Chapter LIX: Echoes of the Past

"It's been a long time, Commander! Good to see you again," Blackbeard spoke with false joy as he stood across from Ace. His former Division Commander didn't answer him though, opting to simply walk past the object of his hatred, much to Blackbeard's confusion.

The rest of the Blackbeard Pirates tensed as he neared, expecting an attack, but Ace ignored them as well as he walked up to Bonney. Van Auger locked eyes with his captain with a questioning gaze, but Blackbeard simply shrugged with an uncaring, malevolent grin.

Ace easily melted the chains around Bonney's wrists and legs, and she immediately stood up, glaring heatedly at surrounding pirates who were now giving them a wide berth.

"Bonney, gather your crew and get off this island," Ace commanded.

Bonney's eyes narrowed. "You're going to fight him alone?"

"That's the best option right now. Your crewmates aren't in condition to fight."

Bonney looked like she was having an inner battle, but eventually she nodded, her worry over her crew's wellbeing making the decision for her. She kept a wary gaze on the Blackbeard Pirates as she roused her crewmates, but Blackbeard didn't seem to care one way or the other. While this made her seethe with rage, she held herself back this time. As her crew began to leave, Ace spoke up.

"Bonney, I need you to let my brother know that this happened. He's—"

"I know him," Bonney interrupted, shooting a meaningful sideways glance at the Blackbeard pirates, who were still listening curiously. "And I'll find him."

Ace nodded, getting the message. "Go."

Bonney stared at him, gaze filled with regret. "Be careful."

As her crew left, Blackbeard stared at Ace in amusement. "So, you two know each other. That explains a few things. I guess I should apologize then. I didn't realize she was a friend of yours."

Ace's eyes narrowed. "What are you playing at, Teach? You were going to turn her into the government, but now you're just going to let her go? What's your goal?"

"My goal? Well, I suppose I can tell you. But only if you're willing to join my crew. What do you say, Ace? It'll be just like old times!"

"I'll have to decline," Ace drawled, though inwardly he was relieved. If Blackbeard wanted to him as a crewmate, then he most likely let Bonney go to convince him to join. That meant he wouldn't have to cover her escape.

"Oh? Are you sure? I may not be much of a big name now, but I have quite the plan in mind. If you help me bring it to fruition, it won't be long until we're the next big name in the New World! And after that, the next stop is Pirate King!"

"I'm already part of a Yonko crew, Teach. The same one you betrayed, as it happens. Now, you should know what happens next."

Blackbeard's face fell. If nothing else, he was a good actor. "Oh, well, so much for that. But if you're not going to join me…then I have a pretty good alternative in mind. You see, after that stunt you pulled in Marineford, you being here could accelerate my plan quite nice—"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence, as Ace, feeling Bonney's aura leave the island, quickly bolted forward, propelling himself with a burst of flame.

Blackbeard screamed in pain as two spears of flame impaled him through the torso. His crew immediately leapt to their captain's defense, but their gunfire simply went through Ace's Logia body harmlessly.

"Stay back!" Blackbeard shouted through the pain. "You guys aren't ready for this kind of fight!"

"Fire Fist!" A barrage of flame engulfed the Blackbeard pirates, who were all blown backward, cursing as they received severe burns. Ace's onslaught didn't stop there as he immediately fired off his signature move a second time.

"Shit…he's not playing around!" Blackbeard exclaimed as he absorbed the blast of fire using the power of the Yami Yami no Mi. He took a moment to regain his bearings, not having expected Ace to be so unrelenting right off the bat. His Black Hole would have been unexpected, which meant he should have gained a moment of respite—

"Flash Fire!"

—Or not.

The Blackbeard pirates could do nothing to stop the Logia as a rapid pulse of fire spread out in all directions, hitting every one of them. A few of the quicker ones defended with what Haki they could use, but it did little to stop the extreme temperatures.

He's different, Blackbeard realized. He wasn't nearly this strong before.

"Did you think I've been doing nothing during my search, Teach?" Ace asked. "I've been training for this moment for a while now."

That left Blackbeard confused. Ace couldn't have known that he'd obtained the most powerful Logia in existence before this encounter. Why would he have felt the need to train when he could have already defeated him during their time on Whitebeard's ship?

