Immediately, Moria's body transformed into countless shadow bats, scattering into the air and rapidly chasing after Ryoma.
"Hmph, you dare call yourself the swordmaster Ryoma in front of me? Damn it, does Moria look like an idiot to you?" Moria growled, his mind set on avenging his two fallen subordinates.
After a brief pursuit, Ryoma slipped into a narrow alley.
The architecture in Wano Country was filled with such alleys—many without any shadows at all.
If Moria followed him here, he would be doomed, with no place to hide or fight back.
If Moria had any brains, even just using his toes, he wouldn't have ended up in this predicament.
"Ha ha ha… Didn't expect to find you here! You really made it easy for me!"
Ryoma heard Moria's voice and instinctively looked up.
Sure enough, Moria was flying above in the form of bats!
Then, in the blink of an eye, the bats vanished from the sky. Moria crashed heavily to the ground with a thunderous impact that cracked the earth beneath him like a spiderweb. Blood poured from his shattered head.
Dazed, Moria staggered to his feet after a moment, glaring ferociously at Ryoma. "Kid, this time you've got nowhere left to run!"
"Yeah, you're right. No place left to run," Ryoma said with a grin.
At that moment, Moria tried desperately to summon his shadows—but no matter how hard he tried, not even a ripple stirred!
Moria's expression changed abruptly.
"Damn… I've been tricked!" he thought, a chill running down his spine.
Ryoma's eyes darkened as he twisted the blade of his black sword, Shūsui, with a sharp gleam in his gaze. His sword-browed, starry-eyed expression betrayed a faint but unmistakable murderous intent.
He forced himself to recall the Haki of Armament he had used centuries ago.
Though Ryoma's power was impressive now, he was facing a superhuman Devil Fruit user. Without Armament Haki, he wouldn't even scratch him in this environment.
Now was the moment: just a slight infusion of Armament Haki would be enough to kill Moria.
Suddenly, Shūsui's blade began to shimmer with a faint purple glow.
With a gentle swing of the sword, a gigantic crack tore open in the ground around them, sending dust billowing into the air.
"BOOM!"
A deafening roar shook the world.
Moria's pupils constricted as he faced the overwhelming sword energy barreling toward him. Though he desperately wanted to dodge, his body refused to obey, trembling uncontrollably.
Only now did Moria realize: without his shadow, he was nothing.
"Ah!"
He screamed in agony as the Armament-infused sword energy knocked him back several meters.
Lying on the ground, convulsing and terrified, Moria looked back at Ryoma—and at last, he believed the man's true identity.
"Ryoma… don't do this. If you turn back now, your killing of my two subordinates can be wiped clean," Moria pleaded, never having felt death so terrifying.
Not even Dracule Mihawk carried the oppressive presence Ryoma did. In fact, the two were not even in the same league.
Ryoma snorted coldly, ignoring the plea. Holding Shūsui, he struck dozens more precise blows, confirming Moria's death before finally stopping.
"Ding dong! Congratulations, Host! You have acquired the S-Rank Shadow-Shadow Fruit!"
"Ding dong! The Shadow-Shadow Fruit, a superhuman-type Devil Fruit, grants the ability to sever others' shadows and implant stolen shadows into corpses to create zombies. The user can also create shadow clones as substitutes and perform shadow swaps…"
Ryoma blinked in surprise.
Who would have thought this Shadow-Shadow Fruit was rated S-Rank?
But thinking carefully, the Shadow-Shadow Fruit seemed to lack practical combat application... why was it rated so highly?
Perhaps Moria's reliance on external forces was what made the fruit's development so unusual.
"Hmph... This Shadow-Shadow Fruit is a pretty good choice for a first Devil Fruit," Ryoma mused with a smile.
He was confident that, under his development, the fruit would reveal far greater potential.
"Ding dong! Congratulations, Host! Successfully absorbed the Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability."
Somewhat excited, Ryoma stepped out of the alley and allowed his body to transform into shadow.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Just as Ryoma's excitement was rising, the ground trembled violently.
He instinctively glanced back.
To his astonishment, behind him stood a massive army.
It was the Wano Country forces: samurai and ninja, numbering over a thousand.
And at the center of the army stood a man—Kurozumi Orochi himself.
That grotesque villain was unmistakable at a glance.
"System, what is the combat power of this General Orochi?"
"Ding dong, Host. The combat power of Kurozumi Orochi is as follows:
Name: Kurozumi OrochiGender: MaleDevil Fruit: Snake-Snake Fruit, Yamata no Orochi form — Zoan-type, Mythical Beast category
Fruit Ability: The user can transform into the eight-headed Yamata no Orochi. Each head possesses its own consciousness; the eight heads are green, with the middle head being darker and bearing the distinctive features of Orochi himself. The other seven heads resemble dragons.
Combat Power Level: Above Rear Admiral."
Reading this information, Ryoma took a deep breath, his expression turning grave. "This is bad… So many people, and all from Wano Country. How am I supposed to deal with this?"
Inwardly, Ryoma screamed in frustration.
Perhaps Orochi's combat power wasn't overwhelmingly strong on its own, but his subordinates were a different matter — a cloud of powerful warriors surrounded him: the fiercely loyal bodyguard Kyoshiro, the ninja force known as the Orochi Onibazuban, and Kurozumi Kanjuurou among others. It was better not to provoke them.
One samurai dressed in soldier's armor pointed shakily at Ryoma, trembling as he said, "General Orochi, it's this bastard—the grave robber!"
"Oh?"
Orochi's lips curled into a slight smile. "Alright, I understand. You may step down."
Orochi strode forward step by step, locking eyes with Ryoma and chuckling darkly. "Heh heh… So you're the one calling yourself Ryoma?"
Ryoma met Orochi's gaze with serious composure. "I am Ryoma the Dragon-Slaying Samurai, a true man keeps his name and does not change it."
"Very well, very well," Orochi replied. "I won't press you on your real name. Heh heh… I have a great love for talent. If you join us, all previous conflicts will be forgiven."
Ryoma replied calmly, "Thanks, but I can't bear the burden. You'd better find someone else, General."
"You fought Moonlight Moria just now. I saw it all. You are indeed a pillar of strength, showing some true spirit of the Dragon-Slaying Samurai… If you join me, you will live in luxury and enjoy great fortune. But if you refuse, you should already understand what your fate will be," Orochi sneered, narrowing his eyes—utterly the cunning villain.