Ryuma's body was already at its limit. After being heavily wounded by Susanoo, only his head remained, floating in mid-air, blue flames still burning at his neck.
Susanoo's armor dissipated, revealing a form composed of pure purple lightning beneath it. The humanoid lightning shrank down, taking on Chiga's form once again.
Chiga gazed silently at Ryuma. There was an unmistakable bitterness to witnessing a warrior of such legend in his final moments.
Ryuma seemed to understand what Chiga was thinking. A relieved smile appeared on his face as he spoke.
"Your strength is truly remarkable. It's been my honor to cross blades with you in my final moments."
Chiga gave a slight nod. "Is there anything else you wish to say?"
Ryuma's floating head lowered slightly in thought. After a moment, he spoke.
"If I could, I'd like to know how my descendants are doing… and whether they've continued practicing swordsmanship."
"Descendants?" Chiga paused, and the image of Roronoa Zoro flashed through his mind. Based on Ryuma's appearance during his lifetime, it was almost certain Zoro was his descendant—though it was unclear how many generations had passed.
While not completely certain, Chiga still intended to honor Ryuma's final wish.
"Your descendant has outstanding talent in swordsmanship. Perhaps… one day, he might even surpass you."
"Is that so? You've met him?"
"I suppose you could say that."
Ryuma let out a hearty laugh. "Then I truly have no regrets. I hope my descendant continues walking the path of the sword."
As his laughter faded, Ryuma's body dissolved into countless blue specks of light, vanishing into the air. His sword, Shusui, embedded in the ground below, seemed to sense its master's passing and let out a faint, mournful hum.
Before Ryuma's form vanished completely, a shadowy black spiritual essence broke free from his remains and sped away in a particular direction. Chiga made no effort to stop it — he knew it was Brook's shadow, returning to its rightful owner.
Chiga stood silently for a moment, then slowly descended to the ground.
Chiga approached the black blade Shusui, which remained planted in the earth. He drew it out, only to find that less than a fifth of the blade remained intact — it had been irreparably damaged.
This meant Zoro would no longer inherit Shusui.
But Zoro was destined to be one of the greatest swordsmen in the world. If not this blade, another would come into his hands — a sword worthy of his path. What that would be… only fate would decide.
As for this ruined Shusui, Chiga felt it belonged alongside its master.
Placing a hand on the ground, he muttered,
"Earth Release: Earth Core Movement."
The ground trembled, and a semi-circular mound of earth rose up. Before it stood a stone tablet, engraved with the words: "Tomb of Shimotsuki Ryuma."
Chiga then drove the broken Shusui into the top of the mound, leaving it as a grave marker. His task complete, his body transformed into purple lightning and vanished.
Moria sat nervously on his throne, hands clasped, eyes fixed on the enormous hole left in the wall of his castle.
The familiar crackle of thunder sounded, and Chiga appeared in the hall.
At the sight of him, Moria rushed forward, speaking quickly.
"Admiral Kirin! Please, listen to me—that zombie was… different! He regained his old consciousness on his own! I absolutely wasn't the one controlling him to fight you!"
While Chiga had fought Ryuma, Moria had heard every thunderous impact outside, each one making his heart clench. Every second had felt like an eternity. He feared that when Chiga returned, it would be to take his head.
Nearby, Absalom and Hogback trembled visibly but remained by Moria's side, too afraid to flee.
Perona stayed too, though her reasons differed. She wasn't particularly interested in politics or survival. She just wanted to confirm whether Chiga had been harmed.
When she saw him return unscathed, she let out a breath of relief — though immediately cupped her face in frustration.
"Tch… how annoying! Why should I care about him?"
Chiga didn't bother settling scores with Moria. He understood Ryuma's situation better than Moria ever could.
He came only to issue a command.
"Moria, Ryuma's body has dissipated. I've erected a grave for him. Tell your zombies to leave it alone."
Moria blinked. This Admiral Kirin was… unexpectedly sentimental. He'd killed the man, then built him a grave. Did that mean, if one day Chiga killed him, he'd get a tomb too?
An unwelcome image of his own gravestone popped into Moria's mind, and he shuddered, quickly spitting on the floor to dispel the omen.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey… damn bad luck!"
Chiga frowned at Moria's silence. "What? Is this a problem?"
The displeasure in his tone made Moria's blood run cold. He scrambled to bow his head.
"Of course not! I'll make sure no one disturbs Ryuma's tomb!"
The order wasn't difficult to follow — most of Moria's zombie army had already been reduced to ash by sunlight. The remaining few were in terrible shape, too weak and broken to defile a grave.
Chiga had no interest in further conversation. His purpose here was finished.
Purple lightning arcs began crackling across his body as he prepared to leave and retrieve the Yomi Yomi no Mi.
Seeing this, Moria was secretly overjoyed but forced a regretful expression onto his face.
"Admiral Kirin, leaving already? I haven't even had a chance to properly entertain you. Why not stay for a meal?"
Of course, inside his heart he was screaming.
"Hurry up and leave already! I'm going to drop dead from terror at this rate!"
Chiga didn't even acknowledge the offer. Just by looking at Moria's restless feet, he could tell the man was desperate for him to disappear.
Just as Chiga was about to fully transform into lightning and leave, a deep voice rang out from behind.
"Admiral Kirin, could you wait a moment? I have something to discuss."
Chiga halted, turning toward the source of the voice.
Moria nearly leapt out of his skin. Whipping around, he wanted to see which idiot had just spoken — but the moment his eyes landed on the figure, his face went pale.
A tall, burly man had appeared in the hall at some point, wearing a long black coat and holding a thick book in one hand. Most noticeably, a pair of slightly trembling bear ears rested atop his head.
At the sight of him, Chiga narrowed his eyes.
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