On the other side, the group of four riding in the carriage had already arrived near the castle.
"Everyone, we're almost there~"
Hilton said with a cheerful smile.
Yet behind that smile lurked deadly intent.
Merry glanced at Hilton.
Instinctively, she felt something was off about that grin. Feeling uneasy, she moved closer to Nami, seeking comfort.
Nami looked down at her in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
"That's right, little girl—what's the matter?" Hilton added.
"N-no… nothing…"
Nami didn't think too much of it. She assumed the child was just shaken by what had happened earlier, so she gently pulled Merry into her arms.
"Don't be afraid. We're here."
"Mmm…"
"Please don't worry," Hilton said warmly.
"We'll reach the safe castle very soon."
"That's right—and you'll even get to meet the great Doctor Hogback!"
"You admire him that much?" Nami asked curiously.
"Of course!" Chopper said excitedly, turning to Usopp.
"He's a genius surgeon!"
"He's performed miraculous operations and saved tens of thousands of lives!"
"Isn't that incredible?!"
As he spoke, stars sparkled in Chopper's eyes—his admiration was unmistakable.
"Look how excited you are…" Usopp muttered.
"Hehe~ Because I'm about to meet my idol!"
Chopper scratched his head shyly.
"Before I ever went out to sea, I followed all his news."
"But one day, Doctor Hogback suddenly disappeared. No one could find him."
"Some people said he'd already died… I was heartbroken for a long time…"
Usopp nodded in understanding.
Losing an idol like that was devastating for anyone.
"But being able to meet Doctor Hogback again here is amazing!" Chopper said happily.
His little legs swung back and forth beneath the seat, his face glowing with joy.
"But why would such a famous doctor be in a place like this?" Nami asked doubtfully.
This island didn't look even remotely livable.
"Because Doctor Hogback is conducting research that surpasses human wisdom," Hilton replied with a smile.
"That's why he came here."
"I see… as expected of a great doctor!" Chopper said earnestly.
"Then can I get his autograph?"
"Oh ho ho, that shouldn't be a problem."
"Yay!!"
Watching Chopper beam with excitement, Hilton's smile widened even more.
These people are even easier to fool than I thought.
"The fog outside is really thick…" Usopp said as he pulled back the curtain to peek out.
"I can't see anyth—"
He froze.
On a distant cliff stood a lion, gazing outward.
Just as Usopp stared in confusion—
The lion turned its head.
It had a human face.
"GYAAAH!!"
"AH?!!"
"W-what happened?!" Nami cried in alarm.
"There's a lion! A lion!" Usopp screamed.
"And it has a human face!!"
This island really was cursed—monsters like that actually existed?!
"That's impossible!" Nami snapped.
"How could a lion have a human face?!"
"Usopp, are you hallucinating?"
Merry looked at him worriedly, thinking fear had finally gotten to him.
"I'm telling you, look for yourselves!"
Nami and the others opened the curtain again—
But there was nothing there.
"…Where?"
"…I don't see anything."
Usopp leaned in again, confused.
"…It's gone?"
"Did I really imagine it…?"
That shouldn't be possible.
As a sniper, his eyes were the one thing he trusted most.
"You may simply be too tense," Hilton said gently.
"Though the forest becomes frightening at night, it wouldn't contain something like that."
"Y-yeah… maybe I'm just tired," Usopp muttered.
Even so, the unease in his chest didn't fade.
"Oh ho ho, we'll arrive at the castle soon," Hilton continued.
"Then you can enjoy a hot bath and wait for your companions to come find you."
"Yeah… that sounds nice."
"Ahh~ a hot bath~"
Seeing their attention diverted, Hilton quietly relaxed, then narrowed his eyes toward the window.
Strange… this time they're unusually obedient.
Normally, the forest creatures would already be celebrating, even frightening the prey.
But this time—it was eerily quiet.
Could it be because of that explosion earlier?
"Wait!"
"Hm? What is it, guest?"
Hilton looked at Usopp, slightly wary.
"I still think something's wrong," Usopp said firmly.
"That wasn't an illusion. I trust my eyes."
The others stiffened.
If Usopp was that certain… then something really might be out there.
"Then what would you like to do?"
"We're not going to the castle," Usopp said decisively.
"Let's go back and find Jin and the others."
He turned to Nami as he said it.
Nami thought for a moment—then nodded.
"Alright."
"But, Mr. Hilton… could you take us back to the shore?"
Even if they ran into that terrifying three-headed dog again—
That was still better than facing unknown horrors alone.
Without a strong fighter nearby, she felt deeply unsafe.
"But then you won't get to see Doctor Hogback…" Chopper said tearfully.
"Chopper, once we reunite with the others, we can come back together," Merry said softly.
