Even though I didn't plan it this way, it turned out to be the perfect time to spend 4 days hiking through the chaparral and along the coastline, because that meant there were no opportunities to peek at the spoiler thread before I read the chapter – which meant that the second half of the chapter got me good …
@boiga:
Uh oh… Dinty's not gonna like it that Zoro's lost already....
It upset me at first, but now I'm taking a longer view, and it's fine. (I can see a few ways in which this will serve the plot better then a clean win would… 
). I mean, it's always upsetting to see a favorite character get hammered so soon, but at the same time, it's exhilarating to know that the enemy is strong enough and clever enough to cause trouble for even the strongest guys on the crew.
As someone said previously in this thread (I forgot who though, sorry!) this is Zoro's first taste of New World swordsmanship -- and if Ryuma was the "Mihawk" of his era, then it stands to follow that he's not going to be any easier to fight than Mihawk was.
Just like Rai, I felt somewhat suspicious about the order of the pages. The ending just seems too abrupt to be intentional, but I can't come up with an alternate arrangement of pages that would make more sense, so I guess I'll just have to accept it "as is" until I can verify the order in SJ or the tanko.
We're in the middle of a flashback -- so next chapter, we should see the move that launched Zoro through the roof of the tower. I have a feeling it's the Cannon move that Ryuma first used on Team Usopp in the lab, because that was a move that cut metal and wood, and that sent all three flying -- but unharmed -- towards Hogback. I don't see the sorts of injuries on Zoro's body that I'd expect to see from one of those pistol-like "Thrust" moves that Brook was talking about. Also, there's a cannon-like gash across the tower just beneath the roof. (Though it looks like they were dueling on the top of the roof when Zoro was pushed off, so my theory may be wrong...)
And though Ryuma sent Team Usopp unharmed through the door of the lab, it's highly unlikely that he'd spare Zoro from harm. There's plenty of evidence : Kitetsu is missing, blood is in the air above him as he falls, and --perhaps most importantly -- Zoro drops Wado ... (What an eerie pic that was, with the sword so close it almost appeared to be impaling him). If anything, that's the best indicator of how "gone" Zoro is: that he can't grip his prized sword solidly enough to keep it from launching out of his hand on impact with the roof.
I don't think Zoro is out for good -- but, I do think it will take him a few chapters to revive (a good opportunity for us to see Robin and Choppy in action ...). And when he revives, Brook and Franky may have already stepped in to fight. So Ryuma could be anyone's battle after this. But if Zoro has a strong desire to take that sword, then he's got to make it "his" battle again eventually. Pride won't let him have that sword any other way.
About the chapter title : (as Stephen translated it) "Finish" -- I love this. So many different ways to interpret it.
"Finish" as in "That's all folks!"
"Finish" as in "To complete something or make it whole"
"Finish" as in "A surface treatment that adds extra refinement", etc
I'm such a word geek...
EDIT :
Aegue -- great spot!
So now we always know which body is her real one, and which is an astral projection or ghost.
it seems, he pushed a button, in any case he did something.
. I thought gold was for 10 years, it was for 50 years instead.
