Zoro: You're Strong. Let's Have a Duel!

Word came later that the Moss Head had been gravely wounded by Don Krieg after slaying dozens of pirates, and his whereabouts were now unknown.

Good grief, wasn't that Zoro?

How had Boss Zoro ended up facing Don Krieg?

Could this be another butterfly effect caused by his transmigration?

Just as Ivan was pondering this, an urgent cry from a marine suddenly came from outside the cabin. "Major Ivan, there are people in the water!"

He immediately strode out of the cabin and went to the edge of the deck.

Out on the distant sea, three men were clinging tightly to a piece of broken timber, swimming toward the warship with all their might.

Two of them were also waving their arms as hard as they could and shouting, "Help! Mr. Marine, help us!"

Ivan's gaze fell involuntarily on the only one of the three who wasn't calling for help.

That distinctive moss-green head of hair stood out, and even in such desperate straits, his expression remained resolute.

Speak of the devil.

A short while later, the three of them stood before Ivan on the deck, dressed in clean marine uniforms.

Johnny, who wore sunglasses, and Yosaku, who wore a green coat, immediately bowed ninety degrees, their voices full of gratitude:

"Thank you so much, Major Ivan! If you hadn't saved us, we definitely would have died at sea today!"

Ivan smiled faintly and waved a hand. "No need to thank me. Saving lives and helping the injured is a marine's duty. But you, young man, you've been staring at me this whole time. Is something the matter?"

Ever since Zoro had come aboard and seen Ivan, he hadn't taken his eyes off him. His gaze was full of eagerness to have a go.

Only then did Johnny and Yosaku notice their boss's unusual behavior, and their faces abruptly changed.

They hurried forward to stop him, their voices almost tearful. "Boss Zoro, don't!"

But Zoro clearly had no intention of listening to them.

He took a step forward, staring intently at the long sword at Ivan's waist, and said excitedly:

"I can tell you're a powerful swordsman. Are you free? Let's have a duel!"

The worst had finally happened. Johnny and Yosaku wore mournful expressions.

"We're done for, we're done for! Boss Zoro's up to his old tricks again, and this time he's actually dared to challenge a marine major.

That's Blood Butcher · White Dove! He won't get angry and throw the three of us into the sea to feed the fish, will he?"

Ivan heard every word of their whispers, and dark lines immediately appeared on his forehead.

Although he killed people, set fires, slaughtered pirates, and was known to the world as Blood Butcher · White Dove, he really was a good person.

How could a good person kill people on a whim?

Suppressing the helpless feeling that left him unsure whether to laugh or cry, Ivan paid no further attention to the two trembling underlings.

He walked slowly up to Zoro, his tone somewhat teasing.

"A duel? Oh, pitiful weakling. If you were truly a first-rate swordsman, you should be able to see the gap between our strength even without crossing swords.

To dare draw your blade against me, should I call you courageous, or is it simply ignorance?"

Faced with Ivan's mockery, Zoro wasn't angry in the slightest. He gritted his teeth, his eyes full of excitement.

"It's because of my ambition, and because of a promise I made to a dear friend!"

The surrounding marines noticed the tense scene, but they weren't nervous at all.

In their minds, Boss Ivan would surely deal with the so-called Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro, with ease!

Among them, Tashigi's gaze was fixed on the sword in Zoro's hand, her face alight with intense excitement.

"That sword... could it be the Wado Ichimonji? Oh my, it's one of the Twenty-One Great Grade Swords! The swordsman who possesses it must be strong.

What sparks will fly when Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro fights Major Ivan?"

Tashigi could hardly wait to see.

Johnny and Yosaku realized that Ivan and the others were different from other marines, that they were mild-tempered and had no intention of throwing them into the sea to feed the fish, and gradually returned to their usual selves.

Johnny cheered Zoro on. "Come on, Boss! Nobody can beat you!"

Yosaku shouted, "That's right! Boss is the strongest!"

But the marines took exception to their words, and the two sides began arguing.

"Shut up! Major Ivan is the strongest!"

"Huh? What did you say? Boss Zoro is the strongest!"

Ivan was long accustomed to the passionate nature of people in the pirate world. Ignoring the two men squaring off, he simply turned to Nami and held out his hand. "In that case, Nami, lend me your fruit knife."

Sorry, Hawk Eyes.

I'm going to steal your classic moment.

At the thought of Hawk Eyes one day saying the exact same words to Zoro, Ivan looked forward to seeing how Zoro would react.

Nami was baffled and didn't understand what he wanted a fruit knife for, but she handed him the one she was holding all the same.

Zoro had watched it all, and he was a little angry. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

Ivan gripped the little fruit knife and said matter-of-factly:

"Unlike a foolish beast that uses all its strength to hunt a rabbit, even though you're a somewhat famous swordsman, you still aren't qualified to face me..."

Ivan tilted his head back slightly and gave a punchable smile. "So, unfortunately, I don't have a knife any smaller than this!"

Zoro was thoroughly enraged. Clenching the Wado Ichimonji between his teeth, he roared, "There's a limit to how much you can look down on someone! Don't wait until you're dead to regret it!"

He pushed off hard, gripped the two swords in his hands, and charged at Ivan!

Ivan remained unhurried. With a slight exertion of force, he covered the fruit knife in an azure glow. "Frog at the bottom of a well, come and see how vast the world is!"

At that moment, Zoro finally reached Ivan and shouted, "Three Sword Style: Oni Giri!"

The three swords slashed at Ivan from different directions and tricky angles.

With a clash of metal, all three swords suddenly stopped at once!

Ivan had extended his arm, placing the tip of his fruit knife exactly where the three blades met.

At that point, he had blocked all three attacks at once. No matter how hard Zoro pushed, the three swords couldn't move another inch.

"What?" Everyone stared at the scene in shock. Johnny and Yosaku looked especially incredulous. "That's impossible! Boss Zoro's Oni Giri was blocked? That's a special move that sends an enemy flying every single time he uses it!"

It wasn't just his two underlings-even Zoro could hardly believe it.

He roared inwardly, How is that possible? Is the gap between me and this guy really so huge? No, how could there be such a huge gap in this world?

He then swung all three swords with all his might, attacking Ivan, but Ivan easily blocked every strike.

Soon, Zoro had used up all his strength. Unable to swing his swords any longer, he fell heavily to the ground, gasping for breath.

Ivan also knew it was time to end this farce. He praised him, saying, "Impressive willpower, but for the vast majority of people, willpower can't bring strength. It's time to end this farce!"

With that, Ivan turned and left.