After calming down, Nami and the other three explained to iser why they were here. "So... this is why you ca here?" iser twitched his lips.
Being chased by what seed like a Hell Cerberus, barely escaping, and instead of going back to find their crewmates, they boarded a stranger's carriage just because of a doctor's reputation... How could these guys be so gullible?!
Weren't they afraid the other party might be dangerous?
"Yes, that's exactly what happened..."
"Wait, hold on," iser couldn't help but criticize. "I can understand Chopper and rry, but Usopp and Nami, how could you two be so foolish?"
"Weren't you worried the outsiders might harm you??"
These two weren't stupid, so how could they fall for such a simple trick?
Or was it that their brains were wired differently?
Thinking about how shrewd Nami beca when money was involved, iser fell into deep thought.
"Sorry..."
iser: "..."
Their sincere apologies left him at a loss for words.
"iser, don't scold them anymore," rry whispered. "At the ti, we didn't know what to do."
After being chased by that terrifying creature, surviving was already a miracle—how could they have had the presence of mind to consider anything else?
"You little brat, you still have the nerve to plead for them?" iser said irritably. "Have you forgotten what you can do?"
"What can I do?"
"The Reverse Summoning Technique, you little dummy!"
She had just learned this Ninjutsu not long ago—how could she forget to use it?
If she had summoned him imdiately, that so-called Hell Cerberus would have been beaten to a pulp.
"Sorry, I forgot..." rry lowered her head. "I was too scared at the ti, so it didn't occur to ."
She really had forgotten—it hadn't crossed her mind at all.
Usopp and Chopper exchanged glances before chiming in, "We're at fault too—we didn't rember either."
They had been there when rry learned this technique, but fear made them forget.
"I'm not asking you to hold an apology session—why are you apologizing one after another?" iser said. "I'm just telling you this so you rember next ti. Use the Reverse Summoning Technique sooner, got it?"
"Got it!"
"Good, as long as you rember." iser nodded.
People might not learn from words, but they learn from experience. He believed that after this incident, rry would firmly rember her ability to use the Reverse Summoning Technique.
"Wait a second—what's the Reverse Summoning Technique?" Nami asked.
Was this another strange ability?
Why did Usopp and Chopper know about it, but she didn't?
"It's a special Ninjutsu rry learned," Usopp explained. "It can summon iser from a distance."
Nami: "???"
Hearing Usopp's explanation, Nami was dumbfounded.
"Then why didn't you say so earlier?!"
Nami was absolutely furious. If they had summoned iser earlier, would they have had to be chased all this way by that inhuman monstrosity?
A single Fire Release could have burned it to a crisp.
At this thought, Nami's chest heaved with anger.
"If iser hadn't arrived in ti just now, we might have been eaten by zombies, you three idiots!"
Thwack!
"Sorry..."
Looking at the three of them with their earnest apologies, Nami sighed and rubbed her forehead. She really should have had iser accompany them from the start.
"But Nami, why am I the only one who got hit?" Usopp asked, raising his hand with a big lump on his head.
"Do you have a problem with that?"
"No..."
Watching Usopp get beaten, iser almost burst out laughing.
Nami hmphed and then turned to iser. "Let's go, iser. We're heading back to et up with Luffy and the others."
With iser around, they had no trouble making their way back to the ship.
"Hey... iser..." Chopper suddenly looked up at iser. "Could we go see Dr. Hogback first?"
"He's my idol. I really want to et him."
After saying this, Chopper glanced at the castle nearby. "We're already close to the castle. We might be able to see him if we go in."
Rather than reuniting with Luffy and the others, Chopper wanted to et his idol right now.
After all, with iser—a powerful ninja—present, there shouldn't be any danger.
"Are you sure?" iser raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
"iser, did you notice sothing?" Nami asked.
She had keenly sensed sothing off about iser's reaction, as if this so-called Dr. Hogback... had so kind of problem.
"Do you think it makes sense for the so-called 'world's greatest doctor' to exist in a place crawling with zombies?" iser said. "Also, think back—did those zombies have stitched-up marks on them?"
Every zombie he had encountered along the way had strange, stitched-up scars, which was probably why they looked so grotesque.
And these... were likely the handiwork of that very doctor.
"This..." Nami hesitated. "Sorry, I was too scared earlier to notice that detail."
