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Chapter 80: The Giant Brogy
"Clang!"
A heavy metallic impact resounded as the blades hacked viciously onto the white shield. The feedback felt like striking an iron wall, making Zoro's wrists tingle numbly.
The wax shield, however, was only cut with a deep mark; it didn't shatter.
"This hard?"
A flash of surprise crossed Zoro's eyes. He truly hadn't expected this ordinary-looking wax to have a hardness comparable to steel once solidified. With his current cutting power, he couldn't yet cut steel.
"Hmph! Now you know how amazing I am!"
Seeing this, Galdino smugly pushed up his glasses. The heart that was in his throat relaxed a little, and his tone became arrogant again.
"The white wax my ability creates has a hardness comparable to fine steel! How could you possibly cut it so easily!"
Before his voice had even faded, he activated his ability again. His arms, like melting candles, poured more thick wax into the ground. A white tide spread rapidly from his position, quickly turning the ground for tens of meters around into a viscous, muddy white swamp that emitted a faint waxy smell.
"Oh. Quick reactions."
He looked up at the sky with some surprise. The moment he activated his ability, the blue-haired young woman had already lifted off lightly, holding Marianu. She hovered in the air, her skirt fluttering slightly.
A flying ability user. That was somewhat rare.
As for the green-haired swordsman who gave him so much pressure. He too, as if foreseeing it, had rapidly retreated just before the wax surged out. He was now standing on a thick tree branch a hundred meters away, frowning and looking down on the area now covered in white wax.
"Ability users... one is more troublesome than the next."
Zoro stood on high, gazing at the hellish scene below. If not for that faint, mysterious premonition he had just grasped warning him in time, he would likely be trapped in that viscous wax.
However, with no ground to stand on, how was he supposed to fight this opponent hiding within his wax domain?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just then. The sound of heavy footsteps, like a mountain moving, approached from the distance. It shook the ground and even made the large tree Zoro was standing on tremble.
A massive figure parted the dense woods and appeared in their vision.
It was the other giant who had just been in a fierce battle with Dorry: Brogy.
"Hey, little ones!"
Brogy's booming voice was like muffled thunder. He scratched his giant head.
"If you're going to fight, go somewhere else. Can you let me go into my cave to rest?"
Brogy had witnessed the fight. Born in Elbaf, a place that revered battle, he didn't oppose fighting and even admired brave warriors. But that was only if they didn't disturb his precious post-battle rest.
If they hadn't been fighting right at his cave entrance, he definitely wouldn't have interrupted. The century-long duel with Dorry just now had depleted nearly all his stamina and Haki. He just wanted to get some sleep.
"G... Giant?!!"
When Galdino saw who it was, his eyes nearly popped out. His face instantly turned pale, filled with panic.
He suddenly remembered. He had already filled the giant's cave with undisguised wax traps. If the giant went in now, he would immediately discover his little scheme.
At that point, he would have to face an enraged giant, a formidable swordsman watching him like a tiger, and a mysterious, flying girl of unknown strength, all at the same time.
No matter how he thought about it, the ending was certain doom.
Run! He had to run immediately!
The thought flashed through his mind like lightning. Galdino didn't hesitate. His figure shot backward like a startled rabbit, and after a few leaps, he dove into the depths of the dense jungle and disappeared.
After he fled, the sticky wax left on the ground began to rapidly solidify. In just ten-odd seconds, it hardened into a flat, smooth, waxen surface.
Zoro leaped down from the tree, his feet landing on the hardened wax as if it were solid ground.
Ganyu, still holding a dazed Marianu, slowly descended from the air.
"How does it feel to fight an ability user?" Ganyu asked Zoro, gently pinching the little girl's cheek.
"It's tricky,"
Zoro said, sheathing his swords. His brow was still furrowed.
"It's a lot like facing that smoke-using Marine captain back in Loguetown. A frustrating feeling of having strength but no way to use it."
He clearly felt that after entering the Grand Line, the enemies he faced, whether in strength or strangeness of ability, were far beyond what the East Blue had. His current set of techniques seemed to be falling behind.
Just like now, facing that wax swamp, he couldn't find an effective counter-strategy.
"You do need to improve,"
Ganyu said, lifting her foot and tapping the hard wax ground with her heel, making a knock-knock sound.
"At the very least, you should be able to easily cut something of this hardness, right?"
It didn't feel that hard to her. She could probably shatter it with one stomp.
Hearing this, Zoro glanced down. His gaze swept past her ankle, which was adorned with a red cord, and he replied in a deep voice: "I'm not far from the level my master spoke of. Soon, I'll be able to cut even steel."
His master, Koushirou, was the master of the Isshin Dojo in Shimotsuki Village in the East Blue. Before he set sail, Koushirou had shown him a technique: he struck paper with a sword, but the paper was not cut.
He said: true swordsmanship doesn't rely on the sharpness of the blade, but on the will of the swordsman.
If you don't wish to cut, you can't even cut paper.
But if you do wish to cut, you can cut anything, whether it's steel or something even harder.
If he could reach that level, he could truly call himself a swordsman.
"Young swordsman, perhaps you are still missing a battle that can truly sharpen your blade."
Suddenly, the giant's deep, sonorous voice rumbled like thunder from above.
As he spoke, Brogy had already sat down, his massive body like a small hill.
He looked down at Zoro with great interest, his gaze lingering on the three swords at his waist. He suddenly let out a loud, hearty laugh:
"Gahahaha! I never thought I'd meet a young swordsman with so much potential on this remote island!"
After laughing, he seemed to remember something. His giant hand reached behind him, grabbed a massive dinosaur corpse, and tossed it casually onto the ground with a heavy thud.
"Are you two hungry?"
Brogy grinned, his smile broad.
"I was going to go hunting after my fight, but I got lucky and found this guy on the way. Someone gave it a clean cut to the neck. How about it? Want to share it with me?"