The Shadow of the Dead, The Swordsmanship of Ryoma

"Clang!"

Inside the gorgeous castle, the massive icehouse was opened, revealing a ghastly scene. Frozen corpses lined the space, making one's scalp tingle. 

"Lord William, do you want to create new zombies?" Hogback asked curiously as he moved the heavy lighting equipment.

In recent days, they hadn't encountered any targets straying into this sea area. The shadows looted from imprisoned pirates and travelers had almost been used up too. William had implanted all of them into ordinary zombie soldiers, but those individuals were too weak, and their shadows couldn't meet expectations, only fit to be the weakest zombie soldiers.

"No, I just want to conduct an experiment!" William shook his head, staring at the corpses with burning eyes. 

Many of these bodies from around the world were once strong warriors of considerable strength in their lifetimes. Among them was not only the body of the former Warlord of the Sea Gecko Moria himself but also the corpses of the famous dragon-slaying samurai Ryoma from Wano Country, the notorious Captain John who had belonged to the infamous Rocks Pirates, and other powerful men.

After Hogback's repairs, their bodies had been completely restored.

"Experiment?" Perona and Hogback wondered curiously. But seeing the other party didn't elaborate, they obediently set up the equipment there and turned on the light source. 

For a moment, they watched as William picked up the swordsman Ryoma's corpse and placed it in front of the bright light, causing a black shadow to appear.

"Sir William, are you going to rob the shadow of the deceased?" the two asked, dazed, as the other party seemed intent on stealing the dead man's shadow.

"I heard Master Moria say that the shadow of a dead person is like a corpse that has lost its soul. It does not have any consciousness and cannot be effective..." Hogback reminded there.The shadow of the dead can be cut out. But it's like losing a soul, even if it's placed inside those corpses, it can't move.There is no way to create a conscious zombie.

"Who says only the shadow of a living person has value?" An incredible scene unfolded.

As if tearing off a shadow-like sticker stuck to the ground, William lifted Ryoma's corpse's shadow. Gazing at the swordsman Ryoma's corpse outline without struggle, he said lightly, "Don't be misled by so-called 'common sense'; it will only limit your vision and imagination...Moria was too arrogant, so he couldn't fully unleash the power of the Shadow Fruit!"

Immediately afterward, he manipulated his own shadow, letting it visualize and turn into a pair of sharp scissors to cut out Ryoma's corpse's shadow. 

"Swish!" In Perona and Hogback's astonished eyes, he directly absorbed Ryoma's shadow into his own body.

"Buzz..." His whole body shuddered slightly. He seemed enlightened, standing there with closed eyes.

"This is?" Hogback's pupils shrank sharply.

"I understand, Lord William wants to obtain the swordsmanship Ryoma possessed in life..." Perona realized with a cry.

The next moment, William opened his eyes with a stern expression and took up Ryoma's sword, the famous Qiu Shui, ranked among the twenty-one great blades.

"Rang--!" The cold light flashed as the black saw-toothed blade unsheathed, unleashing an extremely fierce aura from him. Hogback and Perona's facial hair stood on end in horror - it seemed they no longer faced the usual Lord William but rather a long-renowned great swordsman.

"Shadow Magician!" A black shadow flew out from under William's feet in the two's surprised eyes. 

"Shadow Warrior!"

Not long after, his entire form vanished in an instant, replaced by a dark shadow that had already flitted outside the castle, having switched positions.

On the open space outside, William still stood with closed eyes, motionless for a long time. No one knew that incredible scenes from the past life of the swordsman Ryoma were unfolding in his mind...

Born into the Shimotsuki clan of Wano Country, Ryoma was a genius swordsman taught by famous masters since childhood, studying and training diligently day and night. Arrogant and high-spirited in his youth, he constantly challenged Wano's famous swordsmen, even killing the dragon causing trouble in the sky and attacking the town, earning him the name "Dragon-Slaying Samurai."

Even against powerful enemies, he never flinched but grew more courageous in battle, constantly breaking through his limits to defeat one formidable foe after another. Though often victorious, he inevitably sustained injuries, leaving permanent facial scars and the loss of one eye, becoming a one-eyed warrior.

Deeply ashamed, he constantly reflected on himself, thinking his lack of spiritual practice caused this. Instead of resting on his laurels, he honed his sword skills even harder...

Finally, at his prime, he became a sword master, refining his blade Qiu Shui into a black sword and an unparalleled great swordsman. Any enemy quickly fell to the ground in a flash, battles ending easily. He single-handedly stopped the World Government and pirates trying to invade Wano, having once fought the Naval Headquarters alone. Never failing in life, he became renowned at home and abroad.

...

"Lord William..." Hogback and Perona called out as they ran outside, only for the standing William to suddenly open his eyes.

"Is this Ryoma the swordsman's past?"

His gaze was stern, his entire being exuding an astonishing, sharp aura like an eagle's, making direct eye contact impossible. 

"Pah, pah..." Stomping his feet, he surged into the sky.

Gripping the black blade Qiu Shui, he suddenly traced a swift trajectory. "One Sword Style: Flying Dragon!"

A loud roar tore through the air as a fiery slash transformed into a swift flying dragon, spreading teeth and claws to gallop out like lightning.

"Boom..." Rocks flew, and smoke filled the air as a ravine about ten meters long appeared, far less imposing than before when William used Shadow Revolution to enlarge himself before unleashing the Tempest Kick, but still frightening.

(end of chapter)