Zoro was able to see the sword in the hand of the leading man, who had a bandage over his face, and was instantly excited.
"That is the man who has my shadow." Brook said as he trembled a bit.
"So if I defeat this guy, you will get your shadow back?" Zoro asked.
"Yes. But he is too powerful. You can't defeat him." Brook said as he looked at Ryuma.
"That we will see." Zoro said as he slowly brought out his black sword, which had a red outline to it.
Ken came forward and said
"Zoro, you will have to defeat him no matter what."
"Yes. I get it." Zoro replied.
"No. You don't get it. He is your ancestor, so you will have to defeat him and make his body free from the manipulation of others."
"What?"
"Nani?"
"No way? He is your ancestor, Zoro?"
"What are you talking about?" Zoro was more surprised than anyone and asked. Ken, instead of replying, shouted at Ryuma.
"Shimotsuki Ryuma, the Dragon Slayer Do you remember your past?"
Ryuma and Dr. Hogback, who were ready to attack the Straw hats, stopped. Ryuma, with his hollow sockets, looked at Ken and said it in a deep and raspy voice.
"It's a wonder that someone still remembers me. Are you from Wano?" Ryuma asked.
"No. But your great-great grandson is here." Ken said this while pointing at Zoro.
"Oye. I am not from Wano. Stop talking nonsense." Zoro protested.
"Zoro is from Wano? He never told us." Luffy said.
"Your father, Roronoa Arashi, is the son of Shimotsuki Furiko and Roronoa Pinzoro. Furiko is from the Shimotsuki clan, which is the direct bloodline of this guy here." Ken said, revealing the lineage of Zoro for the first time to the crew.
"Wow..."
"So Zoro is from Wano. That's new. The more I hear about this island, the more I want to go there." -Luffy
Stolen novel; please report.
"Marimo is from the new world. Hmmm.. All have complex families."
"So you are from my family. It's nice meeting someone who belongs to my family. It's sad that you will have to die under my blade." Ryuma said.
"It's sad that your body has been desecrated by this cretin of a man like Moria. We will deliver proper justice to your body and return it to Wano, where it should be resting." Ken declared. Zoro was still unable to believe that he was from Wano. He hardly remembered his father, but he did know his name.
He knew that Ken was speaking the truth. Ryuma laughed upon hearing Ken, and out of nowhere he jumped and attacked Ken, only to hear a clinging sound. It was Zoro who stopped the sword.
"You have a nice sword back there. Maybe I should take it after defeating you." Zoro eyed the black sword.
"You have quite the bold words, my great-great-grandson. Yohohoho.."
With that, both started a battle of swords right then and there.
"Ken, you always knew about his parents." Vivi asked, as she didn't remember talking about Zoro's past ever. This was the first time the topic had ever risen. Ken nodded his head. He had read the SBS, so of course he knew about the parents of Zoro.
Though he was disappointed in how the revelation was made, he held nothing against it. Ken nodded at the question of Vivi and said
"I told you, I don't let people into the crew if I don't know enough of their history." Ken said. While they talked, Zoro and Ryuma fought, and Dr. Hogback wanted to meddle in between. This was where Chopper came in. He was disappointed.
Dr. Hogback was a renowned doctor who was known all over the world, but his obsession made him veer off his path and take shelter under Moria. Now that Chopper saw the ugly version of him, he was furious and immediately turned into a huge bird.
"Setting Sun Transformation (Shay Tenshin)"
Zoro's swords glowed with a brilliant golden light as he swung them towards Ryuma. Zoro was using two swords for this attack. Both of his swords carried the sun's breath. Zoro was trying sun breathing on his two swords for the first time. But Ryuma wasn't an easy guy. The force of the strike created a shockwave that echoed through the air, but Ryuma swiftly dodged with agility that defied his zombie form.
"This attack.. Why do I feel as if I will be obliterated if I get hit by it?" Ryuma mumbled.
"It's because this technique was invented to bring down demons, and you are nothing but a demon in human form. It is better you give up."
"Heh..." Ryuma retaliated with his signature move.
"Skull Splitter!"
His blade whistled through the air with deadly precision, aiming to cleave Zoro in two. But Zoro was prepared. He swiftly shifted his stance and said:
"Burning Bones, Summer Sun"
He shouted as he spun like a whirlwind, slicing through the air with his blades. Zoro and Ryuma had already crossed swords multiple times by now, but this move was too fast and precise for Ryuma, and he couldn't dodge it perfectly.
His face burned, and Ryuma cried out in pain. Yes, he cried out in pain. For the first time ever, Ryuma, even after being a dead zombie, felt pain. The shadow could feel pain like the burning sun on his dead cells.
Seizing the opportunity, Zoro executed his deadliest move.
"Sun's Embrace!"
With a single stroke, he channeled the scorching power of the sun into his swords, creating a searing wave of energy that surged towards Ryuma. And the attack was not only accompanied by Sun breathing but also Thunder breathing. He had become faster with this new move as he maximized his leg muscles to the extreme.
The zombie samurai, sensing the impending danger, desperately tried to block the attack, but Zoro's technique was too overwhelming. Zoro had gone directly for his neck. It was customary to hack down a demon by slicing him from his neck, and that was exactly what he did.