Cuts and Crosses.

Roronoa Zoro looked up at Gol. D. Roger. There was a yearning in his eyes, trying to convey his message by any means. Roger leaned downwards, kneeling down on one knee, and took his ears close to Zoro’s mouth, knowing that no hostile act could be done at his present condition(except biting his ear, lmao).Zoro, summoning all of his might, struggled out these few words, broken phrases which were hard to understand, if not listened to with care. “I am… a m…member of a pirate group… of your son’s brother…” Now Roger’s confusion had risen to a never before extent. He did have a son, yes… The one in the newspaper who was stated to get executed. But he was Roger’s only child, Ace had no brother. Could this man lying down possibly have some confusion to who Roger was, and had mistaken him for someone else?Now, Zoro, having noticed that it was futile to explain anything in his current situation, decided that it was better to ask him for help, and evaluate and put into words the incidents later. Again, he convened the remaining strength, undoubtedly the last, and murmured, “ My goal…my goal…is to save your son Ace… but this man…Orochimaru, stands…in the way of me…preventing me from fulfilling my duty… So please,…Help me bring down that … weird snake-man, and to stop Ace’s execution…”With that, he fainted, and fell down from his support of the oak tree on which he was lying on. He was not dead, certainly not, for his laboured breaths were still heavily indicated by the uneven contractions and relaxations of his chest.Roger now understood, if only a little bit, what he should do. This man, lying here, was trying to, save Ace from dying.

Now it was his turn to make his first move to save Ace. He knew well that if he could somehow keep the man lying down from dying, he could take incredibly useful information from him.So the only way to keep him alive, was to protect him from the snake-man standing on the big serpent.He decided to attack Orochimaru.

Gol. D. Roger, Pirate King, walked yonder, his stride steady, and his shoulder wide. His back to the swordsman, his front to the snake-man, he walked sure footed, his chin high, and face grim.Orochimaru watched him with the least bit leisure, his senses alert and sharp at the incoming threat. With Roger’s every step, the more he let loose his Haki, and the more nervous Orochimaru got. Orochimaru knew full well, that this man was immensely more powerful than the last Santoryu user he fought, and Zoro himself had been a handful. Orochimaru was tired now, panting heavily but his chest slowly returning to normal with every breath.

Orochimaru was still standing on the eight-headed serpent, high in the air, catching the beautiful breeze. It was way past sunset now, and the last glimmer of light had gone several minutes past.Roger walked on, and came to a stop a hundred yards from Orochimaru. Orochimaru was now, experiencing a bead of sweat sliding through his temples at the moment. Against the cold freezing air, the sweat beads felt like ice on his pale skin. The Haoshoku Haki was working.This had not been the result that Roger had wanted, as Orochimaru did not faint unconscious from the intimidation, but this was also a wary reminder, that the enemy the Pirate King was facing was not an ordinary one. One who could withstand his Conqueror’s Haki, even at this distance, was not one to be underestimated. After all, Zoro himself had been a powerful contender and had been beaten up pretty badly.But this did not compromise Roger in any manner possible. He still stood tall, and drew out his invincible sword, Ace, out of it’s sheath.The famed sword shined in the moonlight, the Black Blade and it’s superior hilt boasting it’s own power and sharpness. He held the blade parallel to the ground, his right hand gripping it with experience and grace. He planned to cut off all of the serpent’s heads and send them to hell. His plan was solid in his mind, with no doubt that it will succeed with dexterity.

The man of Power, after treading lightly but surely, contracted his right arm, flexing his superior muscles after much emergence of veins. He twisted his body to the proper stance for unleashing an attack, and let his inner potential ablaze.“Moeru Mangetsu !”

Unbelievable.Such was the power of one of the greatest and most powerful persons of the entire world.It took just one slash, to bring down a two-hundred meter high snakes with scales harder than steel. As an added bonus, the same slash also brought down Orochimaru, the much hard to defeat opponent that Zoro had struggled with.It all happened in less than a second. Roger’s wave of pure Haki sliced and diced the snake into tiny pieces, the advanced Ryuō much too strong to even corrupt and disintegrate all parts that touched it.The slash was an arc, could even be a full circle, from the name of the attack. An attack which was brighter than any firework seen by that town for decades. It was a circle of the colour of dark dried blood, it’s tips and edges blazing with the fire of a hundred suns as it glided at a very high speed towards the snake. The snake, which seemed invincible at first, now looked pitiable.With all eight heads slashed apart like a piece of cake, Orochimaru, confused at that, fell down with all but a safe landing. The slash had indeed not touched him, though even being far from it, the aura and the innate power released from the stroke had caused radiation enough to cause him high level nausea.Another problem was faced by the Sannin when his leg had been cut off, almost completely, when it had become stuck to one of the serpent’s great fangs.His leg faced severe blood loss, his tendons torn and ligaments ripped. With both of his arms not functional, and another leg added to the list, he was now disabled for the moment, and also was now speeding past tree canopies, getting scratches and gashes across his entire body.He landed with an almighty thud, webbed craters and cracks surrounding him. Orochimaru had lost the fight. Lost to some random dude that he helped bring back. He reckoned and felt angry at how foolish he had been.His entire body was functionless currently, and he could do nothing at the moment. His nausea caused him to almost vomit, but, he was too much exhausted to do even that correctly. The incoming vomit got stuck in his throat, and entered his windpipe ruthlessly.He started to choke, and fainted.Though he could have easily conjured back his lost leg and repaired his injuries using suitable jutsus later on, Orochimaru was now out of the game, permanently by the look of it.

Roger stood as he had moments ago, standing majestically as a thin silhouette among the full moon and the dust created by the serpent’s demise and fall. He sheathed Ace with just as much grace and turned around, walking back towards Zoro, as if nothing had happened.As if beheading a mountain sized serpent was not an immensely great feat not outdone by most.As he walked to Zoro, he realised that he was unconscious, or rather just asleep maybe.The sun had fully set about approximately an hour ago, the full moon giving silver glows to all objects under it. The cold wind struck like ice cutting through the many piles of trees, hitting like icicles. The ground, covered with dust, cracks, and craters littered around mindlessly gave a sour landscape, but neither of the men payed any heed to it.Battle hardened bodies like Roger’s gave no attention to any climate or weather, unless it may cause possible harm. Cold or heat, all were to be ignored, for more pressing matters were always there to be looked at. Like now.

Roger, having walked to Zoro, once again knelt beside him. The man was well built, with a powerful body, and an even more exceptional eye. Yet now he may die if not given due treatment. The Pirate King did not know any healing, he was but a man of brute force and fights. Broken ribcage, torn muscles, and a thousand cuts everywhere. Lifting Zoro might cause too great a damage to him.Roger had just come back to life, he wanted to enjoy the pleasures more; he did not know how long this state might last. But that was no way to greet this man who had helped him gratefully. He had to save Zoro, who wanted to save Ace. Zoro might even be of some use, thought Roger, with sudden amuse.

Gol.D.Roger then proceeded to carry Roronoa Zoro, not in haste, but with great care, for each movement’s importance could cause loss of a life. He carried him, and walked towards the nearby town to get some first aid, and possibly admission into a hospital, if there was one.He walked, and walked, hoping against hope that his friend would not have his last breath.