"Resurrection? What resurrection?"
Clown Buggy, livestreaming above Shirogai, stared wide‑eyed at the Den Den Mushi in disbelief.
"Family, I think I'm hallucinating! I heard the Plunderer say he wanted to…" His voice suddenly spiked with panic.
"Oh my goodness!"
"What happened?!"
The citizens of the world erupted into chaos.
Because the Den Den Mushi was focused entirely on Clown Buggy's face, now grotesquely distorted — eyes bulging, sweat flying, mouth agape, tongue trembling — he looked utterly terrified as though witnessing something beyond comprehension.
"This… this…"
Buggy's body shook uncontrollably. With terror and excitement in his voice, he pointed the Den Den Mushi toward the plaza below.
"It's too terrifying! The dead are coming back to life!"
The broadcast faithfully transmitted every scene unfolding on the battlefield to the entire world.
"They're actually alive! A man whose head was severed sat up! A new head grew back!"
"Oh my god! A Marine whose insides were strewn everywhere opened his eyes! His wounds healed and his body restored!"
"Am I dreaming?!"
A citizen watched in stunned shock, pinching his son's cheek even as the boy screamed in pain.
"An eyeball just grew a person out of thin air! What kind of ability is this? Is this… a miracle?!"
All over the world, people watched scenes that defied belief.
Mass resurrection.
…
Crack!
The moment a scarlet fruit burst beneath Shirogai's fingers…
Wuwuwu…
The souls of the fallen, once forcibly sealed were condensed inside the fruit, were drawn toward their bodies. They poured into the regenerated flesh, merging instinctively as if drawn by fate.
The shattered corpses, once broken beyond recognition, instantly healed and restored within the Room's domain. Even those reduced to ash by magma slowly reformed, taking on flesh, muscle, and bone as though time itself had reversed.
Their clothes were restored perfectly as if stitched by unseen hands.
Above the entire Room domain, if anyone could see it from afar, they would witness a divine figure — skeletal yet flawless, like a deity made of delicate threads, lowering its arms and knitting broken bodies whole.
Each body touched regained life.
Even a single remaining finger would sprout flesh until a complete body formed again.
The scene was divine craftsmanship.
This was the awakened form of the Ope‑Ope no Mi, modified through Shirogai's mastery: Master Healer!
No matter how destroyed a body was, even if only bone ash remained, it would be restored and healed perfectly — old ailments included. This was one of the reasons Shirogai was confident in resurrecting the fallen.
As wandering souls searched for their bodies, desperate wails echoed.
"Wuwu, wuwu…"
Many souls merged swiftly with their regenerated forms, becoming whole once more.
Some souls, however, resisted — they eyed others' bodies, seeking to possess them.
Dong! Dong! Dong…
But the moment they attempted to invade another body, a powerful bell tolled overhead.
"Lost spirits, no encroachment!"
The ancient, rattling chime reverberated across the sky.
Spirits trying to occupy other bodies shrieked and fled, drifting back toward their rightful forms.
"Huh?! Did you hear that? It's terrifying — a chill runs down my spine!"
Everyone within Marineford who heard the bell trembled involuntarily, gripped with shock and helplessness.
The chime did nothing to harm living souls — it only repelled lost spirits.
If Shirogai had fully unleashed his Soul Sound, many present would have had their spirits shaken loose, leaving their bodies in a trance until they faded away.
This was the awakened form of the Soul‑Soul Fruit, modified through Shirogai's evolution: Soul Shepherd!
This was the second Devil Fruit Shirogai used to resurrect lives — the Ope‑Ope no Mi restored bodies, while the Soul‑Soul Fruit guided souls back to them.
…
"…?"
A pair of confused eyes opened slowly, gazing up at the blue sky.
"Who am I? No… I was fighting the Whitebeard Pirates! Did I get knocked out?!"
Less than a second of confusion passed before the Marine on the ground flipped over and stood up, instinctively reaching for his weapon.
"…?"
But he grasped only air.
No weapon remained.
The Marine stood dazed, scanning his surroundings — and realized many other Marines had also risen, equally bewildered and unarmed.
"Is the battle over?" he wondered aloud.
"Where are Old Man and the others?"
His question was cut off when he saw a Whitebeard Pirate rising beside him, dazed and confused.
"Was Captain Ace saved…"
The pirate scratched his head, trying to orient himself, when suddenly:
Bang!
Before he could react, nearby Marines charged and struck him to the ground with a single blow.
"Damn Whitebeard Pirate! Die!"
The pirate, shocked and dazed, found himself punched senseless.
"Damn it, the Marines ambushed me!" he shouted, staggering to defend himself with bare fists.
Not far away, other resurrected pirates and Marines, still confused, instinctively grabbed weapons from the ground and began fighting once more.
"Pfft!"
A sword sliced through a pirate's midsection, spilling his entrails to the ground.
"Oh no!" the Marine exclaimed triumphantly, stepping forward to deliver a final strike.
But then something unbelievable happened.
The pirate's entrails slid back into his body, blood flowing as though restored by unseen hands, and the wound closed itself.
"You… what did you do?!" the Marine froze in disbelief.
"You can heal?!" he gasped.
The Whitebeard Pirate looked as stunned as anyone, touching his stomach in disbelief.
"I'm immortal? I'm invincible! Ahahaha…" he laughed in shock.
Pfft!
"To hell with immortality!"
Without hesitation, the Marine swung his sword and severed the laughing pirate's head.
The head flew through the air.
"I don't believe you can come back after I cut off your head!" the Marine yelled.
===
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