To Cut Iron

This page is a full-color version of the previous title page. The large text "NO BRAKES." at the top is colored in a bright, sunny yellow. The illustration below is vibrantly colored, showing Monkey D. Luffy surfing on a grey piece of wood over a beautifully rendered blue and white ocean wave. Luffy wears a black t-shirt and orange camouflage shorts. In the background, the Going Merry is depicted with its iconic sheep figurehead and striped sail, riding the crest of the wave. Further back, Usopp and Tony Tony Chopper can be seen surfing on their own small boards against a bright blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds.

In a ruined city street with tall stone buildings, Roronoa Zoro faces off against Mr. 1. Mr. 1 stands tall, crossing his arms in front of his chest to form an 'X' shape, accompanied by a deep "VOOOOM" sound effect. He confidently states, "I hate to rain on your parade, But since the day I've obtained my Supa Supa devil fruit, No swordsman could possibly defeat me. Not a single swordsman, Has even been able to leave a scratch on me." Zoro stands opposite him, holding one sword in his hand and another in his mouth, with his third sword sheathed at his hip. Zoro replies with a dismissive tone, "Sure, sure. You might want to pack all those fond memories of yours into a pretty little album. Because while I don't know what kind of swordsmen you've fought in the past...."

Zoro finishes his taunt, leaning forward and pointing one of his swords directly at his opponent: "That you've never gone up against me before. Baldy." Mr. 1 glares back, his expression hardening as he replies, "I'll take that as a compliment, Hmph, you better hope your swords can cut half as well as your insults." Without another word, the two warriors charge at each other. They clash violently in the center of the street, Zoro's swords meeting Mr. 1's bladed arms with a massive, jagged "CLANG" sound effect that radiates outward from the impact.

Zoro smirks confidently during the clash, telling his opponent, "Oh, I'll finish you off quick, don't you worry." Mr. 1 stares back with a calm, cold expression, replying, "I wonder how many minutes this fight'll last for..." They break apart and immediately clash again in a high-speed flurry of strikes, their movements leaving motion lines and sparks in the air. Suddenly, Mr. 1 lunges forward, his fingers extended and transformed into sharp blades. He shouts the attack name "SPAR CLAW". A small footnote at the bottom of the panel explains: "*All of Mr. 1's attack-names are a pun with the japanese supa (sfx for a clean-cut as well as being the name of his fruit)". Zoro looks surprised as the bladed fingers swipe toward his face.

Zoro quickly raises his swords to block Mr. 1's "Spar Claw" attack. The impact creates a loud, jagged "CLANG!!!" sound effect as sparks fly from the collision. A close-up panel reveals that Mr. 1's fingers are literal steel blades, and they grip tightly onto the edges of Zoro's swords with a "CLUTCH" sound. Zoro struggles against the immense pressure, his boots sliding backward on the stone ground with a "SLIDE!" sound effect. The intense deadlock continues as both fighters push against each other with all their strength.

To break the deadlock, Zoro leaps upward, performing a nimble backward flip over Mr. 1's head with a "SPIN!" and a surprised "WHOA!" escaping his lips. As Zoro lands gracefully behind him with a "FLIP!" and a "THUD", Mr. 1 immediately pivots to face him. Without missing a beat, Mr. 1 launches a new attack, shouting "ONI- CLAMP!". He brings his bladed arms together in a rapid, scissor-like motion, aiming to crush Zoro between them.

Zoro reacts instantly to Mr. 1's "Oni-Clamp" attack. He crosses his two hand-held swords in front of him and unleashes a powerful, high-speed technique, shouting "GIRI! (demon slash)". The attack strikes Mr. 1 directly in the chest before he can close his bladed arms. The impact is massive, depicted with a huge, jagged "SLASH" sound effect and explosive motion lines radiating outward. Mr. 1 is caught off guard, his eyes widening in shock as the force of the blow pushes him backward.

Zoro doesn't give his opponent a moment to recover. He lands from his previous attack with a solid "THUD" and immediately transitions into another offensive stance, shouting "TORA-". He leaps forward aggressively, twisting his body mid-air to generate momentum. He brings his swords around in a wide, sweeping arc, aiming a devastating follow-up strike directly at Mr. 1's exposed torso as the larger man is still reeling from the previous blow.

Zoro completes his devastating combo, shouting "GARI! (tiger hunt)" as his swords strike true. The powerful impact creates a massive explosion of dust and shattered stone in the middle of the street, accompanied by a huge "BOOM" sound effect. Mr. 1 is engulfed in the blast. Zoro lands gracefully on his feet a short distance away with a "LAND" sound. He stands up, panting heavily with "HUFF HUFF" sounds, his swords still drawn as he watches the dust cloud settle, waiting to see the result of his attacks.

As the thick dust clears, Mr. 1 is revealed standing completely unharmed, his arms still crossed in front of his chest in his signature stance. Zoro looks back over his shoulder, his eye wide with shock. He thinks to himself, "Not even a single scratch... That's a bit of a shock. This is my first time seeing someone stand up after taking all those attacks." Mr. 1 stares back coldly and says, "...Futile, just as I told you. Naturally... It's a fact that you and I have never fought before." Despite the seemingly impossible situation, Zoro smirks confidently and chuckles, "...Heh!"

