"Damn, he flew really far."
Zoro squinted from the deck as he gazed into the distance. "That direction... seems to be where Nami and the others went earlier."
If he remembered correctly, Nami's group had indeed departed in that direction.
"Yes, it's definitely that way," Nico Robin chuckled before turning to the two who had just returned to the ship. "Did you really just kill him outright?"
"Weren't you going to extract some information first?"
"Ask this guy about that," Meiser said irritably, shooting Sanji a look. "I was planning to knock him out first and restrain him, but this idiot hit so hard he kicked the guy halfway across the island with a single strike."
That terrifying attack might have actually killed the guy.
At the time, Meiser could've sworn he smelled roasting meat—though he wasn't sure if that was just his imagination.
"Sorry..."
Sanji, now that he'd vented his anger, apologized sincerely.
There was no helping it—the feeling of having his dreams trampled on was unbearable. He couldn't hold back even a little.
So the moment the target broke free from control, Sanji had immediately begun charging his Devil Wind Leg.
"Vented your anger?"
"Yeah, I'm good now."
"Fine then."
Meiser nodded and didn't press further. He was heading in that direction to find Nami's group anyway—he'd check whether the guy had been killed by that kick while he was at it.
If the target was still alive, he'd use his Sharingan to extract some intel.
"What's up with that leg technique?" Zoro pointed at Sanji's gradually cooling foot. "You were literally burning just now, weren't you?"
That heat wasn't just some visual effect—it was genuine, scorching temperature.
"Yeah, it's my special move—Devil Wind Leg," Sanji explained. "By spinning at high speed, I generate enough friction to superheat my legs. It boosts both attack speed and power exponentially."
This was the technique he'd developed during their earlier battles, the very move that allowed him to defeat that Cipher Pol 9 agent head-on at Enies Lobby.
"Did you eat a Devil Fruit or something?" Meiser asked, surprised.
"Nope."
"Then how are you heating your legs like that?" Meiser deadpanned. "You've gotta have some special bloodline or something, right?"
"That temperature was no joke—you literally cooked the guy's flesh."
He'd been meaning to ask earlier—when Sanji got pissed off, it looked like his whole body was about to combust.
Was this guy even human?
Sanji blinked, unconsciously recalling his origins—those so-called genetic modifications.
After a brief silence, he shook his head to dismiss the thought and grinned. "Don't overthink it. I'm just built different, I guess."
He flashed Meiser a thumbs-up at the end.
Meiser rolled his eyes. If Sanji didn't want to talk about it, fine—but did he have to brush it off with such a lame excuse?
"Hey, you two." Meiser glanced at Luffy and Franky, who were still sprawled on the deck. "Shouldn't you be done by now?"
"RAAAAH!!"
At his words, both men roared as they sprang to their feet, fists raised.
"That bastard!!"
Franky was absolutely furious. He was such a SUPER guy, yet he'd been made so depressed by the opponent's Devil Fruit powers that he didn't even want to be human anymore... He really wanted to punch someone!
"Hmm, seems like you've recovered well." Meiser nodded, then said, "I'll leave the ship to you guys. I need to go find Nami and the others."
After all this time, there hadn't been any other movements from that side, and Merry hadn't used the Reverse Summoning Technique to call him over either. So Meiser figured there probably wasn't any immediate danger.
"Alright!"
"Leave it to us." Luffy nodded.
With Meiser around, Nami and the others would be safe.
After watching Meiser stride away across the sea, Sanji turned to Luffy and the others and said, "Now it's our turn."
"Let's hurry and dock. We don't have Meiser's ability to walk on water."
The Mini Merry 2 had been taken by Nami and the others, and the small boat below had been punctured by his earlier attack, making it unusable. If they wanted to get ashore, the Thousand Sunny would have to dock.
"So envious..." Luffy said wistfully, staring at Meiser's retreating figure.
"Is this really the time to be thinking about that?!" Zoro snapped. "Get your head in the game, idiot!"
"O-okay..."
Luffy nodded dejectedly, but his eyes remained fixed on Meiser's back, as if imagining himself being able to do the same one day.
Zoro: "..."
"BOOM!"
Suddenly, the sea began to churn violently, tossing the Thousand Sunny about and making it impossible to steer.
"Is it because of the anchor?" Nico Robin frowned.
