The Miss Love Duck extended its bridge. Lexie and the Super Tortoise came off the bridge and into the water. There was a splash as they rocked the ocean.
Inside Lexie were Marianne, Robin, Saphir, Raki, and Maya who looked around.
Atop of the Super Tortoise were Alvida, Mikita, Honey, Nojiko, Vivi, Zala, Conis, and Kalifa.
Above them was Kaya, Ben, and Ashivra.
"Good thing we still have the walkie-talkies," Nojiko said as her voice crackled through the comms.
"We can stay in contact no matter where we are on this island," Vivi added with a smile on her lips.
"Princess just wants to talk to Ben," Mikita teased. They all giggled.
Ben cleared his throat. "It was a smart move," Ben replied. "We'll need to coordinate things when we have to split up," Ben added.
"Split up?" Maya asked.
"It is inevitable in these situations," Zala said. "With this place being enemy territory," she added. They all nodded.
To the distance, they saw a grotesque mouth with teeth and chains surrounding it.
"What is that?" Marianne asked as her eyes widened.
"Looks like we're about to get eaten," Robin said dryly.
"Eaten?" Saphir echoed. Marianne, Honey and Saphir looked alarmed.
Ben sighed. "No, it's a gate. Thriller Bark isn't an island. It's the world's largest ship which is surrounded by a moat. That mouth is the entrance and used to trap ships," Ben explained.
Conis blinked. "A ship the size of an island," Conis said in awe.
"It's incredible," Maya agreed.
"Would the Miss Love Duck ever grow to this size?" Raki asked.
"An floating island for the harem," Alvida said.
The girls thought about this. There was a smile on their faces.
Ben cleared his throat. He thought it was an interesting idea. "Let's head in," Ben said. They all nodded.
The coast was lined with twisted, dead trees. The air was thick with fog. There was a large mansion in the distance. They disembarked cautiously. Saphir remained aboard Lexie.
"This place is creepy," Kaya said as she flew down.
"Definitely not a holiday spot," Nojiko added as she hopped off.
Robin smiled faintly. "It requires a unique taste," she said.
"Very unique," Mikita echoed as she looked at a nearby gravestone half-buried in moss.
"Our ship island will not be like this," Alvida said.
Zala turned to Ben. "I forgot to ask, how exactly does Moria's power work?" she asked.
Ben looked at the girls. "Moria has the ability to manipulate shadows. He can extract a person using a pair of scissors," he said. "Then implant it into a corpse, reanimating it as a zombie. The shadows are under Moria's control over time," he added.
"And if your shadow's taken?" Honey asked.
"You lose consciousness temporarily. But more importantly, if sunlight touches you instantly die," Ben said.
"We did go over it before," Mikita said.
Zala stuck her tongue out to Mikita. "One more time does not hurt," she said.
At that moment, a three-headed dog appeared. It started to growl. He had multiple bandages over him. ha "What is that?" Raki asked.
"It looks like a dog," Honey responded.
"It is cute," Robin said.
"Is this a zombie dog?" Maya asked as she drew her sword.
"It is," Ben responded. He thought maybe Luffy had not encountered him, however he had bandages on him.
"A weird dog for sure," Ashivra as her black wings flapped.
"Is this one list to take down?" Mikita asked.
"I think so," Honey responded.
"It is," Robin confirmed. "Seis Fleur," Robin said as she sprouted six arms on Cerberus`s body. He could not move.
"Stinger Finger," Zala said as she turned her fingers into long spikes. She ran up and slashed Cerberus. Cerberus staggered back however he could not move back.
"Meteor Fist," Mikita said as she dramatically increased the weight in one of her hands. She swung her fist and punched Cerberus in the chest. The impact was explosive and generated a shockwave. Cerberus' mouth was open.
Vivi saw his mouth was open. She opened her pouch and threw a cube of salt into his mouth. Cerberus swallowed the cube of. Cerberus started to rock back and forth. His mouth opened and a black shadow appeared from his mouth.
