"Recognized me already? You reacted pretty fast."
Feeling resistance at the tip of his blade, Zoro lowered his swords and then watched as Kuina wiped her hand across her face. The helmet dissipated along with the motion. Ceruledge's ability could also be used to obscure one's appearance at certain moments.
"Only you would block like that. Even Master wouldn't swing his sword that way."
Kuina's swordsmanship was inherited from Koushirou, but she had also done her own research. Being able to defeat adults at the age of eleven, she had always possessed insights of her own.
"Impressive that you remember it so clearly. You've grown a lot too, holding two swords doesn't even tire you anymore. Back then, if you swung them like this, your arms would've been shaking."
"That was how many years ago now… After you died, I trained like crazy. Wait, that doesn't sound right. Weren't you dead? And this body…"
Zoro gestured up and down. Just a few hours ago, Kuina's soul had still looked eleven; now it had taken on Tashigi's template.
"Thanks to you, I guess I can be considered alive again now. You really did something incredible."
[As for an unreasonable request, I honestly can't think of anything I want. If I have to say something, can you revive the dead?]
[I already know your wish. If there's a chance, maybe you'll get to see her again.]
Zoro hadn't forgotten those words from a few hours ago, but at the time he hadn't taken such mystical talk seriously. Yet it had come true almost immediately, which made it hard for him to accept.
"So what they said about resurrection… it's real?"
"What, you made a wish without even knowing whether it was real or fake? The process wasn't that complicated, but… are your companions all geckos or something?"
"Geckos?"
Following the direction of Kuina's finger, Zoro saw some strange creatures. The Sunny's lookout tower was an enclosed circular building, and now the outside of the glass was packed with a group of eavesdroppers.
Especially Luffy, he had flattened himself and was plastered right against the glass.
The commotion from the earlier fight had been anything but small. After hearing it, the others had moved closer, but sensing something off, they hadn't barged in and instead started listening in.
Zoro had been too shaken by the whole resurrection business to notice, but Kuina had seen everything clearly.
A long nose hanging outside, suspended by a strange plant; antlers sticking out beneath the window; bizarre mechanical arms; even drifting souls. It was a collection of every imaginable creepy peeping method.
"These b*stards… wait here a moment."
With that, Zoro tied his bandana, grabbed a bare dumbbell bar nearby, and went out.
After some twists and turns, a few more people appeared in front of Kuina, many of them with swelling bumps on their heads. Zoro himself had also gained a black eye.
"She's Kuina, a friend from my childhood. She was dead, and now she's suddenly alive again. That's it."
Zoro summarized the whole situation in an extremely concise yet oddly clear way, only to immediately get punched by Nami.
"Be serious! Why are you making something this important sound as casual as eating and drinking?!"
"Damn it, I don't even know what exactly happened! You should be asking her!"
Nami's status as the tyrant of the ship was completely cemented. Faced with her punches, Zoro dared not speak out, only pointing at Kuina in front of him. The cheerful atmosphere made Kuina laugh, and she began to explain.
Earlier, while in the underworld, right after the changes to her body had finished, the first one she saw was Darkrai.
The realistic sensations of her physical body left her at a loss.
"That green-haired guy helped me with a small favor. In return, my master fulfilled a bit of his wish. You're no longer a dead spirit now, but a special kind of living being.
"You can return to the world of the living, but if you cause any trouble, I'll personally bring you back."
The current Kuina possessed abilities similar to Brook's soul form. They could both enter the underworld, as long as they could find where the door was.
Now that Darkrai could fix the doorway in place, there was no risk of anyone getting lost.
"You're destined to be different from the living. Come back once a year to report in; other than that, there are no further requirements. You understand what I'm saying, right?"
After saying all this, Darkrai sent Kuina out. The aura of a Ghost-type Pokémon made it easier for Darkrai to locate her. At the very least, much easier than searching for the underworld itself.
And that led to what Zoro saw.
"So what are you planning to do next?"
"My plans… I'll travel around for a while first, then find some time to go back to the East Blue and have a look.
"Zoro, I have to thank you for your wish, but if you want to become the Strongest Swordsman in the World, you've just gained a new rival."
"Couldn't ask for more. I'm not going to lose to you for the 2002nd time."
