Thriller Bark, Outer Sea.
Amidst the deathly thick fog, several giant skull buoys swayed slowly on the surface. These grim sentries were rigged with internal alarm bells, designed to signal the zombie guards via submerged cables the moment an intruder collided with them.
However, in this moment, the entire early warning system had become a pathetic joke.
The massive hull of the Eclipse was like a heavy axe swung from the depths of hell, crushing the arm-thick iron chains and skull buoys into scrap metal. Driven by its starfall power core at full sprint, the giant wake kicked up by the bow capsized the smaller zombie scouting ships wandering the perimeter. Cold seawater poured into decaying cabins, triggering bursts of shrill, ghostly wailing—noises that were instantly drowned out by the overbearing, high-frequency hum of the Eclipse's electric drive.
On the second deck, the atmosphere was one of clinical destruction.
"Hey, this kind of vibration feels just right!" Jeno stood before his open-air weapon station, his massive frame as steady as a mountain. His hands danced across a holographic blue light screen, his infrared prosthetic eye locking onto the iron gate ahead—a massive, jagged maw of metal.
Behind him, a diamond-shaped autonomous floating laser cannon drifted steadily, electromagnetic sparks jumping at the muzzle.
"Little Eclipse, lock onto the bearing nodes of the gate. Since this is a visit, we have to give the host a proper greeting." Jeno swung his arm forward. "Fire!"
"Charge at 100%!" the ship's AI synthesized.
A dazzling blue-violet laser pierced the fog, striking the hinges of the thousand-ton gate with surgical precision.
Zzzzt—Boom!!
The ear-piercing scream of melting metal echoed through the sky. Under the tyrannical strike of the electromagnetic beam, the indestructible iron gate dented and twisted inward like wet paper.
Inside the dark castle, Gekko Moriah was slumped lazily in his giant throne, swirling a glass of deep red liquid. A gloomy, bat-like smile was plastered on his pale face.
"Heeheeheehee... have more fresh shadows delivered themselves to my—"
The sentence died in his throat as the entire island-ship underwent a violent tremor. It wasn't the swaying of waves; it was the foundation-shaking impact of a prehistoric beast. Dust accumulated over decades fell from the ceiling, and the magnificent crystal chandeliers clashed together in a frantic, glass rhythm.
Clang!
The wine glass in Moriah's hand shattered, splashing red liquid across his coat.
"What happened?!" Moriah roared, standing up as shadows churned frantically beneath his feet like spilled ink.
A crookedly stitched zombie soldier scrambled into the hall, trembling. "Mo... Lord Moriah! The gate... it's been smashed! A pitch-black strange ship is charging in!"
Before the report could finish, the Eclipse brutally rammed through the wreckage of the gate, gliding into the internal harbor with an arrogant hiss of its thrusters.
Ace stood atop the Vermilion Bird figurehead, fire flashing across his fingertips. He looked at the dense army of zombies swarming the docks and gave a casual order:
"Shark, Urouge. Go clear the road. I don't want these foul-smelling things blocking our way to the master of this sea."
"As you wish, Captain," Shark responded. He tore off his tattered martial arts top, revealing a gray-blue physique that looked like carved rock.
"Heh heh, perfect. This will be a good warm-up," Urouge added, grinning savagely. He launched himself like a heavy cannonball, crashing directly into the center of the zombie horde.
Urouge landed with enough force to crater the stone slabs. He didn't attack immediately; instead, he spread his arms, allowing several agile monkey zombies to swing their blades at his thick back.
Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew. The blades failed to leave even a sliver of a mark on muscles hardened by Tekkai and Armament Haki.
"Refreshing, but too weak!" Urouge exhaled, his muscle fibers bulging like tangled roots. "Since the warm-up is over... please proceed to the afterlife."
Nearby, Shark stepped firmly onto the cracked bricks. "This smell... it's like burying rotting organs in moldy pickles."
His dead-fish eyes showed no emotion as hundreds of zombies surged from the forest shadows—a black mass of stitched flesh and rusty machetes. Shark slammed his hands together, pulling the atmospheric moisture from the fog using Fishman Jujutsu.
"Fishman Karate: Seven Thousand Tile Roundhouse Tide!"
He threw a plain swing punch into the void. The moisture in the mist was forcibly compressed into a translucent circular shockwave. It wasn't just brute force; it carried high-frequency vibrations. The zombies hit by the wave had the residual moisture inside their bodies detonated instantly.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
A continuous series of bursts rang out as hundreds of zombies were reduced to flying rotten meat and bone fragments. Simultaneously, Urouge transformed into a flesh-and-blood tank, his iron staff sweeping through the crowd like a gale.
"Karma: Mountain Splitter!"
Every strike split the ground into trenches, mashing dozens of zombies into a thin paste.
"Alright, leave the small fry to those two freaks," Jeno remarked, leaning against his console as his laser cannon rotated around him like a loyal hunting dog. "With defenses this poor, Moriah has degenerated even more than I imagined."
Ace stepped off the bow, walking forward without even glancing at the screaming zombies. Behind him, Sabo toyed with flames, and Enel carried his golden staff with pure disdain.
"Is a Shichibukai of the Blue Sea only at this level?" Enel sneered. He flicked a tiny arc of electricity from his fingertip, shocking a space of "empty" air. An Invisible Man suddenly materialized, convulsing and crashing to the ground. "To think you could sneak up on me... how delusional."
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