Chapter 321 - 179

Chapter 179Meanwhile, in a certain room within the central castle of Thriller Bark."A monster!"A loli with pink pigtails suddenly screamed and bounced up from the bed, shivering as she hugged a giant teddy bear beside her that wore a spherical hat and had its mouth sewn shut."Lady Perona, are you alright?""You are not allowed to speak; you're not cute when you talk." Perona, who had just been frightened, turned around and scolded Kumacy.Being scolded, Kumacy waved his hands in a panic, at a loss, and didn't dare to speak anymore.He only wanted to show concern for Lady Perona."Not speaking is the cutest."Perona hugged Kumacy's big belly and rubbed against it, only letting go once the fear had subsided. "I just encountered someone terrifying; I must tell Master Moriah quickly!"Ghost Princess Perona put on her black-and-white striped socks, donned her princess hat, and went to find Moriah to lodge a complaint.Deep within the castle stood a figure so massive he appeared to be seven meters tall. To the uninitiated, he might look like a giant onion, but up close, his appearance was akin to a demon.This was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Gekko Moriah.Generally speaking, Moriah spent his time sleeping. His job was quite simple: cut shadows, sleep, cut shadows, sleep...Ever since he was defeated by Kaido in the New World that day, Moriah no longer believed in his own strength; shadows and zombies were the strongest!He intended to rely on shadows and zombies to return to the New World and then seize the throne of the Pirate King.However, today was a rarity; he sat awake upon his throne."One of my ghosts was just dispersed by someone! It was so scary!"Hearing Perona's report, Moriah paused for a moment before letting out a strange laugh: "Hee-hee-hee-hee! Oh? Someone could disperse your Negative Hollows with their fists? It seems a fellow who has mastered Armament Haki has arrived. Looks like I'll be getting another high-quality shadow!"Moriah's standard procedure for obtaining shadows was: release message bottles -> flashbang signal -> Perona sends Negative Hollows to locate and weaken -> subordinates sail the ship nearby -> lure them onto the island -> capture them alive and cut their shadows.This time, someone had actually delivered themselves to his doorstep, and it was a powerhouse who had mastered Haki, which made Moriah very happy. He was currently lacking a powerful Zombie General to bolster his Zombie Army!His massive body shifted slightly as he prepared to take action himself, but several small bats flew back and squeaked a few times in his ear.Moriah slumped lazily back into his seat and said with a grin, "They've already gone to Absalom and Hogback's place. Hee-hee-hee-hee, no need to worry; my subordinates will handle them."He had great confidence in his subordinates, especially the Clear-Clear Fruit user Absalom and the genius surgeon Hogback.On the other side, led by the Cerberus, Luffy, Nami, and Merry indeed arrived before a gloomy but somewhat luxurious mansion. The doorplate read 'Hogback Mansion.'"Is this Moriah's castle?" Nami hurriedly climbed down from Luffy's back. After the bumpy ride, she suspected the dog beside them had done it on purpose.If she had sat there for ten more minutes, she would have started shaking.With a slightly flushed face, Nami looked ahead and cautiously tugged at the corner of Luffy's clothes. The appearance of such a normal-looking castle in this ghostly place was eerie in itself."Hmm? Do we have guests?"The door opened with a click, and a middle-aged man stepped out. He was obese, wore glasses, and his hair was meticulously combed—clearly one of those people who rarely goes out but secretly dresses up in front of a mirror at home.He took a careful look at Luffy and the others. To be honest, the combination was a bit strange. At first glance, Hogback even wondered if he had forgotten when he had sewn them together.Why were they sticking so close?"Hello there, I am Hogback, the master of this house," Hogback greeted them."I thought I told Cerberus to take us to find Moriah."Hearing that Luffy could actually communicate with Cerberus, Hogback's eyes lit up. "Then you've certainly come to the right place."The ability to communicate with animals was something he needed!Hogback rubbed his hands together, hinting at his own importance, and said, "Only I know where Moriah is.""What is your relationship with Moriah?" Luffyasked."Alas, I am also someone whose shadow was taken by Moriah. If your goal is Moriah, I can lead the way for you."Hogback showed unexpected hospitality. Upon hearing that Luffy and the others were looking for Moriah, he beamed with smiles: "However, guests from afar are always welcome. Why not have some refreshments first, and then I shall lead the way?"If you don't show me some respect, then I might not lead you there.Nami actually wanted to refuse.But Luffy had already pulled her and Merry inside.An eerie castle, and an eerie maid.At the dining table,Hogback talked about everything under the sun, mentioning that he was a doctor currently conducting a great research project."Has it succeeded then?" Luffy asked.Do you even know how to hold a conversation?"Fos-fos-fos..." Hogback forced a smile to cover it up and said, "Great research takes time."The maid arranging the food on the table mercilessly debunked him: "Those are all excuses; the research has never succeeded.""Hey, Cindry, could you give me a little face?""Please eat." Cindry held the tray and dumped all the food directly onto the dining table."Where are the plates?!"Cindry's expression instantly became terrifying. "Plates shouldn't even exist in this world!"Beside her, Luffy and Nami looked at the food on the table; they didn't know whether to eat