Meanwhile, Trafalgar Law was already inside the mansion, seated on a sofa with his crewmates Bepo, Shachi, Penguin, and Kaku. Opposite them sat the renowned genius surgeon, Dr. Hogback, and a blond female zombie named Cindry.
Since they had arrived, Cindry had been making Hogback's life miserable. She would pour cold water on him, and when serving food, she'd dump it directly onto the table, casually remarking, "It's fine, we don't need plates." It was all designed to humiliate Hogback.
If it were anyone else, Hogback might have ignored it. But the people he was dealing with now were not to be trifled with. The Heart Pirates were under the command of the Five Emperors, the Straw Hats. Offending them meant offending an Emperor, and not even Hogback—or even Moria himself—would dare risk that.
Law, however, was unfazed. He had seen all sorts of strange people throughout his travels. He sat on the couch, his fingers intertwined, a serious expression on his face with a slight hint of a smirk. He looked every bit the cool, collected mastermind he was.
"Dr. Hogback," Law began, his voice laced with disappointment. "I've heard about your work. I used to think you were a very promising doctor, but it seems I was mistaken. To use your amazing surgical skills to stitch together corpses... you've completely ruined your talent."
Hogback's face turned a nasty shade of green. He was proud of his surgical prowess, and now this young pirate was openly mocking him. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to argue. He was no match for a member of the Five Emperors' crew, and he wouldn't dare bring Moria any more trouble.
Just then, the ground shook as Luffy's voice boomed from outside, "Moria! Get out here! We're here to steal your treasure!"
Hogback's face went white with panic. Law simply smirked. "Well, it seems our Five Emperors' Captain is ready to start the show. Since that's the case, I'll show you, the 'Death Surgeon,' what real stitching looks like! Room!"
A transparent spherical space instantly surrounded the entire room. Law slowly drew his sword, Kikoku.
"The Op-Op Fruit!" Hogback gasped, his eyes widening with greed. But his desire was quickly replaced by fear. He knew he was in a dangerous situation and turned to run. Cindry, on the other hand, began throwing plates at Law and his crew.
Bepo stepped forward, crushing the plates with his paw. Law, meanwhile, kept his eyes on the fleeing Hogback. With a slight flick of his finger, Hogback swapped places with a plate, right in the path of Bepo's outstretched paw. Hogback was not a fighter; Bepo's hit sent him sprawling to the ground, almost knocking him out.
Law then made a few quick slashes, dicing both Hogback and Cindry into several pieces. With another subtle movement of his fingers, he began to reassemble them. After a moment, the two were put back together in a strange, grotesque form. However, there wasn't a single stitch or seam to be found. They looked as if they had always been that way.
"Well? Is this better than your so-called 'stitching'?" Law asked coldly.
"Heh, heh heh… it's truly amazing," Hogback stammered, his face still pale. "You're so much stronger than me. I'm impressed." He had no choice but to obey. He couldn't fight back, and he knew offending Law would be a death sentence. In his mind, this wasn't surgery at all—it was just the power of a Devil Fruit. Anyone with the Op-Op Fruit could do it.
Just then, a host of zombies began to appear. They were grotesque, made from a variety of objects like blankets, paintings, and lamps.
"This is terrifying, Captain!" Bepo whimpered, cowering slightly.
"It's okay, Bepo," Shachi quickly comforted him. "They aren't real zombies. They're just things Moria made with his Devil Fruit power!"
"Bepo, I heard zombies are afraid of fire," Penguin suggested. "Let's just light them up!"
Penguin and Shachi pulled out flame shells and started setting the zombies ablaze. Soon, the entire house was on fire, forcing Law and his crew to drag Hogback and Cindry outside.
Kaku held one in each arm, a look of disgust on his face. "Why did the old man make me carry these two? They're so gross."
"Kaku, you're a rookie, so you have to learn to respect your seniors," Bepo lectured. "You also have to learn to find your own jobs if you want to survive in the Heart Pirates."
Kaku sighed, but he kept carrying the two strange zombies. At least Hogback was being cooperative. Cindry, on the other hand, was still yelling about wanting to "make all the plates in the world disappear," which was getting on everyone's nerves.
Meanwhile, Zoro, Tashigi, Sanji, Jango, Franky, and Brook had fought their way through a horde of zombies to a large, old castle. Standing at the gate was a tall zombie in a white kimono with a black scarf.
"Hahahaha! You're not getting past me!" the zombie declared, pulling out a long, black sword.
Tashigi's eyes lit up. "That's the Black Blade Shusui! One of the 21 Great Grade swords! I knew it had to be a famous blade when Brook said the opponent had a black sword, but I never imagined it would be Shusui!" Her dream was to collect all the famous swords, and seeing one in person had her overjoyed.
Brook, however, was cautious. "Be careful! He's incredibly strong! That's Ryuma, the legendary dragon-slaying hero from Wano! He has my shadow, and even though his swordsmanship is the same as mine, he's much, much better at it!"
Zoro grinned. "A Great Grade sword, huh? And it's a black blade... that means its former master infused it with so much Armament Haki that it turned permanently black. This Ryuma must have been a monster of a swordsman! I want to fight him myself!"
But Tashigi stepped in front of him. "Wait, Zoro! This one is mine! I'm going to win the Black Blade Shusui with my own hands!"
Zoro paused, looking at her before his gaze fell to the sword hilt on her waist. He remembered her sadness after her own famous sword, Yuki Kurei, had been broken during the war. Even though she still carried the hilt, she could no longer use it. Thinking of that, his resolve softened.
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