...
On the light screen, the natural disaster-level tornadoes stirred up by the azure dragon Kaido ravaged the battlefield. Sand and stones flew, blocking out the sky and sun.
Even Zoro, who was barely carrying the unconscious Luffy while trying to find cover, was swept up by the violent air currents and could barely keep his footing.
Kaido's target was clearly the defenseless, unconscious Luffy!
His massive dragon eyes locked onto that tiny figure. His dragon mouth slightly opened as he lunged forward with a devouring momentum toward Zoro and Luffy!
He intended to completely crush this straw hat brat who had repeatedly challenged his authority and even once "shot him down," along with his swordsman!
"Luffy!!"
Seeing the ferocious dragon mouth about to close, Zoro's eyes nearly burst from their sockets!
A powerful sense of crisis and the will to protect his comrade erupted in his chest like a volcano!
He let out a furious roar. His feet suddenly pushed down with force. His muscles bulged as he forcefully stabilized himself in the violent turbulence!
His three swords — Wado Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, and Enma — were all drawn at once!
The blades hummed, as if sensing their "master's" burning will.
At this moment, Zoro's aura became extremely strange and powerful.
A murderous and Asura-like killing intent rose around him. It was a refined mixture of dual-color Haki and a faint, yet heart-palpitating dark "demonic aura"!
The three auras intertwined and clashed with each other, yet under his forceful control, they madly converged toward Enma in his hand!
Enma's blade began to tremble violently!
It was like a greedy beast of prey, actively and fiercely "devouring" all the power Zoro was channeling into it!
Killing intent, Haki, and demonic aura were forcibly compressed and refined within its sinister blade!
Hum!!!
A strange sword cry echoed across the battlefield!
The sinister glow on Enma's blade suddenly became incomparably intense!
Even more astonishingly, an indescribable power seemed to awaken and be drawn out from deep within Enma!
In the sky, the moment Enma released this power, Kaido's massive dragon eyes suddenly narrowed. For the first time, clear shock and doubt appeared on his face!
That aura... once again gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity. It felt as though he had touched a scar deep in his memories that he did not wish to recall!
Just as Kaido was momentarily distracted by this familiar aura...
"ROAR!!!"
The intense purple glow on Enma's blade actually detached from the sword and shot into the sky. In mid-air, it rapidly condensed and took shape!
In the end, it formed a lifelike purple energy dragon — not a physical body, yet vivid and real!
It coiled and roared, glaring at the true azure dragon in the sky. Although vastly different in size, its aura was in no way inferior!
"This is...?!"
The shock and doubt in Kaido's dragon eyes quickly turned into realization, followed by even deeper rage and a trace of barely perceptible... wariness?
He no longer looked at the energy purple dragon. His gaze locked firmly onto Enma in Zoro's hand. His voice rumbled like thunder: "That sword... Hmph! So it really is Oden's sword! No wonder it carries this familiar aura!"
Kaido had finally confirmed it!
That familiar, stinging power...
Came from Kozuki Oden — the man who, many years ago, had left the only indelible scar on his body!
"Santoryu: Black Rope Great Dragon Twister!!"
Zoro paid no attention to Kaido's muttering. He did not hesitate for even a moment!
In his eyes, there was only burning fighting spirit and the determination to protect.
With the support of the purple energy dragon, he poured all the power he had awakened and all of his resolve into the three swords in his hands!
His body suddenly spun!
The three swords traced profound trajectories...
This time, it was no longer a simple slash. He had turned himself into the core of a storm!
"BOOM!!!"
Unprecedentedly massive tornadoes erupted with Zoro at their center!
These tornadoes were not naturally formed. They were the ultimate fusion of his swordsmanship, Haki, will, and the power of Enma!
They rose against the natural disaster tornadoes created by Kaido, fiercely charging upward to meet them!
Zoro was actually trying to use his own "dragon twister" to oppose the "natural disaster dragon twister" stirred up by the azure dragon!
"Overestimating yourself!"
Kaido snorted angrily. His dragon body spiraled faster, and the cyan tornadoes around him became even more violent.
BOOM!!!
Two tornadoes of completely different natures, yet both containing destructive power, violently collided atop Oni Island!
Ear-piercing friction sounds and deafening explosions of mutual annihilation rang out!
The shockwaves pushed everything around them outward...
However, to the shock of Kaido and everyone else, Zoro's purple-black swordsmanship dragon twister was not instantly destroyed by the azure dragon's natural disaster tornado!
