Ocean waves lazily crashed onto the shore, leaving wet traces on the sand while burying countless tiny tidepool creatures in their wake.
Groaning, a young man with his hair tied back in a neat ponytail slowly hauled himself up, dripping with wet, golden sand.
"Well, this is weird... Where on earth am I?"
He whacked the side of his head to clear the fog, but the moment he stood up, he froze solid.
In front of him was an endless blue ocean under a sky of fluffy white clouds. Below his feet was a drop so steep it featured a hundred-meter waterfall.
Ding! Congratulations, Host! The Swordmaster System has been activated!
Name: Ryuma
Class: Swordsman
Beli: 0
Age: 20
Identity: Grand Swordsman of Wano Country
Skills: None
Haki: Armament
...
Ryuma stared at the scrolling text, completely dumbfounded.
Was he the Ryuma from Earth, or was he... the legendary Ryuma of Wano Country?
He racked his brain. Right before waking up here, he had been pulling an insane overtime shift at work, collapsed, and then heard the muffled wailing of his relatives. His previous life had ended just like that.
Who would've guessed he'd transmigrate right into Wano Country—and as the legendary Grand Swordsman himself?
Ryuma let out a dry, sarcastic laugh. "Man, talk about bad luck... Of all the bodies to land in, why did it have to be a corpse? Wouldn't I just fall apart the second I take a step?"
According to his knowledge, the historical Ryuma was reduced to nothing more than a creepy pile of bones. Forget fighting—just living day-to-day would be a total nightmare. He definitely didn't sign up to become Brook 2.0.
He instinctively held up his hands, expecting to see bare skeleton fingers, but instead found smooth, healthy skin. Judging by his hands, this body was indeed around twenty years old, completely free of age wrinkles.
"System, did you patch up this body?" Ryuma tested carefully.
Ding! That is correct, Host. This body has been restored by the system. Your physical strength and bodily functions are identical to Grand Swordsman Ryuma in his prime. How much of that potential you can tap into depends entirely on your own talent. The system's voice sounded completely artificial, like a bargain-bin robot.
"So that's how it is," Ryuma muttered.
He had merged into one with the legendary swordsman. The original Ryuma's memories flooded his mind like a cascade of falling stars, setting up shop in his brain.
In this world, monsters roamed everywhere. The real top-tier fighters could punch through mountains and level an entire city with a single kick. Even though he was technically Ryuma himself now, without real combat skills, he'd end up as shark bait in no time.
Ding! Host has received one free lucky draw. Would you like to spin?
"Spin it! Only an idiot turns down free stuff," Ryuma blurted out. "What kind of loot can I get from this?"
Rewards include various Devil Fruits, skills, meito swords, Haki types, and combat techniques, the system answered mechanically.
"Gimme, gimme, gimme!" Ryuma urged.
Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have mastered "God Slaying hundred Dragon Slash"!
Before Ryuma could even joke about the over-the-top name, a loud buzz echoed in his skull, and the exact physical mechanics of the technique were instantly branded into his memory.
"Okay, now that's surprisingly convenient," Ryuma chuckled.
He had assumed he'd just get a lengthy training manual, but the system straight up handed him the finished product.
He was just about to give the new move a spin when he realized something was horribly wrong.
His hands were completely empty.
"Wait a second... If I'm supposed to be a Grand Swordsman, where's my blade?"
If memory served, Ryuma carried the legendary Great Grade blade, Shusui. It was a heavy, deeply curved black blade with an extra long edge—one of the famed 21 Great Grade Blades.
Zoro once mentioned that even if a dinosaur stomped on it, the blade wouldn't bend a single millimeter. Unyielding hardness was the trademark of a true Black Blade.
Since this was Wano Country, Ryuma's grave had to be somewhere nearby.
Even though he was a national hero here, he had been dead for centuries. His image was painted all over the country, sure, but a stylized portrait always differed from the real person.
Relying on his newly merged memories, he set off on foot.
Ryuma's grave sat near the coast on the southern edge of Wano.
When he finally arrived at the site, he spotted a massive tombstone carved with the words: Swordmaster Ryuma, Immortalized in History.
Right beneath the stone, a massive hole had been freshly excavated.
"Huh? Which shameless jerk dug up my grave?!" Ryuma fumed. But on second thought, at least it saved him the trouble of shoveling the dirt himself.
He turned around and noticed a gigantic black castle sitting nearby.
The castle was draped in thick, swirling fog, but it didn't look magical at all—it looked straight out of a horror movie.
Wait... Was that Gecko Moria's ship?
He recalled from One Piece lore that Gecko Moria had suffered a brutal defeat by Kaido somewhere in Wano.
Which meant... Luffy probably hadn't even set sail yet!
He shook his head to clear out the timeline confusion.
His original corpse was supposed to be stolen during this exact period, only to end up in the Florian Triangle powered by Brook's shadow.
That bastard, Ryuma thought, his veins bulging on his forehead. Did Moria get his tail kicked by Kaido and decide to go grave-robbing for cheap thrills?
Since Moria had just been pulverized by Kaido, he probably wasn't digging around in the dirt personally. The ones inside were almost certainly his minions.
Ryuma slipped quietly into the tomb. Near the entrance, two samurai guards lay unconscious on the ground—Wano soldiers knocked out by Moria's crew.
Moving deeper into the chamber, he heard two voices squabbling up ahead.
He peeked around the corner and confirmed his hunch: Moria wasn't here. Standing right in front of the open coffin were two of his top lieutenants.
Absalom and Hogback.
Absalom was the bipedal lion guy wearing a blue cap, though his snout and jaw were actually transplanted onto his human face by Hogback, making him an augmented human rather than a Mink. As the commander of the Zombie Soldiers, he held the Clear-Clear Fruit, allowing him to turn invisible along with anything he touched.
Hogback looked even weirder, dressed in full-body fishnet stockings like a total creep. He wasn't a tactical commander, but his status allowed him to pick and choose any zombies he wanted directly from Moria. He was a genius surgeon, sure, but he spent his free time defiling corpses for profit, firmly believing money trumped saving lives. A real piece of work.
"Strange... Where the hell is Ryuma's body?" Absalom grumbled, kicking the decayed coffin in frustration. "What a complete waste of time!"
"Tell me about it," Hogback whined. "Hmph! If I had found his body, I would've had a blast experimenting on it!"
Ryuma watched from the shadows, his blood boiling. Yet, he held his ground and didn't rush out.
Going in unarmed against those two meant getting turned into target practice, plain and simple. After all, these two had given Luffy's crew a serious run for their money back in the story.
His eyes scanned the room until he spotted a small black box lying right beneath their feet.
The box looked ancient, carved with faded patterns that had degraded over time, revealing the exposed hilt of a sword protruding from the side.
Ryuma's eyes narrowed instantly.