"Sanji, are you okay?"
Luffy looked at the dreamless Sanji with concern, unsure how to comfort him.
"YOU BASTARD!!"
Sanji suddenly sprang back to life, glaring murderously at Absalom.
"You damn freak—why did you eat my Clear-Clear Fruit?!"
Ever since he'd seen the Devil Fruit encyclopedia as a child, Sanji had sworn he would one day eat that fruit himself.
And now—before he ever found it—this thing that barely even looked human had eaten it first.
How could he not be furious?
He wanted nothing more than to kick this guy to death on the spot.
Absalom: "..."
What the hell was this idiot talking about?
This Devil Fruit had been stolen by Lord Gecko Moria and personally given to him—
ahem, to fulfill his dream.
And now this lunatic was saying it belonged to him?
Ridiculous!
"Jin, let him go! I'm going to kick him to death!!"
"That won't work."
"Why not?!"
"If I let him go, he'll immediately turn invisible and run," Jin explained calmly.
"I can see him—but you can't."
Sanji froze, then nodded reluctantly.
"…Yeah. You're right."
As much as he wanted to beat Absalom senseless, his pride wouldn't allow him to attack someone who couldn't fight back.
Lighting a cigarette, Sanji tried to calm himself down.
"…Damn it, I can't calm down at all!!"
His body flushed red with rage, heat practically radiating off him.
Absalom's pupils shrank.
"H-hey! Is this guy about to transform or something?!"
"Oh?"
Jin looked at him with mild surprise.
"You can already talk?"
He had deliberately restrained his chakra to keep Absalom alive for questioning.
Yet this guy recovered speech so quickly—his body really was heavily modified.
"My body's been enhanced," Absalom said grimly.
"All-around physical upgrades. Why's that surprising?"
"But you—how can you see me? And you can use lightning too?!"
"What Devil Fruit is that?!"
"Because," Jin replied flatly,
"I'm a ninja."
"Ninja?"
Absalom blinked.
That word… hadn't he heard it earlier from those little zombies?
Lord Moria had mentioned it too—very angrily.
Could this guy be Moria's enemy?
As that thought formed, Absalom lowered his head, his mind racing.
"So what do we do with him?" Zoro asked.
"He looks like one of the island's residents."
"A walking intelligence source delivered right to our door," Franky grinned.
"True. Then let's—"
Before they could finish, several ghosts suddenly appeared, floating in the air.
"Negative~"
"Negative~"
"Negative~"
"GHOSTS!" Luffy shouted excitedly.
"Guys, look! Ghosts!"
"And there are four of them!"
He was thrilled.
From his perspective, it was basically:
They even brought their family—clearly they want me to raise them!
"Those things again?" Zoro frowned.
"Something's wrong," Jin said coldly, staring upward.
"These are likely part of a Devil Fruit ability."
Four identical ghosts appearing at once was far too unnatural.
"Perona…"
Absalom's eyes lit up with excitement.
If she had arrived, he was saved!
"Perona, help me!"
"Oh?"
Jin grinned.
"So you know each other? Then you'd better explain everything later."
Absalom ignored him, staring up at the ghosts with hope.
"Tch, that idiot…"
Inside her gothic bedroom, Perona clicked her tongue in annoyance.
She didn't like Absalom at all.
But they were comrades—she couldn't just let him die.
"…Fine. I'll save you this once."
"Haraharaharaha~"
Her laughter transmitted perfectly through the Negative Ghosts.
Absalom finally relaxed.
She hadn't abandoned him.
"I'll catch them!" Luffy suddenly yelled, flinging his arm forward.
"Gomu Gomu no—Ghost Catcher!"
Whoosh!
A net-like rubber contraption shot toward the ghosts—
but they easily dodged, moving with incredible agility.
"Damn, they're fast!"
"Luffy, don't touch them!" Jin warned.
"We don't know what their ability does!"
They kept chanting "negative"—
which meant it likely affected emotions.
Or worse—souls.
"But I wanna catch them…"
"Shut up. I'll test it first."
Jin formed a hand seal.
A shadow clone appeared.
"Right—he has clones!" Franky said.
Zoro and Franky immediately spread out, forming a loose encirclement.
"Clones?!"
Both Absalom and Perona were stunned.
Jin's shadow clone leapt upward, sword flashing.
Whoosh!
The blade passed straight through—no resistance at all.
"No effect?" the clone muttered.
Then—
One ghost rushed forward and passed straight through the clone's body.
"…Ah…"
The clone's expression instantly collapsed.
Its fighting spirit vanished completely.
The sword slipped from its hand and fell into the sea.
The clone dropped to its knees on the deck, trembling.
"…I'm not even worthy of being a ninja…
I'm worse than a caterpillar…"
Jin: "???"
Before anyone could react—
Poof!
The clone vanished.
And when the memory returned—
Jin's face turned green.
"Haraharahahara~"
Watching through her ability, Perona burst into laughter.
"So that's it? Ninjas aren't that impressive after all."
Even ninjas couldn't resist her power!
