Inside the eerie ancient castle, a shrill scream suddenly rang out, instantly drawing the attention of countless abnormal creatures lurking within.
From the gloomy walls, one horrifying face after another abruptly emerged, all of them curiously turning their gazes toward the direction the sound had come from.
In the next second, a girl with slender legs wrapped in black-and-white striped stockings, a delicate face adorned with refined smoky makeup, and dressed in a soft pink Lolita-style dress suddenly shot out from one side of the wall and plunged straight into another.
Seeing this, the strange creatures hanging on the walls scratched their heads in confusion.
"Strange… why does Lady Perona look so flustered? Did something happen?"
…
…
"Lord Moria!!!"
Whoosh—
In the vast hall, a twin-tailed Lolita figure suddenly popped out.
In her ghostly state, Perona braced both hands against the wall, her entire body looking as though it were stuck halfway inside it. Her eyes were wide, her face filled with urgency.
"Hm?"
At that moment, the massive shadow that had noticed Perona's arrival slowly turned its head, revealing the silhouette of an enormous onion-shaped head.
"Is that you, Perona?!"
"What happened that made you this frantic?!"
Gecko Moria, master of Thriller Bark and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, glanced lazily at Perona, who was "wedged" into the wall, a hint of confusion flashing through his eyes.
Ever since his crushing defeat at the hands of Kaido and his crew in Wano Country twenty-one years ago—where he lost all of his companions—Moria had sunk into a state of deep despondency, drifting through life in a haze.
Despite possessing extraordinary talent, he allowed it to waste away, neglecting training entirely and relying solely on external means to obtain power.
And the result was…
Twenty-one years later, Kaido—who had taken over Wano Country—had risen to become one of the Emperors of the Sea!
Meanwhile, Moria continued to deceive himself with hollow abilities, his strength not only failing to improve but deteriorating drastically instead.
Fortunately, the Florian Triangle was isolated from the rest of the world.
Leading his subordinates into this sea of mist, Moria could use his status as a Warlord to stay informed about global events, ensuring he didn't fall completely out of touch—
while simultaneously keeping himself and his crew in absolute safety, avoiding contact with any truly powerful enemies.
Moreover, the Florian Triangle spanned an enormous area, covering nearly half of the seven routes across the latter portion of the Grand Line, ensuring their voyages were never dull.
So although Moria continued to create zombies nonstop, loudly proclaiming that his zombie army would conquer the world…
Deep down, he knew all too well that he had long since lost both the ability and the resolve to return to that sea.
Creating a zombie army was nothing more than an excuse to justify his continued existence as a pirate.
Yet, perhaps even Moria himself had never imagined…
That a man who was already halfway into retirement would, in this most chaotic era, encounter someone who would change his life forever.
…
…
"Perona, being late to the meeting is one thing!"
"But causing such a racket—what do you think you're doing?!"
Absalom, who had been discussing matters with Moria and Hogback, immediately scowled when he saw Perona in the wall, irritation written all over his beast-like face.
He had never had any interest in little girls, and he certainly never missed an opportunity to put Perona down.
After all, she frequently bullied him using her Negative Hollow powers, forcing him to give up many high-quality corpses and watch helplessly as they were turned into stuffed zombie dolls.
But this time, the panicked Perona didn't spare him even a glance, keeping her eyes locked firmly on Moria instead.
"This is bad—really bad, Lord Moria!"
Her ghostly body showed no intention of emerging from the wall. Like a frail girl who had just seen a cockroach, she screamed incoherently:
"The Straw Hat Pirates…"
"I saw a ship flying the Straw Hat pirate flag near Thriller Bark—and it's sailing straight toward us!"
"What did you say?!"
Before Moria could even react—
Absalom and Hogback, who had been calm just moments ago, were the first to cry out in alarm.
Thanks to the Marines' technological advances, Thriller Bark's sailing speed was virtually no different from that of the outside world.
Which meant they were well aware of the earth-shaking events that had occurred recently.
And if one were to ask who the true protagonist of the seas was right now—
They wouldn't hesitate for a second to answer: the Straw Hat Pirates!
From an unknown rookie crew to a top-tier pirate force capable of annihilating World Government armies and defeating Marine Admirals—all in less than a year…
Such a terrifying rise was something even fiction dared not exaggerate!
A pirate crew with a combined bounty of 7.5 billion Beli!
Even though they themselves were a renowned pirate crew, that monstrous figure alone filled them with inexplicable fear.
Only Moria, seasoned by past glories and failures alike, showed no drastic reaction upon hearing the news.
Still, his massive onion-like head furrowed deeply.
"The Straw Hat Pirates…?!"
Though his pride allowed him to curse even Kaido to his face without fear—
He understood all too clearly…
Neither he nor his zombie army stood a chance against even a single Marine Admiral!
Which meant the Straw Hat Pirates were not an enemy they could afford to provoke.
Conflicting thoughts flashed through Moria's eyes.
As he looked at the panicked Perona on the wall, and at Hogback and Absalom below, drenched in cold sweat—
For the first time, Moria made a decision that went completely against his lifelong principles.
…
…
"Land!!! It's land!!!"
"That was way too hard!!!"
At the same time—
From within the thick fog, Monkey D. Luffy's joyful laughter suddenly echoed across the deck of the Going Merry.
After more than half a month at sea, staring at the same foggy scenery day after day, Luffy's patience had long since run dry.
Now that he'd finally spotted an island in this misty sea, he immediately leapt onto the captain's special seat in excitement.
Hearing his shout, the rest of the Straw Hat crew quickly gathered on deck.
"Hm?! That is…"
At that moment, Robin—whose perception surpassed even Observation Haki—froze.
Empowered by her Psychic abilities, she sensed the anomaly on the island ahead earlier than anyone else.
Before she could process it, however, a dazzling firework-like burst suddenly bloomed above the distant island, illuminating the sky over Thriller Bark.
In the next instant—
A girl dressed in a gorgeous princess outfit appeared at the center of the island, her figure continuously expanding until she stood before the Going Merry like a towering giant.
She suddenly spread her arms wide toward the ship, smiling cheerfully as she welcomed them:
"Hehehehehe…"
"Straw Hat Pirates, welcome to—Devil Sea Region · Zombie Paradise!!!"
(End of Chapter)