Chapter 73: I Don

The next day.

The Sea Restaurant Barati.

The battle platform had long been deployed; Eustass Kid sat calmly at a table, waiting for his target to appear.

Zeff pulled up a stool and sat to one side, speaking to Eustass Kid:

“You’re a man of such stature—why wait so long for a man you’ve never met?”

Eustass Kid replied coolly:

“I saw a swordsman with an interesting gaze on a bounty poster. I came to take a look.”

He spoke lightly, yet none present truly believed him—being targeted by a man like Eustass Kid was both fortune and misfortune.

Zeff asked curiously:

“Aren’t you afraid he won’t come?”

“No.”

Eustass Kid shook his head:

“He will come, without fail.”

Sanji frowned, standing nearby:

“That guy isn’t one to keep his word. He’s abandoned the very people who trusted him most in times of crisis.”

“How could such a man be trusted?”

Eustass Kid glanced at Sanji, touched the cross on his chest, and said calmly:

“If he truly cared only for his life and broke promises, he wouldn’t have that kind of gaze.”

“He may not be a pure swordsman, but he is unquestionably a worthy warrior!”

“Aren’t his subordinates, who refused to bow even unto death, the best proof?”

Sanji fell silent, yet his confusion deepened.

How could a man like that abandon his most trusted queen and survive alone in that moment?

Zeff looked at Sanji, his gaze dimming slightly; the surrounding chefs remained silent.

As everyone waited.

The sun, high in the sky, slowly sank toward the horizon, casting a crimson glow.

The deck of the Sea Restaurant Barati turned crimson.

Far across the sea, the waters remained calm—no sea beasts breached the surface, no sails approached.

“Of course…”

Sanji muttered.

His heart, which had wavered slightly due to the Cat Brothers’ and Eustass Kid’s words, now grew colder.

Knight Gao Wen?

Trash!

“How could a man like that risk his life—!”

“No!”

Eustass Kid suddenly lifted his head, gazing at the distant sea, a faint smile forming on his lips:

“He… they’re here!”

As Eustass Kid’s voice fell.

Far across the sea, a sail suddenly rose, and two sword-wielding figures emerged into view.

One was no more than fifteen or sixteen, his gaze defiant, three strange blades stuck awkwardly at his waist; the other stood tall and handsome, his eyes radiating aggression.

It was Zoro and Gao Wen, rowing here!

Zeff looked at the two figures, a slight smile tugging at his lips:

“Even knowing their opponent is the world’s greatest swordsman, even knowing they cannot win, they still risk their lives for their companion?”

“That kind of courage… is impressive!”

Sanji stared at the familiar figure on the small boat, speechless.

You’re willing to risk your life for your comrades—then why abandon the queen who trusted you most?!

…

Soon.

Gao Wen’s small boat reached near the Sea Restaurant Barati; the two leapt up and landed steadily on the deck.

Before Gao Wen could react, Zoro moved first, drawing his three blades, stepping forward one by one toward Eustass Kid.

“Captain!”

“I’ll go see what the world’s strongest looks like!”

“Impatient fellow.”

Gao Wen shook his head but made no move to stop him—he knew that at this moment, no one could deter Zoro’s rising battle spirit.

For this day, for the day he would witness the world’s strongest, Zoro had waited too long, dreamed too long.

Since the day Guina died, he had lived for this moment—to defeat the man before him!

“If you’re a true swordsman, you’ll know the gap between you and me the moment you lay eyes on me.”

Eustass Kid raised his gaze to Zoro, his tone indifferent, as if stating an undeniable fact.

“Yet still, will you draw your sword against me?!”

As he spoke.

Eustass Kid searched the young man’s face for a trace of fear or hesitation—but found none. Only a strong heart.

“When a peak stands before you, how can you not try to climb it?”

Saying this,

Zoro placed one blade between his teeth, his sweaty palms gripping the other two tighter.

Only now, facing this man directly, did he understand why even someone as strong as Gao Wen had spoken those words.

Merely being stared at by those eyes made one instinctively feel dread; the black blade strapped to his back radiated a chilling aura from tip to hilt, sending shivers down the spine!

“Interesting.”

Eustass Kid looked at the boy, his eyes brightening slightly.

He had come for Gao Wen, but unexpectedly discovered another raw gem—this courage to stand before him despite knowing defeat was certain was worthy of praise.

Eustass Kid slowly removed the cross from his chest and drew a short blade less than ten centimeters long, smirking at Zoro:

“Sorry, I don’t have a smaller blade than this.”

The familiar scene made Zoro’s lip twitch; he instinctively turned to look at Gao Wen beside him:

“Wait, do all sword masters really enjoy this trick?”

Seeing Gao Wen’s embarrassed expression, Zoro stared blankly at Eustass Kid:

“So we’re starting again with forcing you to draw your blade?”

Eustass Kid paused.

Huh?

That’s not how I expected this to go.

“You can think of it that way.”

“What a… twisted sense of humor!”

Zoro muttered, leveling his two blades in stance, his aura shifting abruptly—stronger than a month ago by far more than a notch.

His thin clothes stirred without wind.

Drawing the attention of everyone inside the Barati restaurant.

Pudding, watching the dangerous aura radiating from Zoro, broke into cold sweat:

“Hey hey hey, this kid looks young, but his presence is terrifying—even on par with Sanji!”

“Today’s youth are all monsters!”

“Tch!”

Sanji scowled, watching Zoro before him, inexplicably irritated:

“This guy still gets under my skin!”

Zeff glanced at him and chuckled:

“This unexplained irritation—perhaps there’s some special connection between you two.”

“Who wants any connection with this guy?!”

“Then do you still believe Knight Gao Wen is the kind of man who abandons his queen in crisis?”

Sanji fell silent in response to Zeff’s question.

But the battle far away had already begun.

Zoro, his aura coiled into something terrifying, stomped hard—covering dozens of meters in a few steps, his three blades striking Eustass Kid from three directions, instantly sealing every possible counterattack route!

Yet the latter’s dagger shot straight forward…

CLANG!

The dagger’s tip met the convergence of Zoro’s three blades; no matter how hard he pushed, he could not advance an inch.

“Shouldn’t I say now, the world is not so far away?!”

(End of chapter)