At the same time—
On Thriller Bark.
The moment Perona received the report, she immediately activated her ability and went to find Gecko Moria.
"Horohorohoro~"
"Moria-sama, another group of pirates has triggered our trap," Perona said with a cheerful laugh.
"Kyahahahaha!"
"Another batch of prey has delivered themselves?" Moria burst into laughter.
"I wonder if there'll be any strong ones this time. I'm really looking forward to Oars standing up again."
As long as he obtained a powerful enough shadow, he could make that gigantic corpse rise once more—
and turn it into his ultimate weapon.
Just imagining the destructive power that monster could unleash made Moria laugh uncontrollably.
"So many pirates come every year, but hardly any of them are strong," Perona said.
"True enough." Moria nodded, then waved his hand.
"Go on. Same as always—the pirate ship will follow behind you."
"Yes!"
"Horohorohoro~"
Her body passed straight through the wall, disappearing from the room.
After Perona left, Moria leaned comfortably against the wall, clearly planning to take a nap.
"Whoosh—"
Suddenly, a figure appeared on the balcony.
Moria's eyes narrowed instantly.
"Oh my, what a rare guest."
He stood up, looking at the newcomer with interest.
"Bartholomew Kuma… the most obedient of the Seven Warlords. What brings you to my place?"
"If you want to travel, where would you like to go?"
"Oi, oi, cut it out." Moria clicked his tongue.
"I know exactly what your Devil Fruit does."
He had no intention of being slapped somewhere random—
who knew if this lunatic would send him straight into the sea?
"So?" Moria said impatiently.
"You didn't come all this way just to say that, did you?"
"Or are you bored and want to fight me?"
As he spoke, his face showed clear disinterest.
"Of course not," Kuma replied calmly.
"I'm only here to inform you of something."
"Then say it."
"Crocodile was defeated. You're aware that his Warlord position became vacant."
"I knew that ages ago," Moria waved him off.
"That's old news."
Even though news birds rarely came here, ships occasionally passed by—
and newspapers were his only source of information.
Kuma nodded.
"A successor has now been chosen."
"Oh?"
Moria raised an eyebrow.
"Who is it?"
"Marshall D. Teach. Known as Blackbeard."
"Never heard the name," Moria said lazily.
"What's his background?"
"Rumor says he defected from the Whitebeard Pirates."
"Whitebeard?"
That made Moria pause.
The Whitebeard Pirates were not just a crew—
they were a family.
Whitebeard treated all his subordinates as sons.
Unless someone broke an absolute taboo, he would never truly punish them.
As that old man liked to say—
What father truly stays angry at his son?
Yet this Blackbeard had defected?
That meant only one thing.
Had he killed one of Whitebeard's sons?
Now Moria was genuinely interested.
"What did he do?"
"Unknown. Only that Whitebeard issued a personal manhunt."
"Kyahahahaha… how interesting."
Moria grinned.
"Survived Whitebeard's pursuit and still became a Warlord."
"I'm starting to like this guy."
"What's his bounty?"
"Zero."
"Zero…"
Moria thought for a moment.
"So that means… infinite potential."
To survive Whitebeard and gain government recognition—
this man was undoubtedly on their level.
"Fine. I get it."
Seeing Kuma still standing there, Moria frowned.
"What? You want me to invite you to dinner?"
"I don't mind—though I'm not sure you'd dare eat my food. Kyahahahaha~"
"I have no interest in eating here."
"Then stop killing my mood," Moria waved him away.
"I'll be capturing new shadows soon."
The World Government knew his Devil Fruit.
So did the other Warlords.
There was no point hiding it.
"New shadows?"
"Yeah."
Moria grinned widely.
"My people found a group of pirates. They'll reach my paradise soon."
"If you're not in a hurry, you can stay and watch the show."
"Kyahahahaha~"
Hearing this, Kuma immediately thought of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Based on timing alone, the probability was extremely high.
Remembering the World Government's secret mission to him, Kuma narrowed his eyes.
"Before that… take a look at this."
He placed a stack of bounty posters and a newspaper on the table.
Moria's defeat at Kaido's hands was something Kuma knew well.
He was curious—
what kind of reaction would Moria have upon seeing the ninja's bounty?
Moria didn't pick them up.
He only glanced at the top one.
[Straw Hat Luffy — Bounty: 420,000,000 Beli]
"…Why are you showing me this?" Moria frowned.
Four hundred million was impressive to rookies—
but to a Warlord, it meant nothing.
In the New World, there were countless pirates at that level.
"Crocodile was defeated by him."
"And?"
"Not long ago," Kuma continued calmly,
"the Straw Hat Pirates stormed Enies Lobby and turned it upside down."
"The World Government considers them extremely dangerous."
Moria's expression darkened.
"Get to the point. Don't talk in circles."
"Judging from their route," Kuma said,
"the probability of them arriving here is very high."
"The World Government sent me to see… whether you might become the next Crocodile."
Moria exploded.
Now he understood why Kuma had come.
Those idiots in the World Government were afraid he'd be defeated too.
"They think I'd lose to a bunch of nobodies?!"
"They are not nobodies," Kuma said.
"Their strength is considerable—"
"So what?!"
Moria roared, cutting him off.
"If they haven't made a name for themselves in the New World, they're nothing!"
