Do you want to become stronger?
Do you want to reclaim the peak you once stood on?
Do you want to fight the man who took everything from you...'Kaido of the Beasts'...one more time?
The questions echoed over and over in Moria's mind, leaving him dazed.
'Do I?'
The answer appeared almost instantly. His eyes turned bloodshot, burning with madness.
How many years had it been? Not a single day had passed without him dreaming of returning to the 'New World', challenging Kaido again, and taking back everything he had lost.
His treasured comrades.
His pride.
The ambitious, confident man he used to be.
But reality had been cruel. That crushing defeat had thrown him into a bottomless abyss. He had convinced himself that zombies would never betray him, never die, and never leave him. Because he had lost faith in himself, he began doubting everything, hiding behind the words, '"I'll leave it to you."'
"...I've really become pathetic," Moria muttered to himself.
Without realizing it, tears had filled his eyes. Yet mixed with them was an indescribable joy... and excitement.
It was like waking from a nightmare that had lasted for over ten years. At that moment, he finally woke up.
He couldn't keep wasting his life like this. He wanted to stand at the summit again. He wanted to find the man he used to be. He wanted to return to the New World and face Kaido once more in an all-out battle.
But he also understood one thing: he couldn't do it alone.
To him, those lost years had felt like a dream. To Kaido, they had been enough time to rise to the very top of the world and become one of the Four Emperors of the Sea.
"I do!" Moria's eyes snapped open, and he roared, "Tell me... what do I have to do?"
Kojin smiled, slowly lifting the foot that had been pressing down on Moria's face. Only by completely crushing the last scraps of a broken man's pride could he tear it down and rebuild it into something stronger.
Moria had finally awakened.
"You want to know what to do?" Kojin said, his voice calm. "Then from today onward, stay behind me. Follow me, Moria."
Moria's pupils shrank, but he didn't hesitate for even a second. "Fine! If you can help me reclaim everything I've lost, then following you is a small price to pay!"
Kojin shifted his gaze toward the three strange subordinates standing nearby. "Take your captain and wait for me aboard the 'Thriller Bark'. If you truly want to reclaim everything you've lost, then from today on, you'd better do exactly as I say."
Absalom and Hogback exchanged glances, just about to answer. But before either of them could speak, a bolt of lightning flashed through the air, and Kojin was gone.
"...What a weird guy," Perona muttered.
"Help me up. We'll do as he says." Moria gritted his teeth, but there was light in his eyes again.
The pride that had been shattered by humiliation... he would rebuild it with his own hands. Before long, it would be whole once more. For the first time in years, Moria's heart was filled with hope and anticipation for the future.
---
Elsewhere aboard the 'Thriller Bark', the atmosphere suddenly froze, filled with icy tension and despair.
Bartholomew Kuma looked down at the swordsman standing firmly in his path, three swords already drawn.
"So... you intend to trade your own life for your captain's?"
The green-haired swordsman's gaze never wavered. "That's right."
"Tell me your name, swordsman." Kuma's deep voice carried an unmistakable note of respect, admiring the resolve before him.
"Roronoa Zoro," the answer rang out without hesitation.
Just then, lightning cracked across the sky. A tall figure emerged from the fading flash, landing atop a ruined wall.
Zoro turned his head, his eyes widening the instant he recognized the newcomer. "...Marine Sensei?!"
Kuma frowned slightly, looking toward Kojin.
"Hey, moss head," Kojin laughed. "Don't go calling me that. I never taught you any swordsmanship, and I'm definitely not your teacher." His smile faded slightly. "You should be worrying about your current situation instead. I'm a Marine, and we're standing on opposite sides."
Zoro froze. The title had slipped out without thinking.
After all, their last encounter, which had seemed completely hopeless at the time, had ended up benefiting the entire Straw Hat crew. From Kojin's Rankyaku, Zoro had grasped the principles behind a far more powerful flying slash. Luffy had learned the key to high-speed movement and developed 'Gear Second'. The curly-browed Sanji had mastered 'Geppo' and pushed his kicking techniques even further. Later, whenever they talked about him in private, the crew jokingly referred to Kojin as their strange "Marine Sensei."
At that moment, Kuma spoke again. "He wishes to sacrifice his own life so that Monkey D. Luffy, captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, may live."
"I see," Kojin smiled faintly. "But the World Government's orders were to eliminate every member of the Straw Hat crew."
Kuma fell silent while Zoro's expression changed dramatically. If these two really decided to attack... none of them would survive.