That brief moment of contemplation cost him as Ace shot into the air, descending upon him with a pillar of fire, burning him to the bone.

"Dammit!" he shouted in agony. "Fine, you asked for this, Ace!" He raised his arm and activated his ability, drawing Ace towards him, where he was ready to deliver a punishing blow. Astoundingly, Ace behaved as if he'd expected to be yanked out of the air, and readied another fire spear, aiming it straight for his heart.

Blackbeard's eyes widened. No matter how much vitality he had, being speared through the heart was not something he wanted to experience any time soon. He lunged out of the way, readying a blow as Ace landed in close proximity, but Ace didn't even hesitate before unleashing another Fire Fist at point blank range. The blast sent him hurtling away.

When he landed, he sucked the next barrage of fire into his Black Hole again, before trying something different. He brought his hands up and formed a larger singularity which devastated the landscape, sucking everything towards him, including the ground. He was hoping for Ace to lose his footing, but the Flame Man leapt into the air and propelled himself away.

In response, Blackbeard drew him in again while he was in the air. Not able to aim properly from his position this time, Ace readied his flame spears but missed his opponent's vital spots. Blackbeard coughed up blood as he was pierced again, but grinned victoriously as he grabbed onto Ace.

If Ace was surprised that he was no longer able to use his powers, he didn't show it. He gritted his teeth as Blackbeard's hand collided with his neck.

Blackbeard, on the other hand, watched with wide eyes as Ace's body darkened to obsidian, and felt the pain in his hand from having just karate chopped his armaments hardened skin. He's been training his Haki too? The shock caused him to let go of Ace's shoulder. Realizing his mistake, he made a lunge for him again, but Ace retreated, gaining his distance again.

It was then that Blackbeard realized that this fight wouldn't be as simple as he initially thought.

Finally stopping to catch their breath after fleeing Hogback's mansion, Nami, Chopper, and Usopp stood debating what to do next. It wasn't long before Usopp's eyes widened as he locked onto several approaching auras.

"Guys...company."

The other two's heads snapped towards the approaching crowd. Assuming that they were more zombies, Nami whipped out her Clima Tact.

"Wait! I assure you, we are not your enemies!" said an old man with a huge wound who could have easily passed for a zombie.

"Who are you then?" Nami asked warily, still clutching her Clima Tact. Call her paranoid, but she'd had a long day!

"We call ourselves the Thriller Bark Victim's Association," a pink haired woman explained. "My name is Lola. We were all victims of Gecko Moria's ability. I have to ask...are you three part of the Straw Hat Pirates?"

"You bet!" Usopp declared. "So did you guys all have your shadows stolen too?"

"So you already know what's been happening," one of their visitors spoke up.

"That makes thing easier," another said.

"Let us introduced ourselves. We are the Risky Brothers, members of the TBVA."

As the Risky Brothers explained what was really happening on Thriller Bark, Nami and Usopp listened with wide eyes, while Chopper seethed in anger.

"You mean he's using people's shadows to animate and enslave people's corpses!?" The reindeer human hybrid shouted.

"Well, essentially," one of the Risky Brothers confirmed.

"So that explains the whole zombie phenomenon. But still, why bring this to us?"

"Hey, you!" Lola said suddenly, looking straight at Usopp. "Marry me!" Usopp, taken aback, slowly pointed at himself in question.

"Yeah, she means you," one of the Risky Brothers assured.

"Oh," Usopp said, blinking. "Well, sorry Miss, but no can do! I'm a pirate through and through, and my heart belongs to the sea!"

As the Risky Brothers declared how many rejections that made, far too loudly in Nami's opinion, Lola looked confused.

"I happen to be a pirate as well. Is there a rule that states that they can't get married?" she asked, not accusingly, but seemingly out of pure curiosity.

Usopp suddenly lost the air of boastfulness about him, as his face took on a more wistful and melancholic expression.

"Well, they can. There's no rule against it," he replied. "But it can cause problems later on."

Lola's brow furrowed. "I see," she responded, deep in thought, as Nami shot Usopp a sympathetic look.

