"Zoro, I like you."
Hearing Kuina's undisguised confession, Zoro was stunned.
He thought he had misheard. "Y-you said what?!"
"I said, I! Like! You! Zo! Ro!"
Zoro froze, disbelief written all over his face.
She was the girl he had adored as a child, an unreachable dream.
But by now, they had not seen each other for more than ten years.
Where could love like that even come from?
Besides, he still had not accepted the fact that the person before him was Kuina.
Naturally, Kuina knew what Zoro was thinking at that moment.
She looked around. Smoke filled the battlefield, and the smell of blood was everywhere.
Clearly, this was neither the time nor the place to talk.
Besides, she might not finish everything she wanted to tell Zoro in two hours, a day, a year, or even a lifetime.
Once they ended this war, they would have plenty of time to talk.
She waved a hand in front of Zoro's eyes. "Zoro, I'll explain later. Let's deal with the enemies in front of us first."
Though Zoro still had his doubts, he understood the bigger picture.
He knew what was most urgent right now.
Forcing his heart back down from his throat, he swayed as he slowly walked toward the square.
Seeing this, Kuina could not help furrowing her delicate brows.
She hurriedly reached out and caught Zoro's hand.
Concern filled her face. "Zoro, your stamina and Haki are almost completely depleted. You can't keep going. Stay here and rest."
At her words, Zoro could not help looking back.
His expression was utterly resolute.
"Who says I can't? I'm still plenty strong!"
"Don't you have nothing left, not even a drop?" Kuina looked at Zoro in confusion.
Under his Observation Haki perception, Zoro's presence was already extremely weak.