chapter 188 part 2
After a short while, several figures emerged from various corners.
They were gaunt and haggard, their eyes filled with despair and numbness.
One of them, a stooped old man, cautiously walked up to Ren Arakawa and said in a hoarse voice, "Sir, what... what part of your ship is broken?"
Ren Arakawa sized up the old man and said, "The hull is damaged, and there are some problems with the keel. Can you fix it?"
The old man nodded slightly, glanced at the mountains of wrecked ships around them, and said, "We can fix it, we can fix it. As long as there's material, we can fix it. How will you be paying? Berry or food?"
Ren Arakawa nodded slightly. "Either is fine. My ship is at the harbor. Find the materials yourselves, and carry them yourselves."
Just as the other pitiful souls who had lost their shadows were about to start searching for materials, the leading old man suddenly stopped what he was doing. With a nervous yet expectant expression, he mustered his courage and asked, "Sir, we don't want any money. We just have a few questions. May I ask which Pirate crew you belong to? How many people are on your ship? What is the highest Bounty of your captain? This is very important to me."
Ren Arakawa raised an eyebrow slightly, not surprised by the old man's string of questions. He answered casually, "Three hundred million Berry."
As soon as these words were spoken, the strange tree standing beside him trembled so violently that its teeth chattered. Its huge trunk couldn't stop shaking, as if it had heard some terrifying number.
But those people who had lost their shadows and were like walking corpses seemed to have heard the best news of their lives, and they all cheered in unison.
"That's... that's great!"
The long-lost light of hope flickered in their eyes, and their originally ashen faces showed a hint of vitality due to this sudden joy.
Gecko Moria's Bounty was only a little over three hundred million Berry. Now, this mysterious lord before them also had a Bounty of three hundred million Berry. In their hearts, this might mean a turning point, a chance that this great lord could change their tragic fate.
The lead old man's face was flushed, and he spoke with great embarrassment, "Sir, we don't want any payment! We will definitely repair your ship to perfection in the most efficient way possible. But could we... could we please ask you to help us get our shadows back? If you can, we are willing to serve you for the rest of our lives!"
As he spoke, the hundred or so people knelt down in unison and kowtowed, creating an incredibly spectacular scene.
Ren Arakawa looked at the scene before him and said slowly, "How about this. Since you don't want money and only want your shadows, can you use the ships here, plus my original ship, to piece together a bigger one for me? I want it to be sturdier."
Hearing this, the people first looked at each other, then nodded vigorously.
The old man stood up and said respectfully, "Rest assured, sir, we will do our best! Although these ships are old and broken, there are some sturdy materials among them. We will definitely build a great ship that will satisfy you!"
Inside that gloomy and luxurious room, the candlelight flickered, casting eerie shadows on the walls.
Gecko Moria was lazily leaning on his giant throne, holding a delicate red wine glass. The red wine in the glass glowed with a seductive light under the candlelight, like fresh blood.
He gently swirled the wine glass, the aroma of wine filling the air.
Below the throne, his three main officers were idling about.
The Ghost Princess, Perona, dressed in a Gothic Lolita dress, was holding a bright red tomato in her delicate hands and eating it with relish. Traces of tomato juice lingered at the corners of her mouth. Her lively big eyes appeared exceptionally bright in the dim light.
Absalom stood to one side, dressed in splendid attire, also holding a glass of red wine. He would take a light sip from time to time, a smug smile on his face.
At this moment, they looked incomparably relaxed. This gloomy world was their paradise.
Gecko Moria tilted his head back slightly and drained the red wine in his glass. Then he slowly opened his mouth, his voice low and hoarse, "The food has been a bit scarce lately. It's time to start the hunt."
Hogback, who was standing nearby, heard this and said respectfully, "Yes, Captain. I'll get right on it."
Just as he was about to turn and leave, a burst of hurried footsteps came from a distance, breaking the original silence in the room.
Everyone looked towards the sound and saw a strange tree rushing in, flustered.
Upon seeing Moria, the strange tree's face instantly turned pale with fright. It fell to its knees with a "thud" and kowtowed repeatedly, stammering, "Cap-Captain, that lord asked me to bring you a message. As long as you hand over the shadows and surrender to him..."
Before he could finish, Absalom flew into a rage. Using the power of his Clear-Clear Fruit, his figure vanished in an instant, leaving only a gust of wind.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of the strange tree, his eyes wide with anger, and roared, "Daydreaming, you traitor! I will kill you on behalf of Lord Moria!"
As he spoke, a sharp dagger appeared in his hand, its cold light glinting as it stabbed straight at the strange tree.
The tree wasn't an idiot. It immediately turned and ran, crying as it fled.
"What else was I supposed to do?! They're both worth three hundred million Berry! I can't afford to offend either of them..."
The strange tree ran out, and Absalom returned to the room with his dagger.
Gecko Moria swayed his fat body slightly, his gaze slowly turning to Absalom. His tone carried a hint of displeasure and suspicion, "Absalom, go see what's going on. I didn't even know someone came to the island. Is Hilton slacking off? Is he hanging upside down from some tree, sleeping?"
Absalom snorted coldly, his face full of disdain, and replied, "Hmph, to dare cause trouble on our turf, I'll definitely teach him a lesson."
With that, his figure vanished in an instant. The power of the Clear-Clear Fruit activated, leaving only a faint ripple in the air to prove his recent existence.
At the same time, on a certain floor of the old castle.
Ren Arakawa was currently in a corridor. The candles on the walls flickered, and a cold wind howled through the broken windows, making sounds like the weeping of ghosts and the howling of wolves, echoing in the empty corridor.
Ren Arakawa walked forward slowly, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over a few ancient paintings on the wall.
In that instant, he felt as if the figures in the paintings had come to life. Pairs of eyes were staring intently at him, filled with strangeness and malice.
Ren Arakawa frowned slightly, stopped in his tracks, and looked at the paintings again.
However, when he focused his gaze to look closely, the paintings had returned to normal, hanging quietly on the wall, as if everything just now had been his illusion.
Without any hesitation, he quickly formed hand seals and shouted in a low voice, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
In an instant, a powerful flame shot out from his mouth, heading straight for the paintings on the wall.
Those paintings seemed to have been scared into "jumping" by this sudden attack. The moment the fireball was about to hit, eerie figures drilled out from the picture frames.
They bared their fangs and brandished their claws, jumping up and down and letting out miserable wails, trying to dodge the searing flames.
Ren Arakawa looked at the chaotic and bizarre scene before him and commented disdainfully, "Trying to act in a horror movie without any real skills? At best, you're on the level of Harry Potter. It would be about right to add some fantasy elements."
Just as Ren Arakawa was watching this group of creatures scurrying around.
Suddenly, with a loud "whoosh," a rocket came flying over with a "swish," heading straight for Pirate Ren Arakawa's side!
Ren Arakawa's eyes narrowed. Without a word, he threw a punch!
"Boom—" The punch collided with the rocket, the sound so loud it was deafening! The walls of the old castle couldn't withstand it and were directly blown into a huge hole. Bricks flew everywhere, and dust instantly filled the air.
Those scary zombies that had drilled out of the paintings, who had been screaming and wailing, were now all stunned. Their eyes were wide, and their mouths were open wide enough to stuff two large apples in.