Seeing Chiga's Susanoo Blade, Shimotsuki Ryuma's zombie face showed joy instead of surprise, and he said,
"I didn't expect Your Excellency to be a swordsman as well!"
Chiga shook his head. He used a sword only because he felt that Ryuma, after all, was a great swordsman, no weaker than Dracule Mihawk in his lifetime, and deserved to be faced with a blade out of respect.
To put it simply, it was out of interest.
And since he had already drawn the Susanoo Blade, Chiga decided to go further, Summoning the Susanoo Armor as well.
Deep purple energy surged from around Chiga's body, quickly solidifying into armor that fused with him seamlessly.
Chiga now resembled a mighty ancient general. The unique, oppressive aura of the Susanoo burst forth, sending debris and objects scattering throughout the hall.
Under this powerful aura, Gecko Moria and the others, previously under the effects of the Negative Hollows, snapped out of it. Their eyes widened in shock at the sight of Chiga's current form.
Meanwhile, Perona remained dazed on the ground, her mind replaying Chiga's earlier smiling face.
Suddenly, she shrieked,
"Hmph! Why were you being so gentle with me just now?!"
But no one paid her any attention. She turned her gaze to where everyone else was looking, and the moment she saw Chiga's back clad in Susanoo Armor, her face flushed pink.
She muttered under her breath,
"This guy's kind of cool…"
---
Ryuma also fixed his gaze on Chiga, his eyes brimming with appreciation. He said nothing further, assuming a sword-drawing stance before instantly vanishing from his spot.
The next instant, Ryuma reappeared behind Chiga, slowly sheathing his sword.
His expression solemn, he declared,
"Hana-Mizu Sancho: Arrow Notch."
Clang!
The sound of a slash echoed against the Susanoo Armor, followed by a ripple of deep purple energy spreading from the point of contact.
Chiga remained motionless. Ryuma's swift slash, though executed with great speed, was insufficient to breach the Susanoo's formidable defense. There wasn't even a need to dodge.
Ryuma turned, seeing Chiga completely unharmed, and couldn't help but exclaim,
"Such terrifying defense!"
His admiration didn't elicit the slightest reaction from Chiga. With Ryuma's current zombie body, if he could break through the Susanoo's defense, then this armor would be worthless.
Without even turning to look, Chiga casually waved the Susanoo Blade backward, sending a purple sword light slicing through the air toward Ryuma.
Ryuma wasn't reckless. Gripping Shusui tightly with both hands, he crossed it in front of his chest in an attempt to block the slash.
But Susanoo's strikes were said to pulverize all creation, and Ryuma's action was no different from a praying mantis trying to stop a war chariot.
The purple sword light crashed against Shusui, emitting a mournful ring from the blade. Ryuma, along with his sword, was flung backward, swept away by the tremendous force.
Boom!
A large gap opened in the hall's wall, and Ryuma's figure vanished from sight.
Moria frowned. It wasn't the damage to his mansion that concerned him, but the sudden loss of connection to Zombie Ryuma.
When a zombie under his control was destroyed, its shadow would separate from the body, and as a Shadow-Shadow Fruit user, he would immediately sense it.
But this time, something was off. Not only had his connection to Zombie Ryuma vanished, but even Brook's shadow had become undetectable.
Chiga narrowed his eyes in the direction where Ryuma had disappeared. He could sense that Ryuma's aura hadn't faded — on the contrary, it had grown stronger.
Sure enough, the clack of wooden clogs soon echoed from the gap.
It was Ryuma, returning.
Upon seeing him, disbelief filled Moria's face.
"How… how is this possible?!"
Ryuma's appearance was grim. His white kimono was tattered, a terrifying diagonal scar ran from his shoulder to his waist, exposing the hollow cavity within.
Even Shusui had a chip near the spot struck by the sword light.
But what shocked Moria most weren't these wounds, but the twin blue flames now burning in Ryuma's previously empty eye sockets.
In all his years creating zombies, he had never witnessed such a phenomenon.
Ryuma paid no attention to Moria. At this moment, his gaze was fixed solely on Chiga, who stood calmly, still gripping the Susanoo Blade.
Chiga, in turn, focused on the two flickering blue flames in Ryuma's eyes, silently thinking,
That's the aura of a soul… has the real Ryuma returned?
His guess was correct.
Ryuma's current state was a form of temporary resurrection.
The cause was none other than Shusui, the black blade in his hand.
When Ryuma had forged it into a black blade, he left a fragment of his soul within. It was this wisp that allowed him to retain faint memories of his life, even after becoming a zombie.
Now, after Shusui suffered a chip from Chiga's slash, that slumbering soul fragment was finally released, merging back into Ryuma's hollowed body and reviving him — only briefly.
However, unlike Rocks D. Xebec's resurrection, this soul fragment was a mere fraction of Ryuma's original spirit. It would grant him only one final burst of power before fading.
But Ryuma wasn't concerned with such matters. His heart was aflame with battle lust.
He glanced down at the chipped Shusui, then spoke in a voice completely different from before,
"That flying slash just now… you are indeed a great swordsman."
Chiga curled his lips slightly.
Whatever you say…
A slash was a slash. Whether it was a flying slash or a Susanoo slash, it was merely a method of attack. Since their effects were similar, there was no need to argue semantics.
More importantly, this version of Ryuma was far more interesting to Chiga.
He twirled the Susanoo Blade lightly and said,
"All you need to know is that we're opponents now."
"Hahahaha! Good! You are worthy of being my opponent!"
Ryuma burst into hearty laughter, his voice no longer resembling Brook's eerie "Yohohoho." The influence of Brook's shadow was gone — he was now Ryuma, the legendary "Sword God" of Wano Country!
The soul flames in Ryuma's eyes flared wildly.
For him, to meet a worthy rival like Chiga in these final moments was enough. This last fragment of his soul would now burn at its brightest.
---
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