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Chapter 1172: It's My Turn to Strike!
Chapter 1172: It’s My Turn to Strike!
Gold unclenched the hilt of the hidden blade, and as if tangible blood had erupted from its grip, a crimson tsunami surged downward toward the Wano Country samurai below.
“Blood—blood water!”
“It’s coming down! Run for your lives!”
The surrounding Wano Country samurai recoiled in terror, instinctively fleeing backward.
“It’s an illusion!” Zoro roared. He channeled his Conqueror’s Haki through Yamato, unleashing it outward to block the onslaught. The blood water vanished like a shadow, calming the panicked samurai.
Zoro wiped cold sweat from his brow, gritting his teeth. “Yokai Blade…”
The floating hilt radiated the same aura as Yamato’s—but in rank, it surpassed even Yamato’s.
Could someone truly control a Yokai Blade of that caliber?
The sheer amount of Killing Intent it exuded was terrifying. Just revealing the hilt had unleashed such overwhelming pressure.
Even my Conqueror’s Haki couldn’t fully counter that!
The clashing of Conqueror’s Haki and Killing Intent made Kuro glance downward at Zoro. Shaking his head, he said, “Your strength isn’t enough, Roronoa Zoro.”
The remaining gold spirals disintegrated, revealing a long, clear blade glowing like moonlight.
“Reveal your might, Yokai Blade!”
Kuro extended his hand, gripping the hilt. With tremendous force, he swung it, unleashing a crescent of clear light tinged with blood. The blade’s arc carried a chilling proclamation: “Feel honored… and kneel before it!”
The crimson slash erupted, triggering an even greater blood-colored tsunami—a blood-drenched sky collapsing downward. In that instant, everyone below looked up, faces contorted in despair.
The Sky Collapse!
We’ll be crushed to death!
That suffocating pressure filled their minds, turning their expressions purple with terror as they swayed on the verge of collapse.
“This has to be a joke!” Zoro shouted in disbelief. “Can Killing Intent truly rival Conqueror’s Haki?!”
Though Zoro himself barely understood the concept of Conqueror’s Haki—it hardly mattered to him personally, since his instinct was always just to slash through anything—the idea of Killing Intent matching Conqueror’s Haki seemed absurd.
He did possess techniques like “Ghostly Aura,” but truthfully, that was Conqueror’s Haki. He had the aptitude all along. He’d just never considered developing it, following Luffy’s example without thinking. Even after training under Dracule Mihawk and being told he had the potential, he still hadn’t pursued it.
As long as the captain had it, that was enough. Luffy was their captain—that’s what Zoro believed!
It wasn’t until battling Kizaru that he overcame this mental barrier, learning to use Conqueror’s Haki through the technique called “Ghostly Aura.” But that was still Conqueror’s Haki.
This Killing Intent was different—it was genuine, not a disguise like Conqueror’s Haki. It was the aura of someone who had killed countless times.
Yet ordinary killing intent was subtle—only those sensitive to such things could detect it, or others with similar traits could sense whether someone had taken lives. It wasn’t inherently dangerous.
Having Killing Intent meant you’d taken lives—that’s all there was to it.
Zoro used to think Kuro’s Killing Intent was nothing special—just that he’d killed more people than most.
But this “Killing Intent materialization” was extreme. This man had mastered a method to accumulate that subtle Killing Intent, transforming it into a pressure comparable to Conqueror’s Haki, then unleashing it in full.
This meant the number of lives he’d taken was counted in the tens of thousands.
That alone made him a match for Conqueror’s Haki!
Conqueror’s Haki was a rare gift—this was common knowledge across the Grand Line. Those with the aptitude were destined to become great warriors if they grew strong enough, while others wouldn’t. Even Conqueror’s Haki could be enhanced through training or expanded to cover wider areas.
Yet Kuro’s power had reached a level that bent the world’s very rules.
A man like this could stand against Conqueror’s Haki.
“Truly impressive!”
Amid the dense Killing Intent that nearly made one faint, a powerful voice suddenly rang out.
Luffy grinned, flashing his white teeth. “I’ve been wanting to say this—you’re really amazing! Back when you first came here to fight Kaido, I thought you were strong. Experiencing it firsthand now, you’re even more incredible!”
“What are you complimenting me for at a time like this?” Kuro frowned.
“I just wanted to say—”
Luffy’s eyes widened. With a thunderous roar, a crimson wave tinged with black erupted from his body, enveloping the Wano Country samurai. It clashed with the blood-drenched sky, sending shockwaves rippling through the air. The collision dispelled the blood water’s illusion.
This clash restored the Wano Country samurai who had been suppressed by Killing Intent back to normal.
Conqueror’s Haki inherently had discriminatory power—it could be controlled to protect allies.
This meant Luffy’s Conqueror’s Haki had truly reached a new level.
“I’ll become the Pirate King!” Luffy declared, serious for once.
“The Pirate King…”
Hearing this, Kuro’s eyes darkened. His teeth bared, his body began transforming, his face twisting upward. The straight tear streaks beneath his eyes curved into crescents, and blood-colored samurai armor materialized over his body.
“At a time like this, you still speak such meaningless words!”
The Yokai Blade’s steel turned black on one side and blood-red on the other. Kuro swung it toward Luffy, unleashing a surge of blood qi that engulfed the blade in a crimson halo.
Whoosh!
A slash with black-gold edges erupted forth, crimson and swift, racing toward Luffy.
Boom!!
The slash moved at incredible speed, tearing through the air to Luffy’s position, trailing crimson mist that exploded outward, kicking up a dust cloud.
“Luffy!” Zoro shouted, quickly drawing breath. His Ghostly Aura transformed him into a three-headed, six-armed Asura, blades swirling violently. “Ghostly Aura: Nine Sword Style – Asura: Hell Tempest!!”
The whirling blades became countless slashes, an intricate web of attacks ascending toward Kuro.
“Just Haki-infused slashes? No need to make it sound so dramatic.”
Kuro glanced downward, cleaving his blade downward. A storm of blood-colored slashes erupted from his strike, colliding with and shattering the incoming attacks.
As Zoro prepared to strike again, a voice rang from the smoke. “Zoro, hold back!”
From the dissipating smoke, Luffy’s now towering form emerged. As it cleared, he stood with arms crossed, clearly having blocked the earlier slash. Luffy exhaled sharply, his breath jetting forth like a blade. Planting his feet in a horse stance, hands resting on his knees, he looked up at Kuro and declared, “Now it’s my turn to strike!”
(End of Chapter)
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