"Huh?"
"Oh… right!"
Chopper immediately cheered up again.
Hmph… not that easy to fool after all,
Hilton sneered inwardly.
But outwardly, he smiled.
"Very well. Please wait here for a moment—I'll inform the coachman."
"Thank you."
"My pleasure~"
He stepped out through the curtain and signaled the two zombie horses.
The three figures then vanished silently into the fog—
each wearing a sinister grin.
Inside the carriage, the four waited quietly.
But the silence only made the atmosphere more terrifying.
"Um…" Usopp coughed.
"Do you think Jin is looking for us in the forest?"
"That's possible," Nami nodded.
The others might take time to come ashore—but Jin was different.
He could run across the sea itself.
Water couldn't stop him at all.
She just didn't understand why he hadn't found them yet.
"I just hope they search toward the castle," Usopp sighed.
A minute passed.
No sound.
Not even Hilton's voice.
"…It's too quiet," Nami frowned.
"Where's Hilton?"
"H-he didn't just abandon us here… did he?"
Nami's face went pale.
Abandoned?!
That meant they'd have to walk back through this nightmare forest themselves?!
"I don't want to walk back through here!" Nami screamed.
"What if that three-headed dog catches us?!"
"I don't want to either!" Usopp yelled.
He still couldn't forget that human-faced lion.
And then there were ghosts on this island too—
Just thinking about it made his skin crawl.
"Hey… why are we in a graveyard?" Chopper said shakily as he peeked outside.
"…A graveyard?"
Usopp trembled and slowly leaned over.
When he saw the rows of tombstones—
Cold sweat poured down his face.
"Gulp…"
"This atmosphere…"
"D-don't tell me… there are zombies…"
"Don't say that!" Nami screamed.
"I'm already scared enough!"
"Z-zombies…" Merry clutched Nami tightly, her teeth chattering.
Crack—
A hand suddenly burst out of the ground.
"KYAAAH!!"
"ZOMBIEEEE!!"
As if triggered by a signal, zombies began crawling out one after another, growling as they shambled toward the carriage.
"Grrraaah…"
"NOOO!!"
The four clung to each other, tears and snot flying everywhere.
Why did they have to face something this terrifying?!
One zombie slammed its hands onto the carriage.
"Human… eat…"
"AHHH!!"
"Don't eat us!!"
Nami kicked frantically, but it did nothing—only exciting the zombie further.
"Get out—now!" Usopp yelled.
Nami grabbed Merry and jumped through the window.
Usopp and Chopper followed immediately.
But once outside, they froze.
There were too many zombies.
"Humans—eat you all!!"
"AAAAH!!"
"Someone save us!!"
At that very moment—
Jin descended from the sky like a god of war.
"Fire Style — Great Fireball Jutsu!!"
BOOOOOM!!
A massive fireball crashed down into the zombie horde, instantly igniting them!
"ROOOAR!!"
"AAAAAH!!"
The terrifying flames reduced half the zombies to ash in seconds.
The remaining zombies screamed in panic.
"Fire!!"
"RUN!!"
From the ashes, countless shadows flew upward and vanished into the night sky.
Seeing this, the zombies completely broke.
Clack—thud.
Jin landed smoothly on the ground.
His blood-red eyes swept across the area with calm authority.
That gaze alone sent the remaining zombies shuddering backward.
"Get lost."
"RUNNNN!!!"
They fled like animals escaping a natural disaster.
Silence returned.
Jin turned to the trembling group and smiled gently.
"It's alright now. You're safe."
"Jin!!"
All four rushed over, clinging to him—arms, legs, everything—crying miserably.
Jin: "..."
These four… really were something else.
Maybe he should just start calling them the Coward Quartet.
Sighing inwardly, he said calmly,
"The zombies are gone. No need to be afraid."
"I-I was so scared…" Merry sobbed.
"They were terrifying…"
"I thought I was going to be eaten…"
Jin patted them reassuringly.
"It's fine now. With me here, they won't touch you."
Hearing that, their sobbing gradually faded.
Though Chopper and Merry still refused to let go.
"How did you find us?" Nami asked.
"When I searched the forest, I met a few living humans," Jin explained.
"They told me you were heading toward the castle, so I came here."
"Living humans?"
"Yeah. A rare few."
"This forest is full of all kinds of twisted zombies."
No wonder.
Though strangely, he hadn't encountered any on the way here.
"So… I really wasn't imagining things earlier," Usopp swallowed.
"There really are human-faced lions."
"Yeah. I also saw a human-faced horse."
"…Please stop talking."
They really didn't want nightmares tonight.
Jin shook his head helplessly.
This island was full of zombies—being scared wouldn't change anything.
Still…
They'd have to get used to it eventually.
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