The Man Who Would Become the World's Greatest Swordsman Honors You by Asking for Your Sword

In the Florian Triangle, aboard Thriller Bark, at the very top of the mansion on the mast, lay the shadow hall.

The candles burned dimly inside.

Moria lounged in his lofty throne, looking all the more sinister in the candlelight.

Below the raised platform, Absalom stood to his left, and Perona to his right.

Farther down, numerous zombies stood on both sides, all awakened and summoned by Absalom on his way here.

In the flickering candlelight, the place looked even more terrifying.

"Marine, tell me about your grudge with Kaido."

"Nothing special. My family died because of Kaido, so I want to cut him down."

"Hee-hee-hee, cut down Kaido? Quite an ambition. So when are you planning to go to your death?"

"I'm not strong enough yet. If I went now, it'd be just as you said. I'd be going to my death."

"Oh, looks like you've got a brain. So what are you planning?"

"Wait."

"Wait? For what?"

"Until I become the World's Greatest Swordsman, until I become a Marine Admiral, until I have enough power to dominate!"

Wang Chuan had never minded letting people know his ambitions or his grudge against Kaido. He had never even concealed them within the Marines.

There was no need to hide them. In fact, it was better this way.

A young, battle-minded colonel who stood firmly against pirates and had an irreconcilable grudge against someone on the level of the Four Emperors would become one of the Marines' top fighters given time.

No one would turn down a young man like that. At the very least, the radicals within the Marines had never stopped trying to recruit him to their side.

Those words, however, earned no appreciation from Moria.

"Hmph, what grand ambitions."

"Kid, I've seen plenty of young men like you. You carry a blood feud and think you've got a little strength, so you start thinking the sea is nothing special, that you can take it in your grasp whenever you want. In the end, you're utterly defeated."

"I won't lose. At least, not before I face Kaido."

"On what grounds?!"

Moria sat up straight, anger in his voice. That anger wasn't directed at Wang Chuan. Then he lowered his head and looked at Wang Chuan, who seemed tiny at that distance.

"Tell me, kid, what makes you think you won't lose?"

"Because I'm already a swordsman, and I have this."

As he spoke, Wang Chuan pulled open his cape and coat. Armament Haki crawled slowly and steadily over his entire body like liquid oil, covering even his hair!

"Full-body Armament Haki!"

Absalom cried out in alarm. Although he wasn't good at fighting and mainly handled sneak attacks, intelligence gathering, and commanding the Zombie Army, he still knew what full-body Armament Haki meant.

And judging by the man before him, this wasn't some showy trick he could maintain only for a fleeting moment.

He knew exactly what level of strength it took to maintain full-body Armament Haki for a while in battle.

Vice Admiral level!

Absolutely Vice Admiral level!

It was the most straightforward and simplest way to judge whether a hero of the sea had crossed the threshold to the ranks of its top fighters.

The strong on the seas didn't necessarily all rely on Armament Haki, but a top fighter's Armament Haki was bound to be strong.

Rely purely on a fruit?

What, did you have a top-tier Logia, a Mythical Zoan, or a top-tier Paramecia fruit like the Op-Op Fruit, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, or the Float-Float Fruit?

Or did you possess the Conqueror's Haki found in only one person in ten thousand?

Without a top-tier fruit or the qualities of a conqueror found in only one in ten thousand, how could you become a powerhouse who could roam the seas unchallenged?

Simple. Train your Armament Haki to the level of the man before him. Then, even if you had nothing else, you'd still deserve to be called a hero of the sea!

"Interesting. Hee-hee-hee, truly interesting. Full-body Armament Haki. Kid, you've earned the right to talk about challenging Kaido."

Moria laughed as he acknowledged Wang Chuan's strength, but then his face darkened and his tone changed. "But that's not enough. Nowhere near enough!"

"To deal with that monster, this alone won't do. You'll definitely lose, and lose badly."

"I know. That's why I need help."

"I need greater strength. I will become a fighter on the level of an Admiral or one of the Four Emperors. I have that potential."