The Risky Brothers, sensing the somber atmosphere, decided to move the conversation along. "Well anyway," one spoke up. "We actually came to request something of you all. You see, just hours ago, in what could only be described as divine intervention, we of the Thriller Bark Victim's Association miraculously began getting our shadows back. As of this moment, almost all of us have gotten ours back. All but one, in fact. Lola, one of our chief members, is the only one yet to regain hers!"

"How did that happen?" Chopper asked in amazement. Nami and Usopp, on the other hand, looked at each other blandly.

"Zoro," they chorused.

Chopper's eyes lit up. "Really!? He's so cool!"

"Aren't you forgetting that he left us alone on an island infested with vicious zombies?" Nami asked haughtily.

"Technically we left him," Usopp reminded her, causing her to deflate a bit.

"Wait, Demon Wind Zoro? Are you telling me one of your crew is responsible for this?" the other Risky Brother asked.

"Most likely," Nami replied.

"That just solidifies our faith in you!" he proclaimed. "Please, would you heed our request and get Lola's shadow back? She can't leave Thriller Bark without it, and we refuse to leave one of our own behind!"

The three glanced at each other. "I think we should help," Chopper gave his input.

"It couldn't hurt. Most of the zombies have been purified, right? It shouldn't be too hard to fight one zombie," Usopp added.

Nami hummed and muttered something about needing to meet up with the others anyway, before turning back to Lola. "It seems we're in agreement. We'll get your shadow back for you."

The woman had tears in her eyes as she thanked them.

"Guys, I hate to ask, but can I leave this to you?" Chopper asked, catching their attention once they were out of earshot. "I have...business with Dr. Hogback."

Usopp shrugged. "Sure, go for it. Just be careful."

"We'll have Sanji-kun track you down afterward if we run into him, ok?" Nami suggested.

Chopper nodded and shifted into Walk Point, running off into the fog as he followed his sense of smell.

Tararan screeched in frustration as Franky once again pummeled him with the makeshift nunchucks he had fashioned out of a nearby pillar. How was this possible? In terms of physical strength, he was the strongest active zombie in Thriller Bark. How was he being overpowered by a mere human? He threw another punch at his tormenter, only for his hand to meet a solid wall of steel, the pain being his only reward for the endeavor.

"You! What the hell are you?" Tararan demanded, cradling yet another of his eight abused limbs.

"Me? I'm just your friendly neighborhood cyborg. You won't get anywhere by pounding away, whatever you are."

Tararan suddenly grinned maliciously. "Oh? Thanks for the advice."

Franky soon found himself ensnared in a giant webbing, which routed him to the ground. Tararan laughed mockingly.

"Do you make a habit of telling your opponent what will and won't work on you? You should have just kept your mouth shut, you idiot!"

"...Well, you should have been able to figure out that punching me wasn't working anyway," Franky said as he struggled to free himself, to no avail. "So who's the idiot, idiot?"

Tararan glared. "Sorry, did you say something? I have poor hearing."

"My ass you do. Now let me out of this stupid web."

"Not gonna happen! I may not be able to hurt you, but that makes no difference if you can't go anywhere!"

"That's your big plan? To just leave me here?" Franky asked. "As far as evil plots go, I've seen better."

"Still can't hear you. And it's not as if you can do anything while you're in that web."

"Well...technically my head is still free…" Franky speculated. "Fresh Fire!" He exhaled a stream of fire at the webbing, instantly setting it ablaze. Within seconds, the web burned away, leaving Franky to run around aimlessly.

"Ow ow ow! Hot! That's SUPER hot!" he shouted, before turning his attention back to the shocked Tararan.

"Now! Time to end this! Weapons Left!" Tararan screamed in pain as the projectiles collided with his face, but was granted no reprieve. "Strong Right!" He was then sent hurtling away into the trees, which ceased his momentum painfully. Franky wasn't finished. "And...Coup de Vent!" The air cannon hit him hard enough to send him through the trees, off Thriller Bark, and into the ocean, where he was purified like his followers, leaving Franky to strike a victory pose.

"Man, that fight was way too easy. Now, to find the others."

Robin leapt out of the way as another ghost flew at her, but was still singed by the resulting explosion. She collided with the ground painfully, but quickly righted herself. She had learned the hard way that these specters could do a lot more than just spread negativity, nearly getting blown apart in the process. She was covered in bruises from head to toe as a result of the prolonged fight.

