Zoro vs Kaku

Jyabura lies broken in the rubble after Sanji's finishing blow, his body still smoking with "SIZZLE...!!" Sanji, exhausted and breathing hard, finishes the thought of his attack: "... GOD CREATES FOOD AND THE DEVIL CREATES THE SEA-SONING..." Heat fades from his foot with "SHUU..." and "SIZZLE..." as he looks down at the defeated wolf-man. Then Sanji admits, "I THINK I MIGHT HAVE... SPICED HIM UP A LITTLE TOO MUCH." He walks away through the smashed floor, leaving Jyabura collapsed behind him.

Sanji looks up through the broken tower as explosions and impacts continue above, realizing, "THE GIRAFFE AND MARIMO... ARE THEY TRYING TO DESTROY THIS TOWER?" He finds a wall marked with arrows and the words "GATES OF JUSTICE" and "SHORTCUT," apparently left as guidance through the chaos. He reasons, "I GUESS NAMI-SAN AND THE OTHERS HAVE ALREADY GONE TO WHERE ROBIN-CHAN IS." Holding the key, he decides, "I, TOO, SHOULD DELIVER THIS 'NO.1 KEY' QUICKLY..." and starts moving again, still breathing hard.

On the Bridge of Hesitation, Spandam drags Robin forward, both of them panting with "ZEH..." and "HAA..." He boasts, "WE'RE HERE...!! WE'RE ON TOP OF THE 'BRIDGE OF HESITATION'...!!! LOOK, NICO ROBIN." The Gates of Justice are already opening, and Spandam declares, "THE 'GATES OF JUSTICE' ARE ALREADY OPENING. THEY ARE READY TO WELCOME ME!! IT'S BEEN A LONG JOURNEY... BUT ONCE WE PASS THROUGH THE GATES, I WILL BE THE GOVERNMENT'S... I MEAN, I WILL BE THE 'WORLD'S HERO'!!!" The bridge connecting to the other side of the gates rises, and Spandam says, "AND WAITING FOR THE STEPS OF THE HERO!!!"

The bridge continues to rise with a deep "GUO GUO GUO..." Spandam shouts, "NOW!!! LET'S GO!! WE'RE CROSSING IT, NICO ROBIN...!!!" Robin, still bound and exhausted, can only be pulled onward. Below and elsewhere, allies hurry through debris, someone crying, "HURRY!! HURRY!!! EVERYTHING'S MEANINGLESS IF I DON'T MAKE IT!!" Out at sea, the warships form up while the order comes through: "ALL WARSHIPS, CONFIRM YOUR POSITIONS!!!" Another voice reports, "IT WILL TAKE ABOUT 10 MINUTES TO REACH THE DESTINATION!!" Meanwhile, a blast opens a path through the tower and someone asks, "IS THIS THE EXIT!!?"

Franky bursts into Luffy and Lucci's battlefield, calling, "STRAW-HAT!!!" Luffy, battered and startled, shouts, "FRANKY!!! WHAT DID YOU COME HERE FOR, BASTARD!?" Franky yells back, "QUIT HATING ME ALREADY!!! I'M YOUR FRIEND NOW. GIVE IT UP!!" Luffy demands, "WHERE IS NICO ROBIN!? I BROUGHT TWO KEYS!!" Franky asks, "ARE YOU HAVING A HARD TIME FIGHTING HIM!?" while Lucci stands in the center of the ruined room, silent beneath the World Government door, as if daring them to try anything.

Franky offers, "DO YOU NEED A HAND OR TWO!?" but Luffy refuses the help and says, "NO...!! RATHER, PLEASE GO STOP ROBIN!!" Franky explains the route: "YOU CAN GO TO THE GATES OF JUSTICE BY GOING THROUGH THE DOOR BEHIND THE PIGEON GUY!! THEY TOOK ROBIN AWAY ALREADY!!" Luffy replies, "I'LL TRY TO KEEP HIM BUSY WHILE YOU GO FOR THE DOOR!!!" Franky answers with confidence, "SUPER~. LEAVE EVERYTHING TO ME, FOOL!!" Lucci only smiles and says, "FUFU."

Back in the ruined tower, Zoro and Kaku clash violently. Kaku, in giraffe form, says, "I TOLD YOU... THAT I PREFER MEAT!!!" Zoro answers with contempt, "I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT, YOU HERBIVOROUS ANIMAL...!!" Their blows tear through the room as Kaku keeps the key on his person. He thinks, "EITHER WAY, I NEED TO GET THE KEY QUICKLY!! I'D BE A LOSER IF I DON'T MAKE IT IN TIME!!!" Zoro, breathing hard, watches him closely and prepares to force an opening before Robin is taken beyond reach.

Zoro shifts into "NITOU-RYUU" and "NIGIRI!!!" with both blades leveled in front of him; a note calls it "double slash." Kaku mocks the bandana, asking, "DO YOU GET STRONGER OR SOMETHING IF YOU WEAR THAT WASHCLOTH?" Zoro answers, "MAYBE." He then launches "TOU-ROU!!!"--noted as "tower climbing"--and his twin cuts climb upward toward Kaku, slicing through the wreckage while the giraffe-man reacts in alarm.

Zoro follows with "OUTOU-ROU!!!" and sends another rising slash into Kaku, the attack labeled as a tower-climbing reply. Kaku is pushed back but immediately counters with "HIRA-MEKI!!!" marked as a flash, slamming down with a sharp impact. Zoro presses in again with "SAMON!!!"--noted as "sand crest"--driving a sweeping slash across the room. The two trade speed and reach, Zoro's swords cutting through the air while Kaku's giraffe body twists to answer from impossible angles.

