"Yohohoho... Well then, I suppose it's your turn now~"
Zombie Ryuma's withered face crinkled into a smile that bloomed like a daisy. Even without looks, he grinned with full confidence.
Luffy looked down at Brook lying on the floor and asked curiously, "Hey, you okay, skeleton?"
Brook's skeletal frame twitched slightly. His jawbone trembled as he managed to speak, despite lacking vocal cords. His voice was raspy and unsteady:
"I-I'm fine... Yohohoho, cough! Cough! Just a little... tight in the chest, though I don't have one!"
Supporting himself with one hand on the floor, Brook picked up his cane sword with the other.
He still seemed determined to fight.
Luffy blinked at him, speechless.
He'd just been thoroughly thrashed, and he still had the energy to crack a joke?
Yep, Brook was clearly comic relief.
Struggling to his feet, Brook raised his sword and pointed it at Zombie Ryuma, then turned to Luffy and Robin. "Young man, you should run quickly! There's someone truly terrifying on this island!"
His hand trembled as he spoke.
Brook didn't know who Luffy really was. To him, they just seemed like some random pirates who'd gotten lost. He was trying to protect them, afraid they'd end up like him, shadows stolen by that demon of a man.
Luffy grinned and casually waved off Ryuma's presence, saying to Brook, "You're a pretty nice skeleton, you know that? Wanna join my crew?"
"What?"
"WHAT?!"
Brook and Robin shouted at the same time, both startled and disbelieving.
Luffy, however, was serious. He liked Brook, not just for his humor or his music, but for his powers.
The Revive-Revive Fruit was proof that the afterlife existed in this world. And Brook's future potential was incredible, he'd eventually learn to channel the power of the underworld itself, wrapping his soul around his sword and delivering attacks on a Mental Power level. Very few people in the world could do that.
Luffy noticed Robin's mild disapproval and smiled at her. "He's funny, right?"
Robin's expression twitched slightly. She forced a smile. "Y-Yeah... he is."
She didn't dislike Brook. It was just... until now, it had been just her and Luffy. If someone else joined the crew...
Robin felt like her chances to be alone with Luffy would disappear.
Brook, still battered and broken, suddenly felt a chill deep within. He didn't have a heart, but his soul was trembling.
I'm doomed, aren't I...
"Yohohoho~ What a rare and touching scene... But let's save the sentiment until after you meet Moria-sama!"
Zombie Ryuma, clearly annoyed at being ignored, cut into the conversation. He raised the black blade Shusui and pointed it at Luffy and Robin.
As for the exhausted, wild-haired skeleton behind him? Ryuma didn't even bother with him.
A cold gleam flashed in the air. The heavy black blade traced a blood-red arc through space, as if slicing through time itself.
Ryuma's body vanished into the strike, unleashing the sword technique etched into his soul.
"Hanauta Sanch—"
CLANG!!!
A sharp, metallic ring echoed through the hall.
Ryuma's and Brook's ghostly flames flickered at the same time. Their hollow eyes widened in shock, as if witnessing the impossible.
Robin smiled faintly, as if she'd seen this coming.
Luffy spoke calmly: "That move of yours... was a quick-draw strike, right?"
"Too bad, it was too slow."
He opened his hand, letting go of the black blade he'd just caught mid-swing. Not a scratch marked the pitch-black [X-Glove] he wore.
Ryuma staggered back three steps, his whole body trembling slightly.
He hadn't used his full strength in that attack, but for someone to catch it barehanded?
That was all he needed to know, Luffy was powerful.
Taking a deep breath, Ryuma steadied himself. The fire in his eyes calmed. He raised his sword again and said, "Yohohoho~ Looks like I've met someone remarkable today."
Even in danger, his voice kept that smug, annoying tone, as if sorrow could never touch him.
Luffy shook out his arm. The impact had still stung a bit.
"Whew."
A flame ignited in his hand. His pupils shimmered, reflecting the fire's glow. Where once his irises were simply black and white, they now gleamed in layered shades of orange and gold, like twin suns.
Luffy tried to calm himself. He'd been experimenting, trying to control the fire by suppressing his emotions. But no matter how he tried, a stubborn flame kept flickering inside, throwing off his focus.
"It's still not working?" he muttered in disappointment, staring at the fire in his palm.
As soon as he spoke, the flame flared even more violently.
"Hm?" Ryuma, sword raised, noticed the instability in Luffy's aura. Watching the flame waver, he asked, "You're... trying to master your emotional state, aren't you?"
Luffy looked up, surprised. The fire trembled again.
"How did you know?"
Ryuma chuckled, his voice calm for once. "Because it's a path all swordsmen must walk."
For a moment, Ryuma was no longer the cheerful zombie. His tone turned solemn, aged, like a seasoned warrior from ages past. Like the dragon-slaying swordsman he once was.
"Every swordsman, if they wish to become a true master," he said, "must understand one thing, 'the breath of all things.'"
"And the best way to grasp that breath is through sword meditation. That means mastering your own heart, so your body can listen to the world, and your blade can touch all things."
"I noticed your Mental Power flares and fades, your will is unsteady. Just now, you were close to reaching that state. But you weren't satisfied, were you?"
"It seems... you're searching for something beyond even that."
Ryuma stopped speaking and stood still, no longer eager to fight.
He understood clearly: he wasn't Luffy's match. Maybe when he was alive, they could have had a real duel, but now?
Better to wait. Maybe this young man would show him something truly astonishing.
Luffy closed his eyes and stood silently, reflecting on Ryuma's words.
He'd never really connected swordsmanship with emotional control before. Maybe he'd heard of it, but he never paid it much attention.
In the original story, Zoro had learned "the breath of all things" through battle. Luffy had never thought to apply that concept to himself.
But now, after Ryuma's explanation, he realized something: he'd been going about it all wrong.
He'd been trying to smother the flame inside him, to erase all thought and emotion.
But the moment he tried, the fire already existed. No matter how faint, it still gave off heat.
But if he followed a swordsman's path...
No,
Not just feel all things...
He had to become all things.
Luffy's eyes slowly opened, calm and gentle.
The flame in his hand shrank, bit by bit, until it dissolved into glowing embers that drifted to the ground.
A small smile formed on his lips. He crossed his arms over his chest and dropped into a Bruce Lee-style stance.
With a peaceful tone, he said:
"Alright. Let's go again."
==========
You can find much more on my Patreon: Patreon.com/Veltoria
There are currently 5 active fanfictions on Patreon, with over 582+ advanced chapters available across them!
From Naruto Onwards, I Control Time — Up to Chapter 337
Haikyuu!!: Rise of Sengoku — Up to Chapter 279
Danmachi: Is It Wrong To Aspire to Be An Adventurer? — Up to Chapter 97
Legend of Hogwarts (Harry Potter x League of Legends) — Up to Chapter 186
I Am Luffy: Partner System Online (One Piece) — Up to Chapter 168
Playing Genshin Impact in Danmachi (Danmachi x Genshin Impact) — Up to Chapter 98
Kuroko no Basket: The Phantom Ace — Up to Chapter 19