At that moment, the ghost floating above could no longer hold back and darted towards Kai.
Without even turning around, Kai raised his left hand swiftly, catching the ghost in midair. He grabbed it and pulled it in front of him. Though it was clearly a ghost, everyone could sense the fear radiating from it.
Kai stared at the ghost in his grip. He knew well that these were all projections of Ghost Princess Perona, and that their thoughts were connected. With a calm voice, he declared:
"If you dare target us, be prepared to face the consequences."
Then, with narrowed eyes, he added, "Go back and tell Moria that Absalom's life... is mine to take!"
With that, Kai's Haki surged, and the ghost in his hand disintegrated under the pressure of his willpower. The others watched in amazement—he could touch the ghost because of his mastery over Haki.
When Haki reaches a certain level, it becomes the natural counter to all Devil Fruit powers!
Meanwhile, in a distant room, Perona sat on her bed with her eyes closed, controlling her ghost clones. Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide and coughed up blood. Fear took over her face.
"Who... is that man?" she whispered, trembling. She had never seen anyone catch her ghosts with their bare hands, let alone injure her through her clones.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Perona cursed to herself: "Which idiot decided to target those people?"
She knew this was no ordinary crew and Absalom was in their hands. Panic set in as she remembered Kai's words about taking Absalom's life. Cold sweat dripped down her face.
"No! I have to warn Moria right away, or it might be too late!" she thought as she jumped off the bed and dashed outside.
Back on the ship, Absalom, still caught by Kai, tried to speak defiantly. But the grip on his neck tightened, cutting off his breath.
"You... you can't..." he choked out.
Kai's eyes narrowed, and with a sharp movement, a sickening crack echoed as the sound of bones breaking filled the air. Absalom's body went limp.
Every bone in his body... shattered.
As Kai let go, Absalom fell to the deck, barely alive, his breath shallow, his consciousness fading. The pain was excruciating, radiating from his very core.
Kai knelt down beside him, speaking in a low voice only Absalom could hear: "In your next life, don't be a fool who can't control himself around women."
With a casual flick of his finger, Kai sent a concentrated burst of Haki into Absalom's forehead, ending his life. His body went completely still as his aura faded away.
Almost immediately, a familiar basket of fruits appeared in front of Kai. Having only plundered Devil Fruits once before, Kai was now quite adept at this.
Before long, one of the apples in the basket started to change, turning into a transparent fruit.
Kai picked it up, examining it briefly before tossing it towards Sanji.
Sanji caught the fruit, his eyes wide with curiosity. "What's this?"
"Transparent Fruit," Kai replied.
"Transparent Fruit???" Sanji's eyes lit up with excitement. This was the very Devil Fruit he had dreamed of—his "god-tier" fruit! With it, he could become invisible and... sneak up on enemies!
Of course, peeking might cross his mind, but it was all for the sake of the crew, right? Even if people criticized him, Sanji was ready to endure it for the sake of his friends.
After a moment of deep thought, Sanji suddenly tossed the fruit back to Kai.
"Huh?" Kai raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You don't want it?"
Sanji's calm demeanor caught him off guard. The allure of the Transparent Fruit should have been overwhelming for him, but here he was, turning it down.
"I don't need it," Sanji replied simply.
Kai shrugged. If Sanji didn't want it, there was no need to push. He stored the fruit away, figuring it might come in handy later. Zoro and Usopp would have even less interest in it.
Then, with a swift kick, Kai sent Absalom's lifeless body into the sea.
"Who was that guy?" Luffy asked curiously.
"He's one of Moria's top three subordinates—Absalom," Brook explained.
"If he's here, that means..." Brook trailed off, scanning the surroundings. "Did you guys find a stray bottle recently?"
"Yeah! It turned into a glowing bomb when we opened it!" Luffy said.
"That's right! Moria had already targeted you then! And as for where we are now..."
Brook paused, his face turning grave.
"We're aboard the world's largest ship—the Thriller Bark! This is Moria's domain!"
"What?!" The crew gasped, shocked as they realized their situation.
Though surrounded by mist, they could make out the faint outline of towering walls around the ship, and in the distance... an island?
"Wait, are you saying this entire island is a ship?" Sanji asked, incredulous.
"Exactly!" Brook confirmed.
The crew couldn't help but gasp again. A ship the size of an island was beyond anything they had ever seen!
Brook then turned back to them. "Thank you for your offer to help me get my shadow back, but this is something I should handle myself. It's too dangerous for all of you."
"You should leave quickly while you still can," Brook said, bowing slightly before leaping overboard.
"Wait, isn't he a Devil Fruit user? Why'd he jump into the sea?" Zoro rushed to the side of the ship, confused.
To his surprise, he saw Brook running across the surface of the water.
Σ(⊙▽⊙"a!)
"Yohohoho~! Since I'm just bones, I'm light enough to run on the sea for short distances!"
With that, Brook waved his hand, continuing to dash off as he called back, "Goodbye, everyone~!"
"Yohohohoho~!"
-------------------------------
Power Stones would be appreciated if you liked the story.