Chapter – 13 35th Loss & the Legend of Elegia

Ryuma and Shanks stood facing each other on the vast expanse of the open field.

As Ryuma unsheathed his sword, Shanks spoke with a smug grin, "Ready to taste defeat once more? We've already been through this thirty-four times in the past three months, and each time, victory has been mine."

Ryuma returned the smile, "That may be true, but don't be overly confident this time. I might just have a few surprises up my sleeve," he said, assuming his battle stance.

"Oh? It appears you have prepared something new and intriguing," Shanks remarked with a raised eyebrow, his smile unwavering. "Very well then, let's see what you bring to the table," and he drew his own blade, not the Griffin but an ordinary metal sword that he began carrying in order to answer Ryuma's challenges.

Benn approached the center and declared, "As always, the duel shall commence once the ember of the cigarette touches the ground, and it shall persist until one of you concedes or falls unconscious."

Both Shanks and Ryuma nodded in agreement, firmly poised for the impending clash.

Benn glanced at the two combatants, dropped the cigarette's ember, and swiftly vanished to the sidelines.

Thud!

The moment the cigarette's ember touched the ground, the duel began.

…

Among the spectators, Luffy erupted with boisterous cheers, "Give it your all, Ryuma! Beat Shanks this time, no doubt!"

Perched on Luffy's head, Rio flapped his wings excitedly and shouted, "Absolutely! Show the Red Hair who's the real boss!"

While Rio's support for Shanks seemed reasonable, Uta found Luffy's backing of Ryuma dissatisfying and questioned him, "Why are you cheering for Ryuma, Luffy?"

Luffy crossed his arms, wearing a mischievous grin, "It's because Shanks never takes me on adventures with him. That's why I want Ryuma to defeat him!"

Uta and the other members of the Red Hair Pirates were taken aback by Luffy's reasoning. "What does that have to do with you cheering for Ryuma? Even if Ryuma wins, it won't guarantee Shanks will take you on board!"

Luffy's eyes widened, "Ah… that's right!" as if finally realizing the flaw in his logic, but then he grinned and replied, "Shishishishi... It doesn't matter. I still want Ryuma to win!"

"Humph!" Uta snorted in disagreement, asserting, "Regardless of what you want, Shanks will never lose!"

"No, this time Ryuma will win!" Luffy confidently retorted.

"Shanks will win!" Uta repeated, clashing with Luffy's stance.

"Ryuma will win!" Luffy shot back, his eyes locking with Uta's in a defiant stare.

"NO, IT WILL BE SHANKS!" Uta emphasized each word, refusing to yield to Luffy's declarations.

Makino let out a sigh and intervened, "All right, all right, both of you, calm down. The duel is about to begin. Instead of arguing amongst ourselves, let's wait and see who emerges victorious."

With a final snort, Luffy and Uta turned away from each other and focused on the field. Internally, they both echoed their convictions in their hearts, 'Ryuma will win!' 'Shanks will be the victor once again!'

…

'More More: Fiftyfold: Speed!' With the power of the Moa Moa no Mi coursing through him, Ryuma's speed multiplied fiftyfold, and he unleashed a relentless torrent of air slashes toward Shanks. But that was merely the beginning...

'More More: Fiftyfold: Flying Air Slash!'

As the Slashes left the sword, Ryuma channeled the Moa Moa no Mi's power into each Slash, resulting in an exponential surge in their speed, sharpness, and size.

Ordinarily, Ryuma's Flying Air Slashes measured a mere one to two meters in circumference, but with this amplification, their circumference expanded by a factor of fifty reaching up to an astounding hundred meters.

Not to mention the fiftyfold increase in their velocity and cutting prowess as they hurtled toward Shanks in rapid succession. The sheer number of such colossal Flying Air Slashes left even the indomitable Shanks bewildered, muttering in astonishment, "Oi Oi... What's up with these Air Slashes…? And he isn't showing any sign of stopping!"

Though Shanks knew he didn't need to unleash his full strength yet, he couldn't help but acknowledge that he had to treat these relentless assaults with a touch more seriousness; the hundred-meter-long air slashes could prove perilous even to him.

Not only Shanks, but the entire Red Hair Pirates, Luffy, and Makino were left awestruck, their eyes wide and jaws dropping at the spectacle of Ryuma's overwhelming display of power.

None of them could have possibly envisioned such a scene unfolding before their eyes, and even Rio, perched atop Luffy's head, found himself taken aback, completely unprepared for such an awe-inspiring sight.

