Thriller Bark

Marineford Training Ground

The morning sun shone through the clouds onto the Training Ground, casting golden rays upon every swinging figure.

Kuina stood in the center of the arena, her sword flashing like a rainbow, Wado Ichimonji drew streaks of cold silver light.

Each strike was steady and powerful; sweat streamed down her forehead, yet her movements never faltered in the slightest.

Despite having eaten Mythical Zoan Fruit, she did not rely entirely on its power, but continued to maintain her intense Swordsmanship training.

All to prove one thing. "I am still a 'swordsman' who wields a sword."

On the sidelines, Zephyr stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze steady and satisfied. "Not bad, you weren't blinded by power, but instead trained even harder."

In another area in the distance, Ace, Luffy, and Law were besieging Roy, conducting a three-person coordinated training exercise.

"Coordinate faster!" Roy shouted, his figure like a phantom as he dodged Ace's Fire Fist and unleashed a shockwave punch that forced all three of them back.

Luffy unfurled his form, his pink scales shimmering in the sunlight. "Roy! Behold my new move!"

After saying that, his body sank down, and the Dragon Claw, wrapped in Armament Haki, swooped down, aiming straight for Roy's back!

However--

"Whoosh!"

Roy vanished instantly, reappearing above Luffy's head and lightly tapping him on the head.

"Before launching a sneak attack, learn to conceal your murderous intent, kid."

"Ouch!! That hurts!" Luffy clutched his head and rolled on the ground.

Roy landed with a light laugh, glanced at Kuina was still sweating profusely as she slashed, and a slight smile played on his lips as he thought to himself, "At this point... Enel and Zoro should be arriving soon, right?"

Grand Line, Florian Triangle, Thriller Bark

Gray fog rolled in like a tide, pressing heavily on the sea surface, as if the sky was obscured, and all around was deathly silent, with even seabirds unwilling to approach.

This enormous ghost ship resembles a coffin floating on the sea. Its deck is already decayed and mottled, and the stench of rust and corpses is pungent and unpleasant. Broken weapons and wreckage lie scattered on it, as if telling the story of the past tragedy.

A bolt of lightning ripped through the thick fog, and Enel descended, his Blond Hair fluttering slightly, his expression indifferent.

His hands were behind his back, and his eyes seemed to disdain all worldly things.

Zoro made no attempt to conceal his imposing presence. He drew his twin swords, exuding a chilling aura, and steadily stepped onto the ship of death, his fighting spirit soaring.

"Tsk... what a disgusting place."

Enel frowned, a flash of disgust crossing his golden eyes. "Under the power of my Mantra... the entire ship seems to be gasping for breath."

"It was all death, stench, chaos, and—deformed souls."

Zoro didn't respond, only coldly asking, "Where is that 'Dragon-Slaying Samurai'?"

"Ki--shishishishi!!!!"

A chilling, eerie laugh suddenly rang out, as piercing as a rusty knife scraping iron, coming from the depths of the black mist.

Thick fog billowed, and a massive figure slowly emerged, like a stitched-together nightmare.

The first thing that catches the eye is two sharp, protruding forehead horns, standing up like the horns of a demon.

Immediately afterwards, a pale, bluish-gray face appeared—the skin had a sickly bluish-purple tinge, the lips were dark purple, and a thick suture line running from the forehead to the neck in the center of the face was strikingly visible, as if the entire head had been forcibly pieced together.

His mouth split open in a savage grin, revealing a row of sharp fangs. His ears curled up like bat wings, their edges sharp as blades, trembling with each laugh.

Its neck was unusually thick and long, creating an extremely bizarre proportion with its broad and fat upper body, while its lower body appeared short, thick, and bloated in comparison, as if it were dragging a large bag of rotten flesh.

Clumps of grayish-black mist swirled around his massive body, which stood nearly seven meters tall, casting a suffocating shadow.

His footsteps thundered as he walked, each step like a corpse being slowly exhumed from a graveyard.

"Where did these two brats come from, daring to trespass on my territory?!"

