A Marine butcher? I’m just fighting to live with everything I’ve got. Chapter 67 67: Zoro: “I’ll Remember This, Damn Cook! Just Yo

Sanji shot forward like a cannonball, his blond hair whipping in the wind as his legs blurred across the clouds. At the sa ti, his mind was racing just as fast.

When it ca to raw strength, he could admit Zoro had the edge. The moss-headed swordsman's brute force and swordplay were second to none. A direct clash, and Sanji's chances weren't great.

But strength wasn't everything. Hawk had only said that whoever finished first against two opponents would be promoted to Lieutenant Commander. He hadn't said how.

Victory in battle wasn't always about the hardest punch it was about the smartest move.

Sanji's sharp gaze scanned across the four Sky Island priests who had just appeared.

One rode a massive crimson bird with talons like spears Shura.

Another stood with a massive hound at his side, flas flickering along his sword Ohm.

Those two would be trouble. A fighter and his beast took twice the ti to put down.

Which left the other two: Gedatsu, with his sluggish fra and blank, wandering eyes. And Satori, the rotund priest whose grinning face betrayed both arrogance and madness.

Perfect targets.

Sanji had chosen in an instant. His mind shifted to the next problem how to buy himself a head start over his so-called rival.

He smirked and tilted his head toward the green-haired swordsman charging alongside him.

"Oi, moss-head!" he barked.

Zoro's single visible eye narrowed. "What?"

"Split up ahead. I'll take right, you go left. We clear them faster that way. Don't keep Hawk waiting."

"Tch." Zoro snorted, pulling one hand toward his hilts. "Fine. Just don't slow down, curly-brow."

The two reached a fork in the cloud pathway. Without hesitation, Zoro veered left, his confidence radiating in every step.

Sanji's grin widened, wicked and knowing.

Left? For Zoro? The man couldn't tell left from right if his life depended on it. By the ti that idiot circled back, Sanji would already have finished both priests. The promotion to Lieutenant Commander was as good as his.

"Idiot," he muttered with a soft chuckle. His body twisted, his leg tensing like a coiled spring before he launched forward in a blur.

A line of crimson fire ignited around his ankle, crackling as it ate through the air.

"Diable Jambe… Concassé!"

His burning kick drew a blazing arc through the air before smashing square into Gedatsu's vacant face.

The priest had no ti to scream. His eyes rolled back, his body flung like a ragdoll, and he hit the clouds with a bone-jarring crash, unmoving.

Sanji landed gracefully, smoke curling from the tip of his cigarette as he straightened his tie.

"One down," he muttered with casual disdain.

The remaining priests froze. Their eyes bulged, jaws slack. Gedatsu one of their own had been annihilated in a single strike.

"Impossible!" Satori's shrill voice cracked.

Sanji blew out a ring of smoke, eyes narrowing. "You think I'm still the sa Sanji from the East Blue?" His voice dropped, sharp and cold. "While moss-head's been getting stronger, I've been working just as hard."

His gaze locked onto the rotund priest, his grin sharpening into sothing predatory.

"You're next, fatso."

anwhile, elsewhere on the battlefield, Zoro had co to a very abrupt stop.

Bang!

His head smacked into a solid wall of cloudstone.

"Huh?"

He rubbed the growing bump on his forehead, staring blankly at the dead end in front of him.

"Wait… what?" He glanced around, baffled. The path was supposed to continue.

Scratching his head, he turned around and backtracked, soon stumbling across another fork.

"Alright. This ti right."

He charged forward with grim determination.

Bang!

Another dead end.

"…What the hell?!"

Beads of sweat began to trickle down his temple. Sothing was wrong with this place. The whole island was a damn maze!

Then he heard it the sound of explosions in the distance. And worse… laughter.

"Ha-ha-ha! Victory's mine!"

Sanji's gloating tone carried easily across the sky.

Zoro's face darkened instantly. His grip tightened on his swords.

"That bastard… he tricked !"

