"Ghost?"
Everyone turned around to look. On the upper part of the wall by the doorway, a transparent white spirit slowly phased through the wall.
"!!!"
"There really is a ghost!"
"This is too interesting, hahaha!"
"…"
Just as everyone was getting interested in the spirit, the ship suddenly shook violently.
Leno's heart stirred. They'd arrived. That saved him the trouble of searching any further.
Everyone hurried onto the deck to check what was going on, only to find that the ship had somehow ended up right next to an island.
"What's going on? Why is there an island here?" Nami said as she raised her wrist to check it, then cried out in surprise, "Wait a second—why isn't the Log Pose reacting at all?"
"Of course it wouldn't. This island comes from the distant West Blue. Its foundational magnetism has long since disappeared!"
Brook, who knew quite a bit about this, spoke up. Looking at the island so close at hand, he continued explaining,
"This is the Ghost Island that wanders the seas—the Thriller Bark!"
"Ghost Island?!"
"Thriller Bark?"
Looking at the island shrouded in mist, everyone's expressions grew solemn. Just hearing the name told them it wasn't a good place.
Vague silhouettes could be seen on the island—ancient city walls and a pitch-black, deep-set castle that gave off an eerie, oppressive feeling.
At that moment, Chopper's tearful voice came over, drawing everyone's attention.
"Um, everyone… where did that ghost from just now go? Is it still on the ship?"
"Nope. It flew onto the island. Maybe it's one of the island's original residents."
Kuina sheathed her sword. If that thing hadn't run so fast, she would've already cut it down.
"Then that means this really is a ghost island?!"
Chopper had just barely climbed down from Leno's leg. The moment he heard the words "ghost island," he immediately latched back onto it again.
Since they'd already arrived, Leno didn't hesitate any further. He looked at Rayleigh and smiled as he spoke,
"Old man, shall we head over directly?"
"Leno! You should think this through again!" Chopper, clinging to his leg, looked up pitifully and said in fear, "Look at this place! Those creepy buildings are a real haunted house! You're underestimating evil spirits!"
Looking down at Chopper, Leno could only feel helpless.
Back when he was weak, the kid being timid was understandable. But now that he had strength, he was still this scared.
Ignoring the cowardly little guy, Leno's thoughts shifted, and the ship slowly began to rise into the air.
Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly paused, then turned his head toward the bow of the ship, the corners of his mouth lifting unconsciously.
At the same time, Kuina and Nojiko also looked toward the bow.
There was clearly no one there, yet Observation Haki distinctly sensed a human presence!
That presence seemed to be frightened by everyone's gaze. It lingered in place for a moment, then, seeing no reaction, slowly began to approach.
The first target it approached was Hancock. As the presence drew nearer, the killing intent in Hancock's eyes grew stronger and stronger.
Just as she was about to strike and crush the unknown presence, Leno spoke up.
"Hancock, don't kill it. I have a use for it!"
"Yes, Lord Leno!" She replied obediently, but her expression immediately darkened.
This damn thing dared to attract Lord Leno's attention. It already deserved death!
Her long, straight, snow-white leg kicked into the empty air ahead. A dull impact sounded instantly, followed by the noise of a heavy object flying away and crashing down.
"Eh? What just happened?"
Brook, who had no idea what was going on, only heard the sounds and could tell that something had boarded the ship just now.
But he had no idea what had happened in that brief instant.
At that moment, violent coughing came from where the heavy object had fallen.
The presence struggled to get up, seemingly trying to vault over the railing to escape.
Before it could climb over, a blazing white bolt of lightning descended from the sky, instantly engulfing it.
A shrill, ear-piercing scream rang out. Only then did Brook realize—there was a person over there!
A moment later, the screaming stopped. The presence revealed its form: a leopard-man with a stitched-together face?
Leno walked over slowly to the lewd-looking leopard-man. With a light squeeze of his hand—crack—the leopard-man's sinful life came to an end.
With a wave of his hand, Leno put away the corpse, then casually continued controlling the ship as it flew toward the center of the island.
Seeing Leno kill so easily, the crew members who knew him well showed no reaction at all.
Whatever Leno did, they supported it—especially when it was some unknown individual.
Others, however, reacted quite strongly. Brook, for example, shuddered on the spot.
The young man who had been chatting and laughing with him earlier killed someone with such decisiveness and practiced ease!
It was obvious he did this sort of thing often! Thankfully he didn't have eyeballs right now—otherwise, who knew how badly he'd be scared.
Rayleigh, on the other hand, had no particular opinion about Leno killing someone. It was only when Leno made the corpse disappear with a wave of his hand that he found the young man's methods truly unfathomable.
The Gale flew swiftly toward the central castle in this silent atmosphere. As the ship slowly descended, Leno's voice rang out.
"Old man, we've arrived. Are we doing this the civilized way, or the violent way?"
"Hahahaha! I've enjoyed the ride—time to stretch these old bones a bit!"
Rayleigh laughed heartily as he jumped off the ship, one hand resting on his sword hilt as he walked toward the castle gates.
If his old face didn't carry enough weight, then they could always resort to force.
Seeing Rayleigh go off alone to deal with that man, Brook asked worriedly,
"Mr. Leno, is that old gentleman really okay? I can help too, you know~"
"Huh? You're worried about him?"
Only after saying it did Leno realize that Brook had no idea what the title "Dark King" was worth.
After thinking for a moment, he gave a rough explanation of Rayleigh's background.
"In short, instead of worrying about him, you should be thinking about what to do after your shadow comes back."
As he was speaking, there was movement on Rayleigh's side.
They saw him arrive before the castle, then with two swift slashes, he directly chopped the massive doors apart.
Standing at the entrance, Rayleigh raised his voice and shouted inside,
"Moria, come out and meet me!"
"I have something I want to talk to you about."
As he spoke, his Conqueror's Haki erupted fully, crimson lightning surging wildly into the castle from the doorway.
Seeing this terrifying scene, Brook was left staring in shock, his mouth hanging open.
This old man was that terrifying? Even from the ship, he could feel that suffocating pressure.
The corners of Leno's mouth twitched.
No—this is what you call the civilized way?
How is this any different from slapping someone in the face?