Natsu's way of thinking had always been simple.
Fighting, eating, comrades.
When an unknown guy descended from the sky in an extremely arrogant manner, interrupting his and Gray's "daily exchange," and even wore an expression like "you're too weak," his fighting instinct ignited like a bonfire doused with gasoline, blazing fiercely in an instant.
"I don't care who you are! First, pay for our guild's roof!"
Natsu's roar broke the dead silence; he stomped his feet fiercely, and the stone slabs beneath him instantly cracked. He shot out like a cannonball, blasting towards Zoro in the center of the crater. His right fist blazed with an even more vigorous, sun-hot flame than before, illuminating the entire hall in a fiery red.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
This was his most frequently used and most practiced move. This punch was enough to melt steel and shatter rocks! He wanted this Green Algae Head, who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, to pay for his contemptuous words!
Everyone else in the guild, including Gray and Elfman who had just gotten up, subconsciously held their breath. They knew Natsu too well; this punch was for real!
However, facing this blow that was enough to make ordinary mages tremble in fear, Zoro's reaction completely exceeded everyone's expectations.
He still stood in place, not even moving his feet an inch. In his sleepy eyes, there was not a trace of tension, only a pure indifference, as if watching children play.
He didn't dodge.
He didn't even draw his sword.
Just as the burning iron fist was about to strike his face, he simply lifted his left arm lazily, casually placing it in front of him.
"Clang—!"
A dull, teeth-grindingly loud thud echoed through the guild hall!
Everyone had anticipated various outcomes. Perhaps the green-haired man would be sent flying by a punch, or he would awkwardly dodge, or he would draw his sword to block. But they absolutely did not expect the scene before them.
Natsu's flame fist, capable of melting gold and iron, struck solidly against Zoro's forearm.
However, there was no explosion, no shockwave.
The fiercely burning flame, the moment it touched Zoro's skin, seemed to hit an invisible, absolute-zero wall, instantly suppressed by an incomprehensible, brute force, and then… extinguished.
Natsu felt as if he had used all his strength to strike a red-hot piece of steel wrapped in ten thousand years of profound ice. The recoil force was several times more terrifying than his own attack! His knuckles let out a pained cry of protest, and his entire arm instantly went numb, losing all sensation.
"How… is that possible?!" Natsu's pupils suddenly contracted, his face filled with disbelief.
He could clearly see a faint, almost invisible black sheen covering the other's arm. That sheen was like the deepest night, exuding an indestructible texture.
"Too noisy," Zoro frowned, seemingly very displeased with this action that disturbed his nap, "And, too little strength."
After speaking, the arm that had blocked the attack casually waved forward.
This movement seemed understated, not even stirring a breath of wind.
But Natsu felt as if he had been directly hit by a giant elephant charging at full speed! An irresistible, immense force came from Zoro's arm, instantly piercing through his body.
"Ugh ah—!"
Natsu screamed, and his entire body, like a kite with a broken string, flew backward even faster than he had come. He knocked over five or six surviving tables in succession, finally crashing heavily against the wall at the other end of the guild, creating a huge human-shaped dent in the sturdy wall before slowly sliding down and passing out.
The entire hall once again fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone stared dumbfounded at this scene.
One move.
Just one move, a casual block, a seemingly powerless swing of the arm, instantly "killed" Natsu, the "Fire Dragon" who was the most troublesome and also among the strongest in their guild?
Zoro withdrew his arm, and the faint black sheen quietly disappeared, as if it had never been there. He glanced at his uninjured forearm; not even a red mark was left.
He rubbed his ear and mumbled something that was enough to make everyone collapse:
"Is this much force meant to tickle me?"