As the dozens of hundred-meter-long air slashes hurtled towards him, Shanks's countenance turned solemn, for he had foreseen something ominous with his Observation Haki. He knew he must swiftly neutralize these slashes, or they would cause a lot of damage. With determination in his eyes, he leaped skyward, brandishing his sword in a resolute gesture, 'Divine Departure!'

In a blaze of vivid crimson light, Ryuma witnessed the culmination of his enhanced slashes being met head-on by Shanks's powerful Divine Departure. Yet, that was not the end of it. Shanks's technique extended beyond mere counter; after destroying the dozens of enhanced air slashes it surged forward with relentless intensity towards Ryuma, prompting a startled exclamation from the younger swordsman, "!!!"

In the face of Shanks' incoming Divine Departure, Ryuma braced himself, fully aware that his speed alone wouldn't be sufficient to evade the devastating assault, even with the speed enhancement of Moa Moa no Mi, he wouldn't be able to dodge, so there was only one option. With unwavering resolve, he tapped into the full potential of the Moa Moa no Mi, increasing his defense to its absolute maximum. Nevertheless, when the force of Shanks' attack collided with him, he couldn't withstand the overwhelming power. Coughing out blood, Ryuma could only muster a fleeting thought, 'Damn... he truly resides on an entirely different plane of strength!' before succumbing to unconsciousness.

As Ryuma lost consciousness and crumpled to the ground, Shanks finally landed with a sense of urgency, his gaze fixated on the bloodied figure before him. Panic welled up inside him as he realized the extent of the damage he had inflicted. "Ah, crap... I overdid it..." he muttered, feeling the weight of responsibility for his unintended aggression.

Without wasting a moment, Shanks swiftly turned to the doctor of his crew, and issued a firm command, "Hongo... swiftly tend to him! We need to patch him up right away, or else he might die!"

…

An unknown amount of time later,

'Divine Departure!'

"Haaaaaaa!" Covered in a cold sweat, Ryuma suddenly sat up on the bed. With a hazy memory, he looked around and realized that he was in an unfamiliar room.

As Ryuma tried to recall what happened just before he lost consciousness, Rio, who was watching over him from the side, saw that he was awake and tackled him with tears in his eyes and snot coming out of his nose, catching him off guard. "Ryumaaaaaa!"

Unprepared for Rio's sudden embrace, Ryuma coughed out saliva, "Gufff!" and collapsed back on the bed.

Rio didn't notice Ryuma's discomfort as he cried out loud, "Waaaah… Ryuma… you are finally awake… I… I thought…"

"Ca… calm down Rio…!" said Ryuma as he regained his composure and asked, "What happened?"

Confused by Ryuma's question, Rio looked at his face and asked, tears still flowing down, "You don't remember?"

"My memory is a bit hazy…" answered Ryuma, then added as he tried to recall what he could remember before he lost consciousness, "I remember that I challenged Shanks… and I used my newest attack against him, hoping to make him serious… but after that, I don't remember what happened…"

Rio folded his wings over his chest and said, "Oh, you did make him serious, all right… Shanks countered your enhanced Flying Air Slashes with his own attack… his attack was so powerful, not only did it completely destroy your Flying Air Blades, but it also heavily injured you!"

As Rio vividly described the scene, the memory rushed back to Ryuma, and he recalled the entire event. At the same time, he realized, "It seems I lost once again!"

Rio sighed, "Yeah… you certainly lost once again, this was your thirty-fifth defeat."

Ryuma chuckled as he picked up Rio, "Oh well, it doesn't matter…" then said, "The fact that I made Shanks serious even just for a moment alone is a big achievement. I am content with it for now!"

At this moment, a voice came from the other side, "You are weird, you are happy despite having lost and suffering such serious wounds… and this is not the first time, you are always happy despite constantly losing against Shanks."

Ryuma looked up and saw that the person who spoke was none other than Uta, before he could answer her, Shanks' voice came from behind, "That's not a good thing to say, Uta…" chiding her.

Uta folded her hands over her chest and shrugged, "But it is true."

Shanks chuckled, as he shook his head, "I can't argue with that," then he turned to Ryuma and greeted him, "Yo!"

Ryuma nodded, "What's up?"

Shanks smiled and said, "Heard your scream… so we came to check up on you… you seem to be doing all right, better than I imagined."

Ryuma shrugged, "What can I say, I am just built differently…" and added with a proud smile, "It would take more than just that to kill me."

"Haha… I can see that," nodded Shanks with a chuckle as he directed his gaze at the pair of red horns on Ryuma's head.

Noting the direction of Shanks' eyes, Ryuma realized that he wasn't wearing his cap and sighed, "So, the cat's out of the bag, huh?"

