When Perona returned to Moria's mansion, Hogback was pacing with a troubled expression, deep in thought. A look around revealed only zombies; Absalom, who was supposed to have gathered with them, was nowhere to be seen.
"Hogback, isn't Absalom here yet?"
"Perona. Absalom's not here yet. I sent Hildon to find him and pass on the message, but seeing as he hasn't returned, he probably hasn't found him yet."
Absalom was an invisible man. Even for Hildon, a zombie who could fly, finding an invisible man concealed by the night's mist would be a monumental task. It would have been better if they had given him a baby Den Den Mushi, but on a ship, even a large one, the area was limited. Furthermore, considering he relied on surprise attacks as an invisible man, it was preferable to minimize the chances of being discovered by sound, so they had not given him one. It would probably be faster if Perona used her ability to search for him, but in any case, if he was invisible, she didn't think he could be found by sight.
After waiting for some time, Hogback let out a sigh and shook his head in resignation.
"We can't keep Moria-sama waiting any longer. Let's go, just the two of us."
"Are you sure?"
"You know him. He's probably busy looking for a bride anyway."
Perona recalled Absalom peeping in the bathhouse. He seemed to have taken quite a liking to one of the pirates who had come to the island, so it was entirely possible that he was busy with his own plans to make her his bride. Thinking about it that way made worrying seem foolish, and Perona shrugged, deciding to accompany Hogback to Moria's quarters.
With the zombies Cindry and Kumae in tow, they stepped into the inner chamber of the room.
Seated there was a massive man, far taller than either Hogback or Perona. His former bounty was 320 million Berries. He had once clashed with Kaido of the Beasts, a member of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea—Gecko Moria.
"Oh, you're here! All of you… or not, it seems."
"We tried to contact him, but we couldn't find him… We believe he's preoccupied with obtaining a bride."
"I see. Let him do as he pleases. It'll take time to tame her anyway. We can have the celebratory toast later."
Having finished eating for the several days he had been asleep, Moria was in high spirits after capturing Luffy, a pirate with a bounty of over 100 million. He knew the extent of his subordinate Absalom's abilities, and he knew he wasn't a man to be taken down by minor trifles. There would be no problem in leaving him to his own devices.
Inside the room was a steel cage, and within it, a captured Luffy, clad in armor, was bound tightly in spiderwebs.
"With his shadow, the day I become the Pirate King is near! Kishishishi!! I can't wait!!"
"What did you say, you giant onion!! I'm the one who's going to be Pirate King!!"
The steel cage was nothing to him. Despite being captured, Luffy showed no signs of fear and thrashed about inside the cage with a loud clang.
"Give me back Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper!! Where did you take them!!!"
"What a spirited man… so this is Straw Hat Luffy."
"…You just listed quite a few names, but he's only the third one we've captured. The other two are 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro and a blond man who wasn't on a wanted poster."
"Hmm? The only blond one is Sanji, though…"
As they had failed to obtain a photograph for Sanji's wanted poster, it was a hand-drawn sketch. While it captured some of his features, Moria apparently didn't think they were the same person. The two of them tilted their heads in confusion, but as if it didn't matter either way, Luffy began to shout defiantly again.
Ignoring him, Hogback voiced the question that had formed in his mind from Moria's words.
"…I thought I entrusted three of them to the Risky Brothers. What happened to them, Perona?"
"They never made it to Kumae."
"They didn't? Did they escape somewhere…?"
"U-Um…"
"Shut up, Kumae! You're not cute when you talk, so don't open your mouth!!"
"Stop, stop, this is getting complicated and annoying!! If the pirates escaped, you all can deal with it later!!!"
After making a statement that was the epitome of relying on others, Moria continued with, "More importantly." To him, what Perona and the others were talking about was of no consequence.
"The reason I've gathered you all now is to celebrate the birth of a valuable new asset to our forces."
It was a shame Absalom wasn't here, but he was just doing what he wanted anyway. They could have the celebratory toast later, and if he was to welcome a bride, Moria was even thinking of treating them to some fine liquor to celebrate.
Right next to the cheerful Moria, Luffy began to chew through the iron bars of his cage and escape. The zombies stared in stunned silence, and even Moria's eyes widened.
"He chewed… through an iron cage!?"
"What do you think I'm doing getting caught!!!"
As Luffy, still in his armor, flopped around like a fish out of water, Perona moved before the zombies could. In times like these, subduing the enemy was her specialty.
"Negative Hollow!!"
"Ugh…!"
As a translucent ghost emerged from Perona's body and passed through Luffy, his earlier vigor vanished as if it had been a lie, and he began to say things like, "I want to be a sea cucumber." With Luffy in a state of extreme negativity due to the power of the Horo Horo no Mi user—the ghost manipulator—even the average zombie could easily restrain him.
They removed his armor, tied him up again, and stood him in front of a giant light, illuminating him from behind. Confirming the distinct shadow stretching from his feet, Moria grabbed the shadow and peeled it up.
"Eh!? My shadow is!!?"
At this phenomenon, Luffy's eyes widened in confusion, and he was pulled down by his own shadow as it was lifted up. Even though the light was no longer on him, Luffy's shadow still stretched from his feet.
Moria took a pair of scissors he was holding and cut Luffy's shadow from his feet. Luffy's consciousness faded, and he went limp.
"Kishishishi!! I've got it… the fighting power of 300 million!!! With this, the strongest Special Zombie in history will be born!!!"
Moria looked at the shadow thrashing about in his hands and let out a triumphant laugh, reveling in the elation, just like Hogback and Perona, who were dreaming of their future glory.
They were unaware of the one watching them from outside the building.
…
Afterward, Moria ordered the zombies to return the unconscious Luffy to his ship, and they made their way to a giant freezer to implant the shadow they had obtained.
It was because Hogback had restored and preserved a 500-year-old corpse that had been left in a certain land of ice. Its majesty, its form, was enough to make even world-renowned pirates tremble in awe.
The monster of the "Land-Pulling Legend," said to have once dragged a conquered island to his own territory. A berserker known as the "Majin" who had rampaged 500 years ago—Oars.
On the way to the freezer, reports came in that a swordsman who had appeared, humming a tune, was on a rampage, and that Taralan, who had been tasked with capturing the enemy, had been defeated, but to Moria, these were trivial matters. He once again declared, "You guys handle it," and arrived at his destination.
With Oars, a descendant of the Ancient Giant Tribe who boasted a frame more than twice the size of a normal giant, as his obedient subordinate, it would no longer be difficult to obtain even stronger shadows in the future. He dreamed that his ever-expanding zombie forces would one day be strong enough to defeat even Kaido of the Beasts, and in his elated state, he formed a contract with the shadow of Luffy in his hand.
"From now on, I will give you the voice and body to live as a zombie. Forget all past human relationships and become a soldier who obeys me!!"
By making this contract, the shadows became soldiers who obeyed Moria.
The shadow was pressed into Oars's body. It took some time for it to acclimate to the flesh—and eventually, the frozen corpse began to be moved by the shadow, becoming a zombie.
Thump. It pulsed.
It wasn't that its heart was actually beating. If it were cut, no blood would flow from the wound, nor would it feel any pain. The body had simply moved because the shadow had taken control of it from within.
An eye rolled in its socket.
"""GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"""
A scream erupted at the sight of the moving corpse. It was Usopp, Nami, and Chopper, who had been hiding inside Kumae's body. A corpse beginning to move was an abnormal situation—and this was the giant body of Oars, far surpassing any normal giant. The shock was immense.
But before they could try to capture Nami and the others, Oars stirred and broke the chains that restrained him.
"MEEEEEEAT!!!! I'M STAAAAARVING!!!!"
The vibrations ran through their entire bodies. With a giant of this size roaring, even Moria's group could not ignore it. In that opening, Nami and the others fled with incredible speed, pursued by the zombies. Moria ordered his subordinates to feed the hungry Oars the island's food supply.
