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Inside the Castle
In the elongated corridor lined with red carpet, flickering lights illuminated the entire hallway. At the far end, a human-shaped hole with two cat ears was faintly visible.
— It was formed by Nightmare Meowth's wild charge.
From the distant direction, the sound of explosions indicated that Nightmare Meowth was engaged in a battle with something.
On both sides of the corridor walls, there were peculiar animal paintings.
"All these tasteless paintings... It really is fitting for someone who hides in dark seas and doesn't dare to come out," Aqua, draped in her goddess mantle, walked ahead, continuously complaining about the messy paintings with disdain.
"Hehehehe."
A faint snicker echoed in the empty hallway. When Aqua, noticing the anomaly, turned around, she saw nothing.
As Aqua looked back and continued walking, the snicker came again from somewhere unknown.
"Strange pictures and an injured piglet," Kanna, who was following behind, was attracted by a pig-headed painting on the side.
Standing on her tiptoes with her tiny legs tightly together, she raised herself to closely examine the adorable face in the painting.
As she gazed intently, the picture frame of the pig-headed painting shook without warning.
With increasingly rampant snickers, the hideous pig head in the painting suddenly materialized and leaped out!
"Hahaha! Didn't see that coming, did you? I'm actually…"
Growl!
Before the zombie pig's scary introduction was finished, it was suddenly engulfed by a huge mouth.
Almost instinctively, the food-loving Kanna gobbled it up in one bite!
"What?!!!"
Around them, the horrifying zombies, who had eagerly awaited the sight of the cute girl being frightened to tears, were themselves terrified by this shocking scene, panic-stricken, and emerging from the paintings with exaggeratedly wide eyes.
Even the carpet zombies rolled and cried out in surprise.
For the first time, these zombies, who had scared countless people, encountered such a brutally straightforward little girl!
Having exposed all the terrifying zombies with one move, Kanna now shivered uncomfortably, feeling like she had swallowed something wrong.
Realizing her mistake, she promptly spat out the zombie pig.
"Damn! Even though I look like an injured piglet, I'm a handsome zombie. Please respect me, you greedy little thing!"
Enraged, the zombie pig swung its long knife furiously, charging at Kanna, who was still recovering.
Buzz! A brilliant blue magic circle appeared at its feet, the goddess's radiance shining brightly as it simply and violently purified the shadow from its body.
With a thud, the unconscious zombie pig fell to the ground.
"Filthy, disgusting things shouldn't exist in this goddess's sight, you pig-headed freak, and…"
With an unexpectedly reliable demeanor, Aqua gently brushed aside her blue hair covering her eyes.
The goddess's staff appeared out of thin air, and with a burst of light, the carpet zombies, painting zombies, and other terrifying zombies fell one by one, without the slightest resistance!
"How terrifying, who is this crazy-looking woman, and how can she easily take down so many of our brothers?!"
The surviving shadow zombies, drenched in sweat, quickly leaped out of the picture frames and ran as fast as they could upon landing.
Designed to scare intruders, these terrifying zombies were now fleeing in terror themselves, an utterly disgraceful sight.
If these cowards had been braver and rushed forward without regard for their lives, the one running would have been Aqua, whose divine power was nearly exhausted…
"Kanna, are you okay?" After chasing away the terrifying zombies, Aqua squatted in front of the pale-faced Kanna.
"No, just a really disgusting taste in my mouth."
Recalling the awful flavor from earlier, Kanna frowned deeply, her pure eyes filled with determination as she vowed never to eat anything from this castle again.
"That's a small problem, a small problem," Aqua chuckled, raising her index finger towards Kanna's slightly open mouth.
The next moment, a purifying stream of clear water gushed out, giving Kanna a good rinse.
Using the holy water of the foolish goddess for a mouthwash was a privilege that only Kanna enjoyed in the entire sea restaurant.
"Much better! Thank you, Aqua~" A refreshed Kanna bowed politely.
"Oh, no need to thank me, we're partners!" Aqua's prideful heart melted, revealing a rare, beautifully affectionate smile.
Kanna blinked and turned her gaze away from Aqua, her pure white dragon horns swiveling as she looked around.
"Zyhark is missing," she said slowly.
Hearing this, Aqua frowned, looking around the chaotic mess left by the fleeing terrifying zombies, indeed not finding any trace of Zyhark!
Come to think of it, she hadn't seen him since they entered the castle.
When had he disappeared?
Aqua closed her eyes to think, but all she could recall were images of herself striding forward proudly.
"Uh…"
The foolish goddess twitched her mouth, her eyes rolling before she made a confident conclusion:
"No need to worry, Zyhark must be lost."
"That troublesome guy should have followed closely behind this goddess from the start!"
Kanna simply blinked, not even uttering her usual catchphrase, clearly not believing Aqua's nonsense.
"Ahaha, ahahaha."
The somewhat self-aware fool scratched her head and laughed awkwardly.
"Wait! Wait, wait, wait! This is a great opportunity!"
The foolish goddess suddenly brightened up, patting her forehead.
She remembered the incredible secret the injured old man had mentioned earlier: this castle was full of treasures that could be exchanged for drinks!
Helping others reclaim their shadows was no longer her concern with the strengthened Meowth around.
And with Zyhark conveniently absent, it was a rare chance to search for treasure!
Having her own independent source of income had always been Aqua's dream.
Now, with the hope of achieving her dream of unlimited drinks before her, she couldn't help but feel excited!
As for whether the missing Zyhark was safe, such thoughts never crossed her mind.
In Aqua's eyes, the chance of the cunning Zyhark being ambushed was as likely as Eris's chest growing naturally—both equally impossible!
"Come on, Kanna, let's go gather some funds for drinks!"
