"What! What is that!!?"
Outside the battlefield, the spectators erupted in confused shouts, their voices overlapping in a chorus of disbelief.
But Zoro, striking with incredible speed, wouldn't give anyone time to comprehend. His body suddenly radiated a magical, blood-red aura.
As if shrouded in the very blood of hell, the red energy enveloped his figure completely!
In midair, as Zoro moved at blinding speed, two blood-tinged afterimages, exact replicas of himself, appeared on either side!
The left and right shadows closed their eyes in concentration, yet they felt entirely real, like corporeal extensions of Zoro, guarding him from all sides!
Each afterimage held three spectral blades identical to Zoro's own, exuding a sinister, ghostly aura.
With a roar from Zoro,
The nine deadly swords, controlled by his six arms, merged into a single, colossal black blade that seemed to blot out the sky!
The wind howled, blazing sword light flared—the scene was apocalyptic. Zoro, like a god or demon descended, swung his divine weapon toward Mihawk's chest!
"Come, Roronoa Zoro!"
Mihawk, facing this incomprehensible, overwhelming strike, did not flinch.
Even against the world's strongest blade, his elegant, precise sword yielded nothing.
Straightening his body, he thrust forward, unblinking, eyes locked on the black blade, and shouted with satisfaction:
"Let me see!!!"
"What it truly means to be the strongest in the world!!!"
To fall to such a warrior, Mihawk's heart felt no regret whatsoever.
Above them,
The divine and demonic aura swirled violently, covering the battlefield like a collapsing mountain range, crushing any chance of respite from Mihawk's mind!
"The strongest in the world!?"
Zoro, standing in the void, opened all three of his demonic eyes at once, and a spiral of awe-inspiring energy shot forth!
Drenched in dark red, Zoro's gaze inadvertently flicked toward Koby outside the battlefield at Mihawk's words.
At that moment,
Zoro suddenly reined in all life energy, as if he no longer existed in this world, and spoke slowly:
"The strongest in the world…?"
"What a laughable notion…"
"This so-called strongest in the world…
…so pitifully weak, it's almost ridiculous!!!"
SWISH!
A black magical slash, capable of splitting the heavens, surged toward Mihawk with unmatched force!
BOOM!!!!!!!!
…
…
Half a month later.
Even though the incident had happened over ten days prior, the footage from Marineford remained the hot topic of casual conversation.
Yet discussions always veered toward the Celestial Dragons, and the topic would abruptly end.
Still, it was clear:
Most civilians no longer regarded the Celestial Dragons with the same divine reverence as before.
In a relatively calm sea region of the New World,
A massive, self-moving island drifted unpredictably.
Years of expansion had tripled its original size, far exceeding its former scale.
Large sections of the island were connected by chains and steel beams.
The island's atmosphere, once grim and horrifying, now carried a postmodern, industrial aesthetic.
The island, known as the Thriller Bark, functioned less as a mere island and more as a mobile, ghostly financial hub.
Ten docks were installed: docks six through ten served as the Moria Zombie Exchange's logistics center.
Docks one through five catered to visitors of varying ranks.
At that moment,
The Golden Merry, arriving directly from the depths of the sea into the New World, slowly docked at Dock One of the Thriller Bark.
The hatch opened from within, and the Straw Hat Pirates, along with five former Shichibukai who had submitted, stepped out in order.
"Welcome back, Moria-sama!!!"
"Welcome back, Moria-sama!!!"
The service zombies, who had received notice in advance, lined up neatly, shouting in unison.
Rows of identical handsome butlers and beautiful maids stood ready.
The sight of perfectly identical faces staring at you all at once was unnerving.
Those unaccustomed to such a spectacle could never understand the unsettling feeling.
Luckily, Luffy and his crew had strong hearts…
Except for Usopp and Chopper, who were briefly stunned.
All these identical zombies bore three faint black stitches on their faces.
