Chapter 170: A Duel Across Time and Space

Moonlight Moriya voluntarily submitted an application to board the ship, greatly surprising Saint Saint Saiwen.

Saint Saint Saiwen vaguely remembered that when Moriya met Luffy, he had clamored to become the Pirate King using his army of zombies under his command.

How could he voluntarily apply to board?

Could it be that he hopes to seek revenge against Kaido by joining the Morning Star Pirates?

But Kaido is the laborer Saint Saint Saiwen has designated, and he is also Yamato's cheap father; Saint Saint Saiwen would never directly execute Kaido.

This involves future strategies.

With its current manpower, the Morning Star Pirates' occupied territory is limited to Beehive Island and Wano; they must recruit more people first to consolidate their holdings.

Otherwise, no matter how large the territory, it will only become a castle in the air, unstable at the foundation and toppled by a single push.

Moreover, if the power becomes too vast, it will inevitably alert the World Government.

For Imu, who has lived for over eight hundred years, Saint Saint Saiwen currently has no certain guarantee of victory.

Therefore, it is better to let Kaido and the Beasts Pirates act as laborers to occupy more territory.

When Kaido takes down a territory, Saint Saint Saiwen plans to seize another one after a few years when he is ready.

After all, they are all family.

As long as Yamato is here, the territory of the old man Kaido will eventually become Saint Saint Saiwen's territory.

Considering all the above, Moriya's demand to board the ship for revenge is logically impossible to realize.

And judging from the crew's affection for Little Perona, accepting Perona is no problem at all.

Should Moriya be treated as a free gift?

It's not that Saint Saint Saiwen intends to open a large harem; his heart is already filled with the chivalrous spirit of saving all living beings, leaving no room for even a shred of romantic love.

Is friction more interesting than rebellion?

That is definitely less interesting than rebellion.

"Welcome to the Morning Star Pirates."

The Wano territory that Saint Saint Saiwen is about to reclaim is vast enough to accommodate Moonlight Moriya.

"Thank you."

Moriya was just about to order Zombie Ryuma to hand over the Autumn Water immediately when he suddenly sensed that the atmosphere was a bit off.

He saw Mihawk draw the Black Blade Yoru from behind, facing off deeply with Ryuma, who held the Black Blade Autumn Water, as if they were mutually appreciative and unable to control their emotions.

"Captain," Moriya looked at Saint Saint Saiwen.

"The shadow inside Zombie Ryuma was cut from an ordinary swordsman, so I'm afraid he is no match for Mihawk."

Moriya can place a shadow into a corpse to resurrect it as a zombie, granting it the combat power possessed by that shadow,

and an ordinary swordsman is obviously unable to match Mihawk.

Brook's shadow was stuffed into Ryuma's corpse only after Moriya went to the Grand Line.

"It's fine."

Saint Saint Saiwen enjoyed watching the spectacle and didn't mind if things got worse.

"Cut off my shadow and stuff it in."

Fuyuzuki Ryuma,

was a great swordsman during the Golden Country period of Wano, never defeated in his life, also the legendary Dragon-Slaying Samurai, revered as the God of Blades.

He possessed one of the only two Black Blades, Autumn Water.

And Mihawk possesses the other Black Blade, Yoru.

Stuffing Saint Saint Saiwen's shadow into Ryuma's corpse would certainly not bury the battle between Fuyuzuki Ryuma and Mihawk.

Moriya's heart raced: "Nani?!"

Cutting off Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen's shadow, could it really be realized so easily?

He originally thought it would be as difficult as climbing to the sky, never expecting Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen to take the bait voluntarily.

Moriya admitted he was very tempted.

As long as Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen's shadow is cut off and combined with the corpse of the God of Blades Ryuma, they might just be able to defeat Kaido and take revenge.

"Then let me try?" Moriya asked tentatively.

Saint Saint Saiwen smiled with a playful expression.

"It is said that a person who loses their shadow will vanish immediately if exposed to sunlight."

"Mr. Moriya."

"You wouldn't have forgotten, would you?"

This kid Moriya is indeed a traitor, even worse than Baret; at least Baret would not have other thoughts before defeating Saint Saint Saiwen.

But Moriya cannot withstand even the slightest temptation.

"Keh hehe hehe~"

Moriya covered his embarrassment with a strange laugh.

"You found me out, Captain."

Saint Saint Saiwen actually didn't mind Moriya's little schemes much; what should be done if a crew member rebels?

Just beat him a few more times and it will be fine.

He wasn't even afraid of the Golden Lion with his whole body full of rebellious bones, let alone the little fat man Moriya.

Write it down in the little notebook first; every day after waking up before going to sleep, he must beat the fat man Moriya up.