"Damn it, the rudder isn't responding!"
"Well, we're going ashore anyway, so it doesn't matter if we get washed up, right?" Luffy grinned.
Even if the pirate ship did end up on land, they wouldn't have to worry about it being unable to sail—Meiser's Water Release Technique could easily lift the Thousand Sunny back into the water!
"That may be true, but—" Before Franky could finish, he noticed an enormous spider web ahead.
"Look, there's a spider web!"
"Everyone, brace for impact!!"
Meanwhile, the four who had been chased by the modified Zombie Dog had taken refuge in a tree, barely escaping.
"Finally got away..." Usopp sighed in relief.
When he'd seen that Hell Cerberus earlier, he'd nearly wet himself. As soon as he'd snapped out of it, he'd immediately hoisted Merry onto his back and bolted, terrified of being caught by that monstrous thing.
"Was that really the Hell Cerberus you mentioned?" Merry whispered from Usopp's back.
"Uh... probably?" Usopp said uncertainly.
"Then why did one of its heads look like a fox?"
Usopp fell silent. How was he supposed to know? It looked like a Hell Cerberus, but one of its heads was a fox's.
"Maybe... that's just what Hell Cerberuses look like?" Nami guessed.
After all, none of them had ever seen one before. Who knew what they were really supposed to look like?
"Although I'm not sure if that thing is the so-called Hell Cerberus... I just feel something's off," Chopper said.
Under normal circumstances, even if a creature underwent genetic mutation and grew extra heads, those heads shouldn't belong to entirely different species.
Unless they were stitched on afterward—but how could that be possible?
Head transplantation surgery absolutely couldn't exist because a person would surely die once their head was removed!
"Ohohoho, it seems you're all quite curious about that creature~"
"Who's there?!"
At the sound of the voice behind them, goosebumps instantly rose on their skin, and a feeling called fear began to spread in their hearts.
Turning around, they saw what appeared to be a bat-like creature hanging from a tree, grinning at them.
"Ahhh!!"
"A ghost!!"
"Everyone, please don't panic," Hilton said with a chuckle. "I'm no ghost. My name is Hilton, a native of this island."
"I saw you being chased by wild dogs, so I quietly followed to check on you."
"Wild dogs...?" Usopp glanced back in the direction they'd come from. "So it wasn't a Hell Cerberus after all?"
That made sense. If it had truly been a mythical creature like that, the four of them would have been killed already.
"Quietly?" Nami's eyes immediately grew wary. "You're not some kind of villain, are you?"
"Ohohoho, of course not," Hilton laughed. "If you don't mind, please ride in my carriage and come with me to the castle for shelter."
"This forest becomes extremely dangerous at night. The only safe place is inside the castle."
"Castle?" Usopp frowned. "People actually live in a place like this?"
This didn't look like somewhere humans would inhabit.
"Indeed! Dr. Hogback's mansion lies just ahead!"
"Hogback?!"
Chopper's face instantly lit up with excitement, as though he'd just heard the name of his idol.
"Chopper?"
"You know this person?"
"Of course!" Chopper exclaimed. "Hogback is the most famous doctor in the world! Every doctor admires him!"
"So... we can meet Hogback here?"
A drop of sweat rolled down the back of Hilton's head. He hadn't expected them to take the bait so easily.
Was this guy actually a fan of Dr. Hogback?
"Ahahaha, yes! Just come with me to the mansion, and you'll see Dr. Hogback," Hilton said with a grin. "My carriage has arrived. Please follow me."
The group exchanged glances, their minds wrestling with indecision.
"Well... let's go take a look," Chopper said. "Meiser and the others will probably come find us soon anyway."
He was beyond excited at the prospect of meeting his idol—the greatest doctor in the world!!
Seeing Chopper's eager expression, Nami hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Alright, let's go."
They didn't have many other options.
If they tried to go back now, they might run into that terrifying three-headed dog again. It was better to follow this guy and ride the carriage to the castle.
At least...that doctor Chopper knows probably isn't a bad person...right?
After making their decision, the group wasted no time climbing down from the trees and following Hilton away by carriage.
Moments later, a man peeked out cautiously before sighing: "Another group heading for trouble..."
What good could come from being taken to the castle by Moria's subordinates?
