Chapter 176: The World He Left Behind 4
On the third night since Zoro arrived at the Hatowari Archipelago,
When various suspicious ships appeared on the coastline in the pitch-black sea, Zoro felt a sense of foreboding. The presence of each individual on those ships was unusual.
When the ships turned their bows towards the island where Zoro was, his premonition became a reality.
Zoro immediately informed the village chief.
The chief had no idea why they were targeting this place. The Hatowari Archipelago had nothing of value and wasn't densely populated.
The truth was absurd—they wanted to eliminate anyone and anything associated with the World Federation, whether civilian or not.
What was even more absurd was that the Hatowari Archipelago wasn't actually part of the World Federation. They mistakenly believed it was because the closest island to the Hatowari Archipelago was a member of the World Federation.
Neither the chief nor Zoro knew this at the time.
Even if they had known, it wouldn't have changed what Zoro had to do.
Zoro watched the horizon as the evacuation ship with all the villagers sailed away, quickly turning his head away to avoid being spotted.
'They should be fine.'
The sea around the Hatowari Archipelago was calm, and he had even given them a permanent log pose to prevent them from getting lost.
The Hatowari Archipelago was extremely isolated from other islands or continents. It would take at least seven days to reach the nearest island.
If someone didn't hold off the pursuers, they would definitely catch up.
So Zoro decided to stay and fight alone on the Hatowari Archipelago.
On Island No. 3, the only one of the 25 islands making up the archipelago where no one lived due to the volcano.
"Come with us, big brother! Let's go! Big brother, big brother!"
"Noko, stop!"
"...Get her on board quickly."
The blue-haired girl who had given him berries cried and clung to him, begging him to come along, but Zoro didn't board the evacuation ship.
If he got on the evacuation ship, it would become a target. He saw the fear in the eyes of the people who were afraid he might actually board.
'After all, I can't just take without giving back.'
There was never a time he could abandon others and just save himself, whether it meant starving while tied to a mast for days or fighting tens of thousands alone.
He untied the bandana from his arm and wrapped it around his head. He used his one good eye to count the warships filling the black sea as they approached.
'Roughly 40 warships… around 100,000 soldiers.'
The number of 100,000 enemies itself wasn't the problem. The problem was how many he could knock out with his Conqueror's Haki.
…Judging by the presence he sensed with Observation Haki, the outlook wasn't very bright.
'I can't expect any help.'
He had used the Den Den Mushi in the chief's house to inform the nearest island of the situation, but it would take time for his comrades to realize what was happening and reach the island.
By then, the battle would likely already be over.
Boom!
A cannonball flew from the nearest ship. Zoro gripped his sword tightly and sliced the cannonball in half. Charging through the black smoke, he dashed forward.
The battle had begun.
...
Swinging his sword and cutting an enemy officer nearly in half,
Zoro realized that this wasn't a battle.
It was a war.
Originally, it didn't seem like they intended to declare war on "Roronoa Zoro." He guessed they were targeting the World Federation. He wasn't certain, but it was a hunch.
'If they were after me, they would have brought weapons more suited to fighting me.'
These people spared no means to win the war. They didn't care about sacrificing their own, rushing in like moths to a flame, driven by madness.
In one-on-one fights, Zoro would have easily won. Even the strongest among them weren't on the level of a Navy Admiral or an Emperor of the Sea.
But they never fought him alone. Their numbers were overwhelming, and they actively used poison and various weapons.
Zoro inevitably struggled.
Crack!
After being struck and thrown far, Zoro barely managed to support his collapsing body. He spat out the metallic, nauseating blood that surged up his throat. The blood was blackened from the poison.
"Just die already, Roronoa."
Rob Lucci, a former CP0 agent transformed into a beast-man, stepped forward with eyes burning with hatred, like those of a fierce predator.
"We have gathered to kill this era. Losing this many forces just to kill you isn't worth it."
...So that's what it was. Zoro thought silently, wiping his mouth with his hand.
Zoro and Luffy liked this world and era, but not everyone felt the same. For those who once ruled the Great Pirate Era, it was even worse.
A world and era they could no longer dominate or understand.
They decided to destroy it.
Well, their circumstances didn't matter to him. Zoro licked the red blood that trickled down from his forehead.
Whoosh! Zoro swung Enma through the air. The enemy's blood, dripping from the jet-black blade of Enma, fell to the ground in red droplets.
