"M-Master! Ryuma has been defeated!"
The batman Hildon flew in urgently to Moria.
Moria was visibly shaken by the sudden loss of his strongest general zombie.
"What about the corpse?"
"Burned to ashes!"
Bang!
Moria slammed his desk hard.
"I told him just to stall! I ordered him not to push it too far! Even if his swordsmanship was weaker than when he was alive, he should've been able to escape!"
Hildon shrank under Moria's rage.
Sweat trickled down Moria's forehead.
He had expended a considerable amount of power in recombining the general zombies' shadows just to steal Rengoku's shadow. And all for what? To implant it into the legendary swordsman of Wano's body and create a super general zombie that would surpass even Mihawk!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
His emotions surged uncontrollably. The key piece was gone—everything was crumbling.
"Hohohoho! What's the matter, Lord Moria?"
Hogback entered the room, his laugh as grotesque as ever.
"Ryuma's been taken down!"
At Moria's words, even Hogback looked shocked.
"But didn't you instruct the general zombies to just keep Rengoku occupied on Thriller Bark until preparations were complete?"
"How should I know! Either Rengoku's beyond overpowered, or something unexpected happened to Ryuma! Dammit…"
If Rengoku returns to the ship now, things will get tricky.
Perona and Absalom are still likely captured aboard his ship. Though Moria had lied earlier by recording a fake transmission with the video den den mushi to fool Rengoku, no one else besides Moria and Hogback knows it's a lie.
Ever since his defeat by Kaido long ago, Moria had grown more attached to his comrades—he didn't want to lose Absalom and Perona like this.
If they were to see that video message, their loyalty could be shaken—and worse, he'd lose two of his most trusted companions.
The plan was simple: lure Rengoku out of the castle and buy time using Ryuma. Meanwhile, the general zombies would be assembled, a battle strategy laid out, and then Rengoku would be overwhelmed in one go.
His shadow would be extracted quickly and inserted into Ryuma's body.
That way, with the body of the sword god Ryuma, Rengoku's shadow, and the black blade Shusui… they could possibly even create a general zombie that rivaled Dracule Mihawk.
But now that Ryuma had been destroyed early, the plan was in ruins.
The general zombies scattered across Thriller Bark hadn't fully assembled yet. Based on the traits of their bodies and shadows, they were to be divided into advance strike squads, core defense units, and rear assault teams—but that formation wasn't even done.
If they charged in now recklessly, they'd only be defeated one by one, leading to a total loss of the general zombies.
Given that zombies are weak to fire, they're already at a disadvantage against Rengoku.
If they rush in unprepared, they could suffer massive losses—and worse, Moria could lose his Warlord title.
Seeing the seriousness on Moria's face, Hogback also dropped his usual theatrics and began thinking deeply.
If Rengoku didn't launch a full-scale attack on Thriller Bark after defeating Ryuma, that would be fortunate. But regardless, the plan had already begun—and Ryuma was lost.
Ryuma's value as a combat asset had been immense. Halting the plan entirely now would only mean total loss.
But brute-force tactics weren't viable either. The general zombies hadn't all assembled yet, and the situation wasn't favorable.
"Hmm… Lord Moria, even so, you are the man who once crossed blades with one of the Four Emperors, Kaido!" Hogback said as a plan began forming in his head.
"What if… you absorbed the shadows meant for the general zombies and personally took on Rengoku yourself?"
The Moria that Hogback knew had once stood toe-to-toe with Kaido, the so-called "Strongest Creature," whose bounty was third only to Roger's. Although times had changed, Moria's strength still eclipsed that of the general zombies.
And with the 99 shadows of elite warriors gathered from across the world—even if Ryuma was gone—they were still in his possession.
If all 99 shadows were absorbed into Moria using Shadow's Asgard, he could reclaim the strength of his prime—perhaps even rivaling Kaido again.
That was Hogback's belief.
Moria fell into thought at the suggestion.
The 99 shadows of the general zombies had taken years to collect. If he used Shadow's Asgard to absorb them all, they'd return to their original hosts once the time limit expired.
It was a difficult trade-off: Rengoku's shadow vs. 99 elite warrior shadows.
On top of that, now that Ryuma's body had been destroyed, there was no suitable corpse to implant Rengoku's shadow into.
But as if reading Moria's mind, the "genius surgeon" Hogback continued:
"Let's place Rengoku's shadow into Oars' body. As for the sword—well, we can have a custom one forged! Just imagine it… not a 20-meter giant, but a 60-meter titan—Oars wielding unmatched swordsmanship!"
Even a standard giant with raw physical strength could devastate the battlefield. But three times bigger, with Rengoku's combat prowess and sword skills?
It could surpass even Kaido or Whitebeard, perhaps even devastate Marineford. It could become… the world's strongest unstoppable force.
The time for decision had come. If delayed any further, they might lose their only chance.
"Hogback, awaken Oars. And… though it's a bit of a waste, insert the shadow of Anderson—the undefeated underground champion of the New World—into him."
Though Anderson wasn't quite general-zombie level, he was still among the top-tier fighters.
"Hohoho! So, it's decided?"
"Yes. If not now, we might never get another opportunity… We'll capture Rengoku and give birth to the unstoppable Demonic Swordmaster Oars!"
"Oars and I will lead the charge. The general zombies will follow Oars' lead, and those already assembled will enter Oars' body with me!"
With Rengoku's shadow and Oars' body, that alone was more than enough to rebuild a new army of 100 or 200 general zombies later. After all, they only used up shadows—rare corpses like Captain John could still be reused.
Rengoku was a Marine Vice Admiral, even a top candidate for Admiral. Worse yet, he was naturally bad match-up for zombies due to his fire techniques.
But he was alone. And the objective was simply to extract his shadow.
If executed properly…
The birth of the Demonic Swordmaster Oars could finally become reality!
--------------------
Want to read 20 advance chapters ahead?
Go to my patreon: patreon.com/Kinglass