Chapter 387: A Dueling Storm on the Island

“Luffy?” Zoro’s eyes snapped to where Luffy was, a flicker of concern darting through his gaze.

The moment Luffy’s agonized scream cut through the air Zoro didn’t hesitate, stopping mid-swing and turning to try and spot him.

As that cry echoed, a wave of doubt gripped Zoro’s heart.

He couldn’t understand it—Luffy was always so tough, what could make him scream in pain like that?

Had Luffy run into a stronger enemy?

Could there be a trap waiting for them on this island?

“Where are you looking?” Nalan Yanran’s sharp voice jerked Zoro back to reality, making him realize he’d dropped his guard.

She swung her blade, its edge slicing through the air like lightning and streaking straight for his face.

From their brief exchange Zoro could tell Nalan Yanran was far from ordinary. Even he couldn’t say for sure he’d win against her.

Her bloodline had entered its growth phase, her fighting power already rivaling a vice admiral. If she broke through to maturity, she’d wield the true might of an admiral.

Suddenly, a glint flashed in Zoro’s eyes—he saw Nalan Yanran, draped in white, her sword flashing.

Clang!

Zoro refused to take her lightly. He had to give it everything he had.

A sharp light flashed in his eyes as he drew his blade in a single motion, intercepting Nalan Yanran’s sword in an upward sweep that split the air like a bolt of lightning.

Zoro’s mastery of swordplay had reached new heights. Even faced with Yanran’s surprise assault, he showed no sign of panic.

Nalan Yanran didn’t mind her failed attack. In fact, fighting Zoro only made it clearer that he was her equal—a worthy grindstone on her path to becoming a true swordmaster.

Still, she wondered to herself—who exactly was this grindstone?

Just as she prepared to unleash her second strike and press Zoro back, she was startled to find his left-hand blade already sweeping in low for her body.

“One Sword Style—Lion Song!”

Zoro lunged forward, a razor-sharp gale swirling around him like a tidal wave surging toward Nalan Yanran.

At the same time, a breathtaking slash of swordlight cut in from the left. A black blade, terrifyingly powerful, engulfed the light in darkness and stabbed straight for Yanran’s chest.

She instantly sprang back, her white sword arcing in a horizontal slash as she struggled to regain the upper hand.

Zoro wasn’t about to let this chance slip by and unleashed one of his trump cards without hesitation.

“Three Sword Style Secret Technique—Great Thousand Worlds!”

All three of his swords flared with Armament Haki, the hardened power focusing at their edges as he launched a ferocious assault at Yanran.

To her, this attack was like an arrow loosed from its string—deadly force packed with killing intent smashing into her mind.

In that moment Yanran burst from the ground: “One Sword Style—Dragon Slash!”

She’d learned this move by studying ancient texts in the Library, borrowing the sword techniques of Wano’s legendary Ryuma.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The two blades struck with such force even the air seemed to groan, the ground trembling, faint cracks splintering through space itself. Their clash had reached admiral-level might.

Only power at that level could even begin to distort space itself.

On the other side of the field, Sanji had made a critical mistake after hearing Luffy’s scream—he’d left his back exposed to the enemy.

Bang!!!

He only realized something was wrong when a massive coffin lid slammed into him, but by then it was far too late.

His body hurtled forward, crashing into a thick tree with brutal force.

The impact snapping the tree—and the massive trunk—clean in two.

“Ugh!”

Sanji felt like his internal organs were shattered, he could barely even lift a finger.

Thud, thud, thud…

“Leaving your back open in a fight is just asking to lose.”

Pang Bo shook his head regretfully. He’d thought Sanji was a worthy rival, but after only a hundred rounds, the fight had ended like this—a real letdown. Still, he lowered his head and started toward where Ye Fan and Luffy were fighting.

Thump-thump… thump-thump!!!

But before Pang Bo could leave the clearing he heard a fierce heartbeat from behind and spun around—Sanji was on his feet again, no one knew how.

Sanji wiped the blood from his face with his right hand. He fished a flattened cigarette box out of his pocket, pulled out an unbroken cigarette and lit it with a deft flick.

Whoosh!

“The fight’s just getting started!”

“Underestimating your opponent is the same as underestimating yourself!”

His words brought a fresh spark to Pang Bo’s eyes. He picked up the coffin lid he’d just tied to his back again.

“I knew you wouldn’t go down so easily. Let’s go again.”

……

“What are those guys even doing out there?”

Nami, with Johnny and Yosaku at her side, had climbed a small hill to work on her sea charts. Suddenly, the rumbling from the island’s center caught her ear and she stood up, peering in that direction.

But they were far too far from the center—she couldn’t see a thing from where they were.

“Boss, I heard along the way that Sanji and Zoro are having a bet to see who can catch the biggest prey. Must’ve run into some wild beasts.”

Johnny, fiddling with the telescope borrowed from Usopp, squinted toward the center. But there were too many hills in the way—he still couldn’t make out what was happening.

Unless one of them actually went over there.

“Johnny, you look after Boss, I’ll go take a look.”

Just as Johnny thought those words, Yosaku rushed out, dashing toward the distant roar coming from the island’s heart.

No matter what, there’s no way simple beast-hunting would cause such a ruckus. Something big was going down.

But before leaving, they had agreed that the two of them would keep Nami safe—so one of them had to stay behind.

Meanwhile, high up on a mountain peak, only Karl’s avatar Ye Fan was watching the three warriors battle below with a mysterious smile.

Grow stronger, Luffy. The final battle draws near.

“By the time the last fight comes, I hope you’ll have power like a god.”

“If not, don’t blame me for leaving you behind.”

Karl hadn’t been idle these years—he’d been racking his brain for ways to fend off Heavenly King Uranus’ attacks. But the System’s lottery hadn’t brought anything decent.

Luckily, the Corpse King template Katakuri had fused with let him make tons of low-level minions. With luck, he’d use sheer numbers to keep Uranus from locking in on any one target.

He didn’t believe Uranus had limitless energy. If he could drive it to its limit, then Uranus would be nothing more than a useless ornament.