The mory of Sanji's smug grin stabbed through him like a blade. He roared, his voice echoing down the cloud corridors.

"Damn cook!!!"

Back on the main battlefield, Sanji sneezed suddenly. He blinked, then smirked.

"Huh. Must be so beautiful lady thinking about ."

With that, he brought his flaming heel down hard onto Satori's chest, pinning the rotund priest to the ground. The man's eyes rolled back as he coughed blood and collapsed, defeated.

"Two." Sanji adjusted his cuffs and exhaled smoke with satisfaction.

All around them, the battle raged. Fifty divine soldiers sward with spears and wings, but Renn Hawk rely raised a hand.

"Form squads. Cut them down."

The Marines at his back surged forward with practiced precision, splitting into groups that interlocked their movents seamlessly. Shields covered spears, blades guarded rifles. Every gap was filled, every strike supported.

The divine soldiers, accustod to overwhelming single combat, were dismantled like children caught in a drill. One by one, they fell beneath the Marines' relentless advance.

Hawk stood steady, a cigar burning between his fingers, eyes cold as steel as he watched the battlefield unfold. With him overseeing, there would be no surprises.

This wasn't just a fight it was training. His n grew sharper with every clash, forged against the so-called "gods" of the sky.

His gaze lingered briefly on Sanji. The cook's rivalry with Zoro was fierce, but in this mont, Sanji had shown cunning. He picked his targets wisely, avoided wasting effort, and seized his advantage without hesitation.

Clever. Ruthless when needed. Exactly the kind of soldier Hawk could use.

By the ti Zoro finally erged from the labyrinth of cloud paths, staggering into the clearing, the battle had already turned.

Satori and Gedatsu lay sprawled in defeat, smoke still curling from Sanji's cigarette as he planted a boot casually on one of the unconscious priests. The fire along his leg slowly died down, leaving faint scorch marks across the battlefield.

The two remaining priests Shura and Ohm stood rigid, sweat dripping as they sized up the Marines.

Sanji lifted a hand lazily, waving as he exhaled another smoke ring.

"Yo, Lieutenant Zoro. Took you long enough to show up."

A vein throbbed on Zoro's forehead. His teeth clenched, rage simring. He didn't need to hear it said he already knew he'd lost.

If it hadn't been for this cursed island's maze-like paths, no way would he have co second.

"Damn cook…" he muttered under his breath. His fists trembled, and his blood roared like fire in his veins.

"I'll rember this," he growled, voice low and dangerous. "You just wait."

But for now, the fight wasn't finished.

Zoro's fury condensed into pure, lethal focus. He drew his blade in one smooth motion, the tal singing like a banshee's cry.

"Anger… One-Sword Style… Asura's Inferno Slash!"

Blood-red energy ignited around his body, sheathing him in flas of killing intent so fierce the priests flinched.

Shura and Ohm lunged together, desperate to strike him down before he moved.

But they were too slow.

A single crimson arc ripped through the air like a crescent moon. Ti seed to slow as the two priests looked down at the deep wounds blooming across their chests.

They collapsed in unison.

Zoro sheathed his sword with a quiet click. His chest rose and fell once.

"Done."

Silence followed.

Every Sky Islander, from the native Angel Islanders to the long-feuding Shandians, stared in awe.

Their god was dead. His priests destroyed. His soldiers crushed like paper dolls.

And it hadn't even been difficult for these strangers from the Blue Sea.

Hawk stood at the center of it all, calm as ever.

The crowd parted, and two figures stepped forward: an armored elder with stern eyes Gan Fall, the Knight of the Sky. Beside him walked the Shandian chief, his face grave and respectful.

Together, they bowed deeply to Hawk.

"Great warrior from the Blue Sea," Gan Fall said, his voice hoarse but steady, "thank you for bringing us peace."

The Shandian chief echoed, "You have ended Enel's cruel reign. Our people are forever in your debt."

Both n lowered their heads further.

"Tell us," the chief asked quietly, "how do you intend to rule these skies?"

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