Another cactus with a diameter of more than ten meters was cut off by Zoro's flying slash and smashed by Lucci's punch.
The battle was getting even fiercer, their blood boiling hotter. After only a brief pause, the two combatants clashed again.
Gin looked at the two people in the field and couldn't help but exclaim: "Lucci is one thing, but for Zoro to have grown this much... No wonder the captain called him a monster."
"Yeah."
Kuro nodded.
"This guy is a person who can be valued by both Hawk Eyes and the captain at the same time. Even among us, his fighting spirit is one of the best."
"But there is still a gap between him and Lucci now. It's almost time to decide the winner of this battle now."
"Huh?"
Gin was stunned and subconsciously looked back at the two people fighting fiercely on the battlefield.
Sure enough, the next moment, Lucci seized the flaw in Zoro's sword moves and instantly broke into the dense sword net, pushing his dark fists flatly...
"Six King Gun!"
Boom!
A transparent shock wave hit Zoro's chest head-on, making him feel like he was getting rammed by a ship.
A metallic taste filled Zoro's mouth. Though he managed to keep his grip on his swords, his body was sent flying uncontrollably. He crashed through several towering cacti before finally landing on the ground.
"Hmm!"
Zoro groaned, feeling his strength drain away. He struggled several times to get up but ultimately failed.
"Want to keep going?"
Lucci appeared, his long leopard tail swaying behind him. His chest rose and fell heavily as he panted.
Clearly, his victory hadn't come easily.
"Although I am unwilling, it is yours."
Zoro closed his eyes, took out a golden coin from his arms, and threw it into the air.
Lucci raised his hand to take it and spread his palm to take a look.
What caught his eye was a golden coin with the number three engraved on the front and a skull flag with a round shield as the base on the back.
The workmanship of this coin is not very exquisite, but the meaning it represents is priceless to Lucci.
"Number three..."
"If we compare this to the emperor pirate crew, does this make me equivalent to a sweet commander or one of the calamities?"
"Regardless..."
Lucci carefully put the number three coin in his pocket close to his heart, then leaned over and stretched out his hand to Zoro: "I'll be waiting for you to take it back."
"Cocky bastard!"
Zoro grinned and complained, then held Lucci's hand and stood up with a little difficulty.
Although Zoro had a little premonition of this result, he was more or less unwilling to accept it when it really came to this point.
"Next time, I will definitely take it back!"
"No!"
As he spoke, Zoro turned his gaze toward Kuro in the distance, his eyes burning with determination.
"Next time, I want that!"
"Oh my."
Kuro smirked, utterly unfazed by Zoro's challenging glare, and couldn't resist teasing him.
"Heal your injuries first; otherwise, if you fail this time, you won't be able to raise your head for at least a few months, especially..."
Kuro's gaze swept over to Sanji, who was off to the side, training obsessively, lost in his own fantasy of victory.
"To a man who doesn't get along with you the most."
Zoro looked at Sanji, and his expression froze.
No, if he really loses to curly eyebrows, he will be laughed at by this bastard for the rest of his life!
"Chopper!"
"Doctor Chopper, reporting for duty!"
Chopper, wearing a white coat, took small steps and hurried to the scene from the back.
Although the crew's self-healing ability has been greatly improved under the blessing of Gawain's badge, after such a fierce battle, it is still necessary to check whether there are any hidden injuries left.
Such work is naturally handled by Chopper, who was the chiefship doctor.
Under Chopper's command, the two assistant doctors took Zoro back to the temporary camp in the rear to treat his injuries.
The battle on the scene continued.
Zoro and Lucci's battle was just the opening of this ranking battle. As more and more pirates entered the fray, everyone's positions in the hierarchy gradually took shape.
Van Augur defeated both Kalifa and Chopper but ultimately fell to Sanji.
"So."
"This kind of one-on-one battle with a restricted battlefield is really unfavorable for a sniper."
Sanji glanced down at the bullet hole in his clothes, unable to resist lighting a cigarette for himself.
After exhaling a puff of smoke, he continued: "If we were fighting in a place that gave you the advantage, I wouldn't dare to appear in your line of sight."
"Hahahaha."
"This is the fate of snipers."
After a few light laughs, Van Augur helplessly left the battlefield, and Sanji also stepped down to rest.
At this point, among the White Knight Pirate, aside from Kuro and Gin, who had remained steady as ever, almost everyone else had already challenged their opponents, bearing more or less some injuries.
This ranking battle was different from the previous ranking battle in the East Blue that relied on the Martial Arts Tournament.
Since Gawain was absent, there were no clear rules.
If they set their sights on an opponent, they could challenge them directly. If the opponent chose to avoid the battle, they had to hand over their coin to the challenger.
It was brutal and straightforward to an extreme degree.
At this moment, everyone's gaze was focused on Gin and Kuro, who were sitting side by side.
Seeing this, the two no longer hesitated and slowly stood up, stepping into the battlefield and facing each other. Their intent was clear without a word.
The air around them became restless. Even before the battle had begun, an invisible clash of aura was already unfolding in the void.
"There are only these two who haven't taken action yet."
"As the two senior cadres recruited by the captain, their strength is undoubtedly at the level of inhuman monsters."
"But which of these two will be stronger?"
"It should be Gin, right? Like deputy captain Kuro, he has mastered the two Haki and has the advantage of the Bone-Bone fruit."
"I don't think so."
After bandaging the wound, Lucci, Zoro, and Sanji walked out of the temporary ward and sat side by side, looking at the two people on the battlefield with interest.
"A few days ago, Kuro left Whisky Peak alone and went to Alubarna, where he got the most suitable devil fruit for himself from the captain."
"The most suitable devil fruit... for himself?!"
Sanji was stunned, and the cigarette he was about to put in his mouth stopped in mid-air.
When it came to unique fighting styles within the White Knight Pirate, the first person that came to mind was undoubtedly Kuro.
With the fusion of Shave, his signature Pussyfoot Maneuver technique allowed for short-distance bursts of movement, surpassing even Shave in speed.
This had shaped his combat style, breaking through with high speed and retreating instantly if one strike failed.
"No wonder Mr. Kuro even abandoned his familiar weapon. Did he obtain a Devil Fruit ability that perfectly complements his fighting style?!"
"But what kind of devil fruit could integrate with Kuro's combat style?!"
Whoosh!
Just as Sanji finished speaking, a sharp sound split the air from the battlefield.
Everyone turned their heads to look.
They saw the airflow around Kuro surging as if boiling.
His figure swelled, and a layer of snow-white hair grew on his limbs, fluttering in the wind.
A tail with a sharp blade swayed behind him, and there were two blades on his arms that spread outward.
His form looked both fierce and deadly!