Kaku explains the danger in his strange form: "IF YOU JUMP AROUND, YOU WILL BE IN A BLIND SPOT." A note says the pun uses blind spot and square in Japanese. Zoro notices the opening, but Kaku lashes out with "KAMA-KIRIN!!!"--"scythe giraffe"--and catches him hard, making Zoro cry, "UGH!!!" Kaku then locks himself into "TEKKAI" and compresses into a bizarre square shape called "MUSHI-KAKU..." A note clarifies the pun: no blind spot, with mashikaku meaning perfect square. The square-bodied Kaku crashes through the rubble, still absurd and dangerous at once.

Kaku insists, "WITH THIS SQUARE STANCE, I HAVE NO BLIND SPOT." Zoro snaps, "SHUT UP!!! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING!!?" Kaku continues anyway: "DID YOU NOTICE... THAT A GIRAFFE HAS FOUR 'LEGS'?" Zoro reacts with a sharp "!" and Kaku announces, "RAN-KYAKU." Zoro demands, "ARE YOU GONNA FIGHT OR NOT!?" Kaku replies, "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT? MY ATTACK HAS ALREADY BEGUN!!" Zoro looks up and realizes something has been sent above him, muttering, "HUH!? HRMM!?"

Kaku reveals the trick: "THOSE SLASHING ATTACKS I SENT ABOVE... WILL BE REFLECTED DOWN BY THE CEILING AND RAIN ON YOU...!!" The attack falls as "KIRI-SHIGURE!!!" with a note naming it "giraffe rain." Zoro is trapped beneath a downpour of slashes and cries, "UWAH!!!" He tries to defend with "TEKKAI," but the storm is too dense; he complains, "IT'S A DOWNPOUR OF SLASHING ATTACKS!! SHIT!!! THERE ARE TOO MANY TO TAKE!!"

Zoro emerges bloodied and panting, but still watching Kaku's every move. Kaku stretches his long neck forward like a spear and fires "BIGAN!!!"--noted as a nose gun and a pun with Shigan. The attack crashes into Zoro's guard with a hard "KACHING!!" and sends shock through his blades. The page focuses on Zoro's eye and Kaku's spotted face, both fighters measuring each other after the sharp impact.

The force of the exchange tears through the room, and Zoro grunts, "UGH... GAH!!" Kaku, still transformed, sways in his ungainly stance and chuckles, "FUFUFU..." A note marks the gag as a pun with Kaku's name using a Super Sentai series title format. Zoro, battered but standing, says, "BASTARD...!!" Kaku replies, "YOU'RE A TOUGH MAN...!! YOU AMAZE ME." Zoro steadies his swords and answers, "HMPH!!! I'VE TRAINED MYSELF TO BE SO, 'KIRINGER.'"

Kaku is confused by Zoro's nickname. "KIRINGER?" he asks. Zoro tries again from below, "I'M A KIRINJA!" Kaku corrects him, "KIRINGER." Zoro mutters, "NO, NO, I'M NOT 'KIRINGER-JAA...' KIRINGER-JAA-GER-JAA." A note explains that Kaku speaks like an old man and uses a "ja" suffix at the end of his sentences. Zoro snaps, "SHUT UP! IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU ARE!!!" Kaku growls that he will not let Zoro get away if he makes fun of him, but Zoro begins his answer: "FIRST... LET ME BREAK YOUR 'TEKKAI' THING..." He sets into "ITTOU-RYUU" and "IAI," a sword-drawing style, while Kaku starts "RANKYAKU" and Zoro names "SHISHI"--lion.

Kaku attacks with "SONSON!!!" and Zoro answers with "ROUDAN!!!" A note links the wording to lion song, together with shishi, and pain with rotten; another note identifies "ROUDAN" as dragon slash. Their strikes collide violently, blades and giraffe body meeting in a burst of force. Zoro then asks, "DID IT FEEL LIKE CUTTING STEEL?" Kaku replies, "IT'S FOR ME TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT I SHOULD TAKE YOUR ATTACK WITH 'TEKKAI'." He admits, "MAKES SENSE... YOU ARE ONE TOUGH CUSTOMER." Zoro simply exhales, "FU~!!"

Zoro's arms swell with force as he calls "ICHI GORIRA"--one gorilla--and then "NI GORIRA"--two gorilla. He shifts into "SANTOU-RYUU..." and winds up, turning his body with heavy power. Kaku stares, stunned, as Zoro unleashes "NIGORI-ZAKE!!!" marked as "two gorilla slash." Kaku tries to answer with "BIGAN!!!" but Zoro's three-sword attack drives in and cuts through the giraffe-man's defense with overwhelming force.

Kaku is blasted backward, shaken by the hit and gasping, "NGH!!!" He thinks, "WHAT KIND OF POWER TECHNIQUE IS THAT...!!?" Zoro stands amid the broken floor, swords ready, and Kaku says, "AFTER ALL THOSE CHEEKY COMMENTS... YOU HAD NEVER... IMAGINED THAT YOU'D FALL, HUH...?" But Zoro smiles around the sword in his mouth and answers, "HOW ARROGANT!!!" Kaku, equally defiant, replies, "SAME GOES FOR YOU!!!" The chapter closes with both fighters still upright, their pride and power locked against each other.

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