The two brothers' sudden and bizarre attack caught Zoro off guard, and by the time he reacted, it was too late!
"Slash!"
Blood splattered as Zoro let out a pained grunt. A deep claw mark appeared on his chest, blood gushing out. Zoro had been seriously injured in an instant!
"Zoro!"
"This is bad!"
Seeing this, Nami and Usopp cried out in shock.
"Hehehe, people like you always underestimate us. You thought we were slow and clumsy, but you fell right into our trap. That's the price of judging by appearances!"
"A swordsman? Is that all you've got?"
The two brothers sneered coldly, looking at Zoro with mocking eyes.
"Hahaha, as expected of the Cat Brothers! You're incredible!"
"In our crew, aside from the Captain and Mr. Jango, the Cat Brothers are the strongest. Go on, use your claws to brutally kill this guy!"
"Trying to stop the Black Cat Pirates? You're a hundred years too early!"
The pirates burst into laughter, taunting Zoro and shouting for his death.
"Stop wasting time, Cat Brothers. The Captain only gave us half an hour. If we're late, you know the consequences. Hurry up and kill them!"
Jango glanced at his watch and urged the Cat Brothers.
"Yes."
"We'll do it now!"
Hearing this, the two brothers shuddered, as if being late would bring something terrifying upon them. They sneered, extending their claws and charging at Zoro.
"Die a cruel death!"
The two shouted as they attacked.
"Damn it!"
Zoro didn't dare let his guard down. He drew his swords and engaged the Cat Brothers in a fierce battle!
The Cat Brothers' claws were vicious, and their attacks were lightning fast. Zoro found himself on the defensive, taking blow after blow and completely suppressed!
The three clashed in a fierce battle of speed and aggression.
"This isn't good. Zoro's completely overwhelmed. At this rate, he'll die!"
Usopp said worriedly.
"Zoro's strongest in his Three-Sword Style, but the Cat Brothers are too fast, and he can't find any openings. If this keeps up, he'll die. We have to create an opening for him!"
Nami observed the battle carefully. She could see what needed to be done, but creating an opening would be extremely difficult!
"Even if it's hard, we have to do it!"
Nami gritted her teeth, and without hesitation, she pulled out a dagger and threw it toward the three combatants!
"Idiot!"
Zoro shouted.
"Hmph, seeking death!"
"Daring to interfere in our fight? Kill her!"
The Cat Brothers' eyes turned cold, shifting their focus to Nami. One of them swung his claw, deflecting the dagger back toward her like a shooting star!
"Damn it!"
Seeing this, Zoro shouted in anger and was about to leap in to shield Nami. If he didn't, she would surely die!
"Don't worry, just fight!"
But before he could move, Moonlight's voice rang out suddenly!
Then—
"Buzz!"
A crescent-shaped slash of sword energy tore through the air, devouring the incoming dagger like a flash of lightning. The dagger vanished completely, as if it had never existed, and the sword energy continued, slicing into a nearby hill!
"Crack!"
The hill shattered instantly!
"The… the hill was cut in half!"
Usopp's jaw dropped in shock.
"No way, this must be a joke!"
"What kind of power is this? It can't be real!"
"Holy crap!"
All the pirates were stunned, staring dumbfounded at the bisected hill.
"Hiss!"
Jango sucked in a deep breath, staring in shock at Moonlight, who was calmly walking down the hillside, carrying Nami.
"Who is this guy?"
"Ah!"
The Cat Brothers were also frozen, completely losing their will to fight after witnessing that powerful strike.
"Moonlight!"
Zoro's pupils shrank, deeply realizing the vast difference between him and Moonlight from that single slash.
"Moonlight, thank you for saving me."
Nami said gratefully, realizing she had made a foolish move by throwing the dagger. Without Moonlight's timely appearance, she would have been finished!
"It's nothing. Zoro, finish your fight."
Moonlight waved it off and looked at Zoro, showing no intention of intervening further.
"Got it."
"Hey, he's not going to interfere."
Zoro refocused, setting his sights back on the Cat Brothers. His Three-Sword Style emerged once more!
"Damn it, don't look down on us!"
"Kill him!"
Though they were shocked by Moonlight's terrifying power, the Cat Brothers weren't afraid of Zoro.
They roared in anger and launched another full-force attack, determined to end the fight quickly due to Moonlight's looming threat.
"Three-Sword Style: Oni Giri!"
Zoro sneered, his three-sword technique making him a completely different fighter than when wielding just one sword.
With three strikes, Zoro turned into a blur of light, disappearing and reappearing behind the two brothers!
Three deep slashes appeared on their chests.
No matter how fast the Cat Brothers were, they couldn't outmatch Zoro in his Three-Sword Style!
"Ah!"
The brothers screamed and collapsed to the ground.
"How is this possible? The Cat Brothers were defeated!"
"No way, how could anyone beat the Cat Brothers?"
"This… this can't be real!"
Seeing the Cat Brothers defeated, all the pirates were stunned, faces filled with disbelief.
"Damn it, time's running out!"
Jango watched the scene unfold, his expression growing more serious. He hadn't expected the Cat Brothers to be defeated, especially with Moonlight standing on the hill like an unmovable mountain, his earlier slash cleaving a hill in two. Time continued to tick away, making Jango's face even more grim.
"From here on, it's up to you."
After defeating the Cat Brothers, Zoro collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.
He was heavily injured; the Cat Brothers' claws had deeply wounded him!
"Yeah."
Moonlight nodded and took his position on the hillside, staring down at Jango and the remaining pirates.
"Either leave, or I'll make you. The choice is yours."
Moonlight said calmly.
"What did you say? Are you planning to take on all of us by yourself? I admit you're strong, but isn't that a bit too arrogant?"
Jango sneered.
Moonlight was undoubtedly powerful, but taking on the whole crew alone was something else entirely.
"Hmph, we may not be as strong as the Cat Brothers, but we won't be so easily defeated by just one man!"