The rising of the Shield Hero X One piece

The Rising of the Sword Hero part 26

"So I can finally face you in a battle," the panda woman gave the Sword Hero a disturbingly big smile. Zoro's eyes narrowed.

"You already know that I don't fight for fun," he said coldly. But Larsazusa only chuckled.

"Perhaps. But that doesn't mean you cannot enjoy a good fight with someone like you. You are one of the strongest fighters that I've ever met in my life, after all. You're not going to run away, aren't you?"

"If I wanted to run away, I wouldn't have come here in the first place," said Zoro

The two fighters were facing each other at the center of the Grand Stadium's arena. The semifinal of the Grand Tournament was held in the afternoon, right after the quarterfinal finished and the fighters, as well as the audience, already had a break to have lunch and recover their strength somewhat. Zoro didn't really mind arrangement much; his fight was the last one of the quarter-final, and it meant that he was going to be at a disadvantage compared to other fighters.

During the lunch break, Zoro had tried to ask for some information about Fohl. However, his effort was futile; no one gave him any answer. The best he could get from one of the organizers was that the boy was taken away for treatment. Whatever that meant, he didn't know. The only thing that he knew for sure was that the boy had already left. There goes the chance to go apologize...

It's not like he had the time to worry about something like that now, anyway.

The semifinal match between Captain Fargus and Artos ended just as everyone had expected. Zoro wasn't allowed to watch the fight, but based on the commentary of Damian Kaur and the cheer of the crowd, he could imagine a completely one-sided battle with the winner being the pirate captain.

"Not going to draw your swords again?" said Larsazusa with a smirk while glancing at the sword in zoro hand. The Sword Hero answered her with a smirk of his own.

"I figured that I would need more than just defense and power to defeat you."

And he was not lying. The sword in his hand right now wasn't what he used during the battle against Fohl. From what he had observed during the preliminary fight, Larsazusa wasn't just any normal fighter; she was not only very quick and nimble even as a big panda, but very skilled and strong also. And that was in an unarmed fight; he didn't know what she could do if she had access to a weapon. He needed to bring his A-game if he wanted a chance to win.

Zoro pulled out his all three off his swords for his duel.

Against someone lack of experience like Fohl, zoro  could afford to hold back and use one sword style. However, he knew that fighting Larsazusa was a completely different story. Therefore, he needed to go with three style something he could fight well with without causing him any hindrance, and at the same time was strong enough to give him some advantages in the battle.

"Are the two fighters ready?"

The voice of the mayor once again echoed around the stadium. Zoro hands tightened around the sword's grip; he raised it to his eyes' level and lowered his stance, ready to spring into action. On the other side, the panda warrior also slipped into her own fighting stance.

"Then... let the second semifinal match between Roronoa Zoro and Larsazusa... BEGIN!"

"Will sensei be okay? I heard that panda woman is really strong."

Wyndia asked nervously while looking at the two fighters down in the arena. Rifana said in an attempt to reassure her.

"Well, that boy Fohl was also said to be very strong, too, but sensei defeated him so easily, right?"