sunlight is scarce here... Sanosuke thought.
Since entering the forest, he had already killed two wild beasts.
But Sanosuke wasn't satisfied.
Neither of them met Norton's requirement for "tender meat."
That was why Sanosuke had decided to look farther in.
Suddenly, Sanosuke heard the sounds of fighting in the silent forest.
His interest stirred, and he immediately stepped onto a tree trunk and approached stealthily.
After advancing roughly two hundred meters, Sanosuke reached the edge of the battlefield and saw a green-haired man fighting a fierce tiger!
The tiger stood a full three meters at the shoulder. Its eyes were blood-red, its appearance savage, and cloudy saliva hung from its fangs.
The sight alone would have frightened an ordinary person out of their wits.
Yet the green-haired man remained perfectly composed.
Something else caught Sanosuke's attention: the green-haired man was a swordsman who used three swords!
He held one in each hand and clenched another between his teeth, his eyes as vicious as a demonic beast's.
This man is not to be underestimated! Sanosuke told himself. As a ninja, the most important rule was never to underestimate anyone!
Zoro hadn't noticed the ninja concealed in a nearby tree. At present, only Norton could see through Sanosuke's stealth techniques.
All of Zoro's attention was focused on the tiger before him, his muscles taut as iron.
Man and tiger remained locked in a standoff among the trees.
At last, the tiger could no longer restrain its killing intent and lunged at Zoro with a roar!
The instant the savage tiger pounced, Zoro's gaze turned cold, and all three swords slashed at once!
"Three Sword Style: Oni Giri!"
Keen arcs of steel sliced through the air.
Then the gleaming blades cut into the tiger's body!
A moment later, a massive gash opened across the tiger's body! Red blood blossomed like a flower!
The tiger's enormous body crashed to the ground.
Zoro sheathed the swords in his hands and removed the Wado Ichimonji from his mouth. He plucked a leaf to wipe away its blood before carefully returning it to its sheath.
"Looks like there's nothing left on this island that can fight me," Zoro murmured, looking at the tiger's corpse.
Lately, Zoro had felt that his swordsmanship had reached a bottleneck. Though he still trained every day, his gains were negligible.
"If only it had been a little stronger. I want to face stronger enemies! Preferably a swordsman!"
He was about to turn and leave when he saw someone dressed as a ninja drop from the shadows of the canopy overhead. He stopped in his tracks.
"Huh? Where did you come from?" Zoro was somewhat startled.
Anyone who could approach him without his noticing was definitely an expert!
After revealing himself, Sanosuke paid Zoro no attention and walked straight toward the tiger's corpse.
This tiger's meat looks quite tender. It should meet my master's requirements, Sanosuke thought.
Seeing Sanosuke ignore him completely and drag away the tiger's corpse, Zoro's forehead twitched.
"Hey! You bastard! That's my prey!"
Sanosuke glanced back at Zoro indifferently. "Didn't you want to leave it?"
"Leaving it doesn't mean you get to take it!" Zoro glared fiercely at Sanosuke, ready to draw his swords at the slightest provocation.
Sanosuke set the tiger down and sighed.
"I hadn't intended to fight, but it seems I'll have to kill you now. My master wants this meat. I cannot let you have it," Sanosuke said.
"Then try it, if you think you can!" Zoro drew a sword and pointed it at Sanosuke.
The two stared each other down, the air thick with tension.
After a brief silence, Sanosuke struck without hesitation, throwing a kunai!
The kunai shot forward as if merging with the shadows, leaving only a fleeting flash of cold light in the air.
Clang!
A crisp ring of steel sounded.
Zoro's sword had struck the incoming kunai!
The deflected kunai flew back even faster. Sanosuke dodged sideways, and it buried itself deep in a tree trunk.
"Fast reflexes," Sanosuke said coldly as he pulled out the kunai.
"You're not bad yourself!" Zoro licked his lips.
Though he wasn't a swordsman, he was strong enough to make a worthy opponent!
Zoro felt his blood begin to boil, excitement surging through him as his fighting spirit soared.
Compared with the fired-up Zoro, Sanosuke seemed decidedly cold-blooded.
If Zoro was a demonic beast, Sanosuke was a venomous snake lurking in the dark.
A ninja fought from the shadows against an exposed enemy, killing with a single strike!
With no intention of meeting Zoro head-on, Sanosuke slowly retreated, his body disappearing into the shade.
Zoro was shocked to discover that Sanosuke had vanished completely from view!
The already dark forest now seemed even gloomier, danger lurking everywhere.
Where will he strike from? Zoro narrowed his eyes, scanning his surroundings.
Whoosh!
The faint sound of something slicing through the air made Zoro's pupils dilate!
Behind me!
Relying on his instinctive sense of danger, Zoro abruptly crouched. Then he saw a tree so thick it would take several people to encircle it silently split apart before him, its cut surface smooth as a mirror!
