"???"
"You're saying I stole your Devil Fruit power?"
Absalom looked utterly confused.
Was this blond Marine out of his mind?
"Hmph—"
Sanji let out a short, displeased snort.
A second later, he moved. "Soru!"
His figure vanished instantly.
"!!!"
Absalom instinctively tried to activate his ability and fade into invisibility.
But against Sanji, who was burning with conviction, it was already too late!
"Bang—!"
Sanji's knee smashed solidly into Absalom's side.
"Wahhh—!"
Absalom's body was sent flying, crashing into a crumbling wall and shattering it into pieces.
"Cough—!"
He struggled up from the rubble, coughing up blood. "Damn it... you bastard!"
"Ugly freak! You don't deserve that ability!"
Sanji charged at Absalom.
The Clear-Clear Fruit...
A man's romance! The ultimate dream of a knight!
And yet, this dream was being defiled by the ugly bastard in front of him — a lion-faced freak!!!
Die!!!
He had to die!!!
"You know nothing!"
Absalom roared, his body turning transparent, vanishing into the air completely.
"Gihahahaha! Now you'll never hit me again!"
"Once I deal with you, I'll go enjoy those lovely Marine ladies!"
His lecherous laughter echoed from every direction, impossible to pinpoint.
"Is that so?"
Sanji closed his eyes.
Observation Haki instantly spread out, covering the entire area.
In his Haki's perception, that transparent figure stood out like a firefly in the dark — crystal clear.
"Found you!"
Sanji's eyes snapped open, his body lowering slightly.
"Shoo! Shoo! Shoo—!"
Dozens of blazing vacuum kicks shot out from all directions, slicing toward Absalom's hidden position.
"What?!"
Absalom's face twisted in shock. He hadn't expected his invisibility to be completely useless.
He twisted and rolled through the air desperately, dodging the deadly flaming slashes.
Several strands of his hair were singed, and deep bloody gashes tore across his body.
"Bastard!"
He yanked out two rocket launchers from his coat and fired directly at Sanji.
But Sanji's figure disappeared once again.
When he reappeared, he was already behind Absalom.
"Too slow."
Sanji's heel, coated in Armament Haki and entwined with crimson flames, turned a menacing dark red.
With a powerful downward strike, his heel crashed onto Absalom's back.
"Crack—!"
The crisp sound of shattering bones echoed across the battlefield.
Absalom let out a wretched scream as his body was slammed violently into the ground.
"This isn't over yet."
Sanji spun gracefully in midair, raising his right leg high.
"Die…"
Jet-black Armament Haki spread across his entire right leg.
The crimson flames blazed even hotter...
"BOOM!!!"
The burning black meteor descended, carrying a fury hot enough to incinerate everything, smashing straight into Absalom's back.
"Thud—"
The ground shook violently as a massive, charred crater formed on impact.
At the center of the crater lay Absalom's broken body, his chest pierced through with a massive hole. The edges were charred black, thin wisps of smoke rising from the wound.
He was completely silent.
"Phew—"
Sanji landed slowly, lighting a new cigarette and taking a deep drag.
The raging fury in his heart finally began to subside.
At last... he'd killed the bastard who had defiled the Clear-Clear Fruit.
He glanced around.
Wonder how moss-head's doing over there...
"Clang!!!"
The sound of fierce clashing steel rang out from the castle plaza nearby.
Sanji turned his gaze and saw two figures locked in a frenzied battle.
Zoro and that bandaged swordsman!
The plaza before the castle had already been reduced to ruins.
Countless deep sword marks crisscrossed the ground like scars.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Zoro and Ryuma's movements were so fast they blurred into one — two overlapping shadows locked in combat.
Wado Ichimonji clashed fiercely against the black blade, Shusui. Each collision sent sparks flying and shrieking steel reverberating through the air.
"Bang—!"
Another violent clash, and both fighters were forced back several steps.
"You're strong…"
Zoro narrowed his eyes.
This zombie's swordsmanship was strong. Very strong.
His movements were clean, without a single wasted motion. Ancient, refined, lethal — every strike crafted for one purpose: to kill.
This wasn't something an ordinary zombie could achieve…
This was swordsmanship carved deep into muscle and bone, the instinctive mastery belonging only to a true Great Swordsman!
"..."
Ryuma slowly raised the black blade in his hand, the tip angled toward the ground.
A chilling, deathly sword aura began to spread from him.
His figure vanished in an instant, dashing toward Zoro with incredible speed.
"You… are a worthy opponent."
"So, I'll also send you off… with my strongest technique!"
Guided by Observation Haki, Zoro sheathed Wado Ichimonji, gripping the scabbard with his left hand while resting his right hand lightly on the hilt, lowering his stance into an iaijutsu draw.
In this moment, he cleared his mind of all distractions.
In his mind, he saw Hawk Eyes' towering physique and unbreakable Armament Haki…
"Clang—"
Jet-black Armament Haki surged like a living thing, spreading from his right arm across the hilt, racing along the scabbard, until the entire blade was dyed in pitch-black darkness.
"Buzz—"
Ryuma seemed to sense the threat as well. The deathly aura around him exploded outward, and Shusui let out a mournful cry.
"Come!"
Zoro's voice was low and steady.
"One Sword Style Secret Technique!"
Zoro's figure… vanished.
Not moving fast — but truly disappearing from sight altogether.
He had perfectly fused Soru's explosive speed into the very instant of his draw.
In the next moment, he appeared behind Ryuma, frozen in the finishing stance, blade already sheathed.
Time seemed to halt for a second.
"Crack…"
A faint sound echoed as the bandages across Ryuma's chest silently split apart, revealing decayed flesh beneath.
No wounds. No blood.
But the sheer force of Zoro's will and Armament Haki had shattered everything within.
"Whoosh—"
A shadowy figure was violently torn out of Ryuma's body, dispersing instantly into nothingness.
Deprived of the shadow that animated him, Ryuma staggered slightly.
Slowly, very slowly, he turned, empty eye sockets "looking" straight at Zoro.
He seemed… to be smiling.
"Clang…"
Shusui slipped from his hands, falling heavily to the ground.
Ryuma's samurai body crumbled into dust and scattered into the wind.
"Shusui… I'll entrust you with it…"
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