it or not.Luffy actually didn't mind.Any time,Any place,Super stomach,Serious eating!But Nami held him back. Who knew what kind of ingredients these strange fellows might have added."Apologies, Cindry quite hates plates; to her, plates shouldn't exist." While Hogback explained, he secretly gave Cindry a look. Then, the expressionless Cindry 'accidentally' spilled red wine all over Nami."Ah, my apologies."Nami: "..."Could you be any more perfunctory?You clearly aimed right at me when you poured that.Hogback immediately kindly suggested: "It's alright, it's alright. There is a bathroom upstairs. This lady can go clean up; I'll have the maid prepare clean clothes for you."The sticky wine stains on her body made Nami feel very uncomfortable. Although she still had doubts, under Hogback's sincere apologies and guidance, she decided to go wash up first.Chapter 259: Bride, Bathroom, Wedding DressNami naturally pulled Luffy and Merry along to the bathroom; she didn't dare walk around this ghostly place alone.On the way to the bathroom, Merry whispered to Luffy, "Luffy, I keep feeling that doctor is strange. Could he be working with Moriah?"Nami felt the same and nodded nervously: "I'm worried too, but let's just get clean first."Before Luffy could answer, they had already reached the bathroom door.At that moment, Luffy's eyes suddenly sharpened, and without warning, he violently swung a punch at the empty air beside him!Bang!With a dull thud accompanied by a shrill, pained scream, a blurry humanoid silhouette appeared, sent flying by the heavy punch and crashing a large hole into the wall."What was that?!" Nami screamed in fright, once again tightly clutching Luffy's arm.Luffy shook his fist and guessed, "Probably some Devil Fruit User who can turn invisible."He frowned, "If my Observation Haki wasn't fairly good, I almost wouldn't have noticed him."The opponent's ability was indeed strange, hiding his presence extremely well.However, with that punch, Luffy hadn't held back at all; the guy had likely flown off to some unknown corner.At the thought that an invisible man might have been lurking and watching them just now, Namiturned pale with fear. Disregarding everything else, she dragged Luffy into the bathroom with her and slammed the door shut with a bang.The bathroom was large, with a luxurious bathtub.With lingering fear, Nami ordered Luffy: "You are not allowed to move. Just stand here with your back to me... Forget it, don't turn your back. Stand over here. Merry, you help me cover his eyes!""It's not like I haven't seen before," Luffy muttered softly."Don't you start!" Nami snapped. "You're just not allowed to look!"Merry obediently floated in front of Luffy, covering his eyes with small hands, although the gaps between the fingers were left quite large.Nami was so frightened that she had resorted to this plan.Every time she turned her head, she could see Luffy, and Merry with the wide finger gaps.Nami was both embarrassed and annoyed; Merrywas clearly in league with Luffy.Despite her embarrassment, her previous fear had indeed vanished.Having Luffy around in times of danger provided such a sense of security.On second thought, it wasn't as if this was the first time Luffy had seen her naked, right?On Sky Island and in Alabasta, similar accidents seemed to have happened.Thinking this way, she instead took a 'nothing left to lose' attitude. Nami quickly took off her dirty clothes and turned on the shower.There was some mist anyway; could Luffy's eyesight really be that good?The warm stream of water flowed over her body, slightly dispelling the chill and dread.As she washed, she couldn't help but let her thoughts wander. Her face grew hotter, and her movements in the shower carried a hint of inexplicable bashfulness and annoyance.The water splashed, and steam filled the air.While washing, Nami kept a wary eye on her surroundings, fearing that the invisible man might sneak in again.As for Luffy...If he sees, he sees.At least Merry is there.Halfway through, Luffy suddenly spoke: "Nami.""Eek!"Nami nearly jumped in fright. Ignoring the fact that she was covered in soap suds, she lunged toward Luffy and asked with extreme tension, "What's wrong? Did you discover something else?"At this moment, she completely forgot she was nearly naked. Her wet body pressed tightly against Luffy, seeking a sense of security."Uh, no, it's nothing."Luffy felt the warm, soft body pressed against him, slippery with soap. His body stiffened slightly, and he felt a heat in his nose. He rubbed his nose and said somewhat awkwardly, "I just wanted to ask if you're done washing? Shouldn't we go find Moriah?"Nami was stunned for a moment before she realized the situation. Her face instantly turned beet red, and she fiercely pinched Luffy's cheek: "You idiot! You scared me to death! I thought there was another enemy!"She suspected Luffy did it on purpose!She was too angry for words, but her hands holding Luffy didn't let go; it seemed only this way could she gain a shred of security.After finally finishing her bath, Nami realized an embarrassing problem.She had no clean clothes to change into!Didn't that damn fatso say the maid would prepare clothes?"Um, Luffy, can you help me check if there are any clothes to change into outside?" Nami said softly."Do you want to let go of me first?" Luffy glanced down, then slowly looked back up."Use your Observation Haki at a time like this!" Nami said 'fiercely.'Luffy gave an affirmative grunt. Relying on his Observation Haki perception, he quickly found a set of clothes in the dressing room outside the bathroom and brought them in.Nami took the clothes, and just as she was about to say thank you, she unfolded them and froze.In her hands was actually an exquisitely crafted, pure white wedding dress?!