Seeing his zombies panic, Moria was far from pleased.
"You're zombies under me!" he scolded. "The first rule is to stay calm, even if the sky is falling! What kind of zombie freaks out over a small pirate crew? You're embarrassing me!"
The zombie delivering the news still looked frantic. "No, Master, this enemy is really—"
"Really what?" Moria cut him off harshly. "Really strong? Stronger than me, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
The zombie tried to continue, "No, it's not that he—"
"Shut up!!" Moria snapped. "Calm yourself first, and come back when you've done that! As for Absalom? If he drops my name, I doubt any pirate would dare mess with him! No one dares to disrespect Moria!"
He nearly finished saying that no one survived an offense against him but stopped short, remembering there were quite a few still alive and well.
"Haha, yes, Master," Perona chimed in with a laugh. "Once they hear your name, those pirates will be shaking in their boots!" She had been too worried earlier to remember that obvious fact—who in their right mind would dare challenge her master?
Surely Absalom was safe, probably getting served food and drink aboard the pirate ship after dropping Moria's name, Perona thought.
"By the way, Master, what was it you were going to say? About people not...?"
"You talk too much!" Moria growled, glaring at her.
A short while later, the zombie soldier finally composed himself, calmly sitting down and, out of nowhere, pulling out a cup of coffee to sip from.
Moria stared at him, baffled. "My zombie is drinking coffee before I do?"
He wanted to lash out but decided to let it slide—just this once. "Alright, now tell me. What pirate crew are we dealing with?"
"The Straw Hat Pirates!" the zombie said casually, taking another sip.
Moriah froze for a moment. "The Straw Hat Pirates, you say?" Then, as if something clicked, his voice skyrocketed in volume. "You mean that Straw Hat Pirates? The crew with Demon King Kai, who's got a 2-billion bounty?!"
"Yes, that's them!" the zombie confirmed, sipping his coffee once more.
Moria jumped up, yelling, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"
"Master, didn't you say there was no need to rush?" the zombie asked, genuinely confused.
"Are you a fool?! Don't you know when to adapt?" Moria fumed. The sight of the zombie sipping coffee so casually enraged him further.
"Since you're so clueless, there's no need for you to stick around!" Moria declared as he activated his Devil Fruit ability. The zombie soldier began writhing in pain, begging for his life, but Moria was relentless.
Within moments, the zombie's shadow was peeled away, leaving his body limp. Moria tossed the shadow aside, deeming it useless.
Perona, now trembling, turned to Moria. "Master... what should we do if it's really him—Kai?"
Her heart sank as she realized why the man had given her such a terrifying feeling. Kai, a pirate with a 2-billion bounty, was far more dangerous than anyone she'd ever encountered, far surpassing even her master's old bounty before becoming a Shichibukai.
Moriah didn't respond immediately. His expression was dark as he processed the situation. After a few deep breaths, he muttered, "These idiots didn't even realize who they were dealing with. They treated Kai like any other prey!"
His anger boiled over. His crew had recklessly provoked one of the most dangerous pirates in the world, putting him in a tight spot. While Moria could dismiss most of the Straw Hats, he couldn't overlook Kai, the man who had taken down the Golden Lion.
Moria's fear was well-founded—he knew the strength of someone like the Golden Lion, and Kai had defeated him. Among Moria's own zombie generals were legends like Captain John, Ochoku, and Silver Axe—pirates who once sailed with the Golden Lion. But without powerful enough shadows, Moria couldn't fully utilize their strength.
As he thought about it, Moria's mind turned to Kai, and a plan started to form.
Despite his fear, Moria couldn't ignore the fact that Absalom was still in Kai's grasp. He had no choice but to confront the situation. If Kai refused to negotiate or something happened to Absalom, Moria would be forced into action.
A cruel gleam flashed in Moria's eyes as he made up his mind. He stood up and turned to Perona. "Wake all the zombie generals! We're moving out. It's time to go!"
"Yes, Master!" Perona replied, sprinting outside to carry out his orders.
Left alone for a moment, Moria muttered quietly to himself, "Demon King Kai..."
Elsewhere, on the island...
"Ow!" came the yelp of a large three-headed dog.
"Quit your whining!" Luffy scolded, giving the creature a solid punch.
"Ow!"
"Hahaha! This dog's pretty funny!" Luffy laughed as the beast backed off.
Kai, standing nearby, chuckled. "Even after becoming a zombie, it knows when to fall in line. I bet its shadow belonged to someone with a lot of guts."
Sanji, taking a drag from his cigarette, added, "Speaking of which, I wonder where Brook went and if he's managed to get his shadow back."
"Of course he will! Brook's awesome!" Luffy said with a grin.
Zoro, unimpressed, rolled his eyes. "And what does being 'awesome' have to do with getting his shadow back?"
Nami, clearly unsettled by the spooky surroundings, sidled up to Kai and clung to his arm. "Kai, I'm scared!"
Kai sighed, a bit exasperated. "You ate the Thunder Fruit, Nami. You're practically a walking storm now. You're the worst enemy these ghosts could have."
Realization dawned on Nami. She slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "Oh right! I did eat the Thunder Fruit!"
Everyone stood there in awkward silence.
Kai couldn't help but shake his head. He wasn't sure if Luffy's habit of forgetting important things was rubbing off on Nami, or if her fear of the supernatural was just making her forget. Either way, it was pretty embarrassing.
But what happened next left them all wide-eyed...
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Power Stones would be appreciated if you liked the story.