And now the Going Merry's deck was so high that unless it was Sea Kings, it would be impossible to pose any threat to the people on the deck.
"What's mine is mine. If I don't give it, no one can take it," Rosen said. "So I accept your challenge."
"Ha... The Old Man is right. If I don't give it, you can't take it."
Rosen came in front of Zoro and hooked his finger: "Come on, green-haired head, let this battle today decide who the First Mate is."
Zoro took a deep breath and drew his three swords.
Rosen, meanwhile, held Chiu Chiu and smiled at Zoro.
"Put Chiu Chiu down."
"To deal with you, I don't need to be that serious." Rosen's tone was full of contempt.
"Arrogant Old Man!" Zoro shouted.
Three Sword Style: Cut: Demon Slash!
Zoro's Aura transformed into a fierce yaksha behind him.
But before Zoro could make his move, the Aura around him suddenly froze, and he remained in his attacking posture.
Rosen glanced at Zoro, then turned and walked away.
"Hey, hey, Old Man, why aren't you fighting anymore?"
"It's already over," Rosen said.
Luffy tilted his head, looked at Rosen, then looked at Zoro.
"But he hasn't fallen yet," Luffy said.
"Oh... Do you want me to knock him down?"
"Of course, this is a sacred duel."
"Alright." Rosen put Chiu Chiu down and then came in front of Zoro.
"Zoro, Boss, what's wrong with you? Wake up!"
"Old Man, what did you do to Zoro, Big Brother?"
Johnny and Joseph were extremely anxious, but Zoro remained in his attacking posture, without moving.
Rosen extended one foot and hooked Zoro to the ground.
Even when Zoro fell to the ground, he maintained the same posture.
Rosen looked at Luffy: "Do I count as having won now?"
"Zoro, if you don't react soon, then I'll have to declare the Old Man the winner." Luffy reminded him, "It looks like the Old Man won."
Rosen snapped his fingers, and Zoro immediately woke up.
"What happened to me just now? Did I fall asleep?" Zoro shook his head, feeling a bit groggy. "Old Man, let's continue our duel from just now."
"Zoro, you've already lost," Luffy said.
"What do you mean I've already lost? I don't admit it!" Zoro immediately denied. "We haven't even fought yet."
"Big Brother, what happened to you just now? You suddenly froze in place, not moving at all."
"Yeah, yeah, Big Brother, did you fall under some kind of spell?"
Zoro was completely unable to understand or accept what had just happened.
"I don't accept it, Old Man. I want you to fight me fair and square; don't play those boring tricks."
"So, if on the battlefield, you fall for this boring trick of mine, you'd still want me to fight you fairly?" Rosen turned to look at Luffy: "Captain, you decide."
"I think the Old Man is right. There's no such thing as fairness on the battlefield. Although I don't know how the Old Man did it, a loss is a loss, Zoro. This isn't the kind of realization a strong person should have."
Zoro deflated like a punctured ball. He knew, of course, that if they had met on a battlefield, he would have died eight hundred times over.
But he was just unwilling to accept it, after all, this was completely different from the duel he had expected.
"Old Man, how exactly did you manage to make Zoro freeze in place for so long?" Luffy asked curiously.
"Actually, I'm a Devil Fruit user of the Illusion-Illusion Fruit. I can make people fall into illusions," Rosen said.
"Eh... It's like that again. Last time you said you were a Devil Fruit user of the Prophecy-Prophecy Fruit."
"I didn't say that."
"You did."
"I didn't say that."
"Alright, last time I was lying to you, this time I'm serious."
"Then show me an illusion. I've never seen an illusion before."
"Are you sure?" Rosen looked at Luffy ominously.
Luffy suddenly felt a chill, but his curiosity was especially strong.
"Zoro, what did it feel like to be caught in an illusion just now?"
"A bit dizzy, but when I was in the illusion, I didn't feel anything." Zoro answered truthfully.
"Is that so? Then I'm fine. Old Man, come on, let me see your illusion."
"In that case, I can only satisfy you." Rosen's gaze sharpened, and then his pupils began to change: One-Tomoe, Two-Tomoe, Three-Tomoe, Mangekyo!
At this moment, everyone saw the changes in Rosen's pupils.
Mangekyo: Tsukuyomi Space!
The next moment, Luffy appeared within the Tsukuyomi Space.
At the same time, he found himself tied to a cross, and no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free.
Then, he saw Rosen holding a short knife, beginning to slice off his flesh piece by piece.
One second later, Luffy suddenly fell to the ground, curled up in a ball, letting out painful screams from his mouth: "Ahhh..."
Hearing Luffy's screams, everyone couldn't help but change color.
"Luffy, are you alright?" Zoro asked with concern.
He didn't understand why the difference between himself and Luffy was so great.
Luffy was covered in cold sweat, trembling continuously.
"Old Man, what's wrong with Luffy?"
"Nothing, I just let him enjoy a rather amazing experience."
"What kind of experience?"
"Trapping him in an illusion, and then for three days and three nights, I kept cutting off his flesh."
Hiss—
Everyone present gasped.
What kind of torture was this? Luffy hadn't gone mad.
"Captain, do you want to experience it again? I can extend the time."
Luffy suddenly jumped up and then fled into the cabin: "No, no... I never want to experience that again."
Rosen looked at the others: "What about you? Do you want to try it once?"
Everyone recoiled simultaneously. Rosen then looked at Zoro and said, "Experiencing it once can enhance your Observation Haki."
Zoro's expression shifted: "Does it really have that effect?"
"Of course, if it doesn't, then it must be that the experience duration wasn't long enough." Rosen activated Tsukuyomi Space on Zoro again.
After a second, Zoro also screamed and fell to the ground.
He felt intense pain all over his body; the feeling of being cut into a thousand pieces was simply too agonizing.
Luffy's head poked out from the cabin. Seeing Zoro's miserable state, he immediately felt much more balanced: "Haha... This idiot, he also experienced that pain, haha..."
Indeed, happiness and pain can both be shared.
Luffy truly had a thick skin. After being tormented by Tsukuyomi Space for three days and three nights, he had already recovered in such a short time.
"Old Man, what's wrong with your eyes?"
"This is the physical change brought about by the Illusion-Illusion Fruit," Rosen said. "As long as you make eye contact with me, you will be pulled into an illusion."
"So, as long as we don't make eye contact with you, we'll be fine?"
"That's right." Rosen nodded.
Hearing this, Zoro suddenly jumped up: "Old Man, I want to fight you again!"
As long as I avoid Rosen's eyes, I'll be fine! Haha... Why didn't I think of that? Rosen regained his high spirits.
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