Two of the three Terrors had already been dispatched under orders!
Ghost Princess Perona floated in mid-air, yawning and reluctantly, while Absalom, the Invisible Man, confidently led a group of stumbling, oddly shaped zombie soldiers, marching grandly out of the Thriller Bark castle and heading straight for the massive Pluto Battleship on the west side, intending to carry out a scavenging mission.
At the same time, the Straw Hat, whose morale was high after helping Brook retrieve his shadow, also advanced without concealment under Ron's leadership towards the central castle where Moriah was, planning to strike directly at the heart.
The two teams unexpectedly met at the manor belonging to Doctor Hogback, which was filled with an even denser, eerie atmosphere!
In an instant, both sides abruptly stopped in the courtyard filled with strange plants and dilapidated statues, looking at each other in a brief, extremely eerie silence.
The Straw Hat looked at the group of zombies with pale skin, hollow eyes, and stiff movements, as well as the Gothic loli floating in the air and the faintly visible Invisible Man.
Perona, Absalom, and the zombies stared at the formidable-looking living people on the other side, who seemed difficult to deal with, and a moving skeleton.
The skeleton was very familiar, but how could the other party be together?
Both sides stared at each other, and the atmosphere was at a stalemate for a time.
Finally, a zombie soldier, a little bolder or perhaps brainless, stepped forward and broke the silence with a dry, hoarse voice.
It pointed at the Straw Hat, especially when it saw that they did not show the expected fear in front of the zombies, feeling a great "professional insult":
"Hey! You humans! Seeing us terrifying zombies... why aren't you scared?! Why aren't you screaming and running away?!!!"
Luffy, who was called out, inexplicably dug his ears, and instead excitedly pointed at the talking zombie:
"Scared? Why be scared? You look pretty fun! You can even walk and talk! Hey, Uncle Skeleton, are they your relatives?"
Nami, however, frowned, carefully observing the zombies, and subconsciously analyzed: "These guys... are they really the legendary zombies? Their skin looks completely bloodless, so dry..."
The zombie seemed to emphasize its terror, proudly announcing in a sinister tone: "Hehehe... because we are already dead! It was Lord Moriah who granted us a second 'life'!"
"Dead... dead?!"
Nami then belatedly realized that she was talking to a group of real "dead people," and recalling her previous terrifying experiences with ghosts, her face instantly turned pale, and she let out a short scream,
"Ah—! Are they really people who turned into the dead?!"
Almost at the same time Nami was startled, a clear system prompt sounded in Brook's mind:
"Ding! Fear value +100!"
Brook was stunned for a moment: "Yohohoho? Strange... I didn't intentionally scare Miss Nami? Could it be... as long as it's within my line of sight, any fear generated by anyone due to anything can be automatically collected?"
"Answer Host: Yes. The system's effective range is within the Host's perception range. All generated fear emotions can be automatically absorbed and converted into fear value."
Brook: "!!!" This system is too convenient!
On the other side, Perona saw that the other party was not only not afraid but had started an internal discussion, making her puff out her cheeks in anger: "These rude guys! How dare they ignore us! Negative Hollow!"
"That big ship is yours, right? Now, not only do we want the treasures, but even your shadows are ours!"
She waved her small hand, and several white Negative Hollows with long tails wailed as they floated towards the Straw Hat.
"Hmm? What is that?" Luffy curiously watched the floating ghosts, and without thinking, his rubber arm suddenly stretched out: "Gum-Gum—Pistol!"
Bang!
His fist passed through the Negative Hollow's body without any obstruction, as if hitting air. And the ghost took the opportunity to drill into his body and pass through!
"!!!"
Luffy instantly froze, the light in his eyes extinguished, and he knelt on the ground, turning gray, his head against the ground, falling into an extremely negative state:
"It's no good... I really am an idiot... I don't deserve to be the Pirate King... I'm sorry..."
"Hmph, playing tricks!" Zoro snorted when he saw this, and his three swords instantly unsheathed, "Oni Giri!"
A sharp sword light flashed, but it also pierced through the ghost, causing no damage, and another Negative Hollow also entered his body.
Zoro's body trembled violently, his three swords clattered to the ground, and he also knelt down weakly, supporting himself with his hands, falling into deep self-doubt:
"I'm sorry... I'm really a hopeless mosshead... I can't even hold my sword steady... I don't deserve to be a swordsman..."
"Hahaha! Green Algae Head! You have your day too!" Sanji laughed gleefully when he saw Zoro's appearance, "Sure enough, he's an idiot Green Algae Head!"
However, before his laughter faded, another Negative Hollow had silently passed through his body!
Sanji's smile instantly froze, and he was about to kneel down and become negative like the other two... but just then, a sudden change occurred!
Sanji's right arm suddenly turned pitch black, and a deep, devouring dark energy spontaneously entanglement around it!
The Negative Hollow that had entered his body seemed to have met its nemesis, emitting a faint wail, and was actually forcibly torn out, swallowed, and annihilated by the darkness!
"Hmm?" Sanji was stunned for a moment, instantly regaining his clarity. He looked at his right arm, which had returned to normal, and immediately understood.
"It's the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit! These ghosts are Devil Fruit energy bodies, normal attacks are ineffective, but they can be absorbed by my ability!"
He immediately stood up, habitually spun his body, and lit a cigarette:
"It seems that at crucial moments, I, Sanji, still have to save everyone! Miss Nami~ Miss Robin~ Please don't be afraid, as long as I am here, these ghosts will not harm you."
Then,
he saw Ron frown slightly, his gaze sweeping over the two idiots on the ground who were in an extremely negative state.
The next moment,
an indescribable, tangible terrifying pressure suddenly erupted from Ron's body!
That was not directed at the physical body, but a manifestation of the king's aptitude, directly acting on the spirit,
Conqueror's Haki!