Chapter 37: Zoro's Challenge
Lister ran a lap around the island.
After completing his warm-up.
He activated his Kuài Kuài no Mi (Fast-Fast Fruit) ability!
With a whoosh.
Lister instantly shot out over a hundred meters.
This was not Lister's true speed.
"I can go faster..."
Lister continued to accelerate.
One hundred and sixty meters per second.
One hundred and eighty meters per second.
Two hundred meters per second!
Two hundred and twenty meters per second.
When Lister pulled his speed to two hundred and twenty meters per second.
He found his speed could no longer increase.
He knew this was his fastest speed in his normal state.
The next moment, Lister decisively activated overclock mode.
Whoosh————!
His normal state's limit was broken again.
Two hundred and sixty meters per second.
Two hundred and eighty meters per second.
Three hundred meters per second!!
Three hundred and ten meters!!!
When Lister pushed his speed to three hundred and ten meters per second.
He also sensed the limit of his overclock mode.
He had not reached the speed of sound.
Lister was a little disappointed, but not too disappointed.
How long had he possessed the Devil Fruit? Not even two months in total.
He now had a speed of three hundred and ten meters per second.
He believed it wouldn't be long.
Before he could enter the era of sound speed.
Lister gradually slowed down.
Then he deactivated the overclock state.
Perhaps because his physique had reached 13.5, or perhaps because the time in overclock mode wasn't long.
Lister didn't feel particularly tired.
So he ran another lap around Cocoyasi Island before returning to Nami's house.
At this time, Nojiko had finished making breakfast.
Nami was also awake.
The two were chatting casually. Seeing Lister return, they immediately stood up and went to greet him.
"You're back!"
"I'm back. I'll go wash up first."
After Lister washed up, he had breakfast with Nami and her sister.
"Lister, back then I stayed in Syrup Village for four days. How about I stay in Cocoyasi Village for four days this time too?" Nami suddenly suggested while eating breakfast.
"Alright!!" Lister glanced at Nami and nodded.
His strength was in a period of rapid ascent.
He wasn't in a hurry to enter the Grand Line.
It was good to let Nami spend a few more days with her family.
After all, once they left, no one knew when they would be able to return.
"That's great! Nojiko, after breakfast, let's go pick tangerines! This season is exactly when the tangerines are ripe!!" Nami smiled happily.
"Okay!!" Nojiko also nodded happily.
"Nami, if you like tangerines, you can move a few tangerine trees onto the ship. That way, you can see the tangerine trees from your hometown every day," Lister smiled.
"That's a good suggestion!!" Nami's eyes lit up.
"Okay, it's decided! Nojiko, later, help me dig up a few tangerine trees and put them in pots.
That way, I can see the tangerine trees every day.
Seeing the tangerine trees, no matter where I am, I'll feel like I'm right back in Cocoyasi Village!!"
"Okay!!!" Nojiko unconditionally supported Nami's request.
After breakfast.
Nami and Nojiko went to the tangerine grove.
Lister returned to the pirate ship to check on things.
As a result, just as he was walking past the ruins of Arlong Park.
He was stopped by Zoro.
"Captain Lister, today, I'm challenging you!" Zoro said, staring at Lister with a burning gaze.
The past two days, Zoro had been injured.
He hadn't challenged Lister.
Now, his injuries were more or less healed.
He couldn't wait to jump out and issue a challenge to Lister!
"Alright!" Lister didn't waste words and directly accepted Zoro's challenge.
He was idle anyway.
Sparring with Zoro wasn't a bad idea.
Zoro grinned.
He immediately wrapped his green bandana around his head.
He drew his three swords.
His gaze, like a beast's, locked onto Lister!
Full of aggression.
The nearby pirates, seeing Zoro challenge Lister, immediately gathered around curiously.
Some troublemaker shouted directly: "Place your bets, place your bets!
Bet on how many rounds the General Captain can last against the Captain!"
The surrounding pirates heard this and immediately became interested.
"I bet a handful of claws, one round, the General Captain gets one-shotted by the Captain!"
"I bet one meat skewer, the General Captain will be defeated within three moves!!"
"I bet one hundred Beri, the General Captain can withstand ten moves this time!!"
"..."
Zoro didn't pay any attention to the pirates' betting.
At this moment, in his eyes, there was only Lister.
His fighting spirit had brewed sufficiently.
Suddenly, Zoro shot towards Lister like an arrow released from a bow.
"Overclock mode!!"
Lister activated overclock not to instantly defeat Zoro.
Because one-shotting him once was enough.
If he kept one-shotting him, he was afraid Zoro couldn't take that kind of blow.
He activated overclock mode to observe Zoro's fighting style.
After all, isn't there an old saying: "When three walk together, one will surely be my teacher!"
Zoro's current strength might not be his equal.
But, Zoro had a good teacher, his foundation was well-laid, and his techniques were relatively comprehensive, offering something to learn from.
[Observed combat techniques while fighting Zoro, comprehended the Isshin-ryu basic training method!]
[Observed combat techniques while fighting Zoro, comprehended basic movement footwork!]
[Observed combat style while fighting Zoro, comprehended One Thousand Slashes in an Instant, Mad Demon's Wild Dance!]
[Was pushed back by his sword during the fight with Zoro, comprehended 'Lifting the Light as if it were Heavy'!]
[Fighting with Zoro, combat experience is continuously increasing!]
[Realized during the fight with Zoro that his own techniques have many flaws!]
[Continuously correcting and modifying his sword techniques during the fight with Zoro, his techniques are becoming more concise, sharper, and more unpredictable...]
[...]
Lister and Zoro fought for about ten minutes.
The two still hadn't determined a winner.
The crowd of onlookers was completely dumbfounded.
"What happened to one round!!"
"What happened to the crushing victory."
"How did it turn into this!"
"Idiot, don't you get it? The Captain is feeding the General Captain moves."
"Is it possible that the Captain is actually improving too!!"
"That makes sense. I feel like the Captain's swordsmanship is getting more concise and more unpredictable."
In this battle, both Zoro and Lister improved, but Lister improved faster.
At first, Zoro could trade blows back and forth with Lister, but gradually, he started to struggle.
In the end, he was bitterly defeated at Lister's hands.
Zoro was defeated, but he was not discouraged.
He even stared at Lister for a long while, then suddenly smiled.
This sparring match made him feel as if he had returned to his childhood, competing with Kuina.
Although he lost.
A strong desire to catch up surged in his heart.
"Next time, I will definitely defeat you!!"
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