"Fat man, find a place without sunlight."

Mihawk did not raise any objections to this; when he first went to the Sky Island, he knew that Saint Saint Saiwen possessed a natural spirit of adventure.

He wanted to try every kind of danger.

To be precise, it was an all-consuming self-confidence, a belief that everything was under control.

When Moria pulled out the giant scissors and sliced at Saint Saint Saiwen's shadow with a crack, Saint Saint Saiwen instantly felt a strange sensation, as if he had suddenly lost a part of himself.

Yet he could not pinpoint exactly what it was.

The abilities of Devil Fruits in the pirate world were indeed bizarre and varied.

Possessing such an overpowered Shadow-Shadow Fruit was equivalent to a thunderclap from the ground, instantly assembling an army of ten thousand zombies.

Once Onigashima is reclaimed, it is time to head to Impel Down's Level Six to stock up on prisoners from those utterly vicious inmates.

As for the prisoners in the underwater prison of Impel Down, the zombie guards could not detect any trace of their shadows.

Rather than being locked up in a deep-sea prison, it is better to contribute one's shadow to the cause of liberation.

Grinning, Moria shakily stuffed Saint Saint Saiwen's shadow into the corpse of Shimotsuki Ryuma.

This was the shadow of the pirate with the highest bounty on the seas, worth a full five billion two hundred million Berries.

It could very likely kill Kaido.

The samurai shadow that originally resided within Ryuma vanished in the blink of an eye, and immediately, a violent aura rose around Ryuma.

Crackling lightning surrounded him.

Shimotsuki Ryuma examined his rotting five fingers.

"Interesting, interesting."

"Mihawk, draw your blade."

Mihawk nodded in thanks to Saint Saint Saiwen, who was wrapped head to toe in black cloth, and raised the black blade Yoru, pointing it at the zombie Ryuma.

"Please."

A zombie endowed with a shadow inherits the strength of its shadow's owner; the zombie Ryuma at this moment was almost equivalent to Saint Saint Saiwen's external manifestation.

It fully inherited Saint Saint Saiwen's swordsmanship and martial arts; the only drawback was that his appearance looked somewhat shabby.

That a corpse several hundred years old could still be preserved so well made it clear that Shimotsuki Ryuma's status in Wano Country was nearly that of the nation's spiritual leader.

Clang~ Clang~ Clang~

The clash between the black blade Yoru and Shusui echoed across the area; as the two figures darted and leaped, they continuously unleashed flying slashes, even cleaving the thick fog near the Thriller Bark ship apart with their strikes.

Supported by Saint Saint Saiwen's shadow, the God of Blades Shimotsuki Ryuma and the future world's greatest swordsman, Mihawk, engaged in a duel spanning time and space.

The two fought with mutual admiration.

The crew watched with great interest.

Only Saint Saint Saiwen, who had lost his shadow, was wrapped tightly in black cloth to avoid vanishing from exposure to sunlight.

Saint Saint Saiwen did not understand.

With such an overpowered Shadow-Shadow Fruit, why was Moria's combat record so abysmal, 堪称 the disgrace of all the Saint Saint Saiwen Warlords of the Sea?

Little Doflamingo, at least, had trapped a Marine Admiral, an Emperor, and the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army in his Birdcage; the total bounties of those locked inside exceeded ten billion.

Sand Crocodile Crocodile, with a single "Saxi Burida na," could go toe-to-toe with anyone.

Jinbe, with a single Fish-Man Karate ultimate technique, the Buraikan, knocked the Emperor Big Mom flying off the Sunny.

Even the Empress could petrify a Marine Vice Admiral.

Mihawk, needless to say, as Buggy's Emperor-father, had a bounty higher than the Emperor Luffy.

Only Moria, having lost his will to fight after being beaten by Kaido, completely gave up and rotted away.

After the Summit War, he was further ganged up on and, due to insufficient strength, was removed from the Saint Saint Saiwen Warlords of the Sea by the World Government.

In short, he was extremely abysmal.

The duel between Mihawk and Ryuma continued.

What was particularly regrettable was that since the duel began, Mihawk had never called out the names of his techniques; it seemed every strike was a normal attack.

And Shimotsuki Ryuma, whose soul was Saint Saint Saiwen's shadow, was a perfect copy of Saint Saint Saiwen, and likewise never called out the name of a single technique.

Aside from the clashing sounds of the black blade Yoru and Shusui, the duel scene was as quiet as a silent film.

Seeing this, Saint Saint Saiwen muttered a sentence.

"If only Zoro were here."

Zoro, who had eaten the Naming Fruit, had technique names so chuunibyou they made one's blood boil.

Saint Saint Saiwen had ultimately suffered from a lack of culture.