Though subtle, the unnatural expressions quickly revealed their inhuman nature.
Even the world's greatest plastic surgeon could not make them fully natural-looking.
Yet these service zombies perfectly matched the eerie aesthetic of the Thriller Bark.
"Moria-sama!"
As Luffy and the others disembarked, a frail boy emerged from the zombie ranks. Needle-like marks covered his body from neck to ankle.
He bowed deeply to Moria, exuding the poise of an English butler.
"Heh heh heh…"
Moria smiled sharply at him, addressing the boy:
"Ryomei, nothing happened here while I was away, did it?"
"All is well, Moria-sama!"
Ryomei bowed again before slowly raising his head, revealing deeply sunken eye sockets and colorless eyes.
His expression was listless, as if overindulged, yet he responded calmly:
"Three days ago, two crews of high-bounty pirates fought here."
"They are now all confined in the dungeons, awaiting your decision whether to extract their shadows or convert them into zombies…"
"Heh heh heh heh…"
Moria smiled oddly.
"Reliable as ever, Ryomei."
He shifted his massive frame, stepping forward, his peculiar garlic-shaped head tilting slightly.
"However, from today onward, you may no longer call me Moria-sama…"
He bent slightly, gesturing for Luffy and the crew:
"Captain, please proceed to the castle at the center of the island and rest a while."
"Thank you, Moria."
Luffy, at the forefront, smiled gently.
Hidden in that smile was a proud, commanding aura. He strode confidently in the direction Moria indicated.
Passing Moria's chief butler, Luffy's curiosity peeked.
In his perception, the butler was unnaturally strong…
At least to Luffy, he didn't seem like someone Moria could easily control.
Sensing Luffy's thoughts, Moria explained:
"This is Ryomei, one of my subordinates, and a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user in his undead form."
"Undead form?"
Luffy muttered, smiling:
"Well, that really suits your crew…"
"Heh heh heh…"
"Yes!"
Moria glanced back at Ryomei, still organizing the zombies at the dock.
"But…"
"He has another identity."
"He is a test subject from the Celestial Dragons' serum experiments!!!"
"Hmm?"
Everyone gasped softly in surprise.
Robin immediately spoke, deep in thought:
"So the information you have on the Celestial Dragons… came from him?"
"Miss Robin, sharp as ever, you guessed it immediately!"
Moria, seizing the moment, complimented Robin, then continued:
"Ryomei drifted to this island a year ago…"
"At that time, he had almost no human traits beyond survival instincts!"
"His body was covered in countless needle-like marks and black spots—worse than the zombies on this island!"
"He couldn't speak, yet understood the meaning, constantly emitting beast-like roars."
As Moria led the way, he continued:
"Don't be fooled by his frail appearance."
"He is a true Devil Fruit awakener!!!"
"If he hadn't yet mastered Haki and was defeated by Perona's negative ghosts, this island might not exist today!"
The crew wasn't surprised; Ryomei's aura had already demonstrated such power.
"Heh heh heh…"
Moria chuckled at the memory, though no one else seemed to understand.
He continued:
"We taught him to communicate, and discovered he had escaped the Celestial Dragons' secret laboratory."
"He and some young slaves of various races were kept captive for experiments…"
"One by one, the others perished, leaving only him."
"Fortunately, he seemed to be the successful subject, so the Celestial Dragons kept him in secret confinement."
"One day, they gave him a strange fruit—the Undead Fruit—and a mysterious injection…"
"After that, he gained terrifying power."
"Due to a lapse by his overseers, he activated his Devil Fruit power and escaped Mary Geoise."
"Unaware of the weaknesses of Devil Fruit users, he leapt into the sea…"
"…and drifted to the Thriller Bark in the New World!"
"He had no name, only the experimental code '00' given by the Celestial Dragons, so we named him…"
"Ryomei!"
….
Completed version available on [P]atreon.[c]om/Veltoria [remove brackets]