Although Perona's attacks were nothing to scoff at, Robin's main issue with this ability was that it seemingly granted its user intangibility, rendering her attacks completely ineffective. It wasn't even the same type of "invincibility" as the logias—she could bloom body parts on most logia users, even if it wasn't exactly the wisest idea. But she couldn't even establish a base on Perona. It was like trying to bloom body parts out of an empty void, like the girl wasn't even there. At the rate things were going, pieces of her body were going to end up all over the place, with no help needed from the Hana Hana no Mi.

Not the time, Robin. Calm down...assess the situation.

She quickly went over what else she knew. Perona was a user of the Horo Horo no Mi. She'd ascertained as much rather soon going into this fight. That fruit was a Paramecia, so it shouldn't provide any level of intangibility, much less this degree of it. So despite the spectral nature of the Devil Fruit, its class ruled out intangibility by default.

What did that leave? Dimensional manipulation? That had little to do with ghosts, so...no. Wait…

Ghosts. What was a ghost? The spirit of a deceased entity. But Perona wasn't dead, as far as she knew. Unless her power operated similarly to Brook's and stayed with the user after death, which was exceedingly rare…

Then the spirit would have to be separate from the body.

Astral projection. The real Perona was never here.

...Hopefully? Oh well, it was worth a shot.

"Are you done running yet, bipolar bitch?" Perona taunted, confident in her victory.

Bipolar…? That's a new one. Not to mention off the mark. Then again, Demonspawn was never that accurate either.

"You would run too...if you were being chased around by a face that ugly," Robin replied neutrally.

As Perona sat sobbing with her knees against her chest, Robin blinked slowly.

I honestly didn't think that would work again.

Making full use of the reprieve, she closed her eyes. "Mil Fleur...Ojo Millenio!" Thousands of eyes sprouted all over Thriller Bark, in every room, behind every wall, around every corner. One such eye soon found what it was looking for: a sleeping Perona on a bed in a room that looked like it belonged to a five year old.

It feels good to be right.

Quickly sprouting six arms from afar around the girl's unmoving form, Robin performed a fast and efficient clutch, putting the girl out of commission. The projection in front of her froze, before its eyes glazed over and it went slack. It soon dissipated completely.

"Well, that could have gone worse. I wonder how the others are faring?"

"SHITTY-FACED PIECE OF $)!(^ !&$% &!)*!&)*%^#&!)RQ#)^&!" Sanji roared, accentuating every swear that came out from his sailor's mouth with at least 10 kicks. At the receiving end of his heel was a bloody and beaten Absalom, his wrist bazookas crushed and discarded on the ground next to him. For all his physical fortitude, the best-man could barely stand. He'd spent the last 10 minutes fruitlessly attempting to ward off Black Leg Sanji's onslaught as the chef swore bloody murder at him.

Absalom was no stranger to hostility. In many circumstances, he'd come to expect it. He was the subordinate of a Warlord, after all. But this...this was something else, something beyond what one would show to even an enemy.

This was a personal vendetta.

Gritting his teeth through the pain, he turned invisible and attempted to flee for what had to be the fifth time, only for the chef to effortlessly follow, as if he could see him perfectly.

Every time he attempted this, he would be kicked even harder.

Have to...get out of here...this guy's insane!

After a particularly brutal axe kick imbedded his skull into the ground, he stood up and roared angrily, despite the blood flowing from his face.

"You! What the hell is your problem!? Even I can tell you could have ended this fight already, and yet you're just causing as much pain as possible! What kind of monster are you!? What do you have against me anyway!?"

"Shut up, you piece of shit! I have nothing against you—women's bath! Petty grudges are beneath me—women's bath! I'm doing this for the sake of my crew—women's bath!" Sanji shouted, the bloodthirsty look on his face offering little credibility to his disjointed claim.

Absalom's jaw was unhinged. That made no sense at all! This guy...he really is insane! I'm fighting a mentally unstable person! And losing!

Just as Sanji was about to finish the fight, a large figure leapt out of the trees and swung at Sanji, who effortlessly dodged.

"Lola!?" Absalom shouted. Great, just what I needed...another crazy person!"

