The Zombie Generals Cut Through Like Bamboo

"Ahem, that was just an accident!"

Faced with the three cowardly members who have become nervous again... well, plus Brook with his 'I'm so scared' expression on his skull face, great, now the Straw Hat crew is a cowardly quartet.

—Although Brook has not yet 'boarded the ship', Roman has already tacitly accepted Brooke's status as a partner.

"Don't worry, everything is under my control!"

Roman straightened his collar, now calmer and thinking it over carefully. If he, with only a 'basic' level of Haki, could overcome his negative state earlier than others, what about advanced Haki, like 'Armament Haki' or even 'Flowing Cherry Haki'?

It should be able to withstand these strange and unusual Paramecia Fruits, or at least significantly weaken them. —It's like when I used the Slow Light Ray to trick Blackbeard; despite the supposedly 'thirty-second' slow effect, he easily escaped...

As Roman pondered, the group arrived at a place where:

Cemetery!

The howling night wind carried a hazy mist, a faint earthy smell mingled with the stench of decay, as if the earth itself held corpses of varying ages. The surrounding tombstones reflected a chilling light, sending shivers down one's spine.

Of course, for the fully-staffed Straw Hat crew, this eerie and terrifying atmosphere was nothing more than—

"Ah, what a spacious cemetery."

Luffy looked around with satisfaction. "Great, let's eat our bento here."

"Aren't you disgusted?!"

Sanji was speechless. "Besides, our top priority isn't..."

Snap,

A hand suddenly emerged from the soil!

In the dim light of the night, a person covered in bandages and stitched wounds slowly crawled out of the mud! Faced with this horrifying scene, Luffy forward, placed one hand on the person's shoulder, and then:

Pressure—

Pfft,

The 'monster' that had just emerged from the mud was forcefully pressed back into the mud by Luffy, leaving everyone behind him in a cold sweat.

Hey, hey, hey, don't people have any pride?

Boom!

"Why did you push me back down, you bastard!!"

Amidst the flying mud, a humanoid 'monster' suddenly lunged out from underground! Faced with this terrifying scene, Luffy was stunned.

"A seriously injured old man?"

"These look like zombies!!" X3

Boom boom boom!

The entire cemetery was in turmoil; countless 'corpses' suddenly rose from the soil and beneath the tombstones, densely packed! Looking around, there were at least several hundred, if not thousands—

"How dare you underestimate us zombies?"

"Unforgivable,"

"Brothers, let's go!"

"We are immortal—"

One by one, zombies burst from the mud, their stitched bodies revealing the outlines of bulging muscles, their arms whistling through the air as they swung! Coupled with their terrifying appearance...

Generally,

In terms of physical fitness alone, he is already on par with elite pirates and soldiers from the Marine Headquarters.

Roman nodded. These zombies, though only the first line of defense, possessed immense strength and an insatiable fearlessness; ordinary marines and pirates would be no match for them. But!

Creak,

Luffy clenched his fist, Zoro flicked his sword hilt with his thumb, Sanji took a deep drag of his cigarette, Franky removed his human skin 'glove'...

"Want to fight? Let me show you what we're made of."

"Charge!"

Bang!

The next second, the zombies howled and swarmed in. They were not only incredibly strong, but also had amazing jumping ability!

The zombies in front charged forward, while those behind leaped several meters into the air! In an instant, everyone's vision was filled with zombies, and it seemed as if a dome made of zombies had risen in front of them and into the sky in the blink of an eye.

Outside the gaps in the cover, there were still countless zombies, layer upon layer, rushing in like waves with a howling sound! It was clear that they were not truly mindless corpses; facing the fearless Straw Hat crew, they actually knew how to use this 'stacked' tactic.

Pity:

"Gomu Gomu no Gatling!"

The next second, fists, even stronger and more ferocious than the charging zombies, rained down like a barrage of cannonballs! The bodies of the first dozen or so zombies instantly folded backward into a 'V' shape, and zombies slightly further away were immediately knocked away by the flying zombies. The surging attack was like waves crashing against a giant rock, exploding and scattering without a doubt.

"Storm Kick - Amane Dachi!"

"Strong Right!"

"One-Sword Style: Thirty-Six Cannon Balls of Heavenly Torment!"

As the others joined the fray, vacuum waves and blade energy Flying Slash, metal and rubber clashed and clashed! Bones and flesh flew everywhere, blood gushed out, and the chilling graveyard was instantly covered with dismembered limbs and gore—and these so-called 'zombies'—

If no one stitches them back together, then Moria can only hope to use his shadow to piece the Four-Point Separation bodies back together.

However, those limbs that could only twitch on the ground clearly demonstrated that—it was impossible!

The Straw Hat crew's attack was wild, but the consequences were equally severe.

"Ugh, it stinks so bad~~~"

"Who told you to cut it like this?!"

"What is this smell...?"