He was no longer interested in small fry. Now that he had such a majestic monster in his grasp, other shadows were only useful for increasing his numbers.
Moria's interest was now focused solely on Oars.
As Oars devoured the island's food supply with ferocious speed, Moria tried to assert his dominance—but the reply he received was curt.
"Sorry, little onion. Don't know who I am, but thanks for the food! It's gross, and not nearly enough, though. Shishishi!!"
"Kishishishi!! Oars, you died 500 years ago, and have now been revived in the present day as my subordinate!! Obey me and strike down my enemies!!"
"Subordinate? No thanks. I have a dream."
"I've never seen a zombie like that!!!"
Ignoring the astonished zombies around him, Oars finished eating the food and began to pound on the surrounding walls. He declared that this place was cramped and boring, and after saying, "I'm gonna go outside for a bit. Maybe I'll head out to sea and circumnavigate the world," he destroyed the steel wall and went outside. It had been a special freezer designed to house Oars, so it should have been considerably strong—but for Oars, it was apparently no problem at all.
"I'm gonna be… the King of the Pirates~~~~!!!"
Watching Oars go off somewhere, shouting, Moria laughed with delight.
"Kishishishi!! When he becomes my loyal subordinate, I will have no enemies…! I can't wait for that time!!"
…
"Where is Oars now?"
"He has climbed to the top of the mast."
After confirming Oars's movements through the surveillance of Perona's ghosts, Moria sat down in the now-hole-ridden freezer. It seemed that with such a disparity between the body and the shadow, it would take some time for them to acclimate. Thinking he could play with him once that was done, Moria said he would wait here.
"T-This is terrible, Moria-sama!!"
"What is it? You're so noisy."
"It seems Straw Hat Luffy and the others have woken up…!!"
A messenger zombie came running, panting, and hastily gave its report. Normally, those who had their shadows removed would not wake up for some time, but it was a different story if they were shaken awake by their crewmates. They were reportedly heading straight for this location, enraged, and because they were in contact with "Humming," they even knew how to purify zombies. The zombie reported that the Soldier Zombies and Surprise Zombies were no match for them and were being routed.
Hogback clutched his head as if in pain, then his expression changed and he raised his voice.
"What about Absalom!? The woman he wanted for his bride was inside Kumae! If he's searching in the wrong place, call him back at once!!"
"W-Well, about that… Absalom-sama's whereabouts are unknown…"
"What!? What are the General Zombies doing!?"
"They are on standby until they receive orders from Absalom-sama."
"We need the General Zombies to stop the Straw Hats!! With Absalom gone, I will give the orders! Is that alright, Moria-sama!?"
"Permission granted. You handle it."
Following Moria's immediate permission, Hogback gave orders to the zombie. After watching it run off in a flurry to summon the General Zombies, Perona announced that she was returning to her room.
"There's no point in staying here. I will search for Absalom and neutralize the pirates. With my ability, subduing them will be easy, even without the General Zombies. Horohorohoro!!"
"…That's true. I'm counting on you, Ghost Princess."
"Sounds good. Boring, though."
"That's… just because you don't feel like doing anything."
"At this rate, it won't be hard to get new shadows. Prepare the Marionettes."
Zombies could not be created without a body to put the shadow in. The corpses modified by the genius surgeon Hogback were resilient, and it was not uncommon for them to become stronger than the original owner of the shadow. A shadow was meaningless without a body, so he ordered Hogback to prepare the bodies, the Marionettes.
Hogback nodded at the order and returned to his mansion. The zombies who had been bringing the food had already been mobilized to capture Luffy and the others, so Moria was left alone.
He stared at the hole in the wall through which Oars had exited, and yawned, wondering how long it would take for the shadow to acclimate.
And—by the time Luffy reached that room, it was empty, with only fresh, copious bloodstains and numerous holes in the walls remaining.