Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 116 Melee: Zoro launches a surprise attack on Vista!

With a bang, Jozu, whose body had turned into diamond, slammed heavily into the military formation. The shockwave from his fall shattered the ground, and the naval members within dozens of meters were thrown away by the force, their screams and wails echoing endlessly.

Without any hesitation, Joz quickly crawled out of the crater in the ground, and with a powerful swing of his thick arm, he knocked away two naval captains who were attacking him, breaking their bones.

The sound of gunfire rang out, but the bullets had no effect on Joz; his defense was truly exceptional.

In addition, his strength was enormous. When he rushed into the battlefield, he was like a raging bull, unstoppable by anyone.

Just then, a figure wearing a justice cloak and the epaulets of a lieutenant general rushed in front of Joz and shouted, "All officers below the rank of general, stand back!"

He is Vice Admiral Dalmesia, the user of the Zoan-type Dog-Dog Fruit, the Devil Fruit of Dalmatian.

He has maintained a half-beast state for many years and has developed his abilities very well. Before Jozu could smash another naval captain away, he blocked Jozu and pressed down on Jozu's diamond-shaped arm with his claws.

"What incredible strength!" Dalmesia couldn't help but exclaim in his heart.

As a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, he possesses exceptional physical abilities and considerable strength, but at this moment, he seems to be struggling to suppress Jozu.

Just as Jozu was about to break free of Dalmesia's claws, another "Naval Hound" appeared. Doberman, wielding a long sword, charged out from the scattered army formation with a powerful aura and slashed at Jozu's neck.

With a clang, Joz showed no intention of dodging, using his diamond-like ability to block Doberman's fierce slash with his neck.

"This guy is unbelievably hard!" Doberman cursed.

"Blame your weak attacks!" Joz sneered, suddenly exerting force with both arms to break free of Dalmesia's grip, and then rammed headfirst into Doberman.

Doberman reacted quickly, holding his longsword across his chest to block Joz's impact, but he was knocked back about ten meters. Then, without pausing, he raised his sword and charged at Joz again.

The two vice admirals launched a very rapid offensive. As the Navy's double hunters, their cooperation was also quite tacit. Although they could not inflict effective damage on Jozu for the time being, they managed to stop Jozu with their rhythmic attacks, preventing him from escaping.

On the other side, Vista, the Flower Swordsman, shattered the Haki and Iron Body of a Marine Rear Admiral with a single slash, leaving a bloody gash on his chest. Without stopping, he swiftly charged toward the execution platform.

He wielded his twin swords with incredible speed and skill, and no navy soldier could withstand his attacks.

Lieutenant General Fire Mountain, with a cigar in his mouth, was also observing the situation. He spotted Vista at a glance, frowned, and was just about to make a move when suddenly a bolt of lightning erupted from under the execution platform. The next moment, two slashes carrying the power of lightning suddenly appeared and headed towards Vista.

Vista immediately noticed the powerful slash, his eyes gleaming. He swung his longsword, causing several rose-like flowers to bloom, and with two sharp cracks, he shattered the lightning slash.

Before he could retract the blade he had swung out, a bolt of lightning exploded less than two meters in front of him, and then a man with short green hair and a very capable aura rushed out from the lightning.

Roronoa Zoro!

"Dual-Sword Style: Double Slash!" Zoro wielded the Sandai Kitetsu in one hand and the Yubashiri in the other, unleashing two slashes at Vista.

Vista truly hadn't expected this person to appear right in front of him so suddenly. At this moment, he couldn't retract his arms from his sword in time because the distance was too close. Therefore, he had no choice but to abandon his charging posture, stomped his foot hard, cracking the ground, and retreated rapidly, narrowly missing Zoro's two sword strikes.

Even so, the sharp blades from Zoro's two slashes pierced his chest, leaving two bloody welts.

Neither Zoro nor Vista paid any attention to the scratches. As soon as their feet touched the ground, Vista held his two swords horizontally in front of him. Sure enough, in the next instant, Zoro flashed out of the lightning again, his Kitetsu and Yubashiri slashing at Vista's swords.

"Who are you? I don't remember having a swordsman like you in the Navy!" Vista asked, unable to contain himself after blocking Zoro's attack.

"Roronoa Zoro, I'm not a Marine yet!" Zoro didn't hide anything and responded directly. At the same time, he twisted his ankle, spun around on the spot, and slashed at Vista again with his two swords, which spun half a circle.

Vista, a top-tier swordsman, was not afraid of Zoro at all. Soon, the two were engaged in a fierce battle, their blades clashing with Haki, sparking a great deal of fire. Shattered sword energy and slashes bloomed around them, with roses and lightning shooting out haphazardly. As a result, no one could get close to them, as the slightest carelessness would result in injury from the aftershocks of their attacks.

The chaos was currently confined to the military formations and had not yet affected the original frontline Shichibukai ranks.

Donquixote Doflamingo, rubbing his chin with one hand and looking surprised, said, "I never thought that some nobody in the Navy could stop a top-tier swordsman like Vista?"

"Roronoa Zoro," Djorkol Mihawk whispered.

"What?" Doflamingo didn't quite hear him and casually asked.

"I said, that guy's name is Roronoa Zoro, not some nobody," Mihawk said, giving Zoro a compliment.

"Is that so, Roronoa?" Doflamingo's eyes flashed with seriousness as he said, "To be recognized by the world's greatest swordsman like yourself, it seems my intelligence gathering has been inadequate lately."

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

He had never heard of this name before, but the First Swordsman Mihawk knew him and acknowledged his strength, which made Doflamingo think that there must be something wrong with him.

But in truth, Mihawk was also somewhat surprised. The last time he saw Zoro, the kid was still very young and inexperienced, and there was absolutely no way he could be a match for Vista. In fact, Mihawk was quite certain that Vista could defeat the Zoro he remembered back then within ten rounds.

And how long has it been?

In less than half a year, that little guy who had the ambition of a swordsman but whose strength was negligible was actually able to fight Vista, who had been famous for many years, for dozens of rounds without being at a disadvantage!

This rate of growth truly exceeded Mihawk's expectations.

"That lightning power... is it the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?" Mihawk quickly recognized the Devil Fruit power Zoro was using, but didn't see anything wrong with it.

Many swordsmen also possess Devil Fruit abilities. Shiki, whom he wants to fight right now, is a representative example. Everyone knows that he is a user of the Float-Float Fruit, but no one thinks that just because he is a user of a Devil Fruit, he cannot be a great swordsman!

"No, even with the supposedly invincible Rumble-Rumble Fruit as an aid, his swordsmanship has progressed somewhat unexpectedly. Even his style has changed a bit." Mihawk carefully observed Zoro and analyzed in his mind.

Last time, he had casually given Zoro a few pointers, so he knew very well that Zoro's swordsmanship at that time was fierce and swift, wide and sweeping, with a ferocious aura like a wild beast. But now, Mihawk discovered that Zoro's swordsmanship style had changed somewhat. In addition to its fierceness, it had become more delicate. What pleased Mihawk even more was that these two styles had been blended together in Zoro's hands without any abruptness or obscurity, indicating that he had completely mastered the technique!

"But it's still not enough." Mihawk quickly came to another conclusion. Perhaps with the speed of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Roronoa Zoro could keep up with Vista, but if he wanted to win, at least with his current strength, he couldn't!

"Vista is also a top swordsman, aren't you going to make a move?" Doflamingo asked after glancing at Mihawk.

Mihawk calmly shook his head, then stopped paying attention to Zoro and Vista, instead looking up at the sky and saying, "I'm waiting for the other one."

(End of this chapter)