Iwataka dashed towards Amaiya and Zoro with super speed! Zoro readied his swords.
"Amaiya, you stay here and watch our fight. Let me know everything you see. The faster we identify a weakness, the faster we can get this over with." Zoro said.
"Right!" Amaiya confirmed, beginning to watch Iwataka who was getting closer.
Zoro readied his three sword style as Iwataka unsheathed his sword and sent a vertical slash at the two.
Amaiya jumped into the air and Zoro to the side. Iwataka looked up at Amaiya and jumped in the air, he then began to moon walk towards her.
Once Iwataka was above Amaiya he lifted his sword above his head. Amaiya hardened her arms, ready to block!
"Bring it on!" Amaiya yelled.
On the ground, Zoro noticed something and his eyes widened.
"NO!" Zoro yelled, sending a 108 pound pheonix in between Iwataka and Amaiya.
Iwataka slammed his sword down but was intercepted by Zoro's flying slash. Iwtataka grunted.
"Such a heavy slash!" Iwataka noted, sending the slash away.
"If I hadn't done that... he was going to cut right through her armament guard!" Zoro said, while gritting his teeth.
Amaiya moon walked above Iwataka and clasped her hands together. Both of her fists covered with haki.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Amaiya yelled, slamming her fists down on Iwataka, who blocked the attack with his sheath. Iwataka was sent careening towards the ground.
BOOOOM!
A small dust cloud rose as Iwataka stood to his feet. Iwataka shook his head.
"Amazing power! That's it!" Iwataka said, looking up at Amaiya.
Suddenly, Iwataka felt a strange energy. Like a demon was about to strike! Iwataka looked over at Zoro, who was in Oni Giri position.
Iwataka lowered his eye brows. Zoro's haki slowly took the form of a demon behind Zoro.
Iwataka could not see the demon that had manifested from Zoro's haki, but he could definitely feel it!
"Amazing haki control, Zoro-soro!" Iwataka said, re-sheathing his sword and picking up a blade of grass, to Zoro's dismay.
"What the hell is that for?" Zoro asked.
"You have impressive power, Zoro-soro, but I see right through it! You won't even be able to get past a blade of grass!" Iwataka said.
"Is he serious!?" Amaiya asked, still moon walking to stay in the air.
Zoro's eye widened with anger as he thought back to Mihawk toying with him at the Baratie.
"Unfortunately I don't carry anything on me smaller than this. Such as a bobby pin or a blade of grass." Zoro heard in his head in Mihawk's voice.
"I won't..." Zoro said angrily. Iwataka got ready.
"BE TOYED WITH AGAIN!" Zoro yelled, "Purgatory..."
BOOOOOM!
The ground below Zoro exploded, creating a small crater. Iwataka sweated slightly.
"ONI GIRI!" Zoro yelled, blasting at Iwataka at light speed.
"What speed!" Amaiya said.
BOOOOOOM!
Iwataka raised the blade of grass at the last second and a cloud of smoke took over the battlefield.
Amaiya looked around hoping to see either of them.
"Are they still there? What happened?" Amaiya asked, then became completely filled with shock.
Zoro had been stopped in his tracks. Zoro looked up at Iwataka who stared back down at him.
Zoro looked to the side and saw that his three sword style had been blocked with the blade of grass.
"I-Impossible! This is my strongest Oni giri!" Zoro said, sweat coming down his face.
"I must admit, Zoro-soro. I had to infuse the grass with haki or I would have been cut down!" Iwataka said, forcing Zoro away.
Zoro back flipped and landed, then began to hyperventilate.
"No...No... No! 2 years of training with him and THIS is how far off my power still is!?" Zoro became filled with rage.
"ZORO STAY FOCUSED!" Amaiya yelled, as Iwataka got ready to cut Zoro down with his sword.
Amaiya grit her teeth and brought her arms down to her side and covered them with haki.
"EAT THIS!" Amaiya yelled, punching the air with a quick three punch combo, sending shockwaves of air at Iwataka! Zoro was shocked.
"What kind of move is that!?" Zoro asked, surprised.
Iwataka appeared to keep attempting go cut Zoro, until in one swift motion, Iwataka spun mid air and swung the blade of grass upwards towards Amaiya!
The slash cut through the three shock waves and slashed Amaiya across the chest!
"GUAGG!" Amaiya groaned as blood flew from her body and she fell out of the sky.
"AMAIYA! Did he just... cut AIR!? And with grass!" Zoro asked as Iwataka was now directly in front of Zoro.
Zoro swung his swords at Iwataka who dodged them with minimal effort.
"Your sword play has plenty of ferocity, but that's not enough!" Iwataka said as Zoro jumped back and assumed Tiger Hunt position.
Two of his swords held behind his right shoulder, behind the blade in his mouth. Iwataka focused on this.
"Interesting!" Iwataka said.
"Tiger...HUNT!" Zoro yelled zipping towards Iwataka at super speeds again.
