"He really flew pretty far."
Standing on the deck, Zoro narrowed his eyes as he looked into the distance.
"That direction… isn't that where Nami and the others ran off earlier?"
If he remembered correctly, that was indeed the route Nami's group had taken.
"Yeah, that's the one."
Robin smiled faintly, then looked at the two who had just returned to the ship.
"So… you just killed him like that?"
"Didn't even try to squeeze out some information?"
"That's something you should ask this guy."
Jin shot Sanji an annoyed look.
"I was planning to knock him out and interrogate him properly. Who knew Sanji would hit so hard and send him flying with one kick."
That attack had been terrifying.
For a moment, Jin had honestly thought the man might have been kicked to death.
He'd even smelled something suspiciously like roasted meat—though he wasn't sure if that was just his imagination.
"…Sorry."
Having vented his anger, Sanji apologized sincerely.
There was no helping it.
Having your lifelong dream stolen right in front of you was simply unbearable.
So the moment that guy slipped free, Sanji had instinctively activated Diable Jambe at full power.
"Feeling better now?" Jin asked.
"Yeah. Much better."
"Then fine."
Jin nodded and didn't press the issue further.
Either way, he was heading in that direction to find Nami and the others.
He could check whether that man was dead or not along the way.
If he was still alive, he could always use the Sharingan to dig out some information.
"What's up with your leg?" Zoro pointed at Sanji's slowly cooling foot.
"You were seriously on fire just now."
That heat hadn't been some imaginary aura—it was real temperature.
"Yeah. That's my special move—Diable Jambe," Sanji explained.
"By spinning at high speed, I heat up my leg. It boosts both speed and power."
That was the technique he'd awakened earlier.
It was also how he'd defeated that CP9 agent head-on at Enies Lobby.
"You eat a Devil Fruit?" Jin asked, surprised.
"Nope."
"Then how the hell are you heating your leg?" Jin complained.
"Don't tell me you've got some weird bloodline or something."
"That heat was no joke. You practically cooked him."
Sanji blinked.
For a split second, thoughts of his past—of genetic modification—surfaced in his mind.
After a brief silence, he shook his head and tossed the thought away.
"Don't overthink it," he said with a grin, giving Jin a thumbs-up.
"Probably just because I'm awesome."
Jin rolled his eyes.
If you don't want to talk about it, just say so—no need to make up excuses like that.
"Hey."
Jin glanced at Luffy and Franky, who were still lying flat on the deck.
"You two should be about done by now, right?"
"AH!!"
Both of them instantly shot up with raised hands.
"THAT BASTARD!!"
Franky was furious.
A man as SUPER as him had actually sunk into despair because of someone else's Devil Fruit power.
Just thinking about it made him want to punch something.
"Looks like you're fully recovered." Jin nodded, then said,
"I'll leave the ship to you guys. I'm going to find Nami and the others."
It had been a while, and there'd been no movement from that side.
Since Merry hadn't used reverse summoning to call him over either, it probably meant they weren't in immediate danger.
"Got it!"
"Leave it to us," Luffy said with a nod.
With Jin around, Nami and the others wouldn't be in danger.
Watching him run across the sea surface and disappear into the mist, Sanji turned to the others.
"Alright. Now it's our turn."
"Hurry and dock. We don't have his water-walking trick."
Mini Merry No. 2 had been taken by Nami's group, and the small boat below had been punctured earlier when Sanji attacked—completely unusable now.
If they wanted to go ashore, the Thousand Sunny itself would have to approach land.
"…So jealous," Luffy muttered, staring longingly at Jin's retreating back.
"Is this really the time to think about that?!" Zoro snapped.
"Focus, idiot!"
"Oh…"
Luffy nodded obediently, though his eyes were still glued to the distance, clearly imagining himself doing the same someday.
Zoro: "..."
"RUMBLE—!"
Suddenly, the sea churned violently.
The Thousand Sunny rocked back and forth, completely losing directional control.
"Is it because of the anchor?" Robin frowned.
"Damn it—the helm's not responding!"
"Well, we're planning to land anyway," Luffy grinned.
"Even if we get washed ashore, it's fine, right?"
If the ship really ended up on land, they didn't need to worry about getting it moving again—Jin's Water Release could easily lift the Sunny back into the sea.
"That's true, but—"
Franky stopped mid-sentence.
Up ahead, a massive spiderweb stretched across their path.
"Look! There's a giant web!"
"Everyone, brace for impact!!"
Elsewhere.
After being chased for a long time by the modified zombie hound, the four finally escaped by hiding in the trees.
"…We finally got away," Usopp sighed in relief.
When he'd seen that hellish three-headed beast earlier, he'd nearly wet himself.
The moment he reacted, he'd scooped Merry onto his back and sprinted for his life.
"That thing really was a Cerberus like you said?" Merry asked softly.
"Uh…"
"…Probably?" Usopp replied uncertainly.
"Then why did one of its heads look like a fox?"
Usopp fell silent.
How would he know that?
It really looked like a Cerberus—but one head being a fox made no sense.
"Maybe… Cerberus just looks like that?" Nami guessed.
After all, none of them had ever actually seen one.
"I don't know if it was really a Cerberus," Chopper said hesitantly,
"but something about it felt wrong."
Even with mutations, a creature growing multiple heads shouldn't suddenly gain a different species' head.
Unless… they'd been stitched on later.
But that was impossible.
Decapitation meant death—there was no such thing as head transplantation.
"Oh hohoho~ seems you're all quite curious about that creature."
"WHO SAID THAT?!"
Goosebumps instantly erupted across their skin.
Fear spread through their chests.
