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

Chapter 13 Bane VS Zoro!

In the spacious kendo arena, two figures are exchanging blows.

One of them is Bane, and the other is Zoro.

Bane, wielding a long sword in both hands, swiftly parried in front of him, while Zoro, on the offensive, was imposing, using his three-sword style to suppress Bane, leaving him with almost no opening to counterattack.

Bane was already strong and powerful, while Zoro, though not as physically imposing as Bane, was also incredibly strong. Their weapons clashed, occasionally sparking out bursts of sparks.

In the instant after the two had exchanged blows dozens of times, Zoro suddenly slid a sword forward, it flew out of his hand, and the blade lashed out at Bane, pointing directly at his neck.

Bane seemed to have been caught off guard by this move. In his haste, he instinctively raised his sword to block, but this action exposed an opening in his chest.

"It's over!" Zoro roared, using his free hand to snatch the Wado Ichimonji from his mouth. Then, his aura surged, and he briefly gathered strength in his arms.

Those already impressive biceps swelled up as if they'd been inflated!

"Dual Sword Style: Rhinoceros Return!"

The two swords in Zoro's hands, like rhinoceros horns, suddenly thrust towards Bane's chest.

At that moment, Bane realized that he had lost the sword fight.

That's right. Half a year ago, Bane successfully became a disciple of Koushirou and a member of the Isshin Dojo.

Actually, Koushirou didn't initially want to teach Bane anything about Haki; he seemed to be intentionally hiding his past. However, Bane was shameless and used a despicable tactic: "Mr. Koushirou, you don't want others to know that you are friends with the Revolutionary Army leader, Mr. Dragon, right?" He successfully persuaded Koushirou to change his title from "teacher" to "master."

Bane initially thought that by forcing Koushirou in this way, Koushirou's subsequent teaching might be difficult for him. However, it turned out that he had underestimated the situation. After taking him in, Koushirou never made things difficult for him and had always been dedicated to teaching him the basics of swordsmanship and the application of Haki.

That's right, it's just the foundation of Haki. As for Ryuo and the like, according to Koushirou, they will be taught at the very end.

Surprisingly, Bane was also very talented in kendo.

Furthermore, relying on his physical strength, Zoro is currently the only one in the entire Isshin Dojo who can suppress him in swordsmanship.

After all, he might have some talent in swordsmanship, while Zoro is truly exceptionally talented and has been practicing swordsmanship for many years. In terms of swordsmanship alone, Bane is no match for Zoro.

Just as Zoro's two swords were about to pierce Bane's chest, Bane decisively threw his sword aside. This action signified that the battle that followed would no longer be a simple swordsmanship contest.

And it's clear that Zoro has long been used to this style of fighting between them.

"Shave!" Bane slipped and vanished in a flash, causing Zoro's two sword strikes to miss completely.

The next second, Bane's tall figure appeared behind Zoro, his fingers filled with a strong dark element, and his hand, in a claw shape, reached for Zoro's shoulder.

Zoro, whose two attacks missed, reacted extremely quickly. Without even turning around, he sensed the danger and shouted, "Shave!"

His figure also disappeared from Bane's sight in that instant.

That's right. Since Bane came to the school with his own skills, he didn't hold back his abilities when teaching Zoro and the others. In any case, he had asked Smoker before, and Smoker didn't object to Bane teaching others the Six Powers. He only asked Bane to be good at judging people and not to entrust his skills to the wrong people.

Therefore, not long after he arrived at Isshin Dojo, he began to teach Zoro how to master the power of the Six Powers.

Zoro originally planned to leave the dojo to go out and train, but he didn't expect that Bane would come and bring a brand new version that he had never seen before. This sparked his interest in the Six Powers, and he has been training in this area for the past six months.

However, unlike Bane, who studied all six styles comprehensively, Zoro was only interested in five of them: Shave Step, Moon Walk, Tempest Kick, Iron Body, and Paper Drawing. As for Finger Pistol, he only had a rough understanding of it and never bothered to study it.

The instant Zoro disappeared from his sight, Bane didn't hesitate and immediately launched a spinning back kick.

