"After all, Shirogai possesses the ability of the Imitation Fruit we saw from that Okama in the Alabasta Kingdom, so transforming into someone else is completely normal," Zoro said with a faint smile.
From the moment news spread that a participant in the Marine World Draft possessed the power of the Goro Goro no Mi, Zoro had already guessed the truth.
Aside from Enel, whom Shirogai had hidden away somewhere, the only other person capable of using the Rumble Rumble Fruit's lightning was Shirogai himself.
"Hah... so it really is Shirogai."
Usopp stared carefully, still hanging upside down.
"But seeing Shirogai this tall still feels strange. And lately his reputation keeps growing. A lot of pirates even worship him now. Eh..."
Usopp suddenly paused.
Something felt wrong.
"No, wait a second!"
Still dangling from the tree, Usopp glared angrily at Zoro while waving his remaining arm wildly.
"You moss headed swordsman! Why are you standing there talking? Hurry up and get me down already!"
Zoro glanced at his overly energetic sniper.
Any concern he previously felt about Usopp losing an arm instantly disappeared.
As expected, the idiots aboard their ship possessed absurdly strong spirits. Injuries that would break ordinary people barely slowed them down.
A flash of cold steel appeared.
Slash.
The rope snapped.
Thud!
Usopp crashed onto the ground before bouncing up with a shout. He immediately smacked Zoro on the head with his left hand.
"Be gentle! Can't you see I lost an arm? You should treat injured people carefully!"
Zoro calmly sheathed Yubashiri and spoke casually.
"Where did you lose it?"
Usopp glanced toward a small girl among the refugees crouching nearby and smiled.
"I lost it saving that kid. A user of the Mantis Fruit took it, but I managed to cripple his leg too."
"I see."
"Yeah."
Silence followed.
Neither man exaggerated the matter.
Zoro did not offer sympathy, and Usopp did not glorify his sacrifice.
Between men, words were unnecessary.
If someone wanted to boast, the other would listen. If not, understanding alone was enough.
Electricity suddenly crackled across the battlefield.
"Aaaah!"
Lightning rained down relentlessly. Fully armored soldiers convulsed as powerful currents surged through them, leaving their bodies smoking as they collapsed unconscious.
"Done."
Admiral Cero clapped lightly and began walking toward Zoro and Usopp with a relaxed smile.
"You... who exactly are you?!"
Count Holmes trembled atop his frightened white horse, fear filling his eyes as he stared at the terrifying Devil Fruit user.
"Oh right, I almost forgot about you."
Cero smiled gently and snapped his fingers.
Crack!
A silver white bolt of lightning descended instantly.
Boom!
Smoke rose into the air as Count Holmes and his horse collapsed together, completely incapacitated.
Usopp gulped.
"So many people knocked out instantly... this version of Shirogai feels way too ruthless!"
He hurried behind Zoro, speaking nervously.
"The Shirogai I know isn't this brutal!"
Zoro glanced sideways.
"The real Shirogai would be worse. They would already be dead. Shirogai has never been soft toward enemies."
Usopp thought about it carefully.
"That... actually sounds right."
Shirogai treated companions with surprising kindness.
But toward enemies, his presence alone crushed resistance. From an opponent's perspective, he was terrifying.
"Usopp, did you mess up again and lose control?" Cero asked teasingly.
Usopp coughed awkwardly.
"I am still not used to that face of yours."
He scratched his cheek before speaking hopefully.
"Shirogai, can you use that revival ability to heal me?"
"Of course," Cero replied with a grin. "We are comrades."
He closed his eyes, transmitting the request through mental resonance to the original body far away.
Far beneath the sea, at Fish Man Island.
Inside the Ryugu Kingdom, Shirogai was speaking with Prince Fukaboshi when he suddenly smiled.
"Give me a moment. I will return shortly."
Before anyone could react, his figure vanished instantly.
Prince Fukaboshi blinked in confusion.
He looked toward Luffy wandering around casually, then toward Nami who showed no surprise at all, and finally toward Sanji spinning excitedly among the mermaids like an infatuated bee.
Apparently, this kind of disappearance was normal for them.
Perhaps he was simply inexperienced.
A moment later.
Swish.
A figure appeared beside Zoro and Usopp.
"Yo, Zoro, Usopp. Long time no see."
Shirogai smiled calmly.
"Shirogai!"
The moment Usopp saw him, all unfamiliarity vanished.
This was the Shirogai he remembered.
"I missed you so much!" Usopp shouted as he rushed forward and hugged him tightly. "That tyrant Kuma sent me flying to a living island filled with carnivorous plants! Then I met my teacher Heracles and..."
Tears streamed down his face as he poured out everything that happened after they were separated.
"Alright, alright. Calm down."
Shirogai chuckled while patting his back patiently.
"And the worst part," Usopp continued angrily, "was that after I saved those people, they still tried to eat me!"
He instinctively raised his right arm to point at the refugees.
Then froze.
His eyes widened.
His right arm had returned.
"Wha... my hand!"
Usopp jumped back in shock, waving both arms wildly.
"My arm is back! It really came back!"
He immediately ran toward Zoro proudly.
"Look! Zoro! Look at this!"
"Move it away," Zoro said irritably as Usopp nearly shoved his hand into his face. "Are you trying to pick my nose?"
Zoro rested a hand on his sword with a dangerous grin.
"Want me to cut it off again?"
"I am sorry, Zoro san!"
Usopp instantly bowed in surrender.
Zoro clicked his tongue, speechless at how someone could be both cowardly and reckless at the same time.
Some things never changed.
"Heh."
Both Shirogai and Cero watched the interaction with faint smiles.
Titles like strongest or invincible meant little.
Having companions beside you mattered far more.
"Oh right, Usopp," Shirogai said casually. "Do you want a Devil Fruit ability?"
Usopp froze.
"For... me?"
Shirogai nodded.
"I prepared three abilities suitable for you. Choose whichever you like."
Usopp's eyes sparkled instantly.
He had secretly envied Nami ever since she gained her Devil Fruit power. The thought of obtaining one himself had crossed his mind countless times.
"The first is the Pop Pop Fruit," Shirogai explained. "It allows your body to inflate and explode, or cause inorganic objects you touch to expand and detonate."
Shirogai raised his arm toward the sky.
His arm suddenly expanded before detonating outward.
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted high above, shocking the refugees below into trembling silence.
"S so amazing!"
Usopp stared upward in complete shock, nose running as excitement overwhelmed him.
---