"What do you mean by 'ambush'? Can't you speak properly? Since we agreed beforehand that Brook and I would take you down together, does what I did count as an ambush?"
"You Moss Head, your strength hasn't improved much in the past six months, but your ability to twist the truth has certainly grown!"
A deep, booming sound came from above Zoro's head, causing his face to darken and his tone to become unfriendly as he said:
"Looks like you haven't been scared by me after all these past six months. In that case, today I'll teach you how to respect someone with a bounty several times yours!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zoro exerted force with both arms, easily repelling Usopp's huge tiger claw.
Then he struck a pose and said, word by word:
" The Three-Sword Style Secret Technique, the Rengoku Onigiri!"
Several flashes of light appeared, and the next second, several huge wounds suddenly appeared on Usopp's giant tiger leg, blood splattering everywhere.
The White Tiger that Usopp had transformed into was also sent flying by this attack, landing on the ground some distance away and kicking up clouds of dust.
Usopp!
Brook shouted, then hurriedly ran towards Usopp's direction.
"Cough cough! Brook, I'm fine!"
Usopp's voice came from the smoke and dust, and then he slowly walked out of it.
Usopp had now returned to human form, but the wounds on his arms were now very noticeable, with blood constantly seeping from them.
"Hiss!"
Because of the excessive movement, Usopp accidentally aggravated his wound, causing him to gasp in pain!
(⊙o⊙)...
" Usopp, you... you don't look alright!" Brook said, a little embarrassed. Even though he's a skeleton and doesn't sweat...
Is this the legendary master of verbal sparring?
Even though her arm was bleeding and she was in excruciating pain, she would still say...
"It's okay! I'm really fine! Don't be fooled by the bleeding; it's just a superficial injury, it won't cause any problems!"
Usopp said this with a smirk, seemingly quite calm, but immediately started swearing.
" Zoro, are you trying to kill me? You're so reckless!"
"Didn't you say my skills haven't improved much? Well, I'm going to show you just how good I really am, and then you can give me some pointers!"
Zoro walked slowly toward them from a short distance away, speaking calmly as he did so.
Upon seeing Zoro, both of them tensed up and simultaneously assumed attack stances, their gazes towards Zoro extremely serious.
They have fought Zoro countless times in the past six months, so they are very clear about Zoro's strength.
Saying that his skills haven't improved much in the past six months is pure nonsense; it's just for mockery.
The truth is that Zoro is incredibly strong. Even though it was a two-on-one fight every time, Zoro always ended up losing!
Without exception, they have never won against Zoro in the past six months!
But whether or not you can win is one thing; whether or not you should fight is another!
The idioms "repeatedly defeated but still fighting" and "repeatedly fighting but still losing" have very different meanings!
Without hesitation, as if by telepathy, the two charged towards Zoro simultaneously...
--
On the other side of the island.
There, two people were also engaged in a back-and-forth battle.
You throw a punch, I kick; each collision unleashes a powerful impact, leaving the surrounding ground shattered and broken.
Not far from where the two were fighting, an old man with a full head of white hair and wearing glasses was drinking a little wine, glancing at the two from time to time.
" Gomu Gomu..."
" Diable Jambe..."
"Bang!"
Fists and feet clashed, and a dull thud resounded. Immediately afterwards, an incredibly powerful shockwave spread outwards like a halo.
The trees in the distance rustled in the blast of air, some even bending over halfway down, as if they were about to be lifted into the air at any moment.
The two attacks remained locked in a stalemate for a full ten seconds. After this exchange, both of them were simultaneously thrown backward a short distance.
After the two had steadied themselves, one of them looked at the other and said:
" Luffy, you've gotten even stronger!"
Feeling the throbbing pain in his right foot, Sanji looked at Luffy with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
He hadn't expected that Luffy's strength would increase so much in just one week since their last encounter.
As time went on, Sanji could clearly feel that he was becoming less and less of a match for Luffy.
He was finding it increasingly difficult to fight Luffy. Although he hadn't used his true strength in the previous battle, Luffy was in the same boat.
Moreover, he knows that Luffy has other, even more powerful moves, and if those moves were used on him, he would be in big trouble!
However, there was nothing he could do about this situation, because Luffy would become stronger much faster than him, given the same amount of time and effort.
Perhaps this is a matter of aptitude? Some people are just born with a natural ability to become stronger than others?
Like Xia Chen? This idea only existed in Sanji's mind for a moment before he immediately rejected it.
Luffy's rate of becoming stronger is indeed fast, but it is still within his acceptable range.
And that guy Xia Chen...
I'm sorry, he's not human!
He had truly never seen Xia Chen grow stronger at such an unbelievable speed; it was beyond the realm of humans, and there was absolutely no need to compare himself to him!
Sanji wiggled his aching legs and slowly pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.
"Thud!"
"Whoa~"
Sanji took a drag of smoke into his lungs, a look of immense pleasure spreading across his face. He then slowly turned his head and walked in a certain direction, saying as he spoke:
"Uncle Rayleigh, it's a new guy! Beat the shit out of him!"
"Hmm?" Rayleigh, who was drinking in the distance, was a little puzzled by Sanji's words and asked curiously:
"What, Sanji, aren't you going to fight a little longer?"
" Luffy has made another breakthrough, and he's definitely eager to know his current strength level! But I'm not capable of testing his full power!"
"So, Uncle Rayleigh, you should just come directly!" Sanji said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Rayleigh first glanced at Sanji, then at Luffy, who was looking excited not far away, and sighed helplessly.
"Sigh, I'm so old and I still have to work overtime every day. I'm getting old and just like an old hag!"
As Rayleigh spoke, he slowly stood up, downed his drink in one gulp, and walked slowly toward Luffy.
Luffy, seeing Rayleigh arrive, also showed an excited expression and said with a smile:
"Uncle Rayleigh, I've recently developed a new move, and I'd like to show it to you!"
"Really? Well, I'm kind of looking forward to it then~" Rayleigh said with a faint smile.
You'll see it soon!
After saying that, Luffy put his finger in his mouth; he had no intention of taking his time.
Having fought Rayleigh so many times, Rayleigh already knew his strength inside and out, so he could simply show his strongest side.
Just as Luffy was about to use his new technique...
"Boom!!"