BOOOM CRACK!
Zoro coughed up blood as Iwataka had punched Zoro square in the chest right before he could attack.
Zoro almost passed out from the punch, his swords flying out of his hands, his wado ichimoji fell out of his mouth and perfectly in the ground as Zoro spit up and coughed up some blood.
Iwataka picked up two of Zoro's swords.
"Your swordplay is nothing to scoff at Zoro-soro. Against anyone else, you would have beaten them by now for sure! But against them? It's just not enough! You need more speed! More precision! Your WILL is not STRONG enough! Iwataka yelled.
Iwataka held the two swords in one hand and removed his cane sword, putting it in his mouth.
Zoro slowly got to his feet and breathed heavily, but his eyes widened when he saw the position Iwataka had assumed.
"Let me show you, how it's really done!" Iwataka said, holding Oni Giri position.
Zoro grabbed his wado ichimoji and got ready to defend himself.
"Here I come!" Iwataka yelled, dashing at Zoro at light speed!
Right before Iwataka could cut Zoro down, Amaiya stepped in.
"RRAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Amaiya yelled, slamming her fist against Iwataka's gut.
BOOOOOOM!
"AHHHHH!" Iwataka yelled, coughing up blood.
Zoro was shocked at this power!
"GO AWAY!" Amaiya yelled, sending Iwataka flying across the island.
Iwataka dropped Zoro's swords as he was sent away and crashed against a tree.
"GUAG!" Iwataka groaned, coughing up mucus.
Iwataka wiped his mouth and looked up.
"Yes... yes! More!" Iwataka smiled, getting up.
Zoro picked up his swords.
"Thanks... you're crazy strong." Zoro said.
"Thank you!... I don't like using this power... but I have to." Amaiya said.
"And that's your mistake!" Iwataka said, standing directly in front of them, his sword held with two hands, tilted slightly to the left.
"When did he!?" Amaiya started.
"I don't kno-" Zoro was interuppted.
"9 HEADED DRAGON FLASH!" Iwataka yelled, 9 air balls blasted from around Iwataka and slammed into Zoro and Amaiya, both coughed up a heavy amount of blood and were almost knocked out!
The pair were sent flying. When they hit the ground, they created stretched craters as their bodies were forced to keep going through the ground because of the power of the attack.
When they finally came to a stop they both struggled to breathe.
"Z-Z-Z-Zoro... what was that?" Amaiya struggled to ask.
I-I-I-I-I don't know..." Zoro stuttered through heavy breaths, struggling to stand.
Iwataka slowly walked towards the two, his sword in its sheath.
The pair stood up, hurt, and hardly breathing right. Iwataka pointed to a mountain with a see through hole in it.
"You have until the sun aligns with the hole in that mountain to defeat me in combat! If you do not do so... I will not take you to the library!" Iwtaka yelled.
"You both will learn to stop holding back, but responsibly! Stop being afraid of what you're capable of!"
Zoro stood up slowly and put on his bandana. Amaiya picked up her marine hat and put it over her head, covering her eyes with shadow.
"Psycho and Cyclone will NOT hold back! They will NOT reveal their weaknesses easily! The first step to defeating Psycho and Cyclone... is realizing you can't beat them!" Iwataka said.
Zoro and Amaiya were slightly taken back by this.
"You'll realize what I mean by the time you defeat me!" Iwataka said, "Neither of you are using your full potential. You have to be willing to go above and beyond if you really want it!" Iwataka yelled.
"Zoro-soro, you crashed here with full body armament, but have yet to utilize such great haki control in this fight, why?! Amaiya-soro, you really call that poke a punch? I know you're capapble of more!"
Zoro stared at the ground.
"THE SECOND STEP TO DEFEATING PSYCHO AND CYCLONE IS ASKING YOURSELF WHY! WHY DO YOU REALLY WANT TO DEFEAT THEM!? WHO ARE YOU DOING THIS FOR!? WHY ARE YOU PUTTING YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE!? I SAID ASK YOURSELVES!" Iwataka yelled.
Zoro stared at the ground, his eyes hidden by shadow.
"Oi, Zoro!" Luffy said with a smile.
"Zoro!" Chopper, Nami, and Usopp yelled with smiles.
"What the hell are you looking at moss head? Don't you have weights to lift!?" Sanji cursed.
"Yo ho ho ho! He doesn't mean that Zoro-san!" Brook said.
"OW! how about a sword that can shoot beams Zoro!?" Franky suggested.
Robin turned around and smiled with her eyes closed.
"Hello, swordsman. He he." Robin chuckled.
BOOOOOOM!
A massive burst of air knocked off Amaiya's hat and wind blew violently.
Zoro's eye became red, his swords started to leak a green energy and black lightning zapped around the blade. Iwataka couldn't believe it.
