Meanwhile, Meiser, who had followed Lola and the others into the camp, finally saw the so-called "shadow" that could make people stronger.
"So this... is the shadow you mentioned?"
Staring at the shadow clutched in Echo's hand, Meiser frowned. "This thing can really make people stronger?"
The way it was thrashing violently—could it actually be used to enhance power?
"Yep," Echo grinned. "Just stuff this into your body, and you'll gain incredible strength."
"That's right. We've tested this method ourselves."
"How did you manage to capture so many shadows?"
"By risking our lives to hunt zombies, of course!"
"And we even discovered that salt can purify zombies!" Echo bared his teeth in a proud grin. "Pretty impressive, huh?"
"Mmm... impressive..."
He really hadn't expected these guys to dare hunt zombies. Their courage was no joke.
But... salt could purify zombies?
Was it because salt came from the sea?
That was an interesting discovery.
After a moment of thought, Meiser asked, "Will using this thing cause any harm?"
Even though, as a Shadow Clone, he didn't particularly care about danger, this clone wasn't meant to disappear just yet—not when there was still more information to gather.
So he had to make sure. If stuffing a shadow inside him made him vanish, he wouldn't be able to relay any intel afterward.
"Don't worry about that, Ninja bro," Echo reassured him. "We've tested this multiple times. As long as you control the number of shadows, the burden won't be too heavy."
"With your strength, you should be able to handle a lot of shadows, right?"
All their hopes were pinned on this man now, so they wouldn't hold anything back.
If he wanted, they'd even offer up all their shadows!
"No need for that. I just want to understand how it works," Meiser said. "After all, I'm just a clone."
A clone's endurance couldn't compare to the original. Even if he wanted to use this method to grow stronger, it'd have to wait for his real body.
Right now, he just needed to figure out the mechanics before reporting back to Luffy and the others.
"A clone?!"
Lola gaped at Meiser in shock. "What do you mean? You're not the real one?"
"Nope. I'm just a clone. The original has already gone to rescue my crew."
With that, Meiser raised his hand and performed the Shadow Clone Technique, summoning another shadow clone.
"Use this clone for the experiment."
"A clone!!"
"Whoa, it really is a clone!!"
"This is what ninjas can do?! So cool!!!"
"Ninja, can you show us Fire Release?"
"And... and Water Release too!"
"Shut up!" Meiser roared, baring his shark-like teeth. "Is this really the time for ninjutsu performances?!"
He couldn't believe these guys. Why was everyone in the pirate world like this?
The scolded crowd didn't take offense. Instead, they scratched their heads sheepishly.
"Then... could you show us after you defeat Moria?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
Honestly, they were all like little kids.
If Luffy ever met them, he'd probably start playing around with them immediately.
"Y-you really are an amazing ninja..." Lola gulped.
This clone ability was completely different from her brother's. Brother Cracker relied on the power of the Devil Fruit to create biscuit soldiers, but Meiser's clones appeared out of thin air.
So this is what a Ninja is?
Definitely cool!
"Ninja bro, let's test this ability quickly," Echo said excitedly.
"Alright, let's go." Meiser pointed at the newly appeared clone and said, "We'll use this one."
Even if this Shadow Clone explodes, there'll still be one left here.
Echo glanced at the cold-faced clone, thought for a moment, then walked over and lifted the Shadow. "Then I'll begin."
"Stop wasting time, hurry up!"
"Okay!"
"Thud!"
With great force, Echo directly stabbed the Shadow into the clone's body.
The next moment, something miraculous happened. The Shadow began to be absorbed by the clone, gradually drilling into its body.
This sight startled Meiser.
"It's going inside?!!"
Watching the Shadow slowly enter the Shadow Clone's body, Meiser said in surprise, "So this is how it's used?"
Just put it in and it works?
This feels similar to the Sharingan.
"Yes, you just need to stuff the Shadow directly into the body," Echo said with a laugh. "This way, you'll get a powerful boost!"
As the Shadow entered the body, the clone trembled slightly.
"How does it feel?"
"Uh..." The clone looked at its body, then at Echo. "I don't feel anything at all?"
Wasn't it supposed to enhance strength? Where's the enhancement?
"Maybe it's because you're already too strong," Lola said. "That's why a single Shadow doesn't make much difference."
"Oh, by the way, what's your Bounty?"
"Four hundred million."
"Eh?!!"
The others stared at Meiser in shock. This guy was actually a big shot? A four hundred million Bounty??
