Chapters · Thriller Bark › Thriller Bark

Chapter 467: Pirate Zolo vs. Samurai Ryuma

Arc: Thriller Bark · Saga: Thriller Bark · Released:

Summary

Zoro and the zombie general Ryuma — the corpse of a legendary Wano samurai, animated by Brook’s stolen shadow — trade projected slashes through the stone walls of Thriller Bark, each landing simultaneously and matching the other blow for blow. Brook reasons that because the swordsman’s living body and mind persist in the zombie, the two are “the same kinds of swordsmen with the same kind of power,” and the match should end soon. The duel escalates across named techniques (Ryuma’s French-flavoured Gavotte Bond en Avant, Polka Remise, Prelude au Fer; Zoro’s Two-Sword Style: Castle Gate and Seventy-Two Pound Phoenix), collapsing a pillar and roof and chasing the pair out onto the castle’s conical tower-tops, where they fight on bad footing without missing a beat. Brook frets his blades may break against such a foe. The clash resolves in a single mirrored iaido exchange — Zoro’s One-Sword Style: Flying Dragon Blaze against Ryuma’s draw — and Zoro’s cut wins: the wound bursts into flame. Beaten, Ryuma names his blade Shusui, declares it satisfied to have a worthy master, and concedes; the stolen shadow tears free and snaps back to Brook (“My shadow is back!!”). Zoro salutes the fallen samurai (“a true swordsman in mind and body… I wish I could have seen you in your prime”), claims Shusui for himself, and — with a grin — proposes they “pretend this fight never happened.”

New reveals

• Zoro defeats the zombie Ryuma in a duel of perfectly mirrored swordsmen; his finishing one-sword draw leaves a wound that catches fire (pp. 13-16).
• The black blade is named: SHUSUI. Ryuma addresses the sword by name and entrusts it to Zoro as its new master; Zoro keeps it (pp. 17, 20).
• Ryuma = “Samurai of the Wano Country” — first on-page link of the legendary swordsman and his blade to Wano (p. 20).
• Brook’s shadow returns to him the instant Ryuma is beaten — the stolen-shadow possession ends (pp. 18-19).
• Brook fought a holding-back Ryuma: the samurai “never gave it his all” against Brook; the body retains the dead swordsman’s full skill (pp. 11, 18).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters (shown): Zoro (vs Ryuma), Ryuma (zombie samurai, defeated), Brook (shadow owner / onlooker, restored), Franky, Usopp, Tony Tony Chopper (onlookers)
• Characters (mentioned / cover only): Enel (cover story)
• Groups: Straw Hat Pirates
• Locations: Thriller Bark (the Mast Mansion / castle tower-tops)
• World-Building: Wano Country (named on p. 20)
• Named blade: Shusui (recorded on Zoro and Shusui Black Blade O Wazamono Named At Thriller Bark)
• Named techniques: Ryuma — Gavotte Bond en Avant, Polka Remise, Prelude au Fer, Nigiri, Demon Bear, Flash; Zoro — Two-Sword Style: Castle Gate, Seventy-Two Pound Phoenix, One-Sword Style: Flying Dragon Blaze

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title splash + cover-story art: Enel’s Great Space Mission, Vol. 32 — “Attack the City First, Ask Questions Later” (VIZ on-page spelling “Eneru”); Enel amid the Spacey automata of a moon-city.
• Page 2-3 — The mirror-match established: both swordsmen project slashes through the walls and land hits at the same instant; Brook explains the two are “the same kinds of swordsmen, with the same kind of power.”
• Page 6 — Zoro: “Unsheathing style… Two-Sword Style… Castle Gate!!!” — he blocks Ryuma’s blow.
• Page 7-8 — A pillar and the roof collapse; “Seventy-Two Pound Phoenix!!”; the pair flee the falling mansion.
• Page 9-11 — The duel moves onto the castle’s conical tower-tops; both fight flawlessly on treacherous footing; Brook worries his swords will break against a foe in whom “that legendary swordsman lives on.”
• Page 13-15 — Climactic iaido exchange: Zoro “One-Sword Style!! Flying Dragon… Three-Pace… Hum…” vs Ryuma’s draw; “Blaze!!!!”
• Page 16 — Aftermath: “The wound is catching fire?!” — Zoro’s cut wins.
• Page 17 — Ryuma concedes and names the blade: “Shusui!! With you as its master, this blade will surely be satisfied.”
• Page 18-19 — The shadow tears free (“Sizzz… Vwoop”) and returns to Brook: “It’s back! My shadow is back!!”
• Page 20 — Zoro shoulders Shusui: ”…Samurai of the Wano Country!!! The sword is mine to keep!! But let’s pretend this fight never happened…”
• Page 20 (final / p.166) — SBS Question Corner page bundled into the scan: Devil-Fruit “models” are actually different fruits (Lassoo’s Dachshund vs Jabra’s Wolf; Dalton’s Bison vs Kaku’s Giraffe Ox-types), a teased upcoming scholar “who will explain what the Devil Fruits are,” a re-affirmation that “no two powers exist at the same time,” and the Color Walk 2 “Yurusumaji Mask” snake-man gag (in the employ of the “Tomato Gang”). (SBS — DEFER to SBS specialist.)

Open questions raised

• What is Wano Country, and why are its samurai and swords legendary on a world scale?
• What grade/lineage is Shusui, and what does owning a famous black blade mean for Zoro’s path to surpassing Mihawk?
• Now that Brook has his shadow back, is he free to leave Thriller Bark / repay his debt to the crew?