Testing Strength, Warming Up

Very good, just as I expected.

Faced with the swarm of zombie generals, each with a bounty starting at 50 million, Roman calmly nodded.

Ever since his crew was wiped out by Kaido, Moria has completely lost his will to live. His daily routine consists of sleeping for days at a time, waking up to eat, casually dealing with the prey captured by Thriller Bark, and then continuing to sleep and dream of becoming the 'King of the Pirates'.

Or the nightmare of being wiped out by Kaido!

Reality is so boring, only dreams bring happiness...

In any case, Moria's current lifestyle is so regular that even a pig would be more diligent than him.

This fostered Moria's habit of relying on others to accomplish everything, and his catchphrase was "It's all yours now." So, as long as his power on the island wasn't destroyed, Moria would naturally still be fast asleep.

"Hehehe, kid, what are you looking at?!"

With a dry, grating sound, the pirate captain with disheveled hair smashed the bottle in his hand, suddenly pulled out two Sailor's Knife that had pierced his own chest, and lunged at Roman with a maniacal laugh!

The Sailor's Knife was arguably the most important weapon of pirates.

From King of the Pirates to newbies just setting sail, everyone uses it!

To suit close combat, the Sailor's Knife was designed to be slightly shorter than a regular sword. It was a slashing weapon, and its curved shape increased the power of the slashes.

Sailor's Knife does not require the user to have advanced skills, and it is also a standard weapon on both naval and pirate ships.

Of course, while the weapon may be of this common type, it all depends on who wields it—

The disheveled captain brandished his twin swords, his aura fierce and murderous as a wolf! Two long, misty, bluish-green sword energies, each over ten meters long, extended from the blades and hurtled towards Roman!

With a piercing whistle as the blade cut through the air, it seemed as if countless wolves suddenly leaped out of Roman's face, howling and lunging at him. He could even see sharp blades flashing like wolf fangs, flying everywhere, and the thick stench of blood was suffocating.

Splash splash~~

As Roman retreated into his 'White Knight' state, he conjured an Eight-sided Han Sword out of thin air. With a swirling and twisting motion, the sword deflected the opponent's two rainbow-like blade energies!

The blade flashed behind Roman, severing a thick tree at the root and then 'biting' upwards, tearing the tree to pieces.

He was actually a master swordsman!

That's it?

However, Roman only looked disappointed.

You should know that the man in front of him is none other than the famous 'Captain John'!

Who is Captain John? He's a member of the legendary Rocks Pirates full of big shots! When he was active, even the Four Emperors Kaido an apprentice sailor mopping floors and cleaning toilets on his ship, receiving the same treatment as Shanks.

Buggy's persistent talk of "Captain John's treasure" refers to the riches he left behind—most likely related to the Rocks Pirates.

Such a master, who should at least be Division Commander level expert if not an emperor-level one, is now merely a 'swordsman'... It's simply...

They really don't live up to the reputation they had in life!

While dealing with the other party, Roman glanced at the zombie warrior in white samurai clothes wearing wooden clogs not far away.

"Heh heh, is that all you've got?"

The one fighting him was Brook. If you ask what it is, the one controlling the corpse of the great swordsman named 'Ryuma' is Brook's shadow!

Given the strength of the Wano Country samurai and his advanced Haki, Ryuma could still be called the 'Sword God'! Wielding the 'Black Blade Autumn Water,' one of the Twenty-One Great Grade Swords, was enough to demonstrate his former power. However, now:

He's only slightly better Brook.

It's not that Roman looks down on Brook, but... even 'Shadow Brook,' who controlled the corpse of the legendary swordsman, is no match for Zoro! — In fact, Zoro's gaze had drifted in that direction more than once.

The allure of the Black Blade Autumn Water to a swordsman is like an old snakeskin encountering Empress Hancock; it's a testament to Zoro's incredible willpower that he didn't pounce on it instantly!

"Boy, you're underestimating Captain John— "

Upon discovering that his opponent was 'distracted' in the battle, Captain John roared, raised his twin swords high above his head, and leaped forward! The two Sailor's Knife in his hands transformed into crossed fangs of light! They aimed directly at Roman, who was encased in white armor.

The two fangs are destroyed!

With this move, Captain John believed that not only armor, but even a city wall would be torn to shreds by his blade.

Then Roman suddenly changed his previous exquisite style of deflecting force and moving around, and suddenly swung his sword to meet the attack. The golden sword light was as heavy as black iron!