"You bastard!" The warthog zombie screamed. "How dare you do this to Absalom-sama! What did he ever do to you!?"

Sanji seemed to calm down as he was faced with a member of the opposite sex. Regardless of trivial classifications such as alive or dead, this thing before him was a woman, and it would be bad form to show the depths of his rage in front of her.

"He didn't to anything," Sanji replied calmly. "Like I said, it's nothing personal...women's bath."

Lola was even further incensed by the nonsensical explanation, and charged at Sanji with a vengeance. The chef continued to dodge with little difficulty, but didn't retaliate as Absalom took the chance to vanish and sneak away.

In the rubble of what was once recognizable as Hogback's mansion, two swordsmen continued their duel.

Zoro had yet to receive a single scratch. That was more than could be said for Ryuma, who was covered in blade wounds all over. If he was still alive, he would have no doubt bled out by now.

"Roronoa Zoro...your actions confuse me," the zombie stated. "You are clearly the far superior swordsmen, and yet you have yet to finish this duel. Did you not wish to to take revenge for your fallen comrade, my shadows previous owner? Why do you delay the end result?"

"I wouldn't be satisfied fighting you at this level," Zoro retorted, causing Ryuma's eyes to narrow. "If I'm going to slay you, I want to face you at your best first."

"Your words are empty, designed to insult my integrity and nothing else," Ryuma sneered. "I have been going all out since our duel started."

"I disagree," Zoro said dully. "I can sense it...the breath of the warrior that has long been silenced, only to pulse once more beneath the suffocating presence of foreign sovereignty. Just as swords embody the will of their wielders, so too does the body carry the will of its original bearer. That medium that you occupy, without the slightest regard for the legend that once embodied it, the weight of the name that you now go by...it still carries an echo of the man it once belonged to."

Zoro dashed forward again, and as their swords clashed once more, Ryuma let the words wash over him. He was swayed by stirrings deep within, beyond his own comprehension.

What is this? Why do I feel this way? It is not my place to contemplate the life that these hands once built, the ground that these legs once walked. I am simply Moria-sama's soldier, destined to carry out his will. So then why…?

As the steel of Zoro's swords gleamed in the light, Ryuma's eyes widened.

Why do the words of this man move me so?

Compelled by forces he could not fathom, Ryuma centered himself and attempted to remember his previous life as the Dragon Slayer.

He couldn't. It was as if a barrier existed to prevent his consciousness from crossing the divide to his past life. Of course. Although he had never tried this before, he knew instinctively that Moria-sama's will would deter him from such independent endeavors. It was the very nature of his existence.

So why was he so disappointed?

"No luck, huh?" Zoro spoke up, breaking Ryuma out of his thoughts. "I guess it won't be that easy. I figured as much. In order to feel that echo, you'll have to walk the border between life and death that your entire state of being is dependent upon." His face broke out into a feral grin. "I hope for your sake that I'm right…"

Zoro raised one blade into the air, and if Ryuma had a heartbeat, he would have sworn it was pulsing in his ears.

He was just a mass of reanimated organic matter with no independent will of its own. So why, when faced with the end of his being at the end of this man's blade, did he suddenly feel so alive?

For this artificial consciousness to leave him without ever discovering the echo that this man had preached of, that felt so close, and for the first time, so attainable...at the moment, he couldn't think of a more dissatisfying end.

As Roronoa Zoro's blade drew closer to his neck, time slowed down for Ryuma. When it was just inches away, something in his makeshift mind shattered.

He felt like a puppet with its strings cut, who had just discovered it could move on its own all along.

Zoro's blade was caught on Shusui, the killing strike stopped dead in its tracks. Amidst the silence that followed, the Straw Hat swordsman's face was unreadable, until finally, a mad grin manifested on his visage.

Ryuma's aura spiked. Shusui's steel blackened to obsidian.

"I have much to thank you for, Roronoa Zoro," he spoke with a far more dignified air. "As reward, I promise a duel to be remembered for the rest of your days...assuming you survive."

The two separated, jumping back to survey each other.

"Forgive me...I never did introduced myself, did I?" Ryuma chuckled. "I fully blame Moria for that lack of conduct. You may refer to me as Dragon Slayer Ryuma...Samurai of Wano."