Amid the ruined wreckage, flickering flames cast their faint glow over Zoro's body, stretching a long, narrow shadow across the ground.
In the blink of an eye, a Zoro far more mature than his nineteen-year-old self appeared before Shiryu.
His figure twisted sharply.
In an instant, a piercing cold light carved a perfect circular arc through the air, slashing straight toward the charging Shiryu.
BOOM!!!
A massive cloud of dust erupted, swallowing the ruins whole.
The very next second, a figure was blasted straight out of the smoke, crashing violently into a nearby wooden house and smashing through several streets in succession!
And that figure was none other than the top-tier swordsman who had charged at Zoro—
Shiryu of the Rain.
"…H-how is this possible?!"
Shiryu, who had suffered no serious injuries, quickly rose from the shattered debris. Yet his face was frozen in disbelief as he stared forward, unable to accept what he was seeing.
At that moment, a shadow suddenly emerged from within the thick curtain of dust.
Sharp dragon horns.
Massive, angular wings.
And a powerful, sweeping tail!
This silhouette was all too familiar to Shiryu.
After all, the giant dragon Zoro had previously manifested looked exactly like this!
The difference was that this draconic figure was only a little over two meters tall—far smaller than the earlier projection—yet infinitely more solid and real.
Step.
The figure slowly walked out of the dust.
It was Zoro—having completed a mysterious evolution!
Though he still possessed a humanoid form, many distinctly dragon-type Pokémon traits had appeared across his body.
Above his head, jet-black dragon horns gleamed with a metallic sheen, faintly pulsing as though mysterious energy were gathering within them.
From his chest, an extremely hard plate of metallic dragon scales had grown, spreading upward to beneath his cheeks and fully protecting his neck—erasing one of Zoro's greatest vulnerabilities.
Scales had also formed around his wrists, wrapping tightly around his hands before miraculously extending onto the hilts of Narukami and Sandai Kitetsu, locking the swords firmly in place.
As for Wado Ichimonji, the blade that held unique meaning to Zoro, it too had changed alongside his evolution.
The once pristine, sacred blade had grown slightly larger as Zoro's physique increased.
At the hilt, a crescent-shaped dragon-tail hook—matching the color of the handle—had formed, allowing the sword to hang securely from Zoro's mouth.
No matter how he spoke, Wado Ichimonji would never fall.
Aside from these changes, Zoro's appearance showed no other drastic alterations.
"What kind of power is this?!"
Staring at Zoro's half-dragon, half-human form, the confusion in Shiryu's eyes only deepened.
More importantly…
He could feel a faint yet unmistakable pressure radiating from Zoro!
This wasn't Conqueror's Haki.
Nor was it the mental suppression caused by the Pressure ability.
This feeling came from something far more primal—
Instinctive fear.
It was as though Zoro had transcended his species, becoming a higher lifeform that Shiryu could scarcely bring himself to face.
"What the hell is going on…?!"
Shiryu screamed the question in his heart—but no one could answer him.
Meanwhile, the newly evolved Zoro flicked his dragon tail, ripping a sharp sonic crack through the air.
He raised his stance once more—Three Sword Style—as brilliant arcs of electricity burst to life across his body.
"Then… the real battle begins now!!!"
Zoro grinned ferociously.
His wings snapped open.
In the blink of an eye, his body shot forward like a beam of light, streaking straight toward Shiryu.
Having long since controlled a dragon projection in combat, Zoro felt no awkwardness whatsoever with his new form. The dragon traits responded as naturally as his own limbs—perfectly obedient.
"Dragon Blade Style · Thunder · Thousandfold Force!!!"
CRACK—!!!
The metallic dragon scales seemed uniquely attuned to lightning.
In an instant, Zoro's blades were engulfed in terrifying thunder.
Wherever he passed, stray arcs of electricity lingered in the air, writhing like tiny serpents.
"Damn brat! Don't think that just because you ate some overpowered Devil Fruit you can do whatever you want!!!"
Though fear still lingered in his heart, Shiryu roared and raised his blade.
He stomped down hard, blasting a massive crater into the ground, then swung his sword to meet Zoro head-on.
"Blood Slaughter · Rivers of Carnage!!!"
BOOM!
A surging tide of killing intent erupted from Shiryu, dyeing the surrounding air blood-red.
As a world-class great swordsman, even with his mind unsettled, Shiryu instantly assumed the proper stance of a true warrior and faced Zoro head-on.
CLANG!!!
Four blades collided once more, unleashing a shockwave far greater than before—instantly scouring the surroundings down to bare bedrock.
The earth began to split beneath their feet.
Massive cracks spread outward as the two pushed against one another.
"Hm?"
A thoughtful glint flashed through Zoro's eyes.
With a powerful beat of his wings, he suddenly dispersed his strength and shot straight into the sky.
No matter what, they were here to help Kuja Island repel the invaders.
If they accidentally left irreversible damage behind…
That would be beyond embarrassing.
"Shiryu of the Rain—want my Devil Fruit ability?!"
"If you do, then come find me in the sky!!!"
Fully aware of Shiryu's thoughts, Zoro stopped explaining and instead deliberately provoked him.
"Damn little brat!"
Shiryu's face twisted with fury.