Turning around, they saw a bat-like figure hanging upside down from a tree, smiling at them.
"AHHH!!"
"A GHOST!!"
"Please don't be alarmed," the man said politely.
"I'm not a ghost. My name is Cindry—no, Hilton. I'm a resident of this island."
"I saw you being chased by wild dogs, so I followed to check on you."
"Wild dogs…" Usopp glanced back.
"So that wasn't a Cerberus after all?"
That made sense.
If it really were a mythical beast, they'd be dead already.
"Oh hohoho~ if you don't mind, please take my carriage and come to the castle."
"This forest becomes extremely dangerous at night. Only the castle is safe."
"Castle?" Usopp blinked.
"People actually live in a place like this?"
"This is Doctor Hogback's residence!"
"HOGBACK?!"
Chopper's eyes lit up instantly.
"Chopper?"
"You know him?"
"Of course!" Chopper said excitedly.
"Doctor Hogback is the most famous doctor in the world! All doctors admire him!"
"So… we can meet Doctor Hogback there?!"
A bead of sweat appeared on Hilton's head.
He hadn't expected this to be so easy.
"…Y-yes, of course," he laughed.
"As long as you come with me, you'll meet Doctor Hogback."
"My carriage is here. Please, come down."
The group exchanged uneasy glances.
"…Let's go," Chopper said.
"Jin and the others will find us soon anyway."
He was practically glowing with anticipation.
That was his idol—the greatest doctor in the world!
Seeing his excitement, Nami hesitated… then nodded.
"Alright. Let's go."
Going back blindly might mean running into that monster again.
At least following this man to a castle seemed safer.
And surely… a famous doctor wouldn't be a bad person… right?
With the decision made, they climbed down and boarded the carriage with Hilton.
After they left—
A man slowly poked his head out from hiding and sighed.
"…Another group heading for disaster."
Anyone taken to Moria's castle never met a good end.
Soon enough, their shadows would be stolen too—
condemned to live in darkness, never able to touch sunlight again.
"Enough staring," another voice said quietly.
"Captain Lola told us to check what caused that disturbance earlier."
"What about those people…?"
"They look weak. They probably won't escape having their shadows taken."
"Yeah." Another nodded.
"It's safer to wait until after that—then we can rescue them."
"…Alright."
The group slipped away silently, weaving past zombie trees and strange creatures, heading toward the source of the earlier tremor.
They stopped at a massive crater.
"There should've been something here… where did it go?"
Something powerful enough to make such a crater shouldn't just vanish.
"Could it have been… a zombie?"
"You mean…" Aiko's eyes widened.
"Someone defeated a zombie?!"
Instantly, all of them lit up.
Why did they risk their lives sneaking out?
To find someone—anyone—capable of defeating zombies.
Someone who might even challenge Gecko Moria.
Yet all this time, no one had succeeded.
Even people who could defeat zombies were extremely rare.
"If that's really the case, then maybe we—"
Before he could finish, screams echoed from afar.
"MONSTER—MONSTER!!"
"RUN! That human is a monster!"
"Don't go near him—he's terrifying!!"
"He's a devil! A DEVIL!!"
Zombie trees and grotesque zombie animals fled in panic, running for their lives.
Some passed right by the group—but didn't even slow down.
Capturing humans no longer mattered.
Survival came first.
The sight made Aiko and the others tremble uncontrollably.
"What… what happened over there?"
"There are only two possibilities," Aiko swallowed hard.
"Either an even stronger zombie has appeared…"
"…or among the newcomers—there's a human terrifying enough to make zombies fear him."
That second possibility hit them like a jolt of lightning.
Hope.
"Let's… let's go take a look," someone whispered.
If it was the first, they'd accept their fate.
But if it was the second—
Then they might finally have a chance to defeat Gecko Moria.
To return to the sunlight.
That temptation was impossible to resist.
Driven by their longing for freedom, they carefully advanced.
From afar, they could still hear zombie screams—
and the sound of blades tearing through flesh.
It sounded like a master swordsman at work.
"AAAH!!"
"Don't cut me—please don't cut me!"
Jin didn't respond.
He simply raised his right hand and brought it down.
The Kusanagi blade, wrapped in Wind-attribute chakra, sliced cleanly through a zombie tree.
It split in half—
yet it didn't die.
It kept screaming.
"Tch…" Jin frowned.
"What the hell are you things?"
Even being chopped apart couldn't kill them.
They really were just like zombies.
After cleaving open a zombie animal's head, it still struggled violently.
"…Not undead," Jin muttered.
"Definitely zombies."
Against creatures like this—
there was only one answer.
Fire Release.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
BOOOOM!!
Flames surged forward.
Within moments, several zombies were reduced to ash, leaving behind a scorched vacuum.
As the fire died down, silence followed.
"So fire really is their weakness," Jin murmured.
He frowned slightly.
He hoped Merry and the others hadn't run into these things.
Just then—
Dark shadows burst from the ashes and shot into the sky at high speed, racing back toward their original owner.
Jin narrowed his eyes.
"Those black shadows… are those… shadows?"
Was this why the enemy stole shadows?
To create these nearly unkillable zombies?
It was disturbingly plausible.
Crack.
The sound of a branch snapping echoed nearby.
Jin turned slowly toward it, wearing a gentle smile.
"So… some of you didn't run?"
"Then I'll just kill you all here—
saves you the trouble of going after Nami and the others."
Standing atop a rock, he tilted his head slightly.
His blood-red eyes glowed eerily within the forest.
That sight alone nearly made Aiko and the others wet themselves.
"D-DEVIL!!!"
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