"I'll become the World's Greatest Swordsman. With a reputation surpassing Mihawk's, I'll have the Marines support my operation."

"Finally, I need the very strongest fighters below the level of Admirals and the Four Emperors. That's why I came to you, Moria."

Moria was speechless for a moment. He understood that the plan described by the tiny man before him was feasible.

And just as he had said, he had the potential!

But...

"Why should I defeat Kaido your way? Who do you think I am, some small fry who just set sail?"

"So we still have to fight."

Wang Chuan slowly drew his sword. He had been prepared for this before he came, which was also why he hadn't brought the warship over. Once a fight broke out, he might not have the time to look after the warship and the ordinary soldiers aboard it.

Armament Haki wrapped around his standard-issue saber, keeping it from breaking too easily.

"Come on, Moria. Let me see whether you, whose pride Kaido shattered, are still worthy of fighting him alongside me!"

"Arrogant brat."

Moria laughed in anger. A kid with a little talent was talking big in front of him.

Back then, he had fought Kaido head-on. Although he had lost, Kaido hadn't killed him either.

"Let's see what you're made of first."

Moria waved a hand, and the surrounding zombies began closing in.

Faced with these zombies, who were little more than fodder but couldn't be killed for good,

Wang Chuan said expressionlessly, "Let's skip these meaningless tests."

"Get down. Find somewhere to hide in the back for now."

After giving Torres and Sakaino those instructions, he held his long sword out level and swept it around himself in a single stroke.

The slash was filled with Haki and swept out in every direction.

Zombies fell in droves.

"Moria, stop these pointless tests. They're too boring."

As he spoke, he pointed his sword straight at Moria.

"Bastard, how dare you treat Lord Moria like that!"

Absalom angrily berated Wang Chuan while preparing to step forward and fight in Moria's place.

Moria looked at the furious Absalom and Perona, who was itching to act, and said,

"Absalom, Perona, stand down. This isn't someone you can handle."

"Lord Moria, but..."

Absalom wanted to say more, but when he saw Moria's expression, he could only say, unwilling and humiliated, "Yes, Lord Moria."

He then retreated to the side with Perona.

"I have to admit, for someone your age, you're truly strong."

"But as you are now, you're still not qualified to challenge Kaido."

"You say you want to wait until you're stronger. How much longer will you need to wait? Can you keep waiting? Can your heart withstand being eaten away by the flames of vengeance?"

"I can't prove it, and I don't need to. I just need to keep going, one step at a time."

"Is that so?"

Looking at Wang Chuan standing there and hearing him speak as though he were stating a fact, Moria fell silent for a moment. Then he slowly rose, his shadow growing taller in the candlelight.

"First, try this. Doppelman."

Shadows cast by Moria peeled away from the floor and took the shape of black human figures.

The humanoid shadows then attacked Wang Chuan from every direction.

But his slashes soon shattered them. Some re-formed, while others turned into black bats.

The fly-like things irritated Wang Chuan.

"Myriad Slashes."

In an instant, countless slashes of all sizes shot out from all around Wang Chuan.

Perona reacted instantly, releasing a large number of ordinary ghosts to buy time. Then she summoned an enormous ghost and hid behind it.

Absalom had no such convenient ability to block the attacks and could only dodge by moving quickly.

"Black Box."

Two black cubes instantly enclosed Perona and Absalom, blocking Wang Chuan's dense barrage of slashes.

Myriad Slashes was itself a dense barrage of low-strength attacks, so Black Box was indeed enough to block it.

After the slashes had all disappeared, the entire hall was covered in gouges they had left. Moria dismissed Black Box, and Perona and Absalom silently found places to hide.

Moria stood up and slowly walked down from the raised platform.

"Kid, you've really made me angry."

"Shadow's Asgard."

In an instant, hundreds upon thousands of shadows gathered toward Moria. With each step he took down, his body began to grow.

The two faced each other and, without wasting words, attacked.

