In the central courtyard, a group of zombies surrounded Merry and the others, staring at Jin with uncertainty and fear.
"What's going on with this guy?"
"No idea. That little girl slapped the ground, and he just appeared out of nowhere."
"What kind of ability is that?"
For a moment, the zombies were completely intimidated and didn't dare move forward.
Standing beside Merry, Jin silently surveyed the undead around him.
He had been just about to use Lightning Release to restrain Ryuma—then follow up with Fire Release to burn and purify him completely.
But before he could even form the jutsu, Merry had summoned him over with Reverse Summoning.
For a moment, he genuinely didn't know what to say.
"Ah… thank goodness. As long as Jin's here, everything's fine now."
Nami finally let out a breath of relief.
She had been terrified.
First they'd been chased through the castle by zombies, then surrounded by grotesque monsters here—she'd nearly been scared out of her wits.
"Hehe, Jin, this time I summoned you just in time~" Merry said proudly.
"…Yeah. You finally learned how to use it properly."
Jin shook his head helplessly.
What else could he say?
Fine—he'd leave that zombie swordsman to Zoro later.
That guy loved fighting swordsmen anyway.
"So why did you all end up here?" Jin asked.
"Didn't I tell you to go find Luffy?"
If he wasn't mistaken, this area was even deeper inside the castle.
"Well… it's a long story…"
"Then make it short."
"Basically, the door back was sealed," Nami said awkwardly.
"We couldn't get through. Then we ran into mural zombies and ended up fleeing all the way here."
They'd wanted to regroup with Luffy—but there was simply no path back.
"I see…"
"Hey, human!" the hippo zombie shouted.
"What exactly is going on here?!"
"Yeah! Why did that man appear out of thin air?!"
"Hey, we're talking to you!"
"…Huh?"
Jin glanced at them coldly.
"Are you talking to me?"
"Uh…"
The hippo zombie instinctively took several steps back and swallowed nervously.
"Y-yeah… talking to you…"
"Who exactly are you?"
Why did this man's gaze feel so terrifying?
"Me?" Jin replied calmly.
"Just a ninja."
"A ninja?!"
"Th-the legendary ninja? Is that real?!"
The animal zombies stared at him in disbelief.
It was their first time seeing a living ninja.
Jin ignored their reaction and frowned.
"And what is this place supposed to be?"
"Why are there only animals?"
Looking around, it felt like a bizarre zombie zoo.
Could it be… Moria deliberately made a zombie animal park?
Suddenly, Jin remembered that cockroach-phobic kid.
Don't tell me… this is something Moria made to entertain a child?
A Shichibukai obsessed with zombies having such a side to him was… unexpectedly strange.
"This is Lady Perona's Animal Paradise!" the white bear zombie blurted out.
"Of course it's full of animal zombies!"
"Perona?"
"Idiot! Don't leak Lady Perona's information!"
"…!"
Realizing what he'd done, the white bear quickly covered his mouth.
He'd accidentally leaked Lady Perona's intel.
At that moment, several white ghosts floated down from the sky, laughing.
"Horohorohoro~! Welcome to my—"
"Eh?!"
Perona froze mid-sentence when she saw Jin standing below.
Her hair practically stood on end.
"It's you!!"
She stared at him in horror.
The terrifying ninja with a 400 million Beli bounty—
why was he here?!
Was he chasing her specifically?!
That horrifying memory instantly resurfaced in her mind.
With a scream, she turned and fled.
"Lady Perona?!"
The animal zombies were completely dumbfounded.
Why did their mistress sound so terrified?
Had something happened earlier?
"I see…" Jin narrowed his eyes.
"So this animal park really was made by Moria for that kid."
Could she actually be Moria's child?
At that moment, one ghost cautiously floated back and shouted:
"Seize them!"
Then it whooshed away instantly—terrified Jin might hit it again.
That nearly made Jin laugh.
"Definitely a kid…"
"Quick! Lady Perona ordered us to capture them!" the elephant zombie roared.
"Charge!!"
Even though he didn't understand why Lady Perona feared this man so much, orders were orders.
Even if he was terrifying—they still had to obey!
"Jin!!"
Nami and the others looked frightened—
but this time, they didn't cling to him for comfort.
Instead, each of them took a fighting stance.
"Don't worry. I'm here."
"Fire Release — Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!!!"
BOOOOM!!
Scorching flames erupted from Jin's mouth, forming a blazing fire dragon that surged straight toward the animal zombies!
"BOOM!!"
"AAAAH!!"
"Fire!!"
The moment the flames touched them, the dried zombie bodies ignited instantly, letting out agonizing screams.
"Water!"
"Hurry, get water!"
"No… it's too hot! It's too late!!"
Under the inferno's heat, the struck zombies were rapidly reduced to ash.
Shadows burst free from the remains and shot into the sky, returning to their owners.
The remaining animal zombies retreated far back, staring at Jin in sheer terror.
Nami stood there completely stunned.
Just moments ago, those zombies had been snarling viciously—
now they looked utterly terrified.
"So cool… ninjutsu…"
Chopper gazed at Jin with sparkling eyes.
If he could use Fire Release too, would he stop being afraid of zombies?
