Bab 25: 25. Genius
As usual, Zoro watches the next battles while resting. The top 8 matches will be held today as well, so he needs to recover his energy before the next round.
He waits for a few hours because the organizer wants every fighter to recover well for the next round. Then after some hours break, the 2nd round of Battle Stage starts.
Zoro's opponent is a young samurai that looks to be in his early 20's. He looks arrogant, typical of those who think they are the best. Well, he was always praised as a genius and the top of his generation, so that makes his head bloated.
"Hehe, I saw your previous match, kid. You were indeed good. But not as much as me, the real genius. I could already use the chakra blade technique at your age, you know. But seeing you never used them, I assumed you couldn't even use it yet. Your physical strength seems to be great, but your skills are lacking."
"Then why don't you show me those skills that I'm lacking, senior? Surely the real genius will have the best skills I couldn't even imagine."
Zoro decides to play along with his opponent's game to make this more enjoyable. He unsheathes 2 swords again for this round to test his opponent first.
"Heh, then this genius senior will benevolently show an ignorant junior like you the true skills of samurais."
The match starts and they start attacking each other immediately.
'So this guy isn't just all talk.'
Zoro is quite surprised and happy because his opponent is truly skillful. This guy is the most skilled person he has ever faced in real life.
They don't say a single word while fighting and let their swords do the talk. It really doesn't match the guy's previous arrogant personality. Zoro thought he would be a chatterbox during the fight, but he becomes serious instantly when the match starts.
Then to prove his claim as a genius, the man whose name is Kuronuma Yuu pushes Zoro back slowly. His attacks aren't as strong as Zoro's previous opponent, but they hit bad spots and come from difficult angles for Zoro.
Kuronuma's reflex and observation are also very good because he can almost see through all of Zoro's attacks and make good counters. Zoro even almost can't believe this is really their first battle because it's like Kuronuma has known him quite well.
Most of Kuronuma's attacks are simple and precise with minimal movements. That's why they aren't strong, but hard to deal with because it's hard to keep up with his attack pace.
'So that's his main strategy. Disturbing his opponent's pace and making them follow his pace which is quite fast. Well then, let's try to see how good this pace is if used in battles.'
Instead of trying to break the pace after finding out about it, Zoro wants to understand this kind of pace. He's sure he will fight more enemies with even faster paces, so he needs to start learning how to fight them.
Slowly, he gets used to his opponent's pace as he keeps being pushed back. He also starts to understand more of these samurais' swordsmanship.
'As he said, he is indeed a genius. His techniques seem different from other samurais at first glance, but they are actually more refined. Why doesn't someone like him shine in the 4th War?'
The only samurai that gets a limelight in the 4th war is Mifune. But Zoro's current opponent is still young, so it won't be strange for him to join the 4th war, and with his talent, he should be even more powerful at the 4th war.
Zoro overlooks 1 thing though. Naruto story is about Naruto and the people around him, who are mostly ninjas. Samurais were only introduced sometime before the 4th war. They are just there as supporting roles, so obviously they won't get the limelight.
Besides, there are other possibilities like death, illness, or he gets a task that doesn't involve him in the war.
'Well, it's none of my concern.'
Zoro decides to not think about it and focus on the fight. Slowly, he starts putting up a good fight and stops being pushed back.
Kuronuma is surprised because Zoro is actually getting better and better.
'Where does that strength come from? He doesn't even look tired. No can do! I need to finish this faster. He seems to have more stamina than me.'
Thinking of that, Kuronuma then starts using different attacks. He puts more strength and weight on these attacks. There are even some killer moves among them.
However, Zoro still can face them all even if he struggles more than before. He is sent flying after blocking an attack, but he quickly moves to block another attack as Kuronuma keeps chasing him.
Kuronuma then slashes a sword upwards, pushing Zoro's swords upward too. He is about to send another attack, but at that moment, Kuronuma freezes a bit because of surprise. He sees through Zoro's sleeve and sees the weights on Zoro's wrists.
Not realizing what happens, Zoro jumps back to catch his breath. He realizes he has underestimated his opponent too much. Though it's not that he wants to underestimate Kuronuma. He just wants to see his limit at using 2 swords.
"Oi, kid, you, what are those things on your wrists?"
"Hmm? My wrists? Ah, these weights?"
Zoro asks while showing the weight strap on his left wrist.
"Are you telling me you have been fighting me while carrying those weights?"
"Well, I have been wearing them since the start of this tournament."
Kuronuma can't believe what he hears. The audience is also surprised by that. After all, Zoro has reached this far while carrying weight. But then they start thinking about how much weight he carries.
"Don't fret over a small detail. Let's continue the fight. I will show you something good as a thanks for giving me a good fight."
Zoro unsheathes his 3rd sword and bites its hilt, surprising everyone.
"W-what are you doing?"
"This is my swordsmanship, 3 sword-style. Honest advice from me, don't look down on this."
Zoro charges at Kuronuma and their fight continues. To Kuronuma's surprise, Zoro's attacks are getting stronger and have more variety. He even attacks with the sword in his mouth and its attack power is not to be messed with.
'I thought the sword in his mouth was just a gimmick. But he can actually use it to attack and defend as if he holds it with his hands. Just how strong is his jaw to be able to do that?'
It's not just Kuronuma, everyone who watches it is getting surprised. They thought that Zoro's 3 sword-style looked ridiculous, but it's actually proper swordsmanship.
The 3 sword-style actually confused Kuronuma because he never fought something like this. If this keeps going on, he will only get overwhelmed. Besides, he is getting very tired, so he needs to finish this quickly.
Kuronuma attacks Zoro with a powerful strike, sending him back. But Kuronuma also jumps back. He suddenly sheathes his swords and lowers his stances while still holding their hilts.
"I see, you want to finish this now."
Zoro understands that Kuronuma is preparing a finishing move to end this match. So he also prepares his own move.
He lowers his stance too. Then crosses his arms in front of his chest. The swords in his hands are pointing up straight to the sky.
Kuronuma's eyes are very focused. The chakra on his swords even leak out of their scabbards like blue fire.
"Nitoryu Iai: Zangeki!" (Two sword-style acting draw: Beheading!)
"Santoryu: Onigiri!" (Three sword-style: Ogre Cutter!)
Zoro also responds with his technique.
Both of them suddenly flash to attack each other and in a short time switch places. Backs faced each other, swords raised high. They stay still for a moment before both fall to their knees.
Zoro sheathes his swords as blood comes out of a pair of diagonal cuts on his torso and his mouth. Kuronuma also does the same.
But then Zoro stands up while Kuronuma falls to the front. Blood gushes out around his body as he loses consciousness.
The surprised referee quickly calls the medic before announcing Zoro's victory. Silence fills the stadium for a moment before people start cheering.
It's a very interesting match and will be the best match in this tournament because the next rounds that are held the next day are boring compared to that.
In the end, Zoro wins the tournament because none of his opponents in the semi-final and final are as good as Kuronuma. His fight against Kuronuma is said to be the real final.
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Chapter 45. 1st S-Rank Hunt
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