CH 26

Everyone was speechless, nay, petrified at the sight of Mihawk's tiny vessel. As it came closer, one of the Krieg pirates asked what they did to him to deserve this.

"Just killing time." Mihawk answered.

"BASTARD!" yelled a pirate as he aimed his pistols and shot at Mihawk. Mihawk simply pulled out his black sword and, with almost no effort, deflected the bullets with the tip of his blade before resheathing it. "What? I missed? How?"

"He changed their course with the tip of his blade." Zoro said as he appeared behind the pirates. He walked forward while they eyed his three swords.

"Three swords? You can't be..."

"Never have I seen a sword handled so gently, or with such grace." Zoro said. Mihawk didn't move but turned his eyes to Zoro.

"Brute force isn't true strength in swordplay." Mihawk said.

"That same sword was used to cut this ship?" Zoro asked.

"Correct." Mihawk replied.

"Then it's true. You're the best." Zoro said. "I set out to sea for one purpose only. To meet you." he said as he untied the bandana from his arm.

"For what reason?" Mihawk asked.

"To defeat you." he said as he tied his bandana to his head.

"How foolish." Mihawk said with a smirk. Zoro unsheated Wado and pointed it at Hawk-Eye.

"You're not doing anything now. Let's go." he said. By now, all the pirates knew who he was.

"The pirate hunter eh?" Krieg said.

"He's a what?" Sanji asked, looking a bit surprised.

"You're a weak fool." Mihawk said before he lept over to the floating piece of ship that Zoro was standing on. "If you're a competent swordsman, you should understand the difference between us even before you drew your blade. Why do you challenge me? Bravery, or stupidity?"

"My dream!" Zoro said as he place Wado between his teeth and drew his two other swords. "That, and a promise I plan to fulfill." Patty began to speak about the clash between them, while Yosaku and Johnny cheered on about how Zoro was unbeatable and already the strongest. Luffy remained quiet as he knew how this would turn out. Mihawk then took the tiny golden cross from his neck and unsheathed the tiny blade inside, angering Zoro.

"What do you plan to do with that?" Zoro asked.

"This is more than enough. After all, you wouldn't kill a fly with a cannon, would you?" Hawk-Eye said before apologizing that he didn't have any blades smaller than that.

"You're gonna regret that." Zoro said as he ran toward Hawk-Eye. "DIE!"

"You have no idea how big the world is!" Mihawk said as Zoro charged.

"ONIGIRI!" he shouted as he brought his blades to strike. Luffy didn't react at all as Mihawk stopped all of Zoro's blades in mid-strike. "W-what?!" Zoro said through clenched teeth. He and everyone around were stunned at the sight.

"Big Bro Zoro's attack was stopped by Mihawk?" Johnny shouted.

"No way!" Yosaku yelled. "That attack's never failed before!"

'No way!' Zoro thought. 'I can't move my blades! How is this possible?!' he thought before he screamed out "I AM NOT THAT FAR BEHIND THE BEST!" And just like last time, he swung his swords wildly at Hawk-Eye, who parried and dogded each and every strike. Luffy watched as Johhny and Yosaku yelled out to him.

"You're just messing with him? Right Big Bro?" Yosaku asked, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Big Bro!" Johnny called out in tears.

"You cannot be that much better than me!" Zoro yelled as he attacked again.

"Such violent swordsmanship." Mihawk said as he blocked another attack. This continued on before Mihawk dodged an attack and, with the side of his hand, hit Zoro in the back of the neck, nearly rendering him unconcious. Zoro struggled to stay in the fight, even though he could barely see. He fumbled toward Mihawk in an attempt to attack, only for Mihawk to step out of the way for Zoro to fall. He lay there, gasping for breath, as Mihawk looked at him with a slightly curious gaze.

"What weight do you carry upon your shoulders weakling?"

"WEAKLING?!" Johnny and Yosaku shouted as they went for there swords, saying they'd teach him a lesson for speaking about Zoro that way. They were about to jump, but noticed a hand on their shoulders, keeping them from moving. They looked back to see it was Luffy keeping them in place.

"This is Zoro's fight." Luffy said as he kept a hardened stare at Zoro's fight. "Stay right where you are."

"I refuse," Zoro said as he stood up. "To be defeated!" He then readied his swords again as the world around him seemed to fade. All he could hear was his heartbeat. At that moment, Luffy's words played out in his head.

'Greatest Swordsman huh? Got it. And it suits me just fine. King of the Pirates should only have the best on his crew.'

"TIGER..." Zoro shouted before Hawk-Eye lunged forward, piercing Zoro's chest right above his heart. Zoro's arms fell as blood trickled out of his mouth.

"You've lost, yet you won't step back. Why?" Mihawk asked.

"Dunno." Zoro said. "But...I will not run! If I took so much as one step back, then I'd lose everything that made me what I am right now, including my pride. Without that, I'm nothing."

"That is defeat."

"I refuse defeat."

"Then you get death."

"I prefer death!" Zoro said without hesitation.

'Such strong conviction.' Mihawk thought before he pulled his knife from Zoro's chest and resheathed it. "State your name."

"My name...Roronoa Zoro." Zoro said as he pulled his swords up to make some sort of triangle.

"I'll remember it." Mihawk said as he pulled out his black sword. "It's been some time since someone as strong as you faced me. As a swordsman courtesy, I'll end you with the world's strongest black blade."

"I appreciate it." Zoro said as Johnny and Yosaku begged him to stop, which he ignored. 'This is it.' he thought. 'The greatest...or death.' He then began to spin his swords around in front of him. "Three Sword Style: Secret Technique."

"FALL!" Mihawk said as he dashed towards him.

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