"So this is a ninja's power…"
Perona, hiding high above, trembled as she watched.
Illusions were bad enough—but now he could breathe flames like this?!
He was practically the natural nemesis of her zombie paradise!
"Hahaha! Now you know how strong we are!" Usopp shouted proudly, hands on his hips.
"If you want to mess with us, be prepared to die!"
"Damn it…" the hippo zombie gritted his teeth.
It wasn't even Usopp who used the fire—why was he acting so smug?!
That was pure riding on someone else's power!
"You—"
"…Hmm?"
One glance from Jin sent him stumbling backward in terror.
After just that single attack, most of their side had already been wiped out.
So this is a ninja… If we hadn't been lucky…
How were they supposed to fight someone like this?!
Just then—
a heavy metallic scraping sound echoed from afar, like armored troops marching.
Jin immediately turned toward the sound.
"What's that?!" Usopp tensed.
"Don't tell me more zombies are coming?!"
The noise sounded like armor—something they hadn't encountered before.
Soon, massive steel gates opened.
Zombies clad in various battle armors strode out arrogantly.
"I-it's the General Zombies!!"
"We're saved!"
The hippo zombie looked as if he'd seen hope.
These generals were far stronger than ordinary zombies.
"Ahh~ been a while since we were let out," John said lazily.
"Haha, indeed."
"So these are the enemies this time?"
"Obviously. They're the only living ones here."
The general zombies fixed their gazes on Jin and the others, grinning savagely.
At that moment, Perona's little ghost floated back down.
"Why are you here?!"
Absalom had clearly been knocked unconscious—she'd seen it herself.
Without his command, how did these zombies awaken?
"Ah~" John replied.
"Lord Moria awakened us."
"…Lord Moria, huh."
Perona nodded. That made sense.
Only Moria or Absalom could control these unruly generals.
"These are the intruders?"
"Yes!" Perona shouted.
"That man with the sword is a ninja—be extremely careful!"
"A ninja?"
The general zombies immediately got excited.
It was their first time seeing a living ninja.
"Hey kid, can you really use ninjutsu?"
"Can you make clones?"
"You—"
Jin: "..."
Why were even zombies this ridiculous?
Perona nearly screamed.
"What are you doing?! He's the enemy—enemy!!"
"But he's a ninja, Miss Perona…"
"Get serious!" she yelled.
"He can use fire! That's a zombie's natural enemy!"
If these idiots got burned too, she really wouldn't know how to stop him.
"…Fire."
The generals' expressions finally turned serious.
Normal attacks meant nothing to zombies.
No pain. No nerves. As long as the body remained intact, they could fight forever.
But fire—
Fire reduced them to ash.
"Looks like we'll need caution."
"Right. As long as we avoid his flames, taking him down shouldn't be difficult."
Perona waved her hand proudly.
"You're General Zombies—you're invincible!"
"Go! Capture them!"
"Horohorohoro~!"
She glanced smugly at Jin—
then met his blood-red eyes.
She instantly recoiled and fled.
"I don't wanna see giant cockroaches again!!!"
The generals were stunned.
"…What does that even mean?"
What giant cockroach?
What was that kid talking about?
"Tch. Definitely a child," Jin muttered.
He hadn't even used genjutsu—he'd only looked at her.
And she'd panicked like that.
"Even though we bear no grudge," John said coldly,
"since you've come here… we'll have to take you down."
As he spoke, a gray-armored zombie drew his sword and slashed!
Woooo—!
A white flying slash shot straight toward Jin!
Clang!
Jin cleaved it apart with the Kusanagi blade and grinned.
"Flying slashes?"
"I see—swordsman level. No wonder you're called General Zombies."
These people must've been famous figures when alive.
Combined with powerful shadows, they became terrifying undead warriors.
"Hahaha! Sharp eyes, ninja boy!"
The silver-armored zombie laughed proudly.
"That's right—this old man was a swordmaster in life!"
He lovingly stroked his blade.
"Swordmaster…"
Usopp's face turned green.
"H-hey… does that mean every one of them is Zoro-level?!"
If so, there was no way they could fight!
One was already impossible—let alone this many.
"Relax," Jin said calmly.
"I'll handle them."
"You go do what you need to do."
Nami thought for a moment, then looked toward the corridor.
"Then… we'll look for a way out."
She understood—staying here would only hold him back.
A single flying slash could kill them instantly.
"But you're facing all of them alone!" Merry protested.
Just then, several more flying slashes flew over.
Everyone jumped in fright.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Jin shattered every single one effortlessly.
"Merry," he said gently,
"they're not opponents you can handle."
"Go."
She bit her lip—she really wanted to help.
"Come on, Merry," Nami said, lifting her up.
"Jin's right. We can't stay and drag him down."
Their priority was to reunite with Luffy as fast as possible—then come back.
The General Zombies didn't care about the others leaving.
Weaklings weren't worth their attention.
Their target was the ninja before them.
"Assemble! Take him down!"
"ROAR!!"
Armed with all kinds of weapons, the General Zombies charged forward in unison—a terrifying sight.
But Jin wasn't afraid.
He laughed.
"Then let me test your strength!"
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