"This is the Sea King from today."
In the basement warehouse of the castle, there was an enormous water tank. A Sea King floated there, half of its body above the water and the other half submerged, restrained in place.
"It doesn't look as big as the one from yesterday," Luffy said, stepping forward and eyeing it up and down with mild disappointment.
In the world of Sea Kings, bigger usually meant stronger.
"Gehihihihihi…" Moria let out his signature eerie laugh but didn't respond. Even this level of shadow was good enough for him.
He slowly pulled out a massive pair of scissors from behind his back and began opening and closing them with a steady "snip-snap" rhythm.
At that moment, Dr. Hogback arrived, pushing a large operating table alongside a few zombie assistants. "Moria-sama, the body is ready."
"Oh, it's time?" Luffy glanced at the large beast's corpse strapped to the table, beast-like, bull-shaped, marked with the number 666, then took a step back.
Everything from here on was Moria's domain. Luffy just needed to watch quietly.
Moria nodded, then waved toward the far side of the room. "Begin."
CLANK, CLANK, CLANK, CLANK.
Four heavy chains, secured to the corners of the tank, began to reel in slowly, lifting the Sea King up out of the water.
Startled by the sudden movement, the Sea King began to thrash and struggle violently.
The echoing rattle of iron chains filled the sealed warehouse, turning into a chaotic clamor in Luffy's ears.
But this kind of scene didn't faze Luffy one bit.
"Click!"
A spotlight was turned on behind the Sea King, casting its long, stretched shadow forward until it reached Moria's feet.
"Gehihihihi…"
Moria laughed again as he stepped forward and placed his hand on the stretched shadow. His Shadow-Shadow Fruit powers activated instantly.
The enormous Sea King's shadow was peeled from the floor like a sheet of paper, its long, ghostly black form still tethered to the Sea King's body, stretching tens of meters in length.
"Gehihihi!"
With a manic grin, Moria raised his giant scissors and sliced straight through the shadow.
It was clean. Sharp. No hesitation, no loose ends.
As soon as its shadow was cut, the Sea King went limp, collapsing unconscious onto the chains like its very will had been ripped away.
The warehouse fell into silence.
Meanwhile, the severed shadow writhed violently in Moria's hands.
Though many times larger than Moria himself, the massive shadow was gripped tightly by just one corner, utterly powerless to break free.
The zombie assistants rushed forward with the prepared corpse, stopping at Moria's side.
Grinning viciously, Moria bared a mouth full of sharp teeth, looking every bit the devil. He sneered at the flailing shadow in his hands.
"Quiet down! From this moment on, I'm your new master!"
As his words echoed through the room, the shadow gradually stilled and ceased struggling.
Moria burst into wild laughter. "Now, you will be reborn as a zombie! I grant you voice and body, but you must forget everything from your past, every instinct and memory! You are now a soldier who obeys me unconditionally!"
The Sea King's shadow seemed to understand, nodding faintly.
"Gehihihihi… Then the pact is sealed.
Awaken, my soldier!"
Moria hoisted the massive shadow and slowly guided it into the prepared corpse.
Bit by bit, the shadow fused into the beast's body, eventually vanishing entirely inside.
The warehouse grew still for a full ten seconds. Everyone waited in silence.
Suddenly, the corpse on the operating table opened its eyes. Without reacting to its surroundings, it bolted straight for the water tank.
"Oh no! If that thing falls back in, all our work will be wasted!"
Luffy chuckled lightly as he muttered to himself.
In a flash, he vanished, and the next instant, he reappeared in front of the charging bull-zombie. He grabbed one of its sharp horns and bent backward with an impossible flexibility.
The massive beast was lifted completely off the ground, suspended midair by Luffy alone.
BOOM!!
The zombie crashed down, smashing into the floor and kicking up a cloud of dust. The castle itself seemed to tremble slightly from the impact.
The bull zombie flailed and thrashed on the ground.
Luffy stepped behind it and pressed both hands firmly on its head, pinning it down and preventing it from standing.
"Tch. If we didn't have such a shortage of corpses, I'd tear you apart right now," he muttered, annoyed that his clothes had been dirtied by the dust.
Two months ago, Luffy had tried feeding salt to zombies to force their shadows out, but there was no system notification, no reward.
Perplexed, he conducted multiple experiments afterward.
Eventually, he discovered the truth: to gain experience from a zombie, he had to completely destroy the body, leaving the shadow with nowhere to inhabit. Only then would the system recognize it and reward him.
That meant his leveling plan wasn't going to be as smooth as he'd hoped. But it was still far more efficient than before, good enough to accept.
From then on, whenever he visited an island, Luffy would secretly wipe out all large beasts, collect their corpses, and bring them back to the ship.
It cost extra time, but it was necessary.
In the end, Luffy decided to head directly to the Calm Belt.
There were more islands there. More beasts. The weather wasn't as unpredictable as the Grand Line, and navigation would be easier too.
As long as he solved the power source issue, his leveling speed would definitely increase.
Five minutes later, the bull zombie stopped struggling. Luffy let go and stepped back.
The zombie staggered to its feet and shambled over to Moria.
With a thud, it knelt before him. The reanimation was complete.
Luffy stretched his arms as if he'd just used up a great deal of strength, then casually strolled over to the unconscious Sea King and shouted,
"Alright! Move it back to the sea before it wakes up!"
"Yes, Luffy-sama!"
At his command, dozens of zombies sprang into action. They released the chains, slid rollers underneath the Sea King's body, and began pushing it toward the cliff at the coast.
"Let's head back," Luffy said, turning to Moria and walking out of the warehouse.
Moria looked down at the zombie still kneeling there.
"Go find your own quarters," he ordered.
Then he, too, left the warehouse.
For ease of management, Robin had divided the island into clearly defined zones:
A castle where Luffy, Moria, and the others lived.
Warehouses to store corpses and shadow materials.
The control center for the Thriller Bark.
And the zombie cemetery.
The cemetery itself was a massive open area encircling the island, wrapping around all the other zones like a giant belt.
Each zombie, depending on size, had its own private residence.
A nameplate marking their identity was placed at the edge of their territory, so they could manage themselves. This saved a lot of administrative effort.
Every zombie was also given a number and assigned duties accordingly, much more efficient than the previous chaos where they crammed together in graveyards or lurked in forests.
No matter how weak a zombie was, it still had to work. Mercy was not part of the system.
The bull zombie stood up and followed Moria out of the warehouse, heading off to find its designated living quarters.
Outside, Luffy walked briskly, arms behind his head, leading the way.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he turned back and asked,
"Oh yeah, Hogback, how's the Tailed Beast Project coming along?"
==========
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