3 years ago, some months before Zoro attacked Suna, he fought with Raikage. It wasn't a sparring match like what they usually did years ago, but a real battle that could kill each other.
The cause? It was because Kumo tried to kidnap Hinata who was still a small child at that time just to acquire her byakugan. Zoro hated those who harm children like that, so he stopped interacting with Raikage.
But when they finally talked again 3 years ago, Raikage didn't regret anything and still would harm children if it was for the village. Zoro obviously disagreed because if they just wanted more power, then they could try other things.
"Harming an innocent child just because you couldn't find a way to strengthen your men, such a disgusting behavior, old man. You should blame your incompetent self who can't improve your village's power and try to find your own method to improve it. Say, how many jutsu have you developed since you became the Raikage? Konoha has developed a lot of their jutsu, Suna improved their shinobi's overall skills, Iwa and Kiri also do similar things. But Kumo? You have been stagnant since the 3rd Raikage's death. Your only feat is your Jinchuuriki's success to control their Tailed Beasts, but what's the use of that when other villages know how to handle the Tailed Beasts as well? Konoha developed the most under the 4th Hokage because he knew what improvements that Konoha needed. He chose good advisors and listened to them, unlike you who only do what you want even when your advisors think otherwise. You aren't even that smart, you can't even defeat the 4th Hokage, yet your arrogance is higher than even that 3rd Tsuchikage. Kumo's lack of development is the result of your bad leadership. What? You don't like what I say?"
The 4th Raikage was fuming as he heard Zoro's blabbers. After all, Kumo surely has a lot of things developed over the years. But their development is surely much less than Konoha that has the most improvements among all 5 Great Hidden Villages.
Besides, the 4th Raikage's reign was quite pale compared to the 3rd Raikage's reign. His people respect him none the less, but that doesn't change the fact that Kumo is being left behind in terms of their village's advancement.
"Do you think that taking a pair of eyes from a child would be enough to make this village the strongest? What a crap. Let me show you that even without stealing other people's power, you still can get stronger than anyone else. You just need to find the correct way. If you need to steal other's power, it just means that you don't believe your people can get stronger without it. You are the one who makes them weak."
While talking, Zoro took off his training weight straps that totaled to 25 tons already. He stored them in Torao's shadow subspace storage and his body felt very light immediately, as if he was floating. It always happened whenever he took off his training weights, so he wasn't surprised.
Zoro pulled out a sword and told Raikage to fight him. If he couldn't talk through this old fool's stubbornness, then he would just do it through force. It has been years since they fought, so a lot of things would have changed.
Raikage didn't like being lectured by a young man like Zoro who never even led a village and just went around without any responsibility. So he accepted the challenge and they went to the wide field outside the village.
Some people followed them, worried that they would overdid their battle. Some tried to stop them, but B told them it was useless at this point. B knew those 2 won't stop, so it was better for them to make sure the damage of their battle won't spread to the village.
As soon as they arrived on the field, Raikage took off his shirt. Then he immediately activated his Lightning Chakra Mode at full power. He knew he needed to be serious when fighting Zoro, so he went all out from the start.
Zoro was also serious from the beginning because his opponent is a serious Raikage. He coated his swords with Armament Haki and fully activated his Observation Haki from the start to face Raikage's high speed and power.
Then without any sign, Raikage charged at Zoro at his highest speed that made him look like he disappeared. But Zoro could sense him very clearly and blocked his straight punch with Sandai Kitetsu.
Raikage's punch was very strong, thanks to his already strong punch and his high speed that increased the attack power. But Zoro stopped it with a sword in his left hand without getting pushed back.
"So it's not just your village that doesn't improve. Even you don't improve, old man. How disappointing."
Zoro swung Enma down, but it was not so fast, so Raikage could avoid it by moving to the side. It seemed like a light and weak attack, but the result shocked Raikage and everyone watching the battle.
The seemingly light and weak swing released a very big and powerful energy blade that cuts through the ground. A very deep, wide, and long cut was formed on the ground that got run over by that energy blade.
Zoro's swordsmanship has improved so much that he could create such a powerful attack without using that much force. Though it was also thanks to his powerful Haki that has reached a high level.
"What's wrong? I thought you have a very durable physique that won't get injured that easily. Oh, right, that was your old man. Your physique is fragile."
"DAMN! WHY CAN'T YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH, KID!".
The 4th Raikage got even more furious. He started attacking Zoro with even more power. He held nothing back, so each punch was so fast that no one could see it and so strong that it created a shock wave every time he punched.
But all of Raikage's punches were blocked by Zoro's swords. There was no change in Zoro's expression every time he stopped Raikage's punch. It was like those punches were light even though the ground under their feet cracked each time they clashed.
Those who watched the battle couldn't say anything. They were amazed by the intensity of the battle and even more amazed by Zoro. Even they who stood quite far from the fighters were being pushed back by the shockwaves caused by the clash.
Yet Zoro who faced Raikage's punches stood his ground with a calm face. Their strongest shinobi in the village, the Raikage couldn't even push Zoro back. So they obviously couldn't believe it even though they saw it with their own eyes.
Even Hachibi and Matatabi who watched through their Jinchuuriki's eyes were in disbelief. They have seen Zoro's power quite a lot in the past but the current him was incomparable to his old self. Even the 3rd Raikage wasn't this overwhelming in their memories.
They would have thought that Zoro was holding himself back and hid his true power years ago if they didn't have great sense and vast experience. But their senses said otherwise, so they knew that Zoro was just developing that rapidly until he reached his current level.
'B, make sure you never be his enemy. That kid is already ridiculously strong and I feel that he still can get even stronger.' Hachibi gave B a serious warning.
B took Hachibi's warning seriously. For Hachibi who had lived for thousands of years and fought numerous strong people to say that, it meant that Zoro's power was just that amazing.
'Also, you need to get ready. Your brother might get killed if they keep going, so get ready to intervene. At least that kid is still close with you, so you should be able to stop him.'
What Hachibi said was really worrying, so B immediately transformed into his Jinchuuriki Mode Version 2 that made his body red like a humanoid Tailed Beast. With this, he would be able to react to any situation on time.
Then as Hachibi thought, Zoro started beating up Raikage. He started attacking instead of just blocking and his attacks were faster and stronger than Raikage even though Zoro didn't use chakra. His body is just that powerful, so his speed and strength are purely stemmed from physical power.
With his powerful Observation Haki, Zoro could predict Raikage's movements and send his attacks to the correct spots, so Raikage still got hit even though he had tried to dodge.
After training all types of his Haki for years, Zoro has managed to raise them to the advanced levels. So he could already see the future a little even though it was still just for a second during this time, but it was enough in a high speed battle against Raikage.
Zoro's swords kept hitting Raikage, but he didn't use them to cut. So Raikage felt like being hit by blunt metal rods instead of sharp swords, but they are still painful none the less.
Raikage's body kept getting hit on many spots. The hits were so strong that every time he got hit, his bones cracked and broke. His muscles were also torn and swollen by the strong hit.
Eventually, he fell after accumulating too much damage. His eyes were full of disbelief as he looked at Zoro who looked at him coldly. This couldn't even be called a battle, it was just a one-sided beating.
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