"Four hundred million, huh." Lola was also surprised. After all, very few people in the Grand Line reached such heights.
Only after entering the New World would there be more people of this caliber.
But to have such achievements here meant that in the New World, he'd become even more terrifying. He might even... have the qualifications to challenge the Four Emperors.
"We can talk about that later. Let's focus on the Shadow for now," the clone said. "I don't feel anything at all. Are you sure this thing works on me?"
"Of course it works!" Echo said with certainty. "Even if a single Shadow doesn't boost much, it still has other effects."
After saying this, Echo thought for a moment, then took out a Flintlock. "How good are you with guns?"
Looking at the outdated and ancient Flintlock in Echo's hand, the clone frowned. "Never used one."
Could such a primitive thing even hit anyone?
"Then let's give it a try."
Echo casually tossed the Flintlock over, smiling. "You'll have a different experience."
The clone didn't waste words and immediately caught the weapon.
The moment he gripped it, a familiar feeling surged in his heart—as if he weren't a rookie but a seasoned veteran who'd handled guns for years.
Instinctively, the clone raised his hand and fired without even aiming.
"Bang!"
A gunshot rang out, and a falling leaf was pierced clean through by the bullet—the caterpillar on it instantly headshot!!
"Wow!!"
"So accurate!!"
Tooth ran over, picked up the leaf, and raised it high, declaring, "Look! A perfect hit on the caterpillar on the leaf!"
Staring at the leaf in the other's hand, Meiser remarked in surprise, "So this is... the effect of the Shadow."
'Yes,' Lola nodded. 'The Shadow inherits the combat skills of its original owner. Whatever type of person the Shadow belonged to, those techniques will surface in your mind once you possess it.'
'Just like now. Even if you've never handled a flintlock before, you can still achieve such precise marksmanship.'
Meiser nodded. Now he finally understood the true function of Shadows—it was... extraordinarily miraculous.
The power of the Shadow Fruit far surpassed the Shadow Manipulation Technique of the Nara clan.
"What if it's the Shadow of a strong warrior?" Meiser asked. "Can it be used just as easily?"
"Having a strong warrior's Shadow is naturally better," Lola replied. "But you must use it cautiously. The influence of a powerful Shadow is immense, and ordinary people can't withstand it."
"However, Moria loves strong warriors' Shadows the most because they can create formidable Zombies."
"Of course, he also loves strong warriors' corpses."
Lola shared all the information she knew without reservation, even if some of it had been obtained at great cost.
"A strong warrior's corpse combined with a strong warrior's Shadow..." Meiser stroked his chin. "No wonder that guy is so obsessed with researching Zombies. It's practically like reviving a powerful fighter."
"Yes, but since the Shadow's attributes and the corpse don't belong to the same person, the true strength may not be fully unleashed."
"Hmm, that makes sense," Meiser agreed.
The real question was—what was Moria's upper limit for absorbing Shadows? If he could withstand the Shadows of numerous strong warriors... wouldn't he wield unimaginable power?
That was indeed a troubling thought.
"Shall we continue?" Echo asked.
As he spoke, he brought over another Shadow, looking at Meiser expectantly.
"No need. Keep the Shadows," Meiser waved his hand dismissively. "Using them on clones would be a waste."
Clones were far less durable than the original body and could easily explode during the Shadow-insertion process, so there was no point in continuing.
His main purpose here was to understand the nature of the Shadow ability.
"Huh?"
"You're really not going to use more?"
The group exchanged glances—was one Shadow really enough?
"Ninja bro, please don't hold back," Echo insisted. "You can have all these Shadows."
He thought Meiser was being polite because the Shadows were hard to obtain.
"I'm not pretending. Clones really can't handle them."
"Well—"
"Alright."
After a moment of silent exchange, they sighed in resignation.
"Any other intel you can share?" Meiser asked. "Like who his key officers are, for example."
"Other than that invisible guy, of course."
No need to mention the Invisibility Fruit user—aside from his stealth ability, the only thing remotely interesting about him was his hand cannon.
"Aside from that invisible guy, there's the doctor," Tooth said. "That doctor has no combat ability—just an ordinary person relying entirely on other zombies to do things."
"As for that ghost-manipulating ability user..."
"Sorry, we've never seen what their true form looks like."
"Mm, that's fine."
Meiser could understand. A ghost-manipulating ability user likely had a fragile true form, so staying hidden was normal.
"But... a woman afraid of cockroaches... probably just some brat, right?"
To him, that kid didn't seem like much of a threat.
"Other than these three, are there no other officers?"
"Nope," Lola shook her head. "But we don't know if there are any powerful zombies."
"Got it." Meiser nodded. "Thanks for the intel. In exchange, I'll help you reclaim your shadows."
After speaking, Meiser gave his clone a nod, signaling it could disperse. Without another word, the shadow clone vanished on the spot—this way, the memories here could be relayed to the main body.
Then, Meiser prepared to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"Back to Luffy and the others," Meiser said. "To share this intel with them."
"Please take us with you," Lola said earnestly.
"I already told you—in your current state, you won't be much help."
"But it's better than just waiting to die..." Lola clenched her fists. "I know I'm nowhere near as strong as you all, but if I don't give it my all this time, I don't know if I'll get another chance."
What if her strength made the difference?
So Lola decided to go all in!
Meiser fell silent for a moment before replying seriously, "Even if it might mean death?"
"So what?" Lola said. "What kind of pirate fears death?"
"That's right, Ninja bro, take us with you!"
"She's right—even if we die fighting, we'll have no regrets!"
"We don't want to wait anymore. Please take us."
Looking at Lola's determined expression and the stubborn glint in the others' eyes, Meiser suddenly laughed.
They could've just exchanged intel and waited here quietly for their shadows to return, yet they chose to join the fight instead.
These malnourished-looking folks suddenly seemed kind of endearing to Meiser.
"You guys... I'm starting to like you."
"Ehh?!"
"Are you proposing to me?!"
"Absolutely not!"
After shouting that, Meiser took a deep breath and grinned. "From now on, we're friends."
"Ehh?!"
"The Ninja bro actually considers us friends?!"
"Even though we're so weak, we got acknowledged..."
"Making friends has nothing to do with strength," Meiser said, shaking his head.
"Alright, we're friends!"
"Hahahaha!"
Everyone laughed. Being acknowledged by a strong fighter was something worth celebrating.
After all, this was a big shot with a bounty of 400 million Berries!
"But..."
Hearing Meiser's "but," everyone's expressions tensed up again.
"Don't be nervous," Meiser said with a smile. "What I meant was, we can't all leave this time."
"Why not?"
"We need some people to stay behind and guard these Shadows. They might come in handy later," Meiser explained.
Lola turned to glance at the Shadows, then nodded. "That makes sense."
These Shadows could very well become the key to determining victory, so they had to be preserved carefully.
"Right? So let's pick some of the stronger ones to come with me," Meiser said. "Lola, I'll leave this task to you."
"Strong ones..."
Lola was momentarily stunned, clearly not expecting him to say that. After a moment's thought, she understood his intention. Leaving people to guard the Shadows was indeed the right move, but there was no need to keep the majority behind.
By phrasing it this way, Meiser was clearly trying to minimize casualties on their side. After all... most of the people here were in poor physical condition. Just surviving was already a struggle—fighting was out of the question.
He really is... a kind person.
Who knows which lucky girl will end up with someone like him in the future.
With that thought, Lola nodded. "Understood."
"You all heard Meiser. I'll pick some people to come with me. The rest will stay here and guard the Shadows."
"What? We can fight too!"
"Yeah, Ninja bro, we—"
"You idiots, didn't I say it already? The Shadows are important," Meiser said seriously. "We might need them later, so we can't afford to lose them."
"Oh... is that so?"
"Exactly!"
"Got it, Ninja bro! We'll protect these Shadows with our lives!!"
The group's faces lit up with excitement, as if they'd been entrusted with a sacred mission.
"Good, good," Meiser chuckled. "Remember, stay hidden. Got it?"
"Got it!"
"Mm."
After successfully convincing them, Meiser secretly sighed in relief. If he'd actually taken these weaklings to challenge Moria, who knew how many would die?
One of the old men could barely stand, let alone fight.
If a real battle broke out, a single shout from a Zombie might be enough to finish him off.
The real shame was that their condition wasn't due to injuries—otherwise, he could've used Medical Ninja Techniques to heal them...
But with their severe malnutrition, using Medical Ninja Techniques might kill them instead, since those techniques traded life force for healing.
Soon, Lola had picked about twenty capable fighters from the group, including Echo and Tooth.
"Alright, we're ready to go," Lola announced.
"Heh, Ninja bro, looks like we'll be fighting side by side," Tooth grinned.
"You punk," Meiser shook his head helplessly, then looked over the twenty-odd people. Each of their eyes shone with a light—the light of hope.
"Everyone... don't die on me!"
"Whoo!!"
-Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!