"What is that?" Conis asked.
"That is the shadow stolen," Ben responded. The shadow flew to the air and into the sky. Cerberus collapsed to the ground.
"Bye shadow," Marianne said.
"Well that is one down," Raki said.
"And many more to go,"Mikita said.
"Let's keep going, we might be able to meet the Strawhats early," Ben said. He thought he had not seen them on the ship so they must have not gotten caught.
The group nodded and moved forward. At that moment, they saw Unigaro and MocDonald sitting together drinking tea.
"What is that?" Conis questioned.
"Is that a tree with an old man's face?" Nojiko questioned as she rubbed her eyes.
"And a pony?" Honey asked with a confused look.
"And they are drinking tea?" Marianne questioned.
"This island is weird," Saphir said from Lexie.
"They both are part of the quest," Ben said. He thought it was a weird scene.
Unigaro and MocDonald started to sweat. "Not again," Unigaro said.
"We were caught once," MocDonald added.
"Storm Leg," Raki said as she kicked at high speed and strength which launched a sharp compressed blade of wind towards Unigaro.
Unigaro dodged the attack. "What are you doing?" Unigaro asked. Raki jumped in the air. She then threw a cube of salt into the mouth of the Unigaro.
"Wait," MocDonald said.
At that moment, Ashivra took to the sky with her black wings. There were flames on her back. She took a cube of salt and threw it at MocDonald. The tree with the old man's face swallowed the cube.
Ben thought Ashivra was strong.
Unigaro and MocDonald both swallowed the cube. Their bodies started to rock up and down and two shadows appeared from their mouths. The shadows came out of their mouths and went into the sky.
"That is two down," Maya said.
"Very easily," Marianne said.
Alvida narrowed her eyes. She pointed towards the looming mansion in the distance, its gothic spires silhouetted upwards. "That was the easy part," she said. "The tough ones are in there," she added.
Suddenly, the mansion wall exploded outward in a shower of debris. There was dust and smoke. Then a massive orange-skinned giant, stitched together emerged. His eyes looked around. "Meat," he roared as she shook the ground beneath their feet.
"What is that?" Kaya gasped as she looked up.
"It's giant," Raki said as she stepped forward. Her eyes were wide.
"I've never seen anything like it," Robin murmured. Her mouth was open.
"It's… gigantic," Vivi added. "But why is it shouting 'meat' like Luffy?" she asked.
"Because that's Oars, the Continental Puller. An ancient giant. And he has Luffy's shadow," Ben responded.
"What?!" the crew echoed in unison.
Mikita clenched her fists. "This is bad. Really bad," she said. She thought Luffy was as strong as Ben and this monster has Luffy`s shadow.
"We might be too late," Conis said.
Ben shook his head. "No, we're right on time. Me and Nojiko will go after Nami. She's in danger, and we can't afford to wait," he said.
Zala raised an eyebrow. "And what about the rest of us?" she asked.
The group turned to Ben, waiting for orders.
Alvida stepped forward, smirking. "We're not delicate flowers, my love," she said as she swung Serphina.
Ben nodded. "While Nojiko and I rescue Nami, the rest of you go and help Luffy and the others with the zombies and get their shadows back. Take down as many zombies as you can. Thin their numbers. Do not go near Moria until I come. Do not take any unnecessary risks," Ben ordered.
"Understood," Kalifa said, adjusting her glasses.
"We have our Heal Potions," Kaya added.
"Wait so Luffy and others have lost their shadows?" Maya asked.
"Then that means we have until the sun rises to beat them all," Raki said. "Or they are gone," she added.
There was a silence between them. Then, they all nodded.
"Then it's settled," Ben said. He turned to Nojiko. "Let's go get Nami," he added.
"Your other bride," Nojiko teased.
"Pervert," Kaya said.
"Sexual harassment," Kalifa added.
As the crew split off, the wind howled through the dead trees, and the shadow of Oars loomed larger than ever.