"Who are you?"
Heckle's arms hung down as he looked at the figure not far away, his expression grave.
"Yohohoho, who I am isn't important. What's important is that I have to take care of you." Ryoma, the zombie samurai dressed in a kimono and wooden clogs, stood there, holding the famous sword Shusui in his right hand and performing a sword flourish.
"Is that so? Then try me."
Heckle wiped his hands at his waist, donned iron gauntlets, and assumed a karate stance.
"Night Song Straight Pierce."
Seeing Heckle's movement, Ryoma suddenly stepped forward and thrust his sword.
"So fast."
Heckle's eyes narrowed, but his right fist already shot out.
The moment he threw the punch, he reduced his body's weight. The power erupting from his body propelled his extremely light arm, reaching its target instantly.
Clang.
Heckle's fist struck the blade from below.
Clatter.
The blade was deflected, but Heckle suddenly twisted his head.
Whoosh.
A bloody gash appeared on Heckle's left cheek, blood slowly trickling out.
"Sword energy?"
Heckle stared intently at the zombie samurai before him, raising his hand to wipe away the blood.
"Yohohoho, I thought that strike would pierce through your head," Ryoma said, tilting his head.
"Very well."
Hearing this, Heckle stomped his feet on the ground, instantly appearing before Ryoma, and threw a punch.
Clang.
Ryoma's sword chopped down onto Heckle's fist, but a fierce gust of wind erupted. It was sliced by the blade and flew past on either side.
Crack, crack.
Behind Ryoma, two trees were directly shattered.
"You're not bad either."
Ryoma said with a smile, flicking his right hand. His long sword thrust out, transforming into multiple swords that attacked Heckle, instantly engulfing him.
"Sake Barrel Dance, Chain Strike."
The swords struck Heckle at extreme speed, instantly surrounding him.
"Second Stage Soru."
But facing this move, Heckle instantly vanished, retreating backward.
"Hmm?"
Ryoma's attack missed. He suddenly swung his long sword backward horizontally.
Clang.
The blade struck Heckle's fist, hitting the iron gauntlet with a crisp sound.
But the next moment, Ryoma's expression changed. He ducked, raising his left hand to press down on the sword's spine, stopping Heckle's advancing fist.
"Such immense strength."
Heckle looked at his opponent, surprised that his Hard Fist had been blocked by the sword, even with the gauntlet.
And this was just a decaying corpse.
If he were healthy, how much stronger would he be?
Heckle was somewhat surprised. He pushed off with his feet and vanished again, appearing beside Ryoma, and threw a punch.
Clang.
Ryoma blocked Heckle's fist again, but this time, Heckle's left fist struck out, aiming for Ryoma's face.
But at that moment, Ryoma's long sword slid down, slashing diagonally towards Heckle's abdomen.
"Hmm?"
Facing this slash, Heckle didn't dare to trade blows. He didn't know what the outcome would be if he was hit by the zombie, but he was made of flesh and blood. Being cut would be a significant loss.
So Heckle could only dodge, then charge forward again.
Heckle threw a punch. This time, Ryoma no longer blocked, but instead turned his body, his long sword now coming down diagonally.
"So fast."
Heckle had no choice but to dodge, creating distance.
As time passed, Heckle's stamina continued to drain. Neither his Soru nor his Hard Fist could be sustained for long.
Heckle's immense strength and incredible speed were built upon his Devil Fruit ability and bursts of physical power.
This state of combat was precisely what was difficult to maintain.
"If that's the case."
Heckle narrowed his eyes and leaped towards his opponent again, his left fist smashing towards Ryoma's head.
Facing this punch, Ryoma dodged by shifting his body.
Heckle's right fist followed, but Ryoma, using his sidestep, slanted a sword strike towards Heckle's chest.
Heckle neither dodged nor blocked, instead throwing a punch with his right hand.
Puff.
Ryoma's sword sliced into Heckle, while Heckle's fist slammed into Ryoma's head.
Bang.
Ryoma's head exploded, and a blood-gaping wound was left on Heckle's body.
"Victory."
Heckle laughed and collapsed to the ground with a bang. He looked at the corpse in the distance, a smile on his face.
But at this moment, he realized Ryoma hadn't fallen. He was slowly raising his sword.
"Hm?"
Seeing this, Heckle remembered Ryoma was a zombie. His head shattering might not mean death.
