Just then, a member of the Beast Pirates rushed over with hurried strides, handing a freshly printed newspaper to Queen.
Queen narrowed his eyes slightly, scanning the headline: "Legendary Swordsman Ryuma Resurrected—Wano Country Set for Complete Upheaval!"
Tossing the newspaper aside with a scoff, Queen looked entirely unbothered, as if the news didn't concern him in the slightest. "Tsk tsk... which news agency fabricated this nonsense? Don't tell me it was that bird guy? One of these days, I'll wipe them out."
The subordinate took a deep breath, asking tentatively, "Lord Queen, is it really okay to ignore this...?"
"Hmm? Who knows if it's even real," Queen replied lazily. "Besides, even if it is, what are Jack and the others doing? My only job is to oversee Udon Prison. Anyone stupid enough to barge in here will be torn to shred!"
Hearing Queen's confident tone, his subordinates exchanged relieved glances, their anxieties instantly disappearing.
BOOM!
Without warning, a massive, clean circular hole was blasted straight through the heavy front gates of Udon Prison!
Queen snapped up from his seat, his eyes locking on the entrance.
Standing at the doorway was a lone figure holding a dark, legendary blade... Shusui?!
While Queen didn't panic, he immediately recognized that the intruder was no ordinary threat. He stared intently at the young man, his voice dropping low. "So, you're the bastard going around claiming to be Ryuma?"
Ryuma smoothly pulled back Shusui, casually kicking aside a Beast Pirate grunt lying groaning on the floor. His eyes were ice-cold. "I am indeed the dragon-slaying swordsman, Ryuma. You Beast Pirates have slaughtered innocent people and turned our beautiful nation into a foul, toxic pit. Unforgivable."
Queen's face darkened with rage.
"Hmph! Talk about ungrateful," Queen sneered. "Wano is nothing more than a backward country full of filthy samurai and ninjas. You've been abandoned by the rest of the world long ago. We're doing you a favor by modernizing this place, so stop acting so high and mighty!"
"Then allow me to thank you for your 'help'!" Ryuma retorted, flicking his wrist. A concentrated flying slash shot straight toward Queen at blinding speed!
Queen growled, raising his heavily modified mechanical left arm to block the incoming strike head-on!
CLANG!
His cybernetic arm possessed immense structural strength and raw power, resembling the iron fist of "Black Arm" Zephyr—except heavily upgraded with cutting-edge weaponry.
Ryuma kept his eyes locked on Queen, quickly querying his internal system: System, what Devil Fruit did Queen eat?
While Ryuma knew Queen was an All-Star of the Beast Pirates and a guaranteed Zoan user, he lacked specific details regarding his full transformation.
Ding! Host, target identified: Queen. Fruit Ability: Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Model: Brachiosaurus. Grants the user the ability to transform into a Brachiosaurus, boasting extreme durability and extraordinary physical regeneration! Target is extremely dangerous. The gap in raw physical stats between you and the target is currently significant—host is strongly advised not to act rashly!
Hearing the system's breakdown, Ryuma gained a clear picture of what he was up against.
He recalled that in the original story, Queen took a devastating beating from Big Mom—Charlotte Linlin—and still managed to get right back up as if nothing had happened. Confident as Ryuma was in his swordsmanship, he knew his current physical body, having only recently been revived, couldn't match the sheer crushing force of a Yonko. Right now, he could only rely on his agility to survive and hold his ground.
"Fine then! Since you walked right into my Udon Prison, I'll make sure you fake never leave here alive!" Queen roared. He shot a sharp glance at his subordinates off to the side.
Catching his signal, the grunts immediately understood. They scrambled toward the communication console to grab the Transponder Snails.
Seeing them rush to call for backup, Ryuma let out a quiet sigh. He needed to wrap this up quickly. While taking down Queen in a direct confrontation wasn't realistic right now, he could definitely execute his primary objective: releasing the prisoners!
If he were relying solely on physical combat, splitting his attention would be impossible. But he possessed the power of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit!
He could detach his shadow into multiple fragments to unlock the prison cells across the complex while his main body drew Queen's full attention here!
Ryuma closed his eyes briefly. When he snapped them open again, the shadow beneath his feet had completely vanished—a detail Queen failed to notice in the heat of the moment.
Queen's eyes gleamed with sadistic excitement as his body expanded rapidly, transforming into a massive Brachiosaurus!
Even though Ryuma had mentally prepared himself, he still froze for a split second at the sheer scale of the beast.
This thing is huge! Compared to the towering dinosaur, Ryuma looked like a dwarf from the Tontatta tribe. He remembered that Kaidou's dragon form was several times larger than even a Brachiosaurus. If sheer size dictates dominance, how was he going to take on Kaidou down the line?
Wiping a bead of cold sweat from his forehead, Ryuma shook his head to clear his thoughts. Focus! Deal with the threat right in front of you first!
Ryuma unsheathed Shusui, but in that fraction of a second, Queen vanished from his line of sight!
Wait, where did he go?! Ryuma's heart skipped a beat. Dammit, I got distracted! Never lose focus in battle!
"Brachio Bomber!" Queen's booming roar echoed from directly above, carrying the terrifying resonance of a prehistoric beast!
Ryuma looked up into the sky—and nearly lost his breath!
Queen was diving straight down head-first like an artillery shell!
The "Brachio Bomber" was Queen's signature heavy dive—launching his colossal Brachiosaurus body from high above to crush the target below with pure kinetic force.
Ryuma's heart sank. If that giant mass hit him directly, he'd be turned into flat meat paste instantly!
Using his advanced Observation Haki, Ryuma's eyes flashed as he predicted the precise impact point. In the nick of time, he pivoted on his heel, diving sideways to dodge the falling mountain of flesh!
BOOM!
They brushed past each other by a hair's breadth—the sheer wind pressure from the descent tearing a split in Ryuma's white kimono!
What insane power... Ryuma gritted his teeth, genuinely impressed. Every high-tier officer in the Beast Pirates relies on raw, brutal force without any flashy tricks.
The ground where Queen's head crashed cracked violently, spiderweb fractures spreading out across the stone floor in every direction!
Ryuma kept his eyes glued to the dust cloud, silently counting down in his head. His shadow was currently unlocking cell after cell throughout the facility. Just hold on for two more minutes... just two minutes!
Queen glared at Ryuma through the settling dust, a sinister grin spreading across his reptilian snout. "Hmph... slippery little rat, aren't you? Fine then, let's see how long you can keep dodging!"
With that, Queen raised his front left leg—which was entirely mechanical!
BOOM!
With lightning speed, Queen brought his cybernetic limb slamming down right toward the top of Ryuma's head!
Not good! Ryuma cried out internally.
At such close range, dodging was out of the question—he had no choice but to block the blow head-on!
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