Before long, their shadows would likely be mercilessly stolen by Moria, leaving them to live like ghosts in the darkness, unable to even touch sunlight.
"Enough looking. Captain Lola sent us to investigate that tremor earlier."
"But these people—"
"They seem weak. Most likely can't escape having their shadows taken."
"Right!" Another nodded. "Going out now might expose our position. Better wait until their shadows are stolen before rescuing them."
"Fine—"
The group quickly moved on, silently maneuvering past Zombie Trees and other obstacles toward the source of the tremor.
Staring at the massive crater, they wondered: "There should be something here. Where'd it go?"
Logically, something that could make such a hole wouldn't be small—so where was it?
"Could it be a zombie?!"
"You mean..." Echo said, "Someone defeated a zombie?!"
Their eyes lit up at this.
What was the purpose of risking their lives to come out here?
To find those capable of defeating zombies...or even Gekko Moria himself!
Whenever newcomers arrived on the island, they'd stealthily observe, ready to recruit any strong fighters against Moria.
Yet after all this time, no one had posed any real threat to Moria.
In fact...few could even defeat zombies.
"If that's really the case, then we—"
Before he could finish, distant zombie screams erupted.
"Monster...it's a monster!"
"Run! That human's a monster!"
"Stay away! He's terrifying!!"
"He's a demon, a demon!!"
Zombie Trees and strange zombie animals fled wildly as if pursued by some horrific beast.
Every zombie seemed to wish for eight legs, scrambling over each other in panic.
Some zombies spotted the group but didn't even pause, just kept running.
Clearly, they valued survival over capturing humans.
The sight made Echo's group shiver uncontrollably, teeth chattering.
"What...happened over there?"
"Not sure, but only two things cause this level of zombie panic." Echo swallowed hard. "Either an even stronger zombie appeared here..."
"Either... or there's a strong enough person among those who came here this time to make the zombies fear them!!"
The latter statement acted like a shot of adrenaline, forcefully suppressing the fear in their hearts.
"Let's go take a look," one of them said cautiously.
If it was the former, they could only count themselves unlucky and see if they could escape from the zombies' grasp.
But if it was the latter... they might have a chance to defeat Gekko Moria!!
Once they defeated him, they could return to the sunlight—a temptation they couldn't resist.
In the end, their longing for freedom overcame everything, and they cautiously crept toward the distant commotion.
From there, they could still hear the screams of zombies, along with the sound of sharp weapons slicing through flesh—like a master swordsman was cutting them down.
"Ahh!!"
"Don't cut me, please don't cut me!"
Meiser paid no heed, raising his right hand and slashing down.
The Grass Sword, infused with wind-attribute Chakra, effortlessly cleaved the Zombie Tree before him in half.
But the creature didn't die, still wailing in agony.
"Tch... what the hell are you things?" Meiser muttered, frowning.
Even if he hacked them to pieces, they wouldn't die... eerily similar to zombies.
Could these things be the reason this place was called Ghost Island?
With a backhanded slash, he split the head of a zombie animal, but it didn't die—instead, it thrashed even more violently.
"Not ghouls either... must be zombies."
The most effective way to deal with such creatures was Fire Release!
Without hesitation, Meiser activated his jutsu.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"BOOM!!"
"AHHH!!"
The terrifying flames engulfed the zombies, reducing them to ashes in mere moments, leaving a scorched vacuum in their wake.
As the fuel burned out, the fire gradually shrank before extinguishing completely.
"So fire is their weakness," Meiser murmured.
To think he'd run into zombies here... he wondered how Merry and the others were doing. Had they encountered these things too?
As Meiser pondered, several shadowy masses suddenly burst from the ashes, darting upward at incredible speed—returning to their original owners.
Watching the shadows vanish into the sky, Meiser narrowed his eyes. "What were those black masses? Shadows, maybe?"
"Could the enemy here be stealing shadows to create these unkillable zombies?"
It wasn't impossible.
Crack—
The sound of a branch snapping instantly drew Meiser's attention.
He turned toward the distance, flashing a "friendly" grin. "Oh? Some of you didn't run? Then I'll take care of you too—save you the trouble of bothering Nami and the others!"
Leaning against a rock, Meiser tilted his head slightly, his crimson eyes piercing through the forest like a predator's.
The sight nearly made Echo and the others piss themselves.
"D-Demon!!"
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