He roared, his voice rough and broken, as if his throat was filled with shards of glass, "This is the Thriller Bark! This is the domain of the Great Moria!"

He suddenly waved his hand, and shadows surged out like a tide, a thick, rotten black mist sweeping across the entire deck!

Enel casually waved his hand, and lightning exploded around him, instantly vaporizing the black mist into nothingness.

"That's it?" he said lazily, without even a flicker of emotion in his eyes.

"You brat, are you looking for death?! I am Shichibukai!! Do you think this is a place where you can come and go as you please—"

Moria's face darkened, and he roared in fury, his voice booming like a broken gong through the thick fog, his massive body trembling with excitement.

"... So verbose."

Enel rolled his eyes, his voice full of undisguised disdain.

He lazily raised his hand, pointing directly at the green-haired swordsman standing beside him. "Roy sent us, saying to have this 'Moss Head' fight your zombie swordsman and get a knife."

Upon hearing this, Moria paused, and his roar abruptly ceased.

"You said... who sent you?" His voice caught in his throat, his expression stiffening as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over his head, almost contorting him.

Enel shrugged and repeated slowly, "Roy, Vice Admiral. The one who fought Kaido."

"Vice Admiral Roy?!"

Moria was struck dumb, his pupils contracted sharply, his obese body shuddered violently, and he took a half step back, almost falling to the ground.

"Isn't that... a monster that can go toe-to-toe with Kaido?!"

Since being defeated by Kaido, Moria had long lost his will to fight, and now, upon hearing Roy's name, he instinctively felt fear.

His voice trembled, his ears turned purple with fear, and the fierce expression on his face quickly crumbled, replaced by terror and regret.

Cold sweat poured down his face, which looked like dough soaked in water, swollen and contorted.

"You... you guys should have said so earlier!!"

He instantly changed his expression, quickly forcing a fawning smile, "Hahaha... So it's a distinguished guest sent by Vice Admiral Roy! My apologies, my apologies, it was all a misunderstanding! That was just a performance, you know what a performance is!"

Having said that, he immediately turned to his men and shouted, "Men! Take them to 'that one'! The one with the knife! Hurry, hurry!! Get to it!!"

He turned back to Enel and Zoro, bowing and scraping, "Please, both of you, feel free to look and fight! I only beg you to be merciful... just don't smash my ship to pieces..."

Enel glanced at him and smiled faintly.

The Thriller Bark - Deep Within the Castle

The dark, tomb-like corridor led to a stone hall, the walls of which were covered with rotting armor and broken weapons, and the air was filled with the smell of slumbering mildew and rust.

In the center of the hall, a figure stood motionless, as if frozen in time.

His entire body was wrapped in bandages, his hair was gray, and his face had no eyes or nose, only traces of stitches.

Wearing a white kimono with the character "dragon" printed on it, a blue sash with swirling patterns around her waist, and wooden clogs, she looked exactly like a mummified corpse of an ancient samurai.

That person was none other than the legendary Shimotsuki Ryuma.

A jet-black katana hung silently at his waist.

Zoro's gaze instantly locked onto the sword, his pupils contracting slightly, his voice low and fervent. "That's... 'Shusui'?"

Ryoma slowly raised his head, his scarlet pupils emerging from the shadows, carrying the silence of the dead and the murderous aura of a samurai.

He spoke, his voice like that of a ghost rising from a coffin. "Trespassers... beheaded."

Zoro grinned, drawing his two swords simultaneously with a clang, his eyes sharp as an eagle's. "Just what I wanted."

He charged forward, cleaving through the wind Sky Splitter!

"Two-Sword Style · Oni Giri!!"

At the same instant, Ryoma drew his sword, its blade flashing like the moon piercing the sky!

"Moon Shadow - Flash!"

"Clang!!"

Blades clashed, sparks flew, the air jolted, and the entire Castle seemed to rumble softly in the impact!

The zombies in the distance retreated in unison, leaving a deep gash in the ground.

This is a --

A duel between the living and the dead, between swordsmen and legends!