Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
----------
Deep within the Florian Triangle, a glowing fox shikigami circled above the sea.
"Chirp chirp!"
As the Groudon approached, a massive wall appeared in front of them. In this desolate place, there was only one thing behind that wall.
"Found it!"
"The world's largest pirate ship, Thriller Bark. It's not so much a ship as a floating island."
Daichi exclaimed with appreciation.
"Issho-san, please."
Fujitora remained silent for a few seconds before drawing his sword.
The Groudon flew upward, crossing the wall from the sky, and entered the internal waterway of Thriller Bark.
The landing was quite smooth.
Daichi led his subordinates onto the island, each of them incredibly excited, treating this visit as an adventure.
With Daichi-sama here, they were completely safe.
"What a mess!"
Perhaps due to the Straw Hats' visit, the island was in complete disarray. After walking for half an hour, they hadn't seen any zombies—or even anything that could move.
They also didn't know if Moria had returned.
Daichi agreed with Fujitora's idea of abolishing the Warlord system. Weakening the enemy meant strengthening their own side.
However, compared to capturing them, he was more inclined to recruit the Warlords, especially those who were relatively law-abiding like Jinbe and Mihawk.
Additionally, in the areas controlled by Hoenn, the definition of "pirate" needed to be reconsidered. He wasn't against people going out to sea for adventure.
As long as they didn't commit evil acts, venturing out to sea wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Given the development level of this world, there were still many undiscovered islands and numerous strange places.
These all required adventurers to explore.
There was also one thing he'd been thinking about: once he raised the entire continent, it would mean endless resources to explore and develop!
That day was fast approaching.
"Negative~ Negative~ Negative~~~"
When everyone arrived at the severely damaged castle, they finally encountered something that could move.
A few transparent ghosts.
Daichi pointed at the mischievous little one who was pulling faces at him mockingly.
"Priestess, can you catch them?"
"No problem!"
Priestess nodded confidently. Nine tails suddenly burst from behind her, and several clusters of green ghostly flames ignited around her. When it came to dealing with ghosts, she was a professional!
Priestess threw out a talisman, clasped her hands together, and chanted.
"By the Edict of the Jade Emperor! Spiritual treasure talisman, slay demons and bind evil!"
The talisman flew into the sky, emitting a golden glow. The little ghosts seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, fleeing in terror but unable to escape the talisman's gravitational pull.
Soon, all the ghosts were sealed within the talisman.
"Done!"
Priestess looked completely relaxed.
Daichi shook his head with pity.
The dynamics between abilities could sometimes be so unreasonable. The almost unsolvable Negative Ghosts would be rendered useless when encountering exorcism techniques.
It was like a mouse meeting a cat.
Inside the island castle, Perona covered her mouth and chuckled. "Hehehehe, Absalom must have caught the intruders by now. When Moria-sama returns, I can give the intruders' shadows to him!"
Suddenly, her mind jolted.
"What's going on?"
Her connection with the Negative Ghosts had been cut off!
The Negative Ghosts were her creations, equivalent to her soul clones. But at this moment, she couldn't sense their location—only that they were still alive.
This was the first time this had happened!
"What exactly happened?"
Perona immediately flew out of the castle and rushed to the scene. She no longer needed her soul to leave her body—she could directly transform her physical form into a ghost.
Soon, Perona arrived at the scene.
In the courtyard, Daichi was stepping on Absalom's head. "What an idiot! If I were taken out by an invisible man, where would I put my face?!"
"I... I'm sorry, please spare me!"
Absalom immediately begged for mercy.
Just like always, he'd quietly approached the intruders using his invisibility, intending to catch them off guard.
But he was discovered as soon as he tried to attack.
These invading enemies were even more terrifying than the Straw Hats!
Daichi snorted coldly, then looked up at the ghostly girl floating in the air.
"Where is Moria?"
"Moria-sama answered the World Government's summons and is on his way back. He should arrive in two or three days."
Perona only realized after answering, angrily clenching her small fists. "Damn it, why did I tell you that?! What are you doing here?!"
"Just passing through."
Daichi shrugged.
If it was only two or three days, he could wait.
The Marines were probably frantically searching for him. As soon as he left the Florian Triangle, he would likely encounter Marine warship pursuit.
He'd rest here for a few days first.
"Are you the only ones left here?"
"I won't tell you!"
Perona angrily summoned her ghosts, bluffing with a fierce demeanor. "Let go of Absalom, or don't blame me for what happens!"
"Little girl, you'd best not be rash."
Daichi waved his hand.
Priestess immediately stepped forward, her nine fluffy tails fanning out. A strange light appeared in her eyes, along with demonic flames.
Just her gaze made Perona feel threatened, as if she'd encountered a natural predator. Those green demonic flames also made her sense danger.
What a terrifying fox!
"Alright, don't scare her."
Daichi patted Priestess's head and walked into the castle. "Is there a clean place? I plan to stay here for two days and wait for Moria to return. I need to discuss something with him."
"Yes!"
Perona instantly backed down.
Her intuition told her it was better not to oppose these people. The last time she'd had this feeling was when facing Kuma, who'd sent her flying.
She'd wait until Moria-sama returned!
"Absalom, get up quickly!"
"Gah!"
Absalom scrambled up from the ground, obediently following behind.
He'd recognized the newcomer!
Daichi the Destroyer!
A big shot a hundred times more terrifying than Moria-sama!
In the massive castle, only three officers remained, plus dozens of zombies, barely maintaining the island's operations.
Losing to the Straw Hats had cost Moria all his shadows. After that, he'd suffered continuous losses during the Summit War and now this forced conscription.
He'd had no time to accumulate shadows.
Daichi arrived in the castle hall and looked at the three officers before him: besides Absalom and Perona, there was also the doctor Hogback.
"By the way, has an ancient Giant named Loki been here?"
"Loki?!"
The three of them jolted, and fear appeared in all their eyes.
"He came a long time ago, caused a big ruckus on the island, and then left for some unknown reason."
"He left, huh."
Daichi nodded slightly.
When he'd cooperated with Loki, the biggest reward had been the whereabouts of Loki's former fiancée, Lola, who was on this island at the time.
He wondered if Loki had found Lola. He hadn't heard any news of Loki in the past two years. For the long-lived Giant race, a fight could last a hundred years, so two years was a very short time. Perhaps he was on his honeymoon somewhere.
May all lovers find their happy ending!
At the outer reaches of the Florian Triangle, on a Marine warship, Moria and Mihawk were resting in the ship's lounge when they received a new order from the World Government.
"Rescue the Knights of God?"
They were to enter the Florian Triangle, find the Groudon, and rescue Gunko.
The Florian Triangle was Moria's territory, so the Marines immediately thought of him—only Moria might be able to find the Groudon in the thick fog.
As for Mihawk, he was just along for the ride.
With the war against Cross Guild over, the two Warlords were returning together on a Marine warship, so naturally they couldn't waste Mihawk's powerful combat ability.
After all, the enemy was Daichi the Destroyer!