"Let's go, get on the ship. The scenery here is actually pretty good."
After giving Nami and Nico Robin enough time to process their shock, Ryūjin finally called out to them.
"Really, Ryūjin?"
Nami looked at him with obvious suspicion.
Just looking at the giant ship from afar already made her skin crawl. The entire atmosphere surrounding Thriller Bark felt sinister and cursed. No matter how she looked at it, there was no way the scenery could possibly be good.
"Trust me, you'll remember this place for the rest of your life," Ryūjin replied with a grin.
With a single thought, his body rose into the air and flew directly from their ship onto Thriller Bark.
Nami and Robin obviously couldn't do that, so they waited for Crocodile to properly dock the ship before climbing down carefully.
The moment they stepped onto the island, a rotten, musty smell hit them head-on.
It felt like entering a giant graveyard.
The surroundings were filled with cracked stone paths, dead trees, weeds, skulls, and dried bloodstains scattered across the ground. Under the moonlight, everything looked even more eerie.
Nami's face turned pale.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
Suddenly, a terrifying three-headed zombie dog burst out from the darkness.
Three decaying dog heads had been stitched onto one enormous body. Rotten flesh hung from its skin, and its glowing eyes stared at them viciously. Under the moonlight, its jagged fangs looked especially horrifying.
"M-Monster!"
Nami screamed and nearly collapsed on the spot.
Robin remained far more composed, though even her expression stiffened slightly.
"Old Sand, deal with it."
Ryūjin didn't even bother moving. A creature like this wasn't worth his attention.
"Sandstorm!"
Crocodile raised his hand immediately.
A violent sand tornado exploded forward and swallowed the zombie dog whole. The beast only managed to let out one miserable howl before its body was ripped apart into pieces.
The group continued deeper into Thriller Bark.
After several turns, they arrived at a narrow path surrounded by crooked stone markers.
At first, Nami didn't notice anything strange.
Then her expression froze.
Those stones were gravestones.
This entire place was a cemetery.
"Ryūjin, maybe we should walk faster..." Nami said nervously as her scalp tingled.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The ground suddenly split apart.
One rotten hand after another burst from the earth.
Then corpses began crawling out from underground.
Zombies appeared everywhere in an instant, surrounding them from every direction like a tide of the dead.
"All of you, fuck off."
Ryūjin released an overwhelming wave of Six Paths pressure while letting out a cold roar.
The charging zombies instantly froze.
Then panic erupted among them.
The undead army fled in terror as if they had seen something far more terrifying than death itself. One after another, they desperately crawled back into their graves.
Within seconds, the cemetery returned to silence.
It was as though nothing had happened.
Nami stood there speechless.
Robin's eyes narrowed slightly.
Even zombies were terrified of Ryūjin.
"N-Nani?!"
High above the cemetery, a modified zombie bat witnessed everything clearly.
Its eyes nearly popped out from shock.
"T-This is bad. I need to report this to Master immediately!"
The bat flapped its wings frantically and flew away.
A short while later, it arrived inside a dark but luxurious room deep within Thriller Bark.
At that moment, Gecko Moria was entertaining a guest personally.
The man sitting nearby was enormous, nearly seven meters tall, wearing a spotted hat and holding a Bible in his hand.
One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Bartholomew Kuma.
"Ryūjin defeated Crocodile too?" Moria asked with surprise after hearing Kuma's report.
Two Warlords defeated consecutively was no small matter.
"Tch. Crocodile was always trash," Moria scoffed dismissively.
Then he narrowed his eyes at Kuma.
"But why come all the way here just to tell me about Demon Eye Ryūjin?"
"The World Government believes his next target is you," Kuma replied calmly. "They're concerned another Warlord may fall."
"What bullshit are you saying?!"
Moria instantly exploded in anger, grabbing Kuma's collar.
"You think I'll lose to that brat?! You came here to warn me?"
Ryūjin defeating Mihawk and Crocodile had indeed shocked Moria.
But this was Thriller Bark.
His territory.
His kingdom of zombies.
Even if the zombie army couldn't defeat Kaido, dealing with one pirate rookie shouldn't be difficult.
Otherwise, what was the point of all his years of preparation?
Kuma remained expressionless.
"If necessary, I'll assist you."
"Assist me?"
Moria's face darkened even further.
"I don't need your help. Just sit there and watch how I crush Demon Eye Ryūjin without even lifting a finger!"
Flap! Flap! Flap!
The zombie bat rushed into the room at that moment.