Sure enough, Zoro landed right there. Facing Bane's whip kick, he didn't hesitate and raised his twin swords to block. In the next instant, Bane kicked the blades.

Unexpectedly, the flesh and blood striking the blade produced a clanging sound, as if two metals were colliding.

If you look closely, you'll notice that there's a faint black aura on Bane's legs. This aura isn't his ability; it's Armament Haki!

That's right. For the past six months, Bane has mainly been training in the power of Haki. He can't be said to be an expert now, but he has certainly entered the realm of Armament Haki!

With a difficult stance, Bane pinned Zoro's two swords down with one leg, while simultaneously clasping his hands together in front of his chest and uttering a low shout: "Black Annihilation - Tide Surge!"

As his words fell, in an instant, he seemed to transform into a dark abyss. Endless dark elements, like surging waves, spread out from his body in all directions, swallowing everything around him, including the ground.

Meanwhile, on the second floor outside the kendo dojo, Koushirou was holding a cup of tea and watching the fight inside.

However, right now, the kendo dojo was completely shrouded in darkness, and he could neither see Bane nor Zoro.

"Logia-type Devil Fruit users are as terrifying as ever," Koushirou said with a chuckle, taking a sip of tea.

In swordsmanship, Zoro can always overpower Bane, a situation that never fails. Similarly, when Bane puts down his sword, Zoro has absolutely no chance of fighting back against Bane's overall strength.

Just as Koushirou finished his reflection, he saw the dark elements in the dojo recede like a receding tide, retreating back towards the center of the arena. Soon, Bane and Zoro reappeared in his sight.

However, Bane stood still, his hands clasped together in front of his chest, like a devout monk.

Zoro was in a rather awkward situation. He was completely enveloped by dark elements, forming a dark sphere with only his head protruding from it. He was floating in the air, unable to struggle or move.

"Damn it, put me down!" Zoro cursed.

"You admit defeat?" Bane asked Zoro with a grin.

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

"If you admit defeat first, I'll admit defeat!" Zoro gritted his teeth and replied with some resentment.

Bane understood the boy's competitive spirit very well, and had no intention of tormenting him. He readily admitted, "In terms of swordsmanship, I am no match for you. I concede defeat."

Zoro's face twitched slightly, but after a moment, he resigned himself to his fate and said, "In terms of strength, you are far superior to me. I concede."

After the two admitted defeat to each other, Bane withdrew his powers and released Zoro from his dark water prison.

"That's practically cheating. Your dark power enveloped the entire space, leaving no light source and completely blocking our vision. If we can't master Observation Haki, we have no chance of winning at all," Zoro said helplessly as he picked up his sword from the ground.

Since Bane has learned Haki, Koushirou naturally won't leave Zoro unattended, so Zoro is currently also learning the power of Haki.

However, both he and Bane are quite talented in Armament Haki, but their Observation Haki is just so-so.

As for Conqueror's Haki, neither of them has mastered it yet.

"That's the power of Devil Fruits. If you're interested, I'll get you one when you go out to sea for training in the future. Don't say your senior brother isn't taking care of you," Bane laughed.

"I'm the senior brother, okay?" Zoro retorted angrily.

"Didn't we agree? Whoever is stronger will be the senior brother," Bane retorted matter-of-factly.

"I thought you were talking about swordsmanship!" Zoro said angrily.

"Are you kidding me? Strength is strength. How can you talk about swordsmanship alone? You don't actually think that all the opponents you'll encounter in the future will only know how to use a knife, do you?" Bane mocked without any politeness.

Zoro was furious, itching to cut Bane to pieces, but considering the vast difference in their strength, he swallowed his anger and reluctantly said, "When I'm stronger than you in the future..."

"I'll call you senior brother then. I'm a man of my word, unlike some people," Bane teased deliberately.

"Who broke their promise?!" Zoro immediately bristled.

"Then what should you call me?" Bane asked, raising his chin arrogantly.

Zoro's face twitched, and veins bulged on his forehead, but he still managed to lower his voice and whisper, "Senior brother."

On the second floor in the distance, Koushirou watched the two brothers interact and couldn't help but smile. Whenever this happened, he felt that accepting Bane's teachings might not be a bad thing.

(End of this chapter)