Chapter 28: Conflict of Interests

A few minutes after Drake had departed, Thomas left her quarters to find Astolfo waiting for him with her Hippogriff. The latter drew a considerable amount of attention from the Straw Hats, specifically Lucy and Usopp, but Drake quickly got everyone on track, saying, "Now that we've finished the introductions, let's get this party started. Musashi, you're up."

Though she didn't think Zoro was at a level where she could enjoy herself, Musashi stepped forward with her hand resting on the end of her katana, teasing, "Do your best. Just know that once you run out of techniques, it's my turn to attack."

Furrowing his brows, Zoro said, "You shouldn't underestimate me so much..." before placing a white-hilted katana in his mouth and drawing his remaining two. His actions earned him a brow raise from Musashi, but she didn't call him out for his ridiculousness. Instead, she just spread her feet slightly, ready for whatever the green-haired man might throw at her.

Leaning forward, Zoro crossed his swords at a single point, exclaiming, "Oni-giri...!" as he rushed forward like a blur. Oni Giri was Zoro's bread and butter, the signature technique that had allowed him to take out numerous Pirates and bandits. No one had ever been able to see through or block the combination of three swords slicing from different directions, so his eyes widened to their limits when Musashi casually intercepted his attack with the pommel of her katana, remarking, "You have a lot of power..."

Before Zoro could respond, Musashi sent him skidding back by simply using her thumb to unsheathe her katana a few centimeters. As a Heroic Spirit, she had been vested B-Rank Strength, so, while she typically relied on her nearly-perfected techniques to defeat her adversaries, she wasn't lacking in raw power.

After recovering from his momentary stupor, Zoro's expression became severe as he rushed at Musashi. He was initially reluctant about fighting a woman, but now he 'had' to know the distance between him and Musashi.

Without drawing her swords, Musashi effortlessly evaded each of Zoro's attacks, no matter whether they were executed intentionally or as a result of him flailing about randomly. There was a tremendous difference in their respective speed and overall skill, so she could see through and react to Zoro's attacks before his body could catch up with what his mind wanted to do.

Seeing Musashi weave in and around his attacks with an almost bored look on her face, Zoro internally exclaimed, ("This is absurd! There can't be this big a difference between me and another swordsman!")

Creating some distance between himself and Musashi, Zoro raised his swords over his head, angling them behind the blade sticking out of his mouth as an illusory tiger formed around him. Even Thomas could see it, so Musashi perked her brows and mused, "Good spirit as well..."

Moving even faster than when he executed his Oni Giri, Zoro exclaimed, "Tora-Gari...!" through gritted teeth. At the same time, an audible tiger's roar echoed through the area as his figure briefly overlapped Musashi's, passing by her as if she didn't have time to react. At least, that was how things appeared from the perspectives of Thomas, Lucy, Nami, Usopp, and the two Bounty Hunters, Johnny and Yosaku. On the side of the Wild Hunt, each of them saw clearly as Musashi casually side-stepped Zoro's attack before returning to her initial position.

Feeling no feedback, even though his swords appeared to pass through Musashi's body, Zoro's breathing became progressively ragged. He was giving it his all, yet he hadn't even been able to force the former to draw her sword. It was maddening...

Looking back at Musashi, a fierce glimmer flashed across Zoro's eyes as he said, "The distance between us can't be this great..."

Sensing the pressure emanating from Zoro abruptly increase, a faint smile developed across Musashi's face. She suspected the former was tapping into the mysterious power known as Haki as, for a brief moment, he gave off a dangerous, seemingly indomitable aura.

Grabbing the hilt of her sword in a reverse grip, Musashi surprised Zoro by saying, "Remember that feeling." before abruptly 'disappearing' from view. In the very next moment, she appeared behind Zoro, sword resting on her shoulder as she added, "You will become strong in the future."

Immediately following Musashi's words, Zoro collapsed onto the ground, his eyes rolled back despite no visible wounds on his body. Musashi had reached the level where she could slice even concepts, so rather than cut Zoro's body, she directly attacked his 'consciousness.'

"Zoro...!"

Feeling slightly panicked, Lucy ran over to Zoro's side to confirm that he was still alive. When she didn't find any injuries on her body, a relieved sigh emanated from her throat, followed by confusion as she looked up at Musashi, asking, "What did you do to him...?"

Adopting a faint smile, Musashi stated, "I just knocked him out. He'll wake up on his own in an hour or two. You could also just toss a bucket of water onto him. That ought to do the trick."

Instead of using Musashi's proposed method, Lucy abruptly punched the sleeping Zoro on the head, shouting, "Oi! Wake up, Zoro...!"

Hissing in pain, Zoro abruptly sat up, rubbing a visible knot on his head as he grumbled, "What was that for...?"

Pointing toward Musashi, Lucy plainly stated, "You got beat up," with a deadpan expression on her face.

Following Lucy's finger, Zoro's expression paled when he saw Musashi standing relaxedly nearby while he had just awoken from being face-down on the ground.

The moment Zoro's gaze met her own, Musashi reiterated, "You have the potential to become much stronger. Once you do, feel free to challenge me again."

Returning her sword to her sheathe, Musashi turned away with the intent of rejoining her crew. Before she could take more than a few steps, Zoro called out to her, saying, "Wait! Tell me how you became this strong as a woman! What kind of secret method did you use...!?"

