"Kill!!!"
Thousands of elite Marines roared as one, surging forward like a tidal wave of steel into the depths of the Thriller Bark.
What awaited them was deathly silence and an unsettling, suffocating mist.
The air hung heavy with the damp stench of decay.
A sudden, guttural roar tore through the stillness.
From the shadows, from behind ruined walls, from the shattered windows of the ancient castle countless figures staggered forth.
Beasts of all shapes and sizes, and even armored men...
But none of them were alive. Their bodies were riddled with grotesque stitches, their eyes hollow and lifeless, exuding the chilling aura of death.
"Fire!"
Gunfire erupted in rapid bursts. The front line Marines didn't hesitate, unleashing a hailstorm of bullets that shredded dozens of the advancing corpses.
But the next instant every Marine froze in disbelief.
The zombies that had been riddled with holes... slowly stood up again. The bullets had barely even slowed them down.
"What the hell?!"
"Are these things immortal?!"
"Then how the hell do we kill them—"
Before panic could spread, a sharp, commanding voice cut through the confusion.
Sanji shot out from the formation like a bolt of lightning, his right leg igniting with swirling Armament Haki.
"Black Leg Moon Rend!"
His kick sliced clean through a massive zombie lion's skull, sending bone and flesh scattering through the mist.
At the same time, Zoro followed in his wake, his blade already half-drawn.
He didn't waste a motion. The moment Wado Ichimonji cleared its sheath, the blade gleamed with pitch-black Haki.
"One-Sword Style Dirge of the Night."
The stroke was too fast to see.
Another zombie soldier was split neatly in half.
As its corpse hit the ground, two faint shadows burst free from the body dark wisps of stolen souls before vanishing into the fog.
"Hey, moss-head, you saw that too?" Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke, eyes narrowing.
"Shut it, curly-brow. I'm not blind."
Their gazes met for a single second enough for both to understand.
Armament Haki worked.
"All hands! Those with Armament Haki frontline assault!" Sanji shouted, his voice echoing clear through the chaos. "Everyone else support and disrupt their formation!"
"Sir, yes sir!"
In perfect synchronization, the Marines shifted formation mid-battle. Those capable of using Haki surged forward, coating their weapons in a dark sheen.
The rest fell back half a step, covering their comrades with precise suppressive fire aiming not at the bodies, but at the joints, immobilizing the undead.
From above, perched on a half-collapsed rooftop, Skylark steadied her sniper rifle. The barrel shimmered faintly black with Armament coating.
"Bang!"
A single bullet pierced through a zombie's forehead. It fell and didn't rise again.
"Nice shot, Skylark!" called Peacock below, her whip slicing through the mist like a serpent of shadow.
"Whip Art Black Net!"
The dark lash wove into a deadly web, ensnaring several zombies and tearing them apart in a burst of black energy.
Within seconds, the rhythm of battle shifted entirely the Marines had taken full control.
High above the chaos, two figures hovered in midair.
Renn Hawk watched in silence, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. His soldiers' coordination was flawless, their instincts razor-sharp.
They hadn't disappointed him.
Moria's zombie army invincible to most wasn't without weaknesses.
Salt, sunlight... and above all, overwhelming Haki.
Without needing orders, his troops had already discovered the truth for themselves.
Yes this army was growing exactly as he'd hoped.
Beside him, Bartholomew Kuma stood silently, his mechanical eyes glinting. But within him, a storm raged.
This... was supposed to be a Paradise Branch unit?
From recognizing the enemy's immortality to finding their weakness, adapting tactics, and executing flawlessly it was a masterpiece of military precision.
No confusion. No hesitation. Only absolute discipline.
Those two young men leading the charge Sanji and Zoro were already monsters in their own right.
But the soldiers behind them... they were something more. They moved like a single, living organism responding instantly to every order, every shift in the battlefield.
Each Marine's eyes burned with the hunger for victory, their will unshakable.
Such unity... such killing intent... such iron discipline
No pirate crew in Paradise could ever hope to match it.
Kuma turned his gaze toward Hawk, studying his calm profile.
So this man... this is the one who forged them.
Vegapunk's words echoed in his memory: "The Navy has changed."
Now, he finally understood what that meant.
He remembered what Hawk had said earlier "I'll carry your burdens for you."
Kuma finally spoke, his deep voice steady but weighted.
"Rear Admiral Hawk... the Paw-Paw Fruit's power can indeed repel pain and fatigue. But..."
He paused.
"These things don't just vanish. They need a vessel to contain them. Someone has to bear it."
Hawk turned to him, eyes calm, almost serene. Then he smiled faintly and tapped his own chest.
"The pain of my men..." he said softly, "should be borne by their commander. Any problem with that?"
His tone was casual almost gentle.
But Kuma's pupils constricted sharply. His massive frame stiffened.
Did this man truly understand what he was saying?
That wasn't simple pain. That was the agony of hundreds of soldiers every wound, every exhaustion, every drop of suffering concentrated into one body. It was enough to break the will of steel itself.
To let his subordinates fight freely, and then shoulder their agony himself...
Was that the source of this army's terrifying power?
A chill ran down Kuma's spine.
Just then
"Ki-shi-shi-shi-shi!"
A shrill, deranged laugh echoed from deep within the fog, sending a ripple of dread across the battlefield.
Heavy footsteps thudded closer and closer.
From the darkness of the castle emerged a towering, grotesque figure nearly seven meters tall, obese, with pale, corpse-like skin. Thick stitches ran across his neck, and two small horns jutted from his onion-shaped head.
His sharp fangs gleamed as he grinned wide.
Warlord of the Sea Gecko Moria.
"Ki-shi-shi-shi! What a spectacle!" he sneered, spreading his arms wide. "I was wondering who dared disturb my sleep... so it's just a pack of foolhardy Marines come to die!"
Then his gaze flicked upward and froze.
His pupils shrank.
"You've got to be kidding me... The Tyrant Kuma?!"
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