Chapter 462

Four of Perona's Negative Hollows are sent into Usopp, who is meant to lose his will to keep going. The trick rebounds: rather than break him, the phantoms soak up so much despair that they themselves turn gloomy, and the watching Wild Zombies are left dumbfounded. Soon it dawns on them that Perona has gone negative too. Usopp jeers, daring anyone present to outdo his bottomless pessimism. A short distance away, Franky, Sanji, and Zoro sprint clear of a chasing pack, joking that their friend's misery has finally proven handy. Sanji splits off and drops down toward the cathedral to keep Absalom from claiming Nami, while the other two head for the castle.

There Ryuma has already floored Brook, comparing his refusal to stay down to a phoenix and naming the strike he plans to finish with. Brook protests that the title belongs to a fast-cutting move his Rumbar crewmates once praised, since his memory-wiped shadow has no claim to it. Goaded into showing his real swordsmanship, Brook rises, and the two pass each other calling the same technique at once, yet Ryuma cuts first and wins. As Brook drops, his mind fills with Laboon and an unspoken apology. A sudden tremor shakes the island loose from Ryuma's grip on the afro he meant to lop off. Franky and Zoro reach the lab; Zoro parries Ryuma's next blow and recognizes him as the legendary samurai who is said to have cut down a dragon. Eyeing Ryuma's weapon, a celebrated blade ranked among the finest twenty-one, Zoro sets his heart on winning it after losing one of his own at Enies Lobby.

Up in the cathedral, the heaving floor keeps spoiling Absalom's attempt to kiss Nami. He discovers that Oars has grabbed the rudder on his own and steered into a freak current. The General Zombies are dispatched to stop the giant, but Oars batters them aside while imitating Luffy's gatling barrage, roaring at them not to spoil his adventure. Told that his supposedly ultimate fighters fell at once, Absalom cannot accept it. Sanji then storms in calling for Nami, relieved to find her unhurt, and Absalom asks whether he sails with the Straw Hats. By the end, Perona's hollows have caved to Usopp's gloom, the whole General Zombie unit lies wrecked, and Zoro opens his fight with Ryuma over both the sword and Brook's shadow.