"I can't take it anymore, my nose can't stand it! -- Oh, but I don't have a nose..."

Within seconds, these ordinary zombies were reduced to mangled corpses once more, but the stench of decay in the air intensified dozens of times, as if a single breath could knock a normal person unconscious. Therefore:

"Paper Dance - Gas Mask".

The white paper flew onto Nami, Robin, and Chopper's faces, forming a full-coverage white mask. Beneath the mask, in a long 'pig snout,' layers of soft, honeycomb-like paper formed a filter.

"Roman, quickly give me a gas mask!"

Roman calmly waved his hand at Luffy, whose face was all scrunched up.

"Combatants need to maintain sharp senses, so they don't wear masks."

???

Why am I also...?

Um?

Seeing Roman glance over, Usopp quickly lowered his hands from his nose and straightened his collar. He had already read from Roman's expression the thought that 'this guy needs taste tolerance training,' so:

Usopp calmly took a deep breath.

"This taste isn't... ugh... not... ugh... anything... ugh~~~"

Watching the long-nosed sniper leaning against the tombstone, vomiting profusely, Nami and Chopper could only silently clasp their hands together.

As the saying goes, "Better to die a friend than to die yourself," Usopp, you can rest in peace now.

"Snort,"

Zoro snorted coldly. As long as he wasn't Negativity Ghost, he could still maintain his tough guy image.

"Foolish, those masks affect our five senses."

"Only by forging your body to be as hard as steel, without any weaknesses, can you reach the summit!"

"Well said!"

Roman clapped his hands.

"The strong should be fearless! How can the stench of corpses hinder our progress towards becoming stronger?"

For a moment, Roman and Zoro felt a mutual respect, as if they were the only heroes in the world. This left the Straw Hat crew utterly speechless at these two training fanatics!

"Yohoho~~"

Brook had only half-drawn the 'Soul Solid' from his cane, turned and looked around. These zombies were no match for him, but if so many swarmed at him, even knowing their 'weakness,' he would have to retreat immediately...

But even such a fearless 'army' was defeated in just a few seconds by this group of people they had just met.

That's really impressive!

If I had been this strong back then, my companions wouldn't have...

"Hey... wait a minute, everyone,"

A figure wearing a tattered coat, carrying a kerosene lamp, and covered in bandages and stitched wounds staggered out of the nearby woods.

"You guys are amazing! Could you please let me say a few words?"

Luffy was taken aback when he saw the figure.

"A seriously injured old man?"

"I already said they're zombies!" X3

The old man carrying the kerosene lamp waved his hand at Zoro, Sanji, and Franky, who were roaring angrily.

"No, I am a seriously injured old man."

·······

"Don't try to confuse the issue!! Just say you're a zombie!"

Snap,

Putting down his lantern, the heavily injured old man, who looked like a zombie, knelt down in front of the Straw Hat crew.

"I have a request..."

"We understand."

Roman interrupted the other person directly.

"You want us to help you get your shadow back, right? We'll take care of it as we go."

?

"But that man..."

"Moonlight Moria,"

Roman interrupted the other person again.

"One of the Shichibukai, the culprit behind the disappearance of hundreds of ships in this sea every year."

?!

He is right there...

"In the mainmast building behind."

Roman interrupted the other person again.

"You'll arrive just by passing through the mansion and courtyard ahead—is there anything else you'd like to say?"

???

"There is none left······"

"Okay, let's go."

·······

"Roman, what you just did..."

Nami frowned, unsure how to describe it. It was like... like a hero in a fairy tale skipping all the interactions with the villagers and heading straight for the Demon King's Castle...

"They're just a bunch of unlucky guys whose shadows were stolen by Moria, hiding on this island. What help could we possibly get from them?"

Roman rolled his eyes. If he were alone, he could simply sneak up to Moria's room, unleash a powerful attack while the guy was sleeping, and be done with it. Why would he waste time giving the enemy time to gather their forces? Just like now:

"Be careful, what comes next is not like those grunts."

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"

A strange laugh echoed through the air, and before them stood a tall Gothic mansion. On the second-floor balcony, the grotesque laughter of a chubby man with long purple hair and wearing a fishnet outfit reverberated in the wind.

"Straw Hat Pirates, I'm sorry to say, this is the end of your journey!"

The obese man, who had pulled his mask down to his chin, looked around at the crowd below with an "interested" gaze, as if he were picking out fresh meat at a market, Nami, Chopper, Usopp feel uncomfortable all over.

"I will turn your corpses into zombies! Your shadows will serve your master! Now—"

Boom!

The mansion's gates burst open, and one after another, fully armed zombie generals emerged.

There were long-bearded warriors, five meters tall and clad in heavy armor; knights wielding cross-shaped swords and round shields; captains in captain's coats, chugging wine; snipers with four Fire Pistol at their waists...

Each and every one of them, in terms of both their 'style' