Shimotsuki Ryuma

Shimotsuki Ryuma was a legendary, world-famous samurai hailing from the Shimotsuki Family of Wano Country, who lived during Wano's "Country of Gold" era centuries ago. He was revered for his mastery of swordsmanship that earned him the title Sword God, as well as his feat of slaying a dragon. He is the direct ancestor of Shimotsuki Ushimaru and Roronoa Zoro.
23 years before the current storyline, Ryuma's consecrated grave in Ringo was ransacked and both his corpse and sword were stolen by Gecko Moria. Eventually, his corpse was reanimated by Brook's shadow and turned into a zombie to serve Moria on Thriller Bark, until it was destroyed by Zoro himself in a sword duel.
He is the same Ryuma from Oda's one-shot Monsters and its anime adaptation, Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation. 
==Appearance==
Ryuma was a man of average height. He possessed black hair which was tied in the end with a topknot. He also wore a simple khaki samurai gi and simple zōri sandals. Later in life, he became a one-eyed swordsman, gaining a scar across his left eye. In Monsters, he bore a strong resemblance to his descendent Roronoa Zoro pre-timeskip, while his later appearance in life gave him a strong resemblance to Zoro's post-timeskip appearance. 
==Personality==
Ryuma followed a strict personal philosophy centered around justice and honor. Ryuma strongly believed that saving a life was a debt that must be repaid by those with virtue, and that repaying this debt was the way of a true swordsman. To this end, Ryuma would occasionally follow the request of someone he owed almost blindly, even when it contradicted his other beliefs. He also believed that a battle should be measured by what was protected instead of how much fame was gained.
As a swordsman, Ryuma had a peculiar habit: whenever someone touched their sword sheath with his, even by accident, Ryuma would immediately take this action as a form of challenge for a duel to the death. This behavior stems from Ryuma's belief that the sword is the swordsman. Despite his honorable intentions, this habit would get him into needless and bloody confrontations.
Ryuma, having heard the reputation of "King", hoped to one day fight against him. He believed that this King must hold a great "Warrior's Soul" and would make a worthy adversary. The irony, however, is that he himself was "King"; because the name, "King", was given to him by the people he saved, he unfortunately did not know it himself.
Ryuma also had poor money management skills. Because of this, Ryuma would often unfortunately find himself penniless and hungry for days.
==Abilities and Powers==
===Physical Abilities===
Ryuma possessed immense physical strength, as the force he applied in his swordsmanship allowed him to decapitate an enormous dragon with a single slash. He also cut a copper statue in half. Ryuma was also an extremely fast runner with high endurance, as he could sprint great distances, and could jump to and land safely from great heights. His physical prowess supplemented with his sword skills allowed him to sustain no injuries during his battle against the dragon.
===Swordsmanship===
Ryuma was well-regarded in Wano Country for his immense mastery of swordsmanship. At some point in time after his death, he came to be known as the in Wano, with his skills continuing to be regarded as legendary even centuries after his death.
Ryuma was a powerful swordsman whose swordplay resembled a mix of and . He could slice through copper, kill Cyrano (a first-rate swordsman), and an enormous dragon with little effort. He was renowned as the strongest swordsman of his time, and due to this as well as his strong belief in protecting others, Ryuma was also called "King," the swordsman who carries the world's greatest "Warrior's Soul".
===Weapons===
Ryuma's main weapon was Shusui, a katana which is one of the 21 Great Grade Swords among the Meito. Ryuma was powerful enough to be able to turn Shusui into a "Black Blade" as well, giving it a permanent black hue and making it significantly more durable. Due to its association with Ryuma, Shusui is considered the national treasure of Wano.
In the original Monsters manga, Ryuma wielded a sword with a different appearance from Shusui which more closely resembled Yubashiri. However, the ONA adaptation and colored manga version depicts him having Shusui during the storyline of "Monsters". Notably, certain sources consider this sword to be Shusui with an outdated design.
===Haki===
Ryuma possessed "Ryuo", another term for Armament Haki in Wano. Although his proficiency with it has not been revealed, after several battles wielding Shusui, he was able to use this Haki to forge it into a permanent Black Blade. In the ONA adaptation of Monsters, Ryuma appeared to have already turned Shusui into a Black Blade before the events of Monsters.
==History==
===Biography===
====Monsters====
Ryuma was born in Wano Country many centuries ago during its "Country of Gold" era. On one particular day, he was kicked out of a restaurant for being unable to pay for his meal. In another restaurant, a waitress, Flare, recognized the famous swordsman Cyrano, whom she claimed to have encountered before, but their conversation was interrupted by Ryuma staring through the window at Cyrano's meal with his stomach rumbling audibly. After Flare gave him something to eat, Ryuma explained that this had been his first meal in five days and offered his gratitude to the young waitress. When Cyrano left the restaurant, the sheath of his sword accidentally touched Ryuma's, which the samurai interpreted as a challenge for a duel due to his code of honor. After informing Cyrano of this and attacking him, Ryuma was surprised when Cyrano outmaneuvered him and declared that Ryuma had lost. Ryuma attempted to finish the duel regardless, but Flare told him to stop, which he complied with, to the shock of those watching.
Later on, Ryuma sat at the bar as the bartender recounted the story of Flare's hometown, which was burned down by a dragon, leaving Flare as the only survivor due to being rescued by Cyrano. After listening to her story, Ryuma stated that he had gained much respect for Flare and thought of her as a very brave girl. Ryuma also chatted with the bartender about "King", who was supposed to be the greatest swordsman alive, Ryuma expressed his intention of fighting "King" one day, since he believed "King" had the soul of a real fighter. After finishing his meal, Ryuma decided to continue traveling.
