"Found you! Tsuno-Tokage!"
Moria's shadow transformed into a spear-like spike once more. He still had a chance, hiding a trump card that allowed him to swap his main body with his shadow.
This battle could still continue—
A slash flashed across, slashing straight out.
Moria's thoughts suddenly cut off, and the firelight shining before his eyes disappeared for some reason. Then, intense pain swept through his entire body.
His eyes widened and he instinctively wanted to swap positions between his body and shadow, but found himself powerless. His strength vanished at an alarming rate, and there was no one in the direction Tsuno-Tokage had attacked.
Hiroto... where was he?
He couldn't find out, for what appeared before his eyes was endless darkness.
Coldness surged through his body and Moria realized belatedly that he was going to die.
So strong, so cold...
If I had known, I wouldn't have come.
Filled with intense regret, Moria felt himself being grabbed, and something invaded his body, then swept through him.
[Gluttony]!
Narrowly making it in time, Hiroto breathed a sigh of relief and stepped back, watching Moria's large body split apart and collapse.
He had actually been sliced in half by that single strike.
Countless shadows flew out from the cut in the corpse, surging toward the distant horizon, signaling the end of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
In the distance, Koushirou stood up and took a step forward, then withdrew it. In that brief movement, a trace of fluster could be seen.
Just as Issho had said, this disciple of his was indeed incredible. Having set out to sea only a few months ago, he could already slay a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The speed of his progress in strength was simply inconceivable.
But most importantly, Hiroto's strike just now had triggered the resonance and cooperation of Shusui.
The master chooses the sword, and the sword chooses the master. This means a mutual selection.
The opposite is a precious blade gathering dust.
The same famous sword, if it falls into the hands of an unsuitable person, will hide its brilliance and fail to show its proper edge. But in the hands of the right person, where they choose and fulfill each other, it shows it's true might.
Even he, when holding Shusui, might not necessarily get Shusui's cooperation.
In other words, Shusui's previous dissatisfaction was indeed because of Hiroto.
A Famous Sword met a good master, lost him, and was then enshrined. Naturally, there would be dissatisfaction.
But why?
Koushirou suddenly thought of Shusui's characteristics. As one of the twenty-one great grade swords, Shusui had its own unique trait.
In the clan records, it was described by the phrase: "The magnificent Great Trend is irreversible."
Combined with Issho's evaluation of Hiroto, everything seemed to have an answer.
It was even more than that. There was an answer to why Shusui chose Hiroto, but why so urgently?
The answer might lie in Wano Country.
So, was I the only one who misjudged him?
Koushirou pushed his glasses up with his finger, his emotions fluctuating, as a thought gradually formed in his mind.
Below, Hiroto was examining Shusui in his hand. That strike just now had exceeded his expectations.
Thinking back carefully, Shusui indeed had this characteristic in the original story, being able to integrate the attacks of Zoro's other swords.
Having felt it personally now, he could roughly understand that it was the "Great Trend," just like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea or gathering mountains into a peak.
Shusui's "Great Trend" was to accommodate the master's other attacks and fuse them into one. Even Flying Slashes could be integrated into it.
Because of this, Hiroto was able to so smoothly insta-kill the shadow-enhanced Moria with one strike.
Unfortunately, this sword wasn't his.
As for his sword...
Hiroto sheathed Shusui and picked up Shigure, which had been twisted into a pretzel.
Armament Haki: Imbuement can make a sword sturdy, but it cannot guard against Paramecia Devil Fruit Abilities.
Rather, this is exactly why Paramecia devil fruits are so broken.
For example, the Hobby-Hobby Fruit in Dressrosa was practically unsolvable.
Of course, as far as Hiroto knew, if Armament Haki is strong enough, it can naturally break the effects of Devil Fruits.
For example, in the original story, when Trafalgar Law fought the Blackbeard Pirates, he was turned into a woman by the Sick-Sick Fruit. He relied on Armament Haki to break the effect and return to normal.
Only...
That would require at least high-level or even top-tier Armament Haki.
Fortunately, he still had a bit of solace in his heart. The panel appeared at this moment, and a message popped up.
[Entry: Shadow Exchange]
[Quality: Purple]
[Type: Active]
[Effect: A portion of the ability formed from the remnants of the Paramecia Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
One can actively tear off their own shadow as a marker. Upon activation, the main body and the shadow swap positions within a range of 3 kilometers.
One can also spend energy to swap specific body parts with the shadow, but only localized positions can be swapped.]
[Cost: Stamina]
[Note: Bro thinks he's Sung Jin-woo.]
Good stuff.
Hiroto made a judgment at first glance because of the first effect.
Three kilometers might not seem like much. For a significant opponent, it's just a matter of ten or twenty seconds.
But what if it's a vertical three kilometers?
Three thousand meters under the sea would be an excellent hiding spot for Hiroto, who has [Fish-Man Gills]. When encountering a strong enemy, his survival probability could be said to increase significantly.
But the most crucial part was the localized exchange between the body and the shadow.
Hiroto raised his hand, feeling a link between his arm and his shadow as he concentrated. Then, his arm turned pitch black.
Meanwhile, the shadow arm on the ground took on a flesh tone. The time it took was about half a second.
He drew Shusui and slashed at the shadow arm with Armament Haki, but it felt as if he had cut through nothing.