Just as the battle was about to erupt,
"Yohohohoho—!" A piercing scream tore through the sky. Everyone looked up, only to see a skeleton framework falling like a meteor, smashing onto the deck with a "bang," breaking into several pieces.
"Brook?!" Usopp cried out, running over to reassemble him.
The skull rolled to Luffy's feet, its eye sockets swirling with dizzying spirals: "Yoho...ho...this fall really hurt..."
Heavy footsteps echoed from the thick fog, accompanied by the grating sound of metal scraping against the ground. A figure clad in a kimono, with a famous sword at his waist, slowly emerged—the sword master Ryuma, Brook's shadow host!
"Just a mere skeleton..." Ryuma sneered, returning Shusui to its sheath, "You'll never get your shadow back in this lifetime."
Franky's mechanical arm "clanked" as it transformed: "Super~ Looks like we need to deal with this zombie swordsman first!"
Zoro had already drawn wado ichimonji, battle intent burning in his eyes: "That sword...it's the legendary O Wazamono 21 Grade Swords...the famous sword Shusui! But in the end, it's mine."
Ryuma: "Hmph! Arrogant junior!"
"Die, Straw Hat! I'm not some useless CP9!"
"Boom—!!!"
Moriah's giant fist slammed down, causing the entire Thriller Bark to tremble violently. The deck instantly collapsed into a giant pit a hundred meters in diameter, and the shockwave directly blew away the surrounding debris. Seawater shot up like a fountain from the cracks.
"Hehehehe! Flee like a rat, Straw Hat!" Moriah's massive body cast a terrifying shadow under the Moonlight. He waved his scissor-like hands, "Shadow Asgard!" The shadows on the ground transformed into countless sharp spikes attacking Luffy.
Luffy's figure moved rapidly through the barrage of attacks, his body steaming with blood-red vapor in Second Gear. "Phew—" He exhaled a hot breath, his pupils contracting as Observation Haki fully activated, all attack trajectories within his grasp.
"Gum-Gum—Jet Avoid!"
Luffy's body twisted like a rubber band at an incredible angle, narrowly dodging all attacks at the last moment. He leaped into the air, stepping on shattered wooden planks, his right fist instantly covered in black Armament Haki, and red-black lightning of Haoshoku leaped at the peak of his fist.
"You're too slow!" Luffy's voice cut through the night sky.
"Gum-Gum—Overkong Gun: Conqueror's Haki Infusion!"
The fist, imbued with three layers of power, slammed hard into Moriah's chin. "Crack!" Amidst the teeth-grating sound of bone fracturing, Moriah's massive body was actually lifted off its feet by this single punch!
"Impossible..." Moriah spat out a mouthful of black blood, his eyes filled with disbelief. The more than a thousand shadows within him began to run wild, forming terrifying bulges under his skin.
At the same time, good news came from other battlefields:
The sword master duel between Zoro and Ryuma had already been decided.
"Three Sword Style: Black Rope Dragon Twister!"
In the swirling sword energy storm, Ryuma's kimono shredded inch by inch. With a crisp "clang," the legendary famous sword Shusui flew out of his hand and was steadily caught by Zoro.
"This sword..." Zoro felt the pulse from the hilt, "I'll take it!"
Sanji's Diable Jambe kicked Absalom into the sea: "Next life, remember to be a decent person!" Robin's Hana Hana no Mi abilities were unleashed, tying Hogback into a knot and tossing him aside. And Usopp's Negative Hollow was chasing the terrified Perona all over the ship.
"Impossible! Conqueror's Haki Infusion? You really learned it!...My Three Mysterias..." Moriah struggled to get up, but saw Luffy already leaping high into the sky, his legs pumping furiously like pistons, his skin turning red from the high temperature.
"Gum-Gum—"
"Giant Axe: Conqueror's Haki Infusion!!!"
The giant foot, imbued with Haoshoku, descended like divine punishment. Moriah's massive body was directly smashed into the lowest level of the ship, the ground splitting open in the middle, and tsunami-like waves surged skyward.
When the dust settled, Moriah had returned to his original state, lying in the ruins with his eyes rolled back. The more than a thousand shadows transformed into black mist, rising and dissipating, and the imprisoned souls finally regained their freedom.
Usopp's live stream instantly exploded:
[Holy crap! Did he really almost split the island?!]
[That Three Sword Style swordsman took Ryuma's sword!]
[Was that Conqueror's Haki Infusion just now? Isn't that a Four Emperors technique?]
[The Straw Hat Crew is going against the heavens!]
Luffy landed on the tilted deck, breathing heavily, and gave his comrades a thumbs up. Brook knelt where Ryuma had disappeared, tears streaming down his face: "My shadow...finally..."
The morning sun pierced through the fog, and a new day arrived. Zoro carefully wiped Shusui, Sanji lit a celebratory cigarette, and Franky was already planning how to upgrade the Merry using materials from the ghost ship.
In this world-shaking battle, the Straw Hat Pirates once again proved their strength to the world. Even the Shichibukai could not stop their progress!
When the first ray of sunlight penetrated the mist and shone on Brook, his pale white skeleton finally showed a long-lost shadow.
Brook trembled as he raised his bony hand, looking at the black outline swaying with his movements on the ground. Tears welled up in his hollow eye sockets.
"This...this is truly too..." Brook's voice choked, almost unable to form a complete sentence.
He suddenly gave the Straw Hat Crew a standard ninety-degree bow, his skull hitting the deck with a "thud." "I...I truly don't know how to thank you all..."
Nami wiped the corner of her eye: "Idiot, get up."
Brook, however, maintained his bowing posture and continued: "For fifty years...every single day, I thought about getting my shadow back...but every challenge against Ryuma ended in failure..." His voice grew more and more agitated, "If I hadn't met you all, I might never have...found my shadow, even if I turned into mere bones!"
"In such an emotional scene...Miss Nami, may I have the honor of seeing your panties? Yohohoho~"
The air instantly froze.
"Bang!!!"
Nami's fist, imbued with Armament Haki, directly smashed into Brook's skull. The skull immediately spun and flew off, bouncing several times on the deck.
"You perverted skeleton!!" Nami's face was flushed with anger, her fist still smoking.
Brook's body fumbled to find his head, and it made a "clink" sound when he put it back on: "Ah, what a long-lost feeling of pain...I haven't been hit by anyone or talked to anyone in decades..."
His voice suddenly lowered, his bony fingers gently caressing his own skull: "During the fifty years I drifted alone in the fog...sometimes I even talked to myself in the air..."
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