Two Piece: A One Piece Story

Chapter 66 (Lightning Scroll Arc: Part 7)

Luffy, Shiki, and Misaki began their search for Zoro as planned after defeating their opponents.

"My guess is that the boner guy is fighting Zoro," Misaki speculated.

"Don't you mean bone guy?" Shiki corrected.

"I don't want to explain myself," Misaki responded with a sweat drop. "Spider-Man can easily track the real Shiki, which means the bone guy stayed to fight. Either way, I have a feeling they're fighting. And from what I've heard about Zoro..."

A silence fell as Misaki began to think.

"It's a fight I don't want to miss!" she declared, pulling out a ton of dango from nowhere and heading in the direction she last saw Zoro.

"What's that about?" Luffy asked.

"You really don't want to know..." Shiki replied with a sweat drop.

Back with Zoro, Kimimaro charged at him. Zoro's three swords clashed with Kimimaro's bone sword. The two jumped away, momentarily sizing each other up.

Zoro then dashed towards Kimimaro, shouting, "Oni Giri!" For some reason, Kimimaro didn't dodge, yet he still stood his ground.

"You might be someone that can be of some use now that I think about it," Kimimaro said.

"What do you mean?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Dance of the Camellia!" Kimimaro shouted.

Kimimaro used his bone sword to make rapid, precise strikes at Zoro, who blocked each one. The attacks became harder and faster until Kimimaro eventually sent Zoro flying into a tree.

"Why, you..." Zoro growled.

"You know, you could live if you quit," Kimimaro suggested.

Zoro glared at Kimimaro, a look in his eyes that Kimimaro didn't like.

"Why would I quit?" Zoro demanded.

"Because I think you might be of use to Lord Orochi," Kimimaro replied.

"You don't know anything about me," Zoro muttered.

At that moment, Misaki, Shiki, and Luffy were close enough to see the fight.

"Yup, I was right," Misaki said with a smirk. "So, are we going to interfere or what?"

Luffy watched the fight, seeing the determined look on Zoro's face as he got up.

"We're not going to interfere with this fight," Luffy said firmly.

"This is Zoro's fight; we won't interfere," Shiki agreed.

The other two nodded and decided to watch from a nearby bush.

"This is going to be fun," Misaki said with a sadistic smirk, anticipating the impending bloodshed.

Both Luffy and Shiki exchanged looks, sweat drops forming on their foreheads.

Back on the battlefield, Zoro stood and faced Kimimaro.

"You really think I would join you?" Zoro asked.

"I believe Lord Orochi would favor you," Kimimaro replied.

"I'm not interested," Zoro said.

"You're a little too old for his taste if that's what you're implying," Kimimaro remarked.

"So, then you do understand..." Zoro began.

Their conversation was cut short as Kimimaro lunged at Zoro again, bone sword gleaming. Zoro parried the strike with ease, his eyes narrowing in focus. The two warriors continued their clash, each blow more intense than the last, neither willing to give an inch.

"Just ignore what I said," Kimimaro instructed, causing Zoro to sweat drop. "But joining The Elite would be beneficial for you."

"I don't care if their goals involve building a utopia, taking over the world, searching for power, or whatever. There's no way I'm joining that," Zoro declared, glaring at him. "It's not my style." Besides, he wouldn't get to be the leader of Sound... but that was beside the point.

"Fine then, suit yourself," Kimimaro said. "I gave you a choice! Dance of the Camellia!"

Zoro braced himself. "Tiger Trap!" he shouted. Before Kimimaro could touch him, the attack landed, sending Kimimaro to the ground. But Kimimaro quickly got back up.

"Is that all you have?" Kimimaro taunted.

"Of course not," Zoro replied with a smirk.

The two clashed once again, neither gaining the upper hand. After a fierce exchange, they faced each other once more.

"Are you ready to die?" Kimimaro asked.

"No," Zoro responded. "It's time to finish this!"

Kimimaro charged at Zoro, who shouted, "Dragon Twister!" Zoro spun his swords, creating a powerful twister that not only sent Kimimaro flying but also slashed him multiple times. Kimimaro landed in a crumpled heap on the ground.

"I win," Zoro stated.

"Your friend is in danger," Kimimaro said weakly.

"Which one?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The one who went after the scroll. One of us is following him, and he doesn't stand a chance. From what I've heard, when duplicates disappear, the user doesn't gain their memories," Kimimaro revealed before passing out.

Zoro was sheathing his sword when he heard someone yell, "That... was... awesome!"

He turned to see Misaki standing there with a crazed, almost scary look on her face. Shiki and Luffy were staring at her with sweat drops.

"You were watching that match, weren't you?" Zoro asked with a sweat drop.

Misaki walked over to Zoro and touched one of his wounds, getting blood on her finger. She tasted the blood. "You're an interesting one..."

"I think she likes him..." Shiki whispered with a sweat drop.

"Hey!" Luffy yelled. "We have to go find my brother!"

"Oh man! I forgot!" Misaki exclaimed.

"So, which guy is following him?" Zoro asked.

"The bone guy told you," Misaki replied.

"You were right there!" Zoro shouted with a sweat drop.

"Okay! To the cave!" Luffy yelled, pointing in a random direction.

"The cave is the other way!" Misaki yelled back.

Just then, Shiki's clone disappeared.

Meanwhile, in the cave, Shiki reached the main chamber. Tree roots had grown over the walls, and cracks allowed sunlight to filter through, casting an eerie glow. In the center of the chamber stood the scroll on a pedestal.

"There it is," Shiki muttered to himself.

He moved toward the scroll, but a voice stopped him in his tracks. "Thanks for leading me to the scroll."

Shiki turned to see Kidomaru standing there.

"You're one of those guys from The Elite... How did you find me?" Shiki asked, narrowing his eyes.

Kidomaru pointed to a spider on Shiki's back, which he had finally noticed. "That spider's been there since before you split up with your friends. You've been leading me here the entire time."

Shiki glared at Kidomaru. "I should have known it wouldn't be easy," he said, though a slight smirk played on his lips. Finally, he would get some real action.

"Why don't you just give me the scroll, and this can all be over? After all, you are a pirate," Kidomaru suggested.

"No," Shiki replied firmly. "I promised my brother and that crazy witch that I'd keep it from you."

"I see... I guess we have no choice but to fight, then," Kidomaru said with an evil smirk.

"That's right," Shiki said, his hands igniting with flames.

And so, Shiki's fight for the scroll began.