Feeling "extremely clever," the foolish goddess decided.
Though Kanna wanted to say she didn't drink, seeing Aqua's excitement, she nodded and let Aqua lead her to the castle's basement.
Foolish goddess: Treasures must be hidden in the most secluded places!
...
Let's rewind a bit.
With unreasonable brute force, Nightmare Meowth charged ahead, smashing all the soldier and general zombies blocking his path.
He continued his rampage until he tore through the sturdy castle walls with a claw, arriving at the grand and spacious upper hall.
"You, who look like a giant leek, are you the Shichibukai?"
Nightmare Meowth, holding a heavy long knife, glared ahead fiercely.
There, a tall figure with legs crossed leisurely sipped red wine.
"I don't remember having a talking cat on my ship."
Moria, still retaining some muscle definition, glanced at Nightmare Meowth.
"So, you're a Zoan Devil Fruit user from the Sea Restaurant's Endless Dream. What do you want from me?"
Receiving confirmation, Nightmare Meowth stabbed his long knife into the ground.
Recalling Zyhark's trusting smile before departure, he grinned: "I'm here to capture you for our captain, meow!"
"Hehehehe! If you want to talk to me, let him come himself."
Moria lazily swirled his wine glass, raising an eyebrow. "As for you, leave it to my obedient friend."
Before Nightmare Meowth could understand, the ceiling of the hall shattered with a crash.
A massive figure descended from above, swinging a colossal fist towards Nightmare Meowth.
Without Observation Haki, Nightmare Meowth could only barely raise his arms to shield himself.
Boom! The giant's terrifying strength mixed with the Lightning Boy's technique created a storm, sending Nightmare Meowth flying.
Crashing through the castle walls, he landed in the dark forest outside.
"Oars, are you still thinking of becoming the Pirate King?"
Moria looked at the giant Oars's huge face.
When infused with the Lightning Boy's shadow, Oars had retained some of his original consciousness but had now regained full control.
"No longer, my master."
Oars's simple words carried a gusty force.
"Then go, let me see your strength," Moria said calmly.
"Understood, master!"
Obeying the order, Oars stomped out of the castle, charging towards Nightmare Meowth's landing spot.
Broken bricks fell, one accidentally hitting Moria's head, leaving a big red bump.
"Idiot!"
Pressing the bump down, Moria cursed.
At that moment, electric arcs flashed, and a steady voice tinged with mockery spoke.
"You seem busy, Gecko Moria."
Moria was initially startled, then calmed upon seeing the visitor.
"Hehehehe! I heard you were looking for me, the world's most wanted criminal, Extreme Thunder Zyhark?"
He slowly stood up. "Coincidentally, I need a favor from you too."
From the newspaper, Moria knew the opponent had escaped from two Admirals, showcasing formidable strength.
So he didn't summon the zombie army immediately—it wouldn't help much.
"Since you know me, this should be easier."
Zyhark, arriving at the scene, didn't respond directly.
After scrutinizing this era's Moria, he smiled and extended his arm naturally.
"Become my subordinate, Moria!"
...
In the castle basement.
Oars's sudden attack affected Aqua and Kanna as the ground cracked beneath them, dropping them to a deeper level.
Kanna, with her excellent balance, landed steadily, while Aqua stumbled and fell headfirst.
As the foolish goddess stood up cursing, Kanna had already begun exploring the dimly lit basement.
Knowing Aqua's goal was to steal treasures (though Aqua insisted it was requisition), the always well-behaved Kanna felt nervous, even tiptoeing cautiously.
Soon, Kanna found a door marked "Treasure Inside."
She waved at Aqua, her cautious demeanor exceedingly cute.
"This won't do, Kanna, we have important things to do now."
Compared to Kanna, Aqua had no vigilance, proudly patting her chest, "But if you want to challenge me to a shadow puppet duel, I'll give it my all!"
Confidently, Aqua raised her hands, creating a lifelike shadow fortress under the dim light.
"Hehehe, how about that, Kanna, cool, right?"
Kanna: -
Taking a deep breath to suppress any rude thoughts, Kanna pointed to the door's inscription, "It looks like there's treasure inside."
"Huh? Treasure is hidden here?!"
Surprised, Aqua abandoned her useless shadow puppet skills, rushing to peek inside.
With her divine sight piercing the dim light, she saw an empty room with a conspicuous treasure chest.
Excited, Aqua stepped forward without thinking.
Fortunately, smart Kanna held her back, throwing a stone inside.
The stone rolled several times, touching the chest.
"Surprise! It's not treasure but a zombie!"
The chest lid flew open, and a fierce zombie sprang out.
"Huh? Why aren't you scared?"
Seeing the intruders unmoved, the chest zombie's grotesque face filled with confusion.
As it puzzled, the chandelier above spoke, "Don't be silly, that woman can purify shadows, run!"
Without hesitation, the chandelier fled, leaving the chest zombie bewildered.
"Wait, wait, what do you mean by purifying shadows…"
Before it finished, a brilliant blue magic circle formed on the ground.
Fear of "death" spread instantly, and the chest zombie panicked.
Unlike the chandelier, it had no legs to escape, only able to watch the blue light cover it in horror.
Then...
Nothing happened.
After waiting for a while, the chest zombie opened its eyes, confirming the circle had vanished and it was unharmed.
"Damn chandelier, you scared me!"
Hearing this, the chandelier returned.
"Everyone, come quick! This witch can't purify shadows now, let's get her!"
With a shout, the shadow zombies gathered, each gearing up fiercely.
Seeing this, Aqua's face twitched.
Realizing her divine power was depleted, the foolish goddess awkwardly smiled.
"Haha, good evening, gentlemen zombies, had dinner yet?"
(End of Chapter)