Yet deep down, he had to admit—
After witnessing Zoro's transformation, his initial curiosity had turned into absolute obsession.
He had to have that fruit.
Step!
A perfectly circular shockwave burst from beneath Shiryu's feet.
As a Marine-trained fighter, he had naturally mastered the Six Powers.
Though he favored Shave and Paper Art, integrating them seamlessly into his swordplay, that didn't mean he was unfamiliar with the rest.
Stepping through the air with Moonwalk, Shiryu quickly caught up to Zoro soaring above.
After Zoro's erratic zigzagging flight, the two finally came to a halt above a vast forest.
"So—this little game of cat and mouse is finally over?!" Shiryu demanded, hovering in midair.
Zoro, however, spoke with genuine emotion.
"I didn't expect Kuja Island's airspace to be this complicated… finding a quiet area was harder than I thought."
…?
A trace of confusion flashed across Shiryu's eyes.
He glanced toward the clearing several kilometers away where they had started.
At their level, that distance was nothing.
And yet, an absurd thought suddenly surfaced in his mind—
This guy… isn't he just a hopelessly terrible navigator?!
"If the goal was a quiet place… why drag me in circles around the Amazon Lily Kingdom first?!"
Though completely unrelated to the battle, three thick black lines appeared on Shiryu's forehead.
A bizarre sense of humiliation welled up inside him.
Surely… he couldn't be that stupid, right?!
Yet Zoro showed no sign of noticing Shiryu's thoughts. His aura sharpened instantly as he entered combat stance once more.
Shiryu followed suit, casting aside all stray thoughts.
In that moment—
The battle between the Slaughter Maniac and the Dragon Swordsman erupted high above Kuja Island.
Terrifying slashes flew nonstop, narrowly missing as both dodged—only to slam into the distant sea or the forest below.
The colossal shockwaves instantly drew the attention of other powerful fighters across the island.
But soon enough, they turned back to their own battles.
After all—
Zoro wasn't the only one shining on this battlefield.
…
…
"Franky · Evil Iron Fist!!!"
BOOM!
Near Kuja Island's city gates, the cyborg Franky twisted his body, activating internal mechanisms as his fist launched forward like a cannonball.
At the same moment, a wave of sinister, unsettling energy burst from his body.
That energy surged along the chain connected to his fist like a raging river, smashing mercilessly into the pirates ahead!
"AAAH—!!!"
In an instant, the metal fist—once only slightly larger than normal—expanded into a colossal shadowy fist formed entirely from Dark-type energy, blasting every pirate along the street into the air.
Many of them hit the ground wearing expressions of pure terror.
Even with broken bones, they scrambled to their feet and fled screaming in panic.
Clearly, they had triggered Dark Pulse's special effect—
flinching.
Otherwise, pirates strong enough to dominate entire regions wouldn't be reduced to this state by a single blow.
And so, Franky fully embraced his street-brawler nature, pounding his way from the city gates straight to the city center without batting an eye.
Until—
A middle-aged man dressed like a hunter appeared before him.
Step!
Franky came to a sudden halt, his face breaking into a wide grin.
"Hah! I thought little Aisa's sensing was off!"
"So you were hiding here!"
"Former captain of the Rampage Pirates, with a bounty of 480,000,000 Beli—Captain Kana · Wolf!"
"Oh, right…"
"I should call you an officer of the Black Lion Alliance now, shouldn't I?!"
Kana's eyes gleamed coldly as he smiled—a sharp face full of cunning and savagery.
"It's been nearly ten years… and someone still recognizes me at a glance."
"How thrilling."
Though Franky's bounty was only sixty million Beli, Kana had observed him in secret—watching as he smashed and terrified countless pirates.
Only now did he step out to fulfill his duty as a high-ranking officer of the Black Lion Alliance.
After all, given Blackbeard's hatred for the Straw Hat Pirates, killing even one of them would surely earn him tremendous rewards.
Franky, meanwhile, looked just as excited.
"Thrilling?!"
"You said it!"
After Enies Lobby, where he failed to truly stand out, Franky badly needed a powerful opponent to prove—
He wasn't just dead weight in the Straw Hat Pirates!
Their thoughts aligned.
Their actions followed.
"Transform! Werewolf Form!"
"Transform! Franky Combat Mode!"
Before each other's astonished eyes, both bodies changed simultaneously.
Franky's eyes flared red like an alarm.
His right arm opened, revealing a strange mechanism that rapidly assembled into a jet-black cannon barrel mounted on his wrist.
Behind it hung three brilliant gemstones—
A blazing Fire Stone.
A dazzling Thunder Stone.
And an icy Ice Stone.
Any Straw Hat would instantly recognize them.
They represented the three elemental attributes that had become core to Tri Attack.
Franky's other hand transformed as well.
His thick fingers sharpened dramatically as the skin peeled back, revealing five transparent glass tubes filled with differently colored liquids.
These were special toxins developed jointly by Usopp and Chopper.
Combined with extendable mechanical fingers and his newly learned Finger Pistol, Franky could now inject these toxins directly into enemies mid-attack.
Finally, his chest plates split open like metal blast doors, revealing a crystal overflowing with energy—glowing brilliantly like an arc reactor.
Franky Combat Mode · Prototype Unit—
Deploy!!!
(End of Chapter)