That whirlwind acted like the sharpest drill, stubbornly cutting in and tearing at the edges of the cyan tornado!
With the roaring of the energy purple dragon and Enma's targeted enhancement, Zoro's dragon twister actually managed to tear open a bloody crack in the seemingly indestructible scales and airflow defense around Kaido!
"Shhhrrrip!!!"
The sound of a blade piercing flesh was clearly audible!
A savage, blood-spurting wound appeared on the body of the dragon that was known as the "strongest creature"!
"URGH!!!"
Kaido let out a dragon's roar mixed with pain and rage!
This was the second time in this battle that he had suffered substantial, bleeding damage!
The first time was when Luffy's Hellfire Fist Gun shot him down. This time, he had been cut through his defenses by Zoro's Enma!
The intense pain caused Kaido's massive body to tremble violently. His spiraling movements became slightly disordered. His dragon mouth opened involuntarily and "spat out" the unconscious Luffy he had been holding.
Zoro's eyes were sharp and his hands quick. Enduring his depleted weakness, he rushed forward in one step and caught Luffy again. He staggered backward to create distance.
"How... can this be?!"
Charlotte Linlin in the sky witnessed Kaido being injured and spitting blood once more. Her massive face was filled with disbelief.
She stared at Enma in Zoro's hand, which was still surrounded by purple light. Her gaze became extremely grave: "That sword... can actually injure Kaido?!"
She knew how abnormal Kaido's defense was, yet that seemingly sinister sword had actually succeeded!
Was it because it had once belonged to Oden? Or because it itself possessed some special ability...
Outside God Valley, everyone watching the light screen was also deeply shocked by this scene.
"Kaido... got injured again! And it was that green-haired swordsman who cut him!"
"That sword! It's called Enma, right? The light screen said earlier that it was a relic of the Wano samurai Kozuki Oden!"
"Roronoa Zoro... Is this guy really just aiming to become the 'World's Strongest Swordsman'? He can actually injure a Yonko!"
"Did you notice? Earlier in Wano, that old man called Leopard Goro seemed to mistake Zoro for someone else... Could Zoro really have some connection to Wano?"
Everyone discussed animatedly, showing great interest in Zoro and his sword.
Especially the peculiar power Enma had displayed — the ability to break through Kaido's defenses — caused many powerhouses to feel a secret chill in their hearts.
Gaban pushed up his glasses and looked at the green-haired swordsman on the light screen who was tightly gripping his sword while protecting Luffy. A look of approval appeared in his eyes: "This kid... has a lot of potential."
"I remember his goal is to become the 'World's Strongest Swordsman'? If he can truly master that sword, along with the mixed aura he possesses... he will definitely have a place on the top stage in the future."
As he spoke, his gaze unconsciously drifted toward his old friend Rayleigh beside him.
In a sense, Luffy and Roger were very similar — both were the type of "sun" who led their teams through pure conviction and charisma.
Meanwhile, Zoro and Rayleigh were more like the most reliable "foundation" and "blade" of the team. At critical moments, they could always step forward and solve the most troublesome problems...
Rayleigh heard Gaban's words and smiled slightly. He did not respond to Gaban's teasing. He simply looked at Zoro on the light screen and slowly nodded. However, there seemed to be a trace of another emotion in his eyes.
"Not bad. His will, swordsmanship, and compatibility with the sword are all top-class. That mixed aura he erupted with at the critical moment earlier, although chaotic, was incredibly powerful. But..."
As he said this, Rayleigh suddenly paused. His gaze became somewhat sharp, as if trying to see through Zoro's essence. "Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to understand what he truly possesses."
Rayleigh pointed at Zoro's hand gripping the sword on the light screen, as well as the chaotic yet abnormally powerful aura around him. "Look carefully. It's happened several times now, especially when he goes all out and his emotions are extremely agitated..."
"That sense of 'intimidation' that surpasses killing intent and Haki, faintly trying to dominate everything... Although it's very weak and is being masked by his own swordsmanship will and the demonic sword's aura, it is clearly..."
"The qualifications for Conqueror's Haki!" Gaban finished the sentence with certainty.
Rayleigh nodded. "That's right. This kid possesses the potential to become a 'king,' but he seems completely unaware of it. Or rather, he doesn't know how to actively sense, guide, and control this power."
"If he continues to be unable to recognize and master this innate power, then in the future, when he faces opponents who also possess top-tier Conqueror's Haki and can use it perfectly..."
Rayleigh did not finish speaking, but his meaning was clear. He might suffer a great loss, or it could even become the biggest obstacle to him reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
...