Still extremely unfamiliar with the world of the living, Kuina temporarily stayed aboard the Sunny, planning to first get a sense of how much things had changed over the years.
While the Straw Hats were arranging their future itinerary, the Beasts Pirates' ships were openly heading back to Wano Country.
Because of the route, the ship they had used to come was handed over to Tesoro, who returned to Gran Tesoro ahead of time to handle other matters.
Meanwhile, Zeraora and the others followed Arceus's ship back to Wano Country.
At this moment, Arceus stood at the bow of the ship, seemingly lost in thought, while Meowna and Wolff were excitedly discussing what had just happened at the stern of the ship, along with their impression of the Whole Cake Island.
"That Longleg Tribe guy didn't seem to like us."
"Yeah, there was hostility in his eyes. He seemed like a dangerous person."
"That's normal. He's probably the one in the Big Mom Pirates who hates Minks the most. If you run into him in the future, keep your distance. Of course, if he comes looking for trouble, you don't need to be polite either."
Zeraora, who had just finished telling Setsuna about their experiences, returned to his children and happened to hear their conversation.
That hostile Longleg Tribe man was, naturally, Baron Tamago.
In Baron Tamago's eyes, Setsuna and Zeraora, the two who had taken Pedro away back then, were practically enemies. Not to mention them, even Pekoms irritated him a bit now.
He still couldn't swallow that grievance from back then, but constrained by Big Mom's attitude and his own abilities, there was nothing he could do. All he could manage was to try and kill them with his glare.
Looking a bit wouldn't cost anything, and it also counted as giving Big Mom some face. Zeraora and the others didn't dwell on it, instead beginning their routine training at the stern.
Minks didn't only enter the Sulong state on full moon nights; even on ordinary nights they were more energetic. This was the beastly power at work, which was why their usual sleep time was after midnight.
Even after everything they'd been through, Meowna and Wolff were still full of energy. Without burning some of it off, falling asleep wouldn't be easy.
Meanwhile, in the Reverse World, a scene completely different from the outside was unfolding.
The sun had already risen, and sunlight bathed every corner of the Reverse World. On a cleared patch of ground at the edge of Queen's plantation, Shayna and the others sat in a circle, as if having a picnic.
The two families looked joyful and harmonious.
Before long, Shayna returned, with King following behind her. Yes, King without his mask.
Earlier, she had taken Shaymin along the way from Queen, asking Shaymin to help open the door to the Reverse World.
Now that the two of them had returned here again, they naturally removed their disguises.
Shayna sat obediently beside her parents, looking every bit the well-behaved child, while King faced the scrutiny of his own parents.
There was a huge range in Lunarian's growth. The shorter ones were just over two meters tall, while the taller ones could reach six or seven meters. Even among this rare race, King was a prime example of the tall type.
"This is insane… the whole world has gone insane."
Queen rubbed his face as he looked at this bizarre scene. Others might not know, but how could he not? Over all these years, King and Shayna had taken part in countless battles and killed who knew how many enemies.
If those former opponents from the battlefield saw this, they'd probably start doubting their own existence.
"Hey, hey, can you believe it? These two pe*verts can actually talk like that. Does that even make sense?"
One was a battle-crazed maniac with no moral bottom line, the other a torture-loving pe*vert. This was how Queen defined Shayna and King. Now that his worldview had been shaken, he turned to the just-returned Shaymin, hoping for some affirmation.
"I think it's perfectly reasonable. They're both good people."
"Good people?! How did you even arrive at that conclusion?!"
"I just did. I think that if you stopped courting death so much, life might be a lot easier for you. Oh right, Kaido was looking for you just now. You can choose to leave and go find him."
"Heh, forget it. This place is pretty nice. I'll go do some research instead."
Listening to Shaymin, Queen headed straight for the laboratory inside the Reverse World, greeting King and the others along the way.
However, the distance was a bit far, so Queen couldn't hear what they were saying. Judging from those gentle expressions, it was probably something nice.
"Alber, are those your companions as well?"
"Yes. And he's also our designated scapegoat. No need to be too polite with him. If you give him even the slightest bit of kindness, within three days he'll start pushing his luck. He's a real hassle."
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