Armament Haki Hardening -

The next moment, amidst a deafening roar that echoed across the battlefield, two broken, curved blades flew straight into the sky.

"How... is this possible..."

Even in his zombie form, Captain John lost control of his arms in an instant, and was involuntarily thrown backward, trembling all over when he landed, barely able to stand.

"You are not—"

A flash of light, and the head of 'Captain John,' with long silver-gray hair, flew into the air. Behind him Roman, the White Knight, with a sword twirled in a flourish.

"—Captain John."

It was merely the shadow of some unknown 'Evil Wolf Style' swordsman.

······

Cross Slash!

The sword energy, crisscrossing in a cross shape, swept past with a roar, causing Franky to dodge sharply to the side.

"It can even Flying Slash..."

"Weapon in the left hand!"

He fired a shot that hit the helmet of the sword and shield knight on the other side, but the opponent was still able to launch a counterattack without hesitation! This gave Franky a real headache.

"These guys are tough to deal with—even tougher than those naval captains."

"Indeed,"

Robin dodged a giant axe zombie general with a slide step, and faced another assassin zombie general who was pouncing in the air in the 'crow flying' posture, with claws on both arms, while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Twelve Flower Wheels: Twist!"

In an instant, arms sprouted from the double-clawed assassin's body, twisting and bending unnaturally with force. Although Robin's strength could not compare to that of a zombie, only a slight 'mistake' was needed.

Just that slight deviation turned the double-clawed assassin's originally perfect attack into a complete joke. The zombie assassin, having lost his balance, tumbled in the air, his entire body carrying enormous kinetic energy as he slid past Robin's body, pulverizing the ground wherever he went!

"These opponents are all very strong..."

"Rubber-rocket launcher!!"

Boom!

With a deafening roar, an iron ball the size of a millstone flew back and embedded itself deeply in the chest of a tall, muscular zombie warrior. The three-meter-tall, three-meter-waisted man was immediately sent flying far away along with his armor and the iron ball!

The towering zombie warrior smashed through the mansion behind it like a siege cannon, smashing through countless rooms with a series of crackling sounds! Finally, it sank into the ruins, its limbs twitching unconsciously, its flesh smelling of burnt flesh.

"Hahaha, that was so much fun!"

Luffy enthusiastically twirled his arms.

"Next!"

... To retract what I said earlier, perhaps in the eyes of the captain and Mr. Roman, these opponents are not strong at all?

Hmm, not bad.

Roman continued fighting while observing the battlefield. These zombie generals were no weaklings. Furthermore, since they would get up and continue fighting unless their bodies were completely destroyed, they were quite formidable.

Training partner.

Perfect for the Straw Hat crew to practice in real combat—as for stamina? The dozens of health potions they've accumulated recently are enough for the entire Straw Hat crew to be on fire, fighting until dawn...

Zombie General: We want to report the enemy for having invincibility!

Yes, Chopper is starting to get used to using fighting techniques in his transformation; Usopp was shot and rolled around by a four-armed gunman, which looked dangerous, but Roman noticed that Usopp was deliberately wearing down the opponent's ammunition, waiting for the moment the bullets stopped so he could counterattack.

"Don't run away! You're such a good man!"

A pig-headed... well, a female pig-headed zombie is chasing Sanji all over the place!

"Marry me! Take this—"

"Bride's Martial Arts - A Kiss of Vows!"

As Sanji was cornered, the female zombie's long snout suddenly attacked him with her fiery red lips! This forced the blonde chef to activate her Spray Wind Shell and launch himself into the Sanji. And beneath him was:

Bang bang bang bang!

Like a woodpecker's 'kiss,' it landed on the wall, leaving a row of indented 'kiss marks' on the bricks. Sanji, flying high, felt his legs go weak at the sight.

"Someone come and get rid of this... female wild boar!!"

When Sanji asked for help, Zoro, who was sparring with an old man, raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't she a perfect match for you?"

"Marry her, you lecherous cook."

"Shut up!!"

Turning his head to glance at the female pig zombie wearing a wedding dress, lipstick, eyeshadow, and false eyelashes, even Roman had little regard for appearances, twitched his lips.

"Sanji, your sister-in-law has really terrible taste..."

???

"How about this, we'll leave this opponent to Nami."

"Hey," Nami, who was idly watching the show with her newly acquired 'Transparent Page', pointed to herself, looking completely bewildered!

Roman, you know perfectly well that my skills are all large-area attacks that require time to charge up...

"That's right, beat her up!"

It would be best to beat her hard... so that her true form Lola, never mentions any Vivre Card again...