However, Heckle was now too weak to stand.
...
The colossal Oars, standing at around eighty meters tall, was a towering figure that blotted out the sun.
Before Oars, Xia Qiu lay prostrate. Its massive body was also not to be underestimated, measuring about sixty meters in length, not much shorter than Oars.
However, in terms of volume, it was considerably smaller.
"Heh heh heh, I'll kill you."
Oars let out a sinister laugh, raising his massive arm and smashing it down towards Xia Qiu.
Facing this blow, Xia Qiu didn't dodge. Instead, it charged forward head-on.
Boom.
Fist met ramming horn. Xia Qiu's body dipped slightly but was unharmed.
"Is that all?"
Xia Qiu shook its head in disappointment. Oars' physical strength was formidable, but compared to its current self, it was still lacking.
It had attacked proactively, with a longer acceleration distance, while Oars had defended passively. Its strength couldn't compare to Xia Qiu's.
It had already consumed more than three Vice Admiral-level powerhouses. In terms of physical strength, few could defeat it.
"Useless?"
Oars suddenly took the mace from its back, gripped it, and swung it again.
"Good, bring it on."
Facing this attack, Xia Qiu gathered Armament Haki on its head and thrust upwards fiercely.
Boom.
The mace collided with Xia Qiu's ramming horn, a world-shattering sound echoing.
Crack, crack.
After a brief stalemate, the mace shattered piece by piece, falling to the ground.
"Ah?"
Oars stared blankly at the mace in its hand, its expression one of utter astonishment. The mace had actually broken?
"Even the mace is useless?"
Seeing this, Oars suddenly felt a sense of fear. It suddenly began to climb towards the mansion above.
"Running away?"
Xia Qiu looked at this scene with some helplessness. It wondered whose soul was currently inhabiting Oars to be so cowardly.
It could follow, but that would be troublesome.
So for now, it could only let Oars escape. It would deal with Moria first. Without Moria, Oars couldn't act freely.
However, at this moment, a voice rang out, "Oars, kill him for me."
Moria's voice came through. Oars could not disobey his command.
"Die."
Oars jumped directly from the tall mansion, his feet aiming for Xia Qiu.
Boom.
Oars's feet landed on the ground, shaking it. A large pit was directly stomped out by Oars, and smoke filled the air, but Oars's face showed surprise.
"No one? Where is he?"
Oars slowly stood up and looked around, his eyes catching a figure in the smoke. "There."
But the next moment, Xia Qiu appeared in front of Oars and bit down on Oars's knee.
Crunch.
Oars's knee shattered, and Oars, unable to maintain his form, knelt on the ground, supporting himself with his hands.
But the instant he knelt, Xia Qiu stomped the ground with all six of its legs, leaping upwards. It rose over twenty meters high, and combined with its own dozen-meter stature, it appeared next to Oars's neck.
"Die."
Xia Qiu opened its massive maw and bit forward.
Crunch.
Xia Qiu's teeth clamped down on Oars's neck. Its jaws closed, directly severing half of his neck.
"Killed him?"
Xia Qiu slammed heavily onto the ground and let out a breath.
But the next moment, a giant fist descended from the sky, smashing towards Xia Qiu.
Bang.
The fist landed on the ground, but Xia Qiu had already vanished, reappearing in the distance with a corpse in its mouth.
"Ryoma's corpse."
Xia Qiu chewed on Ryoma's corpse. It had sensed the threat to Heckle and had also detected Oars's movements, so it rushed over and bit Ryoma.
Facing Xia Qiu's attack, Ryoma had no ability to react and was directly swallowed and torn to shreds.
"Ryoma should provide quite a bit of energy, right?"
Xia Qiu thought. Although a long time had passed, the residual power was still comparable to Zoro's at the time.
If it had been Ryoma's own swordsmanship instead of Brook's, Zoro would have almost been unable to win with just the remnant body.
The remnant body wouldn't reach Vice Admiral level, but it should have the reinforcement energy of a Rear Admiral.
"Thank you, President," Heckle said to Xia Qiu.
"Your injuries are severe."
Xia Qiu looked at Heckle and then said, "But luckily there's a doctor here. Let's finish this quickly."
Xia Qiu disappeared. It didn't charge towards Oars but instead appeared behind Moria, who had just finished transforming his body, and bit down.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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