Absalom let out a long breath.
Looks like he really was saved.
"What just happened?!" Zoro stared in disbelief.
"Why did your clone suddenly become like that?"
Before Jin could answer, Luffy and Franky charged in.
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
"Strong Right!"
Bam!
Bam!
Two more bodies dropped.
"This week, I'm not super at all…
I'm worse than an amoeba…"
"I don't even want to be Pirate King anymore…
I just want to be a salted fish…"
Jin: "..."
Zoro: "???"
"HEY!"
"What the hell are you idiots doing?!"
"Haraharahahara~"
Perona's delighted laughter echoed through the air.
Another ghost rushed straight toward Jin.
"Tch."
He immediately leapt backward.
The clone's memory was crystal clear.
The ghosts couldn't be hit—
but once touched, they stripped away all will to fight.
Instant, overwhelming negativity.
He was not letting that happen again.
"Negative~
Negative~
Negative~"
"This ability is creepy," Jin said coldly.
"Once touched, it instantly crushes a person's fighting spirit."
"Yes," Robin said calmly, pointing down.
"That's very obvious."
Zoro scowled.
"Two idiots."
Jin had already tested it—yet they still rushed in.
Luffy was one thing, but even Franky joined in?
"HAHA! Nice work!"
Absalom yanked the weapon from his body and tossed it aside.
"I'm saved!"
"You idiot!"
A ghost snapped angrily in front of him.
"Do you know you just exposed me?!"
They hadn't even been sure she was a Devil Fruit user yet.
She could've scared them slowly—herding them into traps.
But Absalom's shout ruined everything.
"So what?" he grinned.
"They can't resist your negativity anyway."
"And if you hadn't helped, I'd be dead!"
He clutched his bleeding wound.
Muscles writhed, forcibly sealing it shut.
"I'll go treat myself. You handle things here."
With that, Absalom activated his Clear-Clear Fruit and vanished, sprinting toward the side.
A transparent boat waited there.
Once aboard, he could escape!
"Trying to run?"
"Stop him, Perona!" Absalom shouted.
"I don't want to get stabbed again!"
"Got it—so annoying!"
Though irritated, Perona commanded four ghosts to block Jin's path.
But this time—
"Look into my eyes."
"Huh?"
Instinctively, Perona glanced over.
In her vision—
those blood-red eyes expanded endlessly.
The ghosts froze in midair.
Jin smirked.
"So genjutsu works after all."
Physical attacks were useless—but mental ones still worked.
He glanced toward where Absalom was scrambling toward the boat.
Just as he moved—
"AAAAAHHH!!"
A terrified scream erupted.
From the ghosts—
like a little girl who had seen something unimaginably horrifying.
"DON'T COME NEAR ME!!"
"A GIANT COCKROACH!!!"
"…A cockroach?"
Jin nearly stumbled.
The Hell-Viewing Technique showed a person their greatest fear—
and hers was…
Giant. Cockroach.
…Seriously?!
Of all the horrors he'd ever summoned—
this was the most ridiculous.
Was she actually just a child?!
"DON'T CHASE ME!!"
Perona fled screaming, ghosts scattering wildly as if something monstrous were after them.
"Please stop chasing meee!!"
She cried the entire way.
"…A cockroach?"
Absalom, now on the boat, froze.
Then he sighed.
"Tch. What a child."
"Yeah," a voice replied calmly behind him.
"I thought so too."
Absalom's blood ran cold.
That voice—
It was the man who had stabbed him into the deck.
He slowly turned, terror flooding his face.
Damn it!
Perona had fled.
If he got caught again—
no one would save him!
He instantly dropped invisibility, pulled out a handheld cannon, and fired behind him.
"Die, you bastard!!"
BOOM!!
The explosion blasted seawater sky-high—
but hit nothing.
His heart dropped.
"…Don't tell me—"
"Let's beat you half to death first. Then you'll behave."
Jin's voice sounded again—right behind him.
Calm.
Cold.
Like the whisper of death.
Absalom's face turned deathly pale, sweat pouring down.
Before Jin could strike—
a blazing figure leapt down from the ship.
"Jin—let me handle this!"
Sanji's body burned with fury.
"DIABLE JAMBE!"
"Rage—GRILLED SHOULDER STRIKE!!"
His flaming kick slammed brutally into Absalom's back.
The impact—and heat—were monstrous.
"AAAAHHH!!"
"IT'S BURNING!!!"
The blow crushed muscle inward—
parts of his flesh were literally seared.
Blood sprayed.
His eyes rolled back.
Like a cannonball, Absalom was launched straight into the forest.
BOOM!!
The ground exploded into a crater.
Absalom lay at the center, eyes rolled white—completely unconscious.
Nearby zombie trees leapt away in terror.
Only after confirming there was no movement did they cautiously approach.
"…That's Lord Absalom?"
"He's unconscious…"
The zombies stared in disbelief.
That man was incredibly strong—
yet he'd been beaten like this.
Just how terrifying were these enemies…?
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