As he was walking down the street, Ryuma's sheath knocked against that of D.R. As Ryuma called the man out for touching his sword, D.R. cried out and accused Ryuma of stabbing him. Ryuma denied this, but the crowd turned against him, and D.R. further accused him of wanting the Dragon Horn in his possession. When D.R. blew the horn in order to summon a dragon and destroy the whole town, the surrounding crowd blamed Ryuma for their misfortune and was turning violent when Flare appeared. Much to Ryuma's surprise, she slapped him in the face and called him a murderer for causing the situation. While Ryuma still did not appear to comprehend the situation at all and refused to take responsibility, Cyrano appeared on the scene and confirmed that the horn was real before expressing his intention to fight the dragon on his own, despite Flare begging him not to.
After most of the town's inhabitants had fled, only Flare and Ryuma remained behind and talked in the restaurant. Ryuma did not understand why Flare was so frightened, since Cyrano was supposed to be a first-class swordsman, but Flare, haunted by her memories, stormed off in order to stop Cyrano, and Ryuma followed her outside. As he caught up with her and they began arguing again, Ryuma suddenly froze in shock and tried to prevent Flare from turning around. However, she ignored him, and turned to see Cyrano and D.R. looting the town.
As Ryuma and Flare listened from behind a building, they learned that Cyrano and D.R. were partners from the start and tricked Ryuma into taking the blame for the dragon, as well as being responsible for the attack that destroyed Flare's village seven years ago. Flare told Ryuma that staying any longer would be suicide, as a dragon had been summoned regardless and would still destroy the town, and begged him to immediately leave the town before returning to her house, where she broke down in tears. Ryuma, who followed her and witnessed her tears and screams from outside, ran off to confront Cyrano and D.R.
thumb|left|210px|Ryuma slays the dragon.
When he faced the two criminals, Ryuma explained that he knew someone who would knock his sheath against that of another warrior so thoughtlessly could not have a true fighter's soul. After mocking Ryuma, Cyrano attempted to attack him, only for Ryuma to kill him with one strike. D.R., frightened by this turn of events, pleaded for his life by offering Ryuma the Dragon Horn, which could stop the dragon from destroying the town, but Ryuma merely told him that he was not an inhabitant of this town before killing D.R. as well. As the dragon arrived, Ryuma jumped on top of a building to confront it, where he leaped into the air before decapitating the dragon with one powerful slash.
As Ryuma was leaving the town after the battle, he encountered Flare, whom he told to stop thinking about dying because he believed dying was not fun at all. When Flare asked him why she had never heard of him despite his strength, Ryuma merely stated that battles are measured by what one protects instead of how famous one becomes. Later on, as the inhabitants of the town returned to their houses, Flare learned from the bartender that Ryuma was actually the swordsman called "King", a name which was given to him by those he had saved, and that was believed to be the world's best swordsman. Meanwhile as Ryuma was walking he felt hungry and wondered if he should go back.
====Later Life and Death====
Not much is known about what happened to Ryuma afterwards. Sometime after slaying the dragon, he gained a scar across his left eye and thus lost sight in that eye. He would also have children at some point. He would die from an unspecified sickness at the age of 47.
===Postmortem===
Ryuma's corpse was laid to rest along with Shusui at the Northern Cemetery in Ringo. Due to Ringo's freezing cold climate, the corpse was perfectly preserved without rotting.
21 years before the start of the main series and centuries after Ryuma's death, the pirate Gecko Moria invaded Wano and profaned his grave, stealing both his corpse and Shusui, which left the whole country devastated. Five years before the start of the main series, Moria reanimated Ryuma's corpse with the shadow of the pirate swordsman Brook using the power of the Kage Kage no Mi, and the zombified Ryuma served him as one of his General Zombies. During the Thriller Bark Arc, the zombie Ryuma was defeated in a duel by his own descendant Roronoa Zoro and his body was burned to ashes; before disintegrating, he made the decision to bestow Shusui to Zoro.
===Legacy===
The tale of his fight against the dragon became legendary and was passed down the generations. This tale also led to the whole world becoming aware of the power of Wano Country and their samurai, as Ryuma supposedly led the country's samurai in defending it from many threats from the outside world due to the country's resources, causing both himself and his sword Shusui to be declared national treasures. After his many battles, his sword Shusui eventually turned into a "Black Blade", and around the time of his death, Ryuma was bestowed the title of "Sword God", with his corpse still retaining its status as one of Wano's national treasures. Even up to the present, people still remember him as "The Greatest Hero of Wano Country." When it was learned that both his body and blade were stolen, the Wano Country fell into a major uproar.
Many others have heard of Ryuma's legendary sword and have taken notice to Zoro's possession of it. These included the sword-enthusiast Tashigi and the samurai Kin'emon; the latter attacking Zoro under the belief that Zoro was the thief. When Zoro traveled to the Wano Country, the sword was then stolen from him by Onimaru, who then returned the famed blade back to Ryuma's original resting place. Zoro intended to get it back in preparation for the final battle against Kaidou, but Kouzuki Hiyori was able to persuade him to leave it where it was in exchange for one of her father's swords.
Monkey D. Luffy's defeat of Kaidou which liberated Wano earned him, as "Joy Boy", a hero status rivaling that of Ryuma's.
==Major Battles==
*Shimotsuki Ryuma vs. Cyrano (1st battle)
*Shimotsuki Ryuma vs. Cyrano (2nd battle)
*Shimotsuki Ryuma vs. D.R.
*Shimotsuki Ryuma vs. The Dragon
==Trivia==
*"Shimotsuki" is the Japanese name for the month of , which is when Ryuma was born.
==References==
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