Shanks nodded, "Yup, it sure is," and added, "Though if I am being honest, I didn't expect someone from that tribe to be in the East Blue. It certainly is a surprise… at the same time, this also explains your abnormal strength…"

Ryuma mumbled to himself, "Does it now?" And questioned, "Aren't you the least bit curious about anything?"

Shanks scratched the back of his head as he said, "I would be lying if I said that I am not curious," then he paused, and added with a smile, "But don't worry… I won't ask too much… I can see that you have your own circumstances, and you don't need to tell me."

"I appreciate your understanding," nodded Ryuma with a grateful expression. Then he looked at Shanks, and as if he recalled something, he said, "As for your Sake… you can have it at Makino's Bar… and put it on my tab."

Shanks chuckled and shook his head, "Ah, I guess I will take up that offer."

At this time, Uta said with a smile, "Now that you guys have done talking, let's go down… I will sing a song for everyone…"

"All right," nodded Shanks as came forward to help out Ryuma–considering his injuries. But to his surprise, Ryuma had already got up and removed his bandages, looking closely Shanks noticed that his wounds seemed to have healed completely. Looking at Ryuma's chest which only had a light scar and no other trace of injury, Shanks spoke, "You never cease to amaze me, huh?"

Ryuma answered smugly, "What can I say, I am full of surprises."

How did Ryuma heal so quickly? The answer is enhanced self-recovery speed thanks to Moa Moa no Mi!

…

Sometime later, outside Party's Bar

(Where the Wind Blows)

Kono kaze wa doko kara kita no to

Toikakete mo sora wa nani mo iwanai

Kono uta wa doko e tadori tsuku no

Mitsuketai yo jibun dake no kotae o

Mada shiranai uminohate e to kogi dasou

Tada hitotsu no yume kesshite yuzurenai

Kokoro ni ho o agete negai no mama susume

Itsu datte anata e todoku yō ni utau wa

Daikaigen o kakeru atarashī kaze ni nare

Sorezore ni shiawase o mezashi

Kizutsuite mo sore demo te o nobasu yo

Kanashimi mo tsuyo-sa ni kawarunara

Arekuruu arashi mo koete ikeru hazu

Shinjiru sono tabi no hate de mata aitai

Mezameta mama miru yume kesshite same wa shinai

Suihei-sen no kanata sono kage ni tewofuru yo

Itsu made mo anata e todoku yō ni utau wa

Ōkiku hirogeta ho ga matou aoi kaze ni nare

Tada hitotsu no yume dare mo ubaenai

Watashi ga kiesatte mo uta wa hibiki tsudzukeru

Doko made mo anata e todoku yō ni utau wa

Daikaigen o kakeru atarashī ka––––––!

As the song came to an abrupt end, Ryuma opened his eyes only to see Uta falling asleep.

Looking at her, Ryuma whispered, "Uta Uta no Mi, huh?" and added, "Her devil fruit ability is truly remarkable..."

Shanks nodded, "Indeed," acknowledging Ryuma's observation about Uta's devil fruit ability.

After a while of silence, Ryuma gazed at Shanks and inquired, "Hey Shanks… have you ever heard of the legend of Elegia?"

Shanks tilted his head in confusion, "Legend of Elegia?" Then he had a thoughtful expression as he muttered, "Isn't Elegia the famous 'Island of Music'? Is there some legend about it?"

Ryuma nodded, "I don't know how much of this is true, but I heard something about Elegia from one of its residents whom I met back when I was four or five years old... There is a legend about that island...

It is said that at some point in the past, a powerful monstrous entity known as the 'Demon King of Songs,' Tot Musica, wreaked havoc in the world. Wherever it went, it caused destruction until it was sealed at the bottom of Elegia by a user of Uta Uta no Mi... However, this is not the end... the legend also says that the Demon King of Songs still awaits to be released from the seal... its objective is still the same..."

Shanks' eyes widened as he questioned, "You don't mean?"

"Yes," Ryuma confirmed, "Uta has eaten the Uta Uta no Mi... if you ever take her to that island, be careful... Tot Musica will definitely try to influence her into singing its Namesake song so that it can be released from the seal. It is said that once completely released, defeating it or stopping it is next to impossible... and it won't stop until it has destroyed the entire world!"

Shanks understood the gravity of Ryuma's words, "I see... I understand, and if we ever go to that island, I will be extremely careful."

Ryuma nodded, "Hmm," and looked at Uta, thinking to himself, 'With this, she probably won't have to shoulder that burden... and hopefully, the Island of Elegia will continue to prosper. At least I hope so.'