When those zombies were about to pounce on them, how could she have paid attention to such things?
"iser's right, there were stitching marks," Usopp said. "Especially on that lion with a human face I saw—it had way more stitches."
"Maybe..."
Usopp's face paled as a terrible possibility dawned on him.
"Could he be... experinting...?" Chopper's expression darkened, but he shook his head. "No way. Dr. Hogback is a respected doctor. He wouldn't do sothing like that."
"iser, it must be soone else's doing."
Chopper refused to believe it, clinging to the hope that there was another explanation.
"Is that so?" iser chuckled. "Then I guess we'll have to go see for ourselves to find out."
"Hey!"
"iser, are you really going?" Nami grabbed his arm. "This place is full of dangerous zombies!"
"Yeah, Chopper, let's go et up with Luffy and the others first," Usopp also advised.
Chopper didn't say anything, tears just welling up in his eyes. He really wanted to et his idol.
"Ordinary zombies aren't much of a threat," iser glanced at the group. "The real threat here is—this is what I was just about to say."
"What do you an?"
"I've already figured out whose territory this is, and I also know how these zombies are able to stand."
Usopp and Nami exchanged glances before speaking in unison: "Tell us."
"You know about the Royal Shichibukai, right?"
As soon as these words were spoken, their bodies stiffened instantly. Chopper also showed an expression of disbelief. "Y-you an..."
"That's right. This is the territory of the Royal Shichibukai, Gekko Moria." iser raised his head, looking toward the tallest building in the distance. "And the reason he steals shadows is to create zombies."
"This is probably also why Brook lost his shadow."
"Ahhh!!"
The three of them scread in fright, then trembled as they covered their mouths, as if afraid the Royal Shichibukai would discover them.
They cautiously glanced around, and only after confirming no one was paying attention did they lower their hands.
"R-R-Royal..."
Usopp was shivering so hard his teeth chattered, unable to form coherent words.
Clearly, the weight of those three words was far too heavy.
The last ti they encountered a Royal Shichibukai was in Alabasta, when Luffy nearly died at their hands.
And now... they were facing soone of that level again?
"L-let's go!!" Nami said. "iser, take us away from here!"
Fighting soone of that caliber wasn't rational—avoidance was the best option.
She didn't want to die here in the pri of her beauty. There was still so much she wanted to do.
"Nami," iser looked at her. "I know you're scared, but fear won't help."
"The mont Luffy decided to make Brook our crewmate, we were destined to clash with Moria."
"But that's a Warlord of the Sea..."
"So what?" iser countered. "We've already stord Enies Lobby! Even a Buster Call couldn't stop us!"
"Do you really think... our captain would tuck his tail and run just because the enemy is a Warlord?!"
Nami opened her mouth but couldn't find words to retort.
Because she knew iser was right.
She had joined the Straw Hat Pirates earlier than iser and understood Luffy's character better—he would never back down just because the enemy was a Warlord.
"But we could still find Brook's zombie separately!" Usopp suddenly exclaid excitedly. "I rember when you killed those zombies earlier, black things flew out of the ashes—those were shadows, right?"
"That's a good idea," iser nodded, then posed a counterquestion. "But here's the problem: how do we find the one holding Brook's shadow?"
"And... Usopp, do you really think Moria would let pirates who co knocking on his doorstep walk away unscathed?"
"You should know what it ans when pirates run wild on soone else's turf."
At these words, Usopp imdiately fell silent.
Yes, he knew. Of course he knew—it ant a declaration of war!
To be blunt, from the mont iser started killing those zombies, there was no chance of reconciliation between the two sides.
"And... don't forget how we got here in the first place." iser glanced around and said, "Right now, we might already be under the surveillance of certain... special entities."
"For example... that so-called ghost."
"Please, iser, stop scaring ..."
Nami was on the verge of tears. Ghosts were even more terrifying than zombies, damn it.
rry also looked frightened, clutching iser's pants as she cautiously scanned their surroundings, afraid sothing horrifying might jump out at any mont.
"I'm not trying to scare you—just stating an objective fact..." iser paused mid-sentence, then sighed. "Relax, I'm here."
Nami really was a coward, even more so than rry.
At least the little girl didn't look afraid when she heard the title of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Though it was hard to tell whether she genuinely wasn't scared or simply didn't grasp the concept.
