Chapter 53

Facing Vivi's tearful accusations, with ironclad evidence laid bare before them.

Most of the rebels finally realized the truth, glaring at Crocodile with ill intent.

But no one dared to act rashly.

Vivi suddenly asked, "Are you truly Koza, or are you Mr. 2? The Koza I know has a black mole under his neck; why don't you?"

He instinctively retorted, "I-I was injured in battle! The mole was rubbed off!"

"Liar!" Vivi shouted angrily, "Koza has no black mole at all! Why didn't you deny my accusation, but instead made excuses?"

At this, Mr. 2 was completely panicked!

Exposed so quickly; his psychological fortitude was truly...

"Hmph!" Sima Di said with a sinister gaze, "Since I've been exposed... with everyone here, I'll just bury you all, and this nation will still be mine!"

Saying this,

he directly used the Sand-Sand Fruit to unleash a massive sand tornado, engulfing most of the city, so thick that not even five fingers could be seen.

It looked as if he intended to massacre everyone!

But in reality, it was all thunder and no rain, just a scare tactic.

Chopper and Usopp shouted from within the crowd.

"Crocodile, we of the Straw Hat Pirates will not let you succeed!"

"Captain, go stop him quickly!"

"They went towards Chengdong!"

"Chase them!"

The sandstorm slowly dispersed,

leaving the confused rebels and the royal army staring blankly at each other.

And their former leader, "Koza," was now facing Sanji with a cross-dresser's face.

"Let us settle this! This time I will definitely defeat you! Preserving my chivalry!" Sanji declared solemnly.

Seeing his plot exposed, Mr. 2 realized the situation was hopeless.

His only hope now was to defeat the Sanji before him; only by taking him hostage could he have a sliver of a chance to survive!

"Then let us fight!"

The rebels, seeing that Koza was indeed an imposter, finally woke up completely!

"Clang!"

As the first person dropped their weapon, everyone else laid down their arms, then turned and ran towards Chengdong.

Sure enough, they spotted Crocodile and Luffy dueling in the open space.

Although Crocodile's belly was strangely large, every move was ruthless, showing no mercy, intent on killing his opponent.

It perfectly matched his furious, desperate emotion after his plan was exposed, wanting to kill his opponent to vent his rage!

"Straw Hat brat, kill Crocodile!"

"Damn! That old schemer actually dared to trick me? Beat him to death!"

"Yes! Hit him in the face!"

"Don't spare that beer belly either, get him!"

From then on,

Vivi, without deploying a single soldier, resolved the insoluble conflict between the rebels and the royal army, and they unanimously turned their anger back on the mastermind, Crocodile.

This scene made Vivi weep with joy; she had truly done it!

And far beyond her imagination, no innocent person had been harmed!

It was truly...

"Sima's plan was too perfect!"

And at this moment,

Sima Di, having finished his part, arrived outside the north of the city to watch the duel between Zoro and Mr. 1.

Arriving early is not as good as arriving at the right time.

Sima Di happened to see the battered Zoro standing in a pool of his own blood, his breathing carrying a unique rhythm, before he seemingly casually swung his sword—

"Swish—"

The massive rock beside him split open in response, the cut smooth as a mirror.

"Having comprehended the ultimate art of Iron-Slicing, you are no longer my match."

Zoro sheathed his sword, no longer using Three-Sword Style, but instead assuming the starting stance of Iaido.

Realizing the danger, Mr. 1 tried to strike first, but Zoro's blade was faster.

"One Sword Style..."

A flash of sword light, figures crossed.

"Thank you for making me stronger."

Mr. 1, known as the "Slayer of Swordsmen," fell into the pool of blood where Zoro had previously stood.

At the same time,

Sima Di finally checked in at Zoro's famous scene—

【Ding! Congratulations on checking in at the famous scene "Birth of the Sword Saint!", receiving the check-in reward "......"!】

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Today is the author's birthday; I'll update after the birthday. Please vote and send blessings~

A double chapter!

The solo author is begging for votes! 2,000 flowers unlock a bonus chapter (48,143/2,000), 500 evaluation votes unlock a bonus chapter (3,245/3,500), 10 monthly tickets unlock a bonus chapter (60/10), 10 "urge updates" votes unlock a bonus chapter (4/10), and 5 tips unlock a bonus chapter (12/5)! No tickets? Every 100 comments (208/300) also unlocks a bonus chapter! This humble author bows deeply in gratitude!

▄█〓█シ!.

54. The Coolest Zanpakuto! Another Signature Scene!

【Ding! Congratulations on signing in to the signature scene "The Birth of the Swordsman!" and obtaining the sign-in reward *Zanpakuto Hyourinmaru of Hitsugaya Toushirou*!】

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*Zanpakuto Hyourinmaru of Hitsugaya Toushirou*: The strongest ice-type Zanpakuto of Soul Society. It has a wide attack range; through spiritual pressure it can freeze the moisture in the air to form ice dragons, and can even control the weather!;

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【Reward has been stored in the System Space!】

Oh ho!

I thought I was just coming here for a routine check-in, I never expected there'd be such a cool reward!

Sima Di took Hyourinmaru out of the System Space. The first thing that caught his eye was the very distinctive eight-pointed star on the guard; he drew the blade from its sheath, revealing a single-edged grind just like a Tang Dao, glinting with a bone-chilling cold light.

Overall, the aesthetic still quite fit Sima Di's tastes.

Moreover,

For a Zanpakuto to truly shine, it should be in its "Shikai" and "Bankai" states. Hyourinmaru is one of the coolest among the many Zanpakuto — it can summon ice dragons swirling around, so cool it's dropping ice shards!

However,

In *Bleach*, Hyourinmaru does have a weakness: if a Zanpakuto with spiritual pressure far stronger than Hyourinmaru's and of the opposite element appears, it will cause all of Hyourinmaru's Bankai ice-type abilities to fail to activate.

But in this world, apart from Sima Di, there are no other Zanpakuto.

The reason being,

It's because the moisture in the atmosphere can no longer be used, so Hyourinmaru has no moisture to condense into ice, and can only retain Hyourinmaru's Shikai freezing ability.

The Magma-Magma Fruit and the Flame-Flame Fruit, if pushed to their extremes, could both potentially counter Hyourinmaru.

Compared to Seeing Kuzan's Ice-Ice Fruit, there's still some gap.

"But is power all that important?"

"Being cool is a lifelong matter!"

Sima Di, satisfied, undid the Tang Dao, hung Hyourinmaru at his waist, and then walked toward the fallen Zoro.

Zoro:? っQ?;)っ

"Don't come over here!!!"