A few hundred million in bounty meant nothing.
Pirates who hadn't crossed into the New World were still fledglings.
"Go back and tell those bastards," Moria snarled,
"they'll soon receive news of the Straw Hat Pirates' total annihilation."
"And don't ever use this kind of nonsense to bother me again—
or I won't be polite next time."
Kuma silently stared at him.
Moria stared back.
Neither spoke.
After a moment, Kuma said:
"I will relay your message."
"Good. Now get out of my sight."
Kuma activated his ability without another word and vanished.
Moria snorted.
That bastard could go wherever he wanted—
as long as he stayed out of Moria's view.
"Mo—Moria-sama, someone just appeared—"
a small zombie stammered.
The moment he saw Moria's expression, he froze.
"…Moria-sama?"
"Enough. Nothing for you to do."
Moria waved his hand dismissively.
He knew how strong Kuma was—
even if the zombies had tried to report it, they couldn't have stopped him anyway.
After everyone left, Moria picked up the newspaper.
"Straw Hat Pirates wreak havoc at Enies Lobby?"
He scoffed.
"Typical Morgans exaggeration to sell papers."
In his mind, they probably only caused trouble in some corner before barely escaping.
Who knew how heavy the price they paid was.
"Straw Hat Pirates…"
Almost unconsciously, Moria picked up Luffy's bounty again—
and his eyes drifted downward.
Another poster lay beneath it.
"…Ninja?"
His hands trembled.
He picked it up slowly.
Reading the description, Moria fell completely silent.
Ninja.
Only Wano had ninja.
Now one had appeared here.
Which meant—
Kaido was extending his hand into the Grand Line.
The moment Kaido's shadow resurfaced, memories buried deep within Moria's heart exploded back to life.
His comrades' deaths.
Their screams.
Their bodies.
His hands began shaking—not with fear—
but with rage.
"KAIDO!!"
"I don't care what you're plotting!"
"But since I've encountered it—
you will NOT succeed!"
Moria stared at Jin's bounty poster, baring his teeth in a vicious grin.
"Before revenge… I'll take a little interest."
Outside, Kuma observed quietly.
"…As expected."
Dragon—
your son may arrive here very soon.
This time—
I'll witness it with my own eyes.
"Ah… we finally made it through," Nami said, wiping sweat from her forehead.
"The weather here is insane," Jin complained.
"It changes whenever it wants."
That rain earlier had been absurdly violent.
"Because this is the Grand Line," Nami replied.
"Exactly!" Luffy laughed loudly.
"That's what makes it fun!"
"What if it starts hailing?" Jin asked.
"Then we run," Usopp shrugged.
"We're not just going to die."
"That's right—we've got the best navigator ever!"
"Hahaha."
"Y-you guys…" Nami said shyly.
"Instead of that," Zoro said, scanning their surroundings,
"don't you think this fog is strange?"
"Fog…"
Nami's face changed instantly.
She checked the Log Pose—
no movement.
"…Don't tell me we've entered that area."
"Already at Fish-Man Island?!" Usopp shouted excitedly.
Mermaids! Beautiful mermaids!
"No," Luffy suddenly whispered behind him in a gloomy tone.
"Before Fish-Man Island… there's a sea filled with ghosts."
"G—ghosts…?"
Usopp instantly broke into cold sweat.
"That's right," Franky said ominously.
"We've most likely entered the legendary Florian Triangle."
"The sea where ships mysteriously disappear!"
"STOP SAYING SCARY THINGS!!"
"They're not all scary," Sanji grinned.
"But Usopp, don't worry too much—only about a hundred ships vanish here each year."
"AAAAAAH!!"
"STOP—PLEASE STOP!!"
Usopp and Chopper were completely petrified.
Why did they come to such a terrifying place?!
"Jin… are there really ghosts?" Merry asked, clutching his pant leg nervously.
"Probably not," Jin said after thinking.
He wasn't scared—
if something appeared, he'd just beat it.
"Maybe there are," Robin said calmly.
"After all, even a ship spirit like Merry exists."
"So ghosts wouldn't be strange at all."
"Perhaps people who died tragically revived in this sea of resentment."
Nami: ...
Tears immediately welled up in her eyes.
"Robin… please don't say horrifying things with that calm expression…"
"I'm begging you…"
Everyone else could scare her—
but Robin was lethal because Merry actually existed.
Robin merely smiled.
"Eh?"
Merry tilted her head.
"Jin… could those 'ghosts' be ship spirits who lost their way?"
Jin paused.
"…That's actually possible."
Her words sparked new thoughts in his mind.
"Then they're so pitiful…" Merry clenched her fists.
"Can we help free them?"
"We'll see if we meet them first."
Merry nodded, determination forming in her eyes.
"If there are lost ship spirits… I want to help them."
"We've only seen Merry," Franky said thoughtfully,
"but who's to say she's the only one?"
"Over a hundred ships vanish here every year."
"Maybe other ship spirits were born too—
they just can't leave."
Strangely, hearing that made Usopp feel less afraid.
"Then maybe—"
Before he could finish—
A strange sound echoed through the fog.
Creak… creak…
Along with a man's voice drifting across the sea.
"Yohohoho~"
"Yoho yoho~"
"Yohohoho~"
"Yoho yoho~"
"G—GHOSTS!!!"
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