Shaking his head, iser looked down at Chopper and asked, "So... Chopper, do you still want to go check it out now?"
"About the Royal Seven Warlords..." Chopper lifted his head and said, "iser, I still want to go see."
"Oh?"
"You're not afraid?"
"I am afraid..." Chopper gritted his teeth. "But I want to know—did Dr. Hogback co here willingly, or was he forcibly taken by that Moria?"
"If it's the latter, we can rescue him before the fighting breaks out."
"But if it's the forr..."
"I won't let him off!"
He couldn't bear the thought of his idol, Hogback, suffering, so he was willing to take the risk to save him.
But if the man had done sothing unethical, then Chopper would absolutely beat the crap out of that bastard!
"Then let's go," iser said.
As for the matter of the Royal Seven Warlords, he'd leave it to another clone to deliver the ssage to Luffy and the others—sothing he'd planned from the start.
After assessing the situation with the others, the clone would return to Luffy.
"Chopper... iser..."
"And... even rry?!"
Watching the three of them stride forward without hesitation, Usopp and Nami were dumbfounded. Did the word "fear" even exist in their dictionaries?
"You two, hurry up and follow."
"But—"
"Pull yourselves together, will you?" iser said. "Our captain is going to beco the Pirate King. What kind of crew would we be if we were scared of the Royal Seven Warlords?"
"We should still avoid a direct confrontation and regroup first before—"
iser cut him off. "I've gone toe-to-toe with a Marine Admiral—you think I'm gonna back down from him?!"
Those words acted like a shot of adrenaline, instantly steadying Nami and Usopp.
That's right—iser had not only single-handedly held off a Buster Call but also traded blows with a Marine Admiral!
Following his words, even the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea might not be able to do much to them.
Thinking this, the two imdiately stood up and chased after the trio.
"Wait for us!"
They hurried after them, terrified of being left behind.
With their strength, walking back into the forest would be no different from suicide.
They had no confidence in surviving against so many terrifying Zombies.
"If you two are really that scared, I can use Shadow Clones to send you back," iser suddenly said.
Nami and Usopp exchanged glances at his words, then looked down at rry. An image involuntarily flashed through their minds.
(Luffy: Ahahaha, you two are even more cowardly than rry?!)
"!!!"
"No way, absolutely not!" X2
"Is that so?" iser laughed. "Then let's go."
Watching the three walk ahead without looking back, the two sighed silently and resignedly followed.
"Creak~"
The iron gate in the courtyard was pushed open by iser, and the group stepped outside the castle.
Staring at the ancient gate not far away, Usopp gulped and said, "Th-there shouldn't be any Zombies in there, right?"
"Hey, you never know."
Usopp: ...
"iser, you really didn't have to say that."
"I'm just keeping you alert!" iser replied. "Don't forget whose territory this is."
Fear aside, being completely careless could still lead to disaster.
Hearing this, Usopp imdiately beca hyper-vigilant, cautiously scanning his surroundings, afraid a Zombie might suddenly leap out and bite him.
"Hey, iser, you ntioned Moria uses Shadows to create Zombies..." Usopp said. "Does that an even if we're bitten by one, we won't turn into Zombies?"
"Idiot, don't say such scary things!"
Nami glared at Usopp, her skin crawling.
"No idea~" iser shrugged. "No intel on that."
"Wanna... test it out?"
A mischievous grin spread across iser's face as he smirked at Usopp.
"Who'd ever try sothing like that, you jerk!" Usopp pressed his nose against iser's face, baring shark-like teeth as he roared. "What if I turn into a Zombie?!!"
Just imagining himself as a Zombie made Usopp shudder, his hair standing on end.
"Then do your best not to get bitten~" iser shrugged.
Usopp opened and closed his mouth, at a loss for words.
Finally, he looked at iser with utmost sincerity. "iser, please protect no matter what."
"Sure, I'll try~"
"'Try'?! You better give it your all, you bastard!!"
"Ahahaha."
Usopp's antics dispelled the eerie atmosphere—exactly what iser had intended. Walking in constant fear was no way to proceed.
"Alright, we're here." iser eyed the wide-open gate ahead. "Let's see if this so-called doctor is human... or a demon?!"
"Whoa!"
User Comments
0 comments from readers