Even the most battle-hardened among them flinched and couldn't approach Zoro, intimidated by his eerie presence.
The King of Hell, deciding life and death.
It was a sight fitting for that title.
With his single eye glowing red, Zoro spoke.
"Of course it's not worth it. My life is far more valuable than you can imagine...!"
He wouldn't lose.
He wouldn't let the era that Luffy created be trampled by these bastards.
He wanted that smile, so much like Luffy's, to keep existing.
Zoro gestured towards Rob Lucci. It was a blatant provocation, inviting him to come if he had the nerve.
Rob Lucci's eyebrows twitched. As he charged at Zoro like a beast, his claws enhanced with Armament Haki, the others continued their attacks in unison.
Blood flowed again from the red sword.
...
As he had resolved, Roronoa Zoro did not lose.
Even at the very end, he surpassed his limits and stood on a higher level.
...Although it was the last step Roronoa Zoro could take.
Thud!
After cutting down the final enemy, Zoro collapsed to his knees. He barely kept himself from falling over by planting his sword into the ground, but that was all he could manage. He had no strength left to move.
Drip.
Black blood, poisoned, trickled from Zoro's left side as he leaned against a rock. He tried to stop the bleeding, but his hand wouldn't move, so he gave up.
'It's over.'
There wasn't a spot on his body that wasn't injured. Head, chest, abdomen, side, hands, arms, legs, even his feet. He had even been cut deeply in the neck, a vital spot. The ground around Zoro was so soaked in his blood that it had turned red and wet.
Breathing was difficult, likely due to the trauma to his lungs. Zoro managed to breathe with a wheezing sound and surveyed the area with his barely functioning right eye.
'All... cut down.'
Everywhere within his sight was littered with the bodies of the fallen. The land, once green, was now a dark red and black from the poison they had spread and the blood of those Zoro had cut down.
Not all were dead; many were unconscious.
Either way, they would soon die.
Soon, the volcano would erupt.
Rumble!
The ground trembled. Breathing became harder, and the world spun around him. It was due to the volcanic gases.
The bombardment and powerful weaponry used to try to capture Zoro had further agitated the already active volcano, bringing it to the brink of eruption.
As their defeat became apparent, they had desperately attacked the ground around the volcano to trigger it. Their original plan had already failed, so they likely aimed to at least ensure Zoro's death.
It seemed they succeeded in that.
Feeling the increasing tremors, Zoro looked at his three swords. As if to thank his companions, he weakly moved his hand to tap the hilts of his swords.
The era opened by those who had laughed and cried with Zoro.
A world full of people with smiles resembling Luffy's.
The resolve to never lose again.
He had protected everything he wanted to.
No regrets, no lingering attachments.
His body felt heavy. In his flickering vision, Zoro noticed a blackened hem approaching.
Barely lifting his head, Zoro saw the figure before him and couldn't help but smile.
"You've come."
The Grim Reaper.
Wrapped in tattered rags, holding a scythe, the skeletal figure of the Reaper was the same as before. But unlike their previous encounters, the Reaper did not swing its scythe at Zoro this time.
It stood quietly, watching the smiling Zoro.
The Reaper extended a hand to Zoro, a gesture different from before, almost inviting.
Still smiling, Zoro summoned all his remaining strength to stand. Straightening his back, he stood upright.
Facing the skeletal Reaper, whose thoughts were unreadable, Zoro spoke calmly.
"You didn't need to come out to greet me so soon."
It wasn't necessary.
...It would be over soon.
Boom———!
A deafening roar echoed, accompanied by searing heat as a massive volcanic bomb hurtled towards Zoro's location.
It collided with the rock Zoro was leaning against and exploded magnificently.
...
The souls of the dead go to the netherworld in the sky. This is an unalterable law witnessed by Brook, who had eaten the Revive-Revive Fruit.
However, some souls.
Before going to the netherworld, pass through a 'different place.'
The path that connects worlds, created from the obsession of a mad sorcerer.
...And the heart of a mother wishing for her child's survival.
...
A week later.
A special edition announcing the death of Roronoa Zoro was spread worldwide.
...
[Author's Note]
Vote with your power stones, it motivates me to keep posting chapters.
If you're interested, you can read 20 advance chapters on my Patréon.
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