Half-turning, a confused look marred Musashi's face as she asked, "What does my gender have to do with my strength or skill? Once you attain true mastery, there are only two things that matter. Your desire to cut, and the object being cut..."

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Punctuating her words, Musashi looked toward the cloudy skies above before drawing her sword at an ungraspable speed. Thomas had claimed there were people in this world that could part the clouds in two, so she was 'absolutely certain' she could do the same.

While other Swordsmen produced terrifying auras when they attacked, Musashi's swordsmanship gave off 'no' impression whatsoever. She had yet to master it fully, but she had stepped into the Realm of Nothingness long ago. As a result, unless her opponent possessed a similar degree of mastery or something like Advanced Observation Haki, it was impossible to perceive even the afterimage of her techniques.

Following Musashi's gaze, everyone from the Straw Hats stared in utter disbelief as they witnessed the clouds split in two. Thomas was similarly awed by the demonstration, but he also genuinely believed that Musashi could defeat Mihawk. Since the latter was considered the rival of Shanks, the first person in the series to exhibit a sky-splitting attack, it wasn't too surprising that Musashi could perform a similar feat.

Returning her sword to its sheathe, Musashi stated, "Swordsmanship has no limits whatsoever. Men may have the advantage in the early stages of development, but that's only when comparing common, everyday people against one another. There are women in this world that can destroy small mountains with their punches. If gender were a truly insurmountable wall, every man in the world would be able to accomplish such feats with ease. The only people who care about such notions are the weak..."

Finished with her words, Musashi returned to where the other members of the Wild Hunt were waiting, winking as she passed Thomas. He had asked her to show off a bit since he feared that Don Krieg and Mihawk might not show up. This was the result.

Nodding his head in approval, Thomas whispered, "Thanks, Musashi..." before breaking off from the group. There was no way Usopp could face Atalanta in a Sniper/marksmanship contest, so the next match would be him against Lucy.

As Luffy was still seated on the ground next to a visibly shaken Zoro, Thomas asked, "Should we continue this another day? Your First Mate looks like he's about to take the biggest shit of his life..."

Recovering from his stupor, Zoro growled, "Bastard..." while Lucy laughed in amusement. A few seconds later, she bounced to her feet, stating, "I'm ready when you are, Tom. But are you sure about this? Now that Zoro lost, I have no choice but to get a little serious."

Before Thomas could reply, Drake chimed in to say, "You speak as though you've already won. While it's true that Tom is the weakest member of the Wild Hunt, he isn't a slouch. He has worked hard to reach his current level, so if you look down on him, you'll end up experiencing a lot of pain..."

"Hmmm..."

Though she got the impression there was something 'off' about Thomas, Lucy didn't feel the same sensation from him that she got from people like her Grampa. He was tall, muscular, and had a rugged appearance, but he didn't 'feel' like a seasoned warrior. It was difficult to put into words, but there was a certain lack of 'conviction' in his expression and movements. He kind of reminded her of Usopp, just a lot beefier.

Taking advantage of Lucy's silence, Drake attempted to move forward with her proposal, stating, "Since you seem so confident, why don't we spice things up with a bet? If you win, Tom will join the Straw Hats as a member of your crew. If we win-"

Before Drake could finish baiting her trap, Caenis, Astolfo, and Benienma interrupted her, stating, "Bullshit!" "No way~!" and "Inconceivable, dechi!" Even Atalanta seemed displeased by the turn of events, glaring at Drake with a disproving look on her face.

As she expected a bit of pushback from those closest to Thomas, Drake remained calm as she said, "Don't get your knickers in a twist. I wouldn't be suggesting this if it wasn't for Thomas's benefit. Being trapped within our shadows is stunting his growth as-"

Though she raised her arm to try and protect her face, Drake was sent flying by a haymaker, courtesy of a crimson-eyed Caenis. Chiron quickly moved to restrain her, but Caenis sent him reeling with an elbow to the face before charging toward Drake, shouting, "You treacherous snake! I knew you eventually do something like this...!"

Before Caenis could reach Drake and give her a thrashing, the tip of her toe managed to catch a tiny yet uncompromising pebble, tripping her as the pink-haired Pirate Queen leaped into the sky to avoid her. When she landed, she spat out six teeth, blood trailing from her lips as she adopted a gruesome smile and remarked, "Man, you really got me good with that one..."

Materializing her two flintlocks and four of the Hind's artillery batteries, Drake's smile became especially vicious as she teased, "Attacking your Captain with the intent to kill is a fairly mutinous action..."

Generating an aura that caused stray dust and rocks to rise around her, Caenis glared at Drake with murderous intent as she growled, "You may be our Captain, but you are 'not' our Master..."

As the sky overhead began to darken and the seas became turbulent, Caenis manifested her spear, fully intending to kill Drake. Before the two of them could engage each other, however, Thomas abruptly raised his hand, shouting, "That's enough...!" as an invisible force radiating from the Command Spells on his hand...

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(A/N: Oh, wow, would you look at that? It turns out that Drake doesn't speak for every member of the Wild Hunt. Who could have possibly imagined such a thing? It's almost like events can occur outside the characters' expectations (O o O). Not that this is one of them...)

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