The next instant, Zoro turned, sweeping both swords through the air behind him.
Unfortunately, fast as his counterattack was, it still failed to hit his enemy.
After his failed strike, Sanosuke had already slipped back into the shadows!
A battlefield this dim gave a skilled ninja like Sanosuke a natural advantage.
Unless he revealed himself, his enemy could never pinpoint his position and could only wait for him to attack!
That meant Sanosuke would always hold the initiative.
Whether to attack or retreat was entirely his decision!
Zoro clearly realized this. To avoid being attacked from both front and rear, he immediately rolled several times at tremendous speed after his missed strike and took cover beside a thick tree.
At the same time, all three swords were drawn once more!
The moment he clenched the Wado Ichimonji between his teeth, Zoro steadied himself.
He had already sworn that he would never lose to anyone again!
Not only would he never lose, he would keep winning until his name resounded through heaven!
Sanosuke's kunai struck again from the darkness.
Zoro took his stance and slashed with all three swords at once!
Clang!
Sparks flashed briefly as Zoro's Wado Ichimonji struck Sanosuke's kunai!
Sanosuke had chosen an exceptionally tricky angle of attack, running along the tree trunk to approach the top of Zoro's head from above!
Had the Wado Ichimonji failed to intercept the kunai, Zoro's head would have been pierced in an instant.
"Tch." Sanosuke clicked his tongue in displeasure and prepared to retreat into the darkness again.
Zoro gave him no such chance! Like a man falling off a cliff clutching his last lifeline, he chased Sanosuke with a frenzy of slashes!
Sanosuke retreated up the trunk toward the canopy. Zoro swung his arms, climbing by driving his two swords into the trunk while slashing at Sanosuke with the Wado Ichimonji clenched in his mouth.
Sanosuke had no choice but to retreat while parrying with his kunai, and the two fought their way into the canopy!
Zoro had seized the instant Sanosuke attacked to lock onto his position, and now refused to let him escape!
Trading blows, the two plunged one after the other into the dense canopy.
Their surroundings grew even darker!
The change in light gave Sanosuke a moment to breathe and made Zoro lose sight of his target!
He swung his three swords like a madman, but Sanosuke had already performed several backflips and retreated deeper into the shadows. All Zoro's frenzied slashes cut were leaves and vines.
"Bastard! Come out! What kind of man hides like this?!" Zoro shouted furiously, panting.
But Sanosuke had no intention of revealing himself. No amount of abuse from Zoro could shake him.
He was a professional ninja and wouldn't let his emotions fluctuate in battle.
Even if they did, he wouldn't allow them to expose a weakness.
I just need to wait patiently. Hotheaded fools like this are the easiest to deal with, Sanosuke thought.
But to Sanosuke's surprise, Zoro quickly calmed down after shouting. Although furious, he could still control his emotions.
Still, to Sanosuke, the way he scanned his surroundings with bloodshot eyes and murderous intent was like a volcano holding back an eruption.
Just as the battle reached a stalemate, something unexpected happened.
Sanosuke felt his footing slip and lost his balance!
The section of branch beneath his feet suddenly snapped!
Damn this rotten luck! Why did it have to strike now?!
With his foothold gone, Sanosuke fell from the canopy. Though he quickly steadied himself and grabbed a vine to stop his fall, Zoro had locked onto his position again!
"Three Sword Style: Oni Giri!"
The swords in his hands crossed, and the slash that had killed the tiger struck again!
Boom!
Dust billowed and dirt flew as the thick trunk split in two, its heavy crown crashing to the ground.
Sanosuke flipped and landed, then looked down at his chest.
His black stealth suit had been sliced open without his noticing. Bright red blood flowed from the wound. Another two centimeters, and the blade would have reached his heart!
He really is a dangerous man, Sanosuke thought.
He looked up and saw Zoro untie a dark green bandanna from his shoulder and fasten it around his head.
He was still the same man, yet Sanosuke could clearly feel a change in Zoro's presence!
If Zoro had been a savage demonic beast before, now that beast had truly bared its fangs!
"All this trouble just to bring back some meat!" Sanosuke's gaze grew serious as well. He tore the Ninja Headband from his forehead and drew the Ninja Sword at his waist!
Back by the shore, Norton's ears twitched as he sat fishing on the White Pearl's rail.
"Hm?"
"What's wrong?" Nami, who sat nearby swinging her legs and studying a nautical chart, noticed the change in Norton's expression.
"I found something interesting. Watch my line for me. I'll be right back." Norton smiled and handed Nami his fishing rod.
"What happened?!" Nami complained as she took the rod.
"Sanosuke seems to have met his match. He's having a tough fight. His opponent is probably the owner of that boat you spotted." Leaving her with those words, Norton vanished in a flash.