If we were talking purely in terms of raw power, Takumi had no doubt Enel would come out on top over Moria.
But Enel had a glaring weakness—his overconfidence and tendency to underestimate his opponents.
"You want to fight Moria? Fine," Takumi thought for a moment before adding a bit of advice. "But be careful. He's got the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, which lets him control shadows."
Enel glanced at Takumi, grinning as he said, "I got it. Yahahaha, it feels good to finally have your approval. Looks like this guy isn't as tough as I thought. Hopefully, he won't disappoint me."
Takumi: "…"
This guy is seriously full of himself. I wasn't praising you…
Deciding not to waste any more words, Takumi walked up to the large iron gate surrounding the eerie castle and pushed it open. Enel followed close behind.
As soon as they stepped through the gates, a woman with short, pale yellow hair and a ghostly white face, with two stitched-up scars, appeared in front of them. She was carrying a stack of plates and greeted them with a deadpan expression. "Welcome."
Before either of them could respond, she started hurling the plates at them one after another.
"This woman doesn't have a sound... she's a zombie, isn't she?" Enel said dismissively. "Are those plates supposed to be weapons?"
Without missing a beat, Enel raised his hand and shot out several streaks of lightning, shattering the plates mid-air.
When she had run out of plates, the woman glared at them coldly and said, "This mansion doesn't welcome uninvited guests. Die."
"What did you say?" Enel narrowed his eyes at her.
Just then, a gravelly voice came from deeper inside the castle. "That's enough. Hold on a moment…"
A rotund man stepped out from the shadows, dressed in a fishnet shirt, with a fur coat draped over his shoulders. His forehead was stitched together, and he wore small round glasses and a mask that hung from his chin. He approached with an air of arrogance. "It's fine to make a few exceptions now and then, Sindri. Sorry for the scare. This is Sindri, a former maid with a tragic past. She smashed all her wealthy fiancé's prized plates to test his love, and after being kicked out, she now despises all plates."
The man paused for a moment before continuing. "Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Dr. Hogback, the genius surgeon renowned around the world."
"Genius?" Enel raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "Hogback, huh? Who the hell is that?"
"What? You don't know who I am?" Hogback asked, genuinely shocked.
Sindri's face darkened as she muttered, "Plates… all plates should disappear from the world."
Hogback immediately turned to her, adopting a submissive tone. "I understand. I completely understand. Didn't I just tell them?"
Enel: "…"
Takumi: "…"
If Takumi hadn't already known these two's backgrounds, he might have believed this ridiculous act.
Hogback, Moria's right-hand man, was responsible for all the bizarre reanimated corpses wandering Thriller Bark. As for Sindri, she wasn't just a maid—she was once a famous stage actress.
Back when Hogback was still a doctor, Sindri had injured her leg and came to him for treatment. She had even mended a button on his coat.
Hogback had fallen for her, and when she smiled at him as she left his clinic, he'd planned to confess his love. But when he saw she already had a fiancé, he gave up. Later, when Sindri tragically died after falling from the stage, Moria offered Hogback a deal—if he helped Moria, he'd bring Sindri back to life. And so, Hogback stole her body, enhanced it for combat, and had Moria use his powers to resurrect her.
Of course, it wasn't a true resurrection. Moria had merely taken someone else's shadow and forced it into Sindri's body, turning her into a zombie.
Takumi knew all about Hogback and Sindri's history. Enel, on the other hand, didn't.
Enel rolled his eyes. "This idiot's supposed to be a genius? You've got to be kidding me."
Takumi gave him a sidelong glance.
Why is this guy so obsessed with the word "genius"?
Sindri ignored Hogback's groveling, turning away as she walked back inside the castle. "I'll allow you two to enter this once. Come in. You're welcome."
With that, she disappeared into the interior.
Hogback immediately followed up, "Yes, yes! Come inside, come inside."
"Hmph." Enel sneered, glancing at Takumi.
Takumi didn't hesitate, striding forward through the open doors.
Once they had both entered, Hogback trailed after them.
They walked down a stone hallway, eventually emerging into a grand hall. Abstract paintings covered the walls, a long dining table sat in the center, and a grand chandelier hung from the ceiling, illuminating the space. A large fireplace took up one side of the room, flanked by staircases leading upward.
Hogback gestured for Takumi and Enel to sit at the long table.
"Hohohoho, welcome to my humble abode. Now, what brings you two here?" Hogback asked with a smile.
"Your mansion?" Enel chuckled lightly. "I thought this place belonged to Gecko Moria, one of the Seven Warlords. Or are you saying you're stronger than Moria?"
"Huh?" Hogback was clearly thrown off by the question, blinking in confusion. "What are you talking about? Moria? Who's that? You must be mistaken…"
"Still playing dumb, huh?" Enel huffed, raising his hand and sending a bolt of lightning directly at Hogback.
"Ahhhhh!" Hogback didn't have time to dodge and collapsed onto the table, unconscious from the shock.
"Pathetic," Enel muttered in disgust.
At that moment, Sindri entered the room carrying a wooden tray with a single pudding on it. She paid no mind to Hogback, who was lying passed out on the table, and used her hand to grab the pudding—completely ignoring any plates—and placed it in front of Takumi and Enel.
Takumi hadn't planned on eating anything from the beginning.
Enel's expression turned dark. "Woman… you dare insult me? Fine."
Without warning, Enel unleashed a surge of lightning, shocking Sindri until she collapsed, charred black. Even so, she continued muttering under her breath, "Plates should just disappear from this world…"
"Hmph! Know your place," Enel said with irritation. "Takumi, Moria's a man, right?"
Takumi gave a simple reply, "Yeah."
"Good. I'm going to find him. Once I'm done, I'll come back for you."
"Alright."
As soon as the words left Takumi's mouth, Enel transformed into lightning and shot off toward Moria's location.
Takumi, meanwhile, calmly rose from the table, deciding to explore the castle.
As he neared the fireplace and right-hand staircase, a pig's head on a shield-shaped wall decoration suddenly sprang to life.
"Hehehehehe, finally, that troublesome guy is gone," the pig-headed creature snickered. "You really have the nerve to come in here after knowing the master's name. Guess you've got guts. Hehehe, let's see how you handle this! Time to 'welcome' you properly, kid!"
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