"Master! Someone has invaded Thriller Bark! The zombies in the graveyard were too scared to even come out!"
Moria and Kuma's expressions changed slightly.
"Most likely Ryūjin," Kuma said.
After hearing the description from the bat, Kuma confirmed the intruder's identity immediately.
Ever since Ryūjin defeated Mihawk and Crocodile, the Marines had been keeping close watch on him. Sengoku, Aokiji, Smoker, and several others already had detailed intelligence on Ryūjin.
"Hehehehe!"
Moria suddenly laughed loudly.
"Good. Perfect!"
His eyes filled with excitement.
For years, he had searched for the perfect shadow to place inside Oars' corpse.
But nobody suitable had appeared.
Until now.
Demon Eye Ryūjin was exactly what he needed.
Only someone as powerful as Ryūjin could bring Oars' body to its full potential.
At that point, even Kaido wouldn't matter anymore.
"I'll stay here," Moria said casually to the zombie bat. "Go lead Ryūjin here so he doesn't get lost."
Then he crossed his arms and smirked at Kuma.
"Watch carefully. I'll handle him without moving a single step."
"Demon Eye Ryūjin..."
A female voice sounded nearby.
Standing beside Moria were two more figures.
One was Doctor Hogback, the bizarre surgeon with stitches across his forehead.
The other was Perona, holding her parasol with pink twin tails swaying lightly behind her.
As for Absalom, he was present too, remaining invisible with the Clear-Clear Fruit.
Perona stepped forward confidently.
"Leave him to me. I want to see how long he lasts against my Negative Hollows."
"Ahahahaha!"
Moria burst into laughter.
Nobody aboard Thriller Bark had ever resisted Perona's Negative Hollows before.
Not once.
Even Demon Eye Ryūjin wouldn't be an exception.
Meanwhile, the zombie bat quickly found Ryūjin and his group.
"Demon Eye Ryūjin, Master Moria is waiting for you. Please follow me."
"That was fast," Ryūjin said casually.
"Lead the way."
The truth was, the moment Ryūjin stepped onto Thriller Bark, his Observation Haki had already located Moria's exact position.
Still, since they were kind enough to send a guide, he saw no reason to refuse.
Under the bat's guidance, Ryūjin and the others eventually arrived inside a massive castle hall.
Creak.
The giant doors slowly opened.
Gecko Moria, Bartholomew Kuma, and the three strange subordinates entered their sight.
Even Absalom's invisible presence was completely exposed under Ryūjin's perception.
"Hehehehe!"
Moria laughed strangely after seeing Ryūjin.
"Demon Eye Ryūjin, welcome to hell!"
"Hell?"
Ryūjin smirked.
"This place barely qualifies as a haunted amusement park."
"Lord Ryūjin, allow me to handle him," Crocodile offered immediately.
"Lord?"
Both Moria and Kuma were visibly shocked.
Crocodile calling someone "Lord" was unbelievable.
Defeating Crocodile was one thing.
Subduing him was something entirely different.
"So the World Government's information was incomplete..." Kuma thought silently.
Ryūjin's threat level rose once again in his mind.
"No need."
Ryūjin waved dismissively.
If someone else killed them, he wouldn't receive their Devil Fruits.
He had to do it personally.
"Hm? A bug like you actually thinks you can sneak attack me?"
Ryūjin suddenly sneered and reached casually toward empty air beside him.
Crack!
The sound of a neck snapping echoed loudly.
Nami and Robin widened their eyes in shock as a figure slowly appeared from thin air.
Absalom.
His neck hung limply.
Dead instantly.
Perona's expression became more serious.
This Ryūjin was far more dangerous than expected.
Without hesitation, she raised her hand.
"Negative Hollow!"
Three ghostly hollows rushed toward Ryūjin instantly.
"That useless trick won't work on me."
Ryūjin smiled faintly.
His pupils shifted.
The Rinnegan appeared.
"Human Path."
He raised his hand calmly toward the incoming hollows.
Perona sneered confidently.
"It's useless! No attack can affect my Negative Hollows!"
Her ghosts existed on a spiritual level. Physical attacks were meaningless against them.
Unfortunately for her, she was facing Ryūjin.
The hollows reached him instantly.
But instead of passing through him harmlessly, Ryūjin's power grabbed hold of them directly.
Boom!
The Negative Hollows exploded apart on contact.
"Nani?!"
Perona's eyes widened in disbelief.
Even Gecko Moria nearly fell off his seat in shock.
Her Negative Hollows had been destroyed.
How was that even possible?
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