"Heh. As you wish," Kojin said, folding his arms across his chest like a spectator enjoying the show. "I have no interest in either the World Government's orders... or the choice you've made."
Kuma gave a slight nod. He raised his hand and pressed it against the unconscious Luffy. In an instant, all of Luffy's accumulated pain and exhaustion were pushed out of his body, gathering into a massive crimson bubble.
"What's that?" Zoro glanced at Kojin before fixing a wary stare on Kuma.
"The fatigue and pain Monkey D. Luffy suffered in that battle... are all contained inside this bubble," Kuma spoke calmly.
"Luffy's pain and fatigue?" Zoro's eyes narrowed.
Kojin spoke up from the side. "Hey, moss head. Don't underestimate that red bubble. The pain inside it is enough to kill an ordinary person instantly. With your body already in this condition, if you touch it, you'll have one foot in the grave. A while back, I only saw one person survive something like this."
Zoro's body trembled, his head lowering to hide his expression. "Is that so?"
"I've got no reason to lie to a junior over something like this," Kojin smiled faintly. "But... if you survive it, I'll teach you a move or two. Free of charge."
Both Kuma and Zoro looked at him in surprise.
"The sword at your waist... it's a famous blade, isn't it?" Zoro's gaze settled on Ace.
"You mean this?" Kojin patted the sword at his waist with a grin. "One of the 'Twelve Supreme Grade Blades'. It has quite a glorious history."
Zoro nodded. "I thought so."
He took a deep breath. Then, with a sudden glare, he thrust both hands into the crimson bubble.
"Ghk...!"
A muffled groan escaped him.
'Crack! Crack! Crack!'
Blood burst from his body in countless sprays, splattering across the ground like blooming crimson plum blossoms. The agony pierced straight into his soul.
For an instant, Zoro's consciousness drifted. He thought he saw the people he'd lost... smiling and waving to him.
Then his vision snapped back. Kuma and Kojin stood before him.
"Well? You dead yet, moss head?"
That familiar nickname reminded Zoro of the curly-browed idiot. A grin spread across his bloodstained face. "Not... even close!"
Kojin leaped down from the wall and laughed. "Good! Then keep your eyes wide open for what comes next. Because this... is the world's greatest sword technique."
Every inch of Zoro's body screamed in pain. Even so, he forced his eyes wider, focusing on the man before him with absolute concentration. He knew exactly how terrifying Kojin was. The gap between them wasn't one of skill, it was an entirely different dimension. Even learning the smallest fragment of his swordsmanship would take years to digest.
Seeing Zoro's complete focus, Kojin's smile faded. His right hand rested on the hilt of his sword.
'Shing.'
The blade slid from its scabbard with a crisp, ringing sound, revealing a jet-black blade.
"You know Kuina, don't you?" Kojin asked suddenly.
Zoro's eyes widened. "How do you know... that woman?"
"How do I know?" Kojin chuckled as the sword slowly turned in his hand, an indescribable aura rising around him. "She was my disciple. I taught her myself."
The instant the words left his mouth, he swung.
A brilliant slash erupted like a soaring dragon, dazzling enough to illuminate everything around them. It shot toward Zoro with unstoppable force.
Zoro's pupils shrank.
Death. He felt it more clearly than ever before. There wasn't a shred of doubt in his mind: that slash could have cut him clean in half.
But at the last possible instant, it veered past his side and flew into the distance.
No one knew how far it traveled. Only after a long silence did Zoro look ahead, his eyes trembling.
Before him stretched a bottomless chasm, as though the earth itself had been split in two.
"Does... that technique have a name?"
Kojin slowly sheathed his sword, answering as casually as if it were nothing. "Of course. It's called... 'Kamusari'."
'Divine Departure.'
Zoro stood frozen, staring at the enormous scar carved across the land, unable to speak.
His mind replayed Kojin's swing over and over: his stance, the movement of every muscle, the flow of power, his presence, his spirit. Every detail repeated endlessly.
Then, as if he'd suddenly realized something, Zoro jerked his head up. "No... It's incomplete!"
But Kojin was already gone. Only the unconscious Luffy remained.
At that moment, the pain he had been suppressing crashed over him like a tidal wave. A muffled groan escaped his lips, and he could barely remain standing.
Not long afterward, Sanji arrived.
The ground was drenched in blood, with Zoro standing silently in the middle of it all.
Sanji's entire body stiffened. "What the hell happened here?"
Zoro clenched his teeth and swallowed the overwhelming pain. "Nothing..."
"Nothing happened."
(End of Chapter)
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