Relying on his full-body Armament Haki and Flying Slashes, Wang Chuan attacked relentlessly.

Moria relied on his fruit abilities, using Doppelman and bats to counter the attacks while harassing Wang Chuan with silhouettes, preventing him from focusing all his attention on Moria's real body.

But Wang Chuan's command of Observation Haki was strong as well.

After several attempts failed to work, Moria abandoned the idea.

The two remained locked in a stalemate, neither able to get the better of the other.

Wang Chuan still hadn't used the Eight Gates Released Formation or the Gate of Spirit. His strength and speed had yet to reach their limits.

Moria hadn't used fruit abilities such as Shadow Horn Spear either.

Overall, their sparring match remained within controllable bounds.

As Wang Chuan saw it, Moria really had considered cutting off his shadow and making a powerful zombie from it. Unfortunately for Moria, Wang Chuan's Observation Haki was strong enough to stop him.

Anyone who thought Moria was easy to get along with was badly mistaken. This man had been steadily building up his strength.

He had seemingly talked with Wang Chuan for so long, probably only because memories of Wano Country had stirred his emotions.

With someone like him, you could only discuss matters after demonstrating enough strength yourself. Otherwise, he wouldn't have reason to be wary of you.

The two maintained a certain intensity in their fight until the next day.

Another Flying Slash added more damage to the shadow hall, which was open to the wind on all sides.

Then Wang Chuan used Geppo to reach a spot Moria's shadow had yet to cover and paused his attack.

"Moria, I think you've seen my strength by now. Are we going to keep testing each other like this, or are we going to cut loose and have a real fight before we go after Kaido for revenge?"

"Hmph." Moria withdrew his bats and Doppelman as well. He knew full well that if they really cut loose, his home base would be smashed beyond recognition.

"Kid, your strength isn't bad, but I'll say it again: it's not enough to challenge Kaido."

"I know. That's why I'll keep getting stronger. I only need you to show up on the battlefield when the time comes."

"If you can pull it off." Although Moria hadn't said so outright, he was indeed a little tempted. Wang Chuan needed allies, and so did he.

"Absalom, see our guests out."

"Wait, Moria. I have two more things to discuss with you."

"Kid, you're pushing it."

"I hear you have Wano Country's national treasure, Shusui, one of the Twenty-One Great Grade Swords."

"Kid, where did you hear that?"

"I just happened to find out."

Moria stared at the young Marine, as if seeing him anew.

"You want it?"

"Yes. What swordsman wouldn't want a Famous Sword?"

"Give me a reason."

"Consider it an investment. As you can see, I'm not strong enough yet. With a Famous Sword in hand, I'll certainly be stronger."

As he spoke, Wang Chuan raised his standard-issue saber, of which only the hilt remained.

"Then what are you offering in exchange?"

"I hear more ships have been disappearing around here lately."

"Hmph, thinking of taking care of that thing?"

"Judging by your reaction, you know what it is."

"I don't know. In any case, I'm not interested in looking into it."

"My mission this time is to find out what that thing is."

"So you want a sword from me and information too? What makes you think you'd get a deal like that?"

"Just tell me whether you're willing."

"Hmph. Hee-hee-hee-hee, overbearing brat. I'll look for the sword you want, if I have it."

Absalom didn't object. He couldn't and wouldn't oppose something Moria had already decided.

As for Moria, without resorting to some of his trump cards, he truly had no way to deal with Wang Chuan. But if he used them, he wouldn't be able to look after Perona and Absalom.

Besides, if he really could have a top swordsman join him against Kaido, it would be a worthwhile deal. Ryuma was only a zombie, after all. A living person was bound to be stronger.

His reason for not handing it over immediately was simple too. He didn't know the background of the Marine before him, and he needed time and information, so he hadn't agreed immediately.

"As for that thing you're looking for, I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with it. It's bigger than this entire ship of mine. It's not something you can deal with."

"Is that so? I understand."

"Torres, Sakaino, let's go."