Mr. 1 suddenly goes on the offensive, launching a high-speed, bladed kick directly at Zoro's head. Zoro barely manages to raise his swords in time to block the strike, exclaiming "WHOA!" as the impact creates a loud "CLANG". Mr. 1 doesn't stop there; he follows up with a relentless flurry of rapid strikes, his arms and legs transforming into deadly blades. Zoro is forced entirely on the defensive, frantically blocking the barrage of attacks as sparks fly everywhere. Mr. 1 grunts "HMPH" with exertion, while Zoro grunts "AHH!" under the intense pressure of the assault.

Zoro struggles to hold back Mr. 1's bladed arm, the metal of his sword grinding against his opponent's skin with a shower of sparks. Zoro finally realizes the true nature of his enemy's power, thinking, "NOW I GET IT... HE'S A HUMAN BLADE SO ANY PART OF HIS BODY CAN BECOME THE EDGE OF A BLADE...!!" Suddenly, Mr. 1 drops low and performs a sweeping kick, his entire leg transformed into a sharp blade. Zoro jumps backward just in time to dodge the lethal strike, shouting "WHOA!". He lands and skids backward, his boots kicking up a trail of dust.

Mr. 1 prepares a devastating new attack. He brings his hands together, fingers extended and transformed into sharp blades, and shouts "SPAR-KLING DAISY!". He thrusts his hands forward, unleashing a powerful, invisible slashing shockwave. The attack completely misses Zoro, who is standing in the foreground, but it strikes the large, multi-story stone building behind him. The shockwave slices clean through the thick pillars and walls of the structure with a massive, echoing "SLASH" sound effect. Zoro looks back in shock at the sheer destructive power of the attack.

Mr. 1 follows up his previous attack immediately, striking Zoro with a powerful blow and calmly saying, "Fly away...". Zoro is hit hard, his swords pushed back against him, and he thinks, "DAMN IT, HE'S...". The force of the blow sends Zoro flying backward through the air with a scream of "GAHHH!". He crashes violently through a thick stone pillar of the building behind him, shattering it into pieces. A massive cloud of dust and debris erupts as the structure begins to collapse around him. Mr. 1 stands calmly in the street, watching the destruction unfold.

Zoro is shown heavily injured, blood dripping from his head and arm as he leans against the rubble. He thinks to himself in frustration, "SO WHAT IS IT THAT I'M STILL LACKING...!? I'VE TRAINED HARDER THAN ANYONE ELSE AND I'VE SURVIVED COUNTLESS OF LIFE-OR-DEATH SITUATIONS..." The scene transitions to a flashback of a young Zoro at his dojo. He excitedly asks his sensei, Koushirou, "I hear there are people in this world who can even cut through iron! IS THAT TRUE!?" Koushirou replies calmly, "Yes, it's true." Young Zoro tries to cut a piece of paper falling through the air with his sword, but fails with a "HAH!" and a swish. Koushirou holds up a piece of paper and says, "Uhh, you failed. Look carefully at this sheet of paper, Zoro..."

The flashback continues. Koushirou walks along the wooden porch of the dojo, explaining to his student, "Listen well, Zoro. There are swordsmen in this world who can't cut anything. But those same people can cut through iron. All the while using the same sword..." He smiles gently, his glasses glinting, and imparts a crucial lesson: "THE 'STRONGEST SWORD' IS A BLADE THAT CAN PROTECT WHAT IT WISHES TO PROTECT AND CUT WHAT IT WISHES TO CUT. IN MY OPINION, A BLADE THAT CUTS WHATEVER IT TOUCHES CANNOT BE CONSIDERED A 'SWORD'..." He asks, "Understand?" Young Zoro, completely missing the philosophical point, yells enthusiastically, "ALRIGHT, I'M GONNA BECOME A SWORDSMAN THAT CAN CUT THROUGH EVRYTHING!" Koushirou sighs in exasperation, "ZORO, DID YOU EVEN LISTEN TO WHAT I SAID?"

Back in the present, Mr. 1 stands amidst the settling dust and rubble. He taunts the buried Zoro, "Hurry up and try to cut me if you can. You won't get anywhere if all you do is take my attacks. IT'S A SHAME YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SEE ME BEAUTIFULLY CUT THROUGH IRON..." As he speaks, the massive stone building behind them, which was critically damaged by his earlier attack, finally gives way. It crumbles and collapses completely with a deafening "RUMBLE", sending huge chunks of masonry crashing down onto the area where Zoro was last seen.

Zoro is shown beneath the rubble, heavily bleeding from his head, but he is smirking confidently. He finally understands his master's lesson, saying, "I see... BECAUSE THE VERY MOMENT I CUT THROUGH IRON, WILL BE THE SAME MOMENT YOU DIE...!" Mr. 1 points a bladed finger at him and threatens coldly, "I'll cut your entire body up right down to the very last atom...!" Zoro, his visible eye glowing with intense determination, replies, "FIRST, A SWORD THAT CAN'T CUT THROUGH ANYTHING...!" He prepares to strike back, ready to test his newfound understanding.

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