"YES! YES! THERE IS NO GREATER POWER THAN FIGHTING FOR THOSE YOU LOVE! NOW USE THAT TO FINISH ME! I WON'T HOLD BACK!" Iwataka yelled, dashing for Zoro, who blasted towards Iwataka in return.
"AAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Zoro yelled, getting into tiger hunt position.
"HAVE YOU NOT LEARNED YOUR LESSON ABOUT THE OPENINGS IN THAT TECHNIQUE!?" Iwataka yelled as he unsheathed his sword coated it with king's haki.
The two swords men met in the middle and a giant explosion blew trees away and destroyed the ground beneath them.
Amaiya couldn't believe her eyes. Zoro and Iwataka's swords weren't even touching each other.
"No way! That's... that's!" Amaiya stopped.
"AMAIYA FINISH HIM! I CAN'T DO THIS ALONE!" Zoro yelled, pumping more power into his attack, but Iwataka did not yield, forcing his own power into the struggle.
Amaiya shook her head and cried.
"I can't Zoro! I hate using my nen! It's too painful!" Amaiya said, tears falling.
"AAARRRGGGHHHHH!" Zoro yelled, pumping even more power into the clash!
"I can do this all day! Zoro-soro!" Iwataka yelled.
Amaiya struggled with her thoughts. She thought about her fight with Taikama and Cyclone showing up and almost killing her.
"I hate them! I hate them, I hate them, I hate them, I hate them! I will never use nen again!" Amaiya yelled to herself, crying uncontrollably, until she felt a hand on her shoulder.
When Amaiya looked back, Kraken was right there. Amaiya looked up with happy, tear filled eyes.
"Kraken..." Amaiya smiled as Okua and Lionel walked up behind Kraken.
"Oi, Amaiya-san! Why do you keep crying all the time!? Do we need to beat someone up?!" Lionel said.
"Violence is not always the answer, Lionel Newgate-san!" Okua said.
Amaiya smiled at the hallucinations.
"My... my family..." Amaiya said softly as the hallucination of Kraken looked down at her.
"Go." Kraken said, appearing to wipe away a tear before fading away.
Amaiya smiled as she wiped the tear from her face and opened her eyes, the hallucinations were gone.
"Taikama and Dad are my family by blood... but you all... are my family by love." Amaiya said, looking back at the clash that was stilll raging.
"It looks as if your partner has abandoned you, Zoro-soro!" Iwataka said, taking a step towards Zoro who bit down harder on his sword.
"She didn't! She'll figure it out and punch you with everything she's got!" Zoro yelled.
Suddenly the sky seemed to darken for a moment. Iwataka looked up to see Amaiya loading up a super heavy punch.
Amaiya's arm was completely covered in haki, and enhanced 100% with nen on top of it.
"AMAZING!" Iwataka said, Iwataka's eye brows raised as he could feel Amaiya's energy.
"Is...is that really Amaiya-soro... or a demon!?" Iwataka asked himself.
SLICE!
Zoro used that moment of weakness to get past Iwataka who stood still.
SPLAT!
Blood flew from Iwataka's chest.
"GUAHHHH!" Iwataka groaned, cut with conqueror's haki.
Zoro breathed heavily in and out while greeen energy and black lightning coated his swords.
In one mighty yell Zoro looked up to Amaiya and said.
"NOW! FINISH HIM!" Zoro yelled.
RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Amaiya yelled, cocking her fist back as it leaked black lighting!
Amaiya's face was overlapped by Taikama's and Cyclone's. All three yelling at the same time as Amaiya sent a conqueror's coated punch at the island.
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Amaiya fell out of the sky and the island Zoro passed out. Iwataka rest in a gigantic crater, his eyes rolled in the back of his head, beaten and bloody. In Iwataka's head he thought back to two years ago.
"What was the pirate hunter like? You fought him at that floating resturant, correct?" Iwataka asked Mihawk as they played chess in Mihawk's castle.
"He has much potential, but he doesn't know what he wants to get stronger for." Mihawk explained.
"He sounds like all the others who became swordsmen just to defeat you! Wa ha ha ha!" Iwataka laughed.
Mihawk took a sip of coffee.
"I disagree. I think he's found something to truly get stronger for. I don't see myself as an end goal for him, only a stepping stone." Mihawk said.
"Wow... It's rare I ever hear you speak about someone with such respect!... I can't wait to meet him!" Iwataka said with a smile.
Mihawk didn't acknowledge it and made his move.
"Checkmate."
"What!?" Iwataka yelled.
Iwataka smiled as he lay in the crater.
"You both have passed the third step for defeating Psycho and Cyclone... your will to win... has surpassed theirs!"
Amaiya's punch had blown away an entire forest on the island, leaving nothing but a massive crater. Amaiya looked up to see the sun aligned with the hole in the mountain.
Zoro held up a thumbs up and laughed. Amaiya, laying on her stomach, looked at Zoro slowly and began to laugh as well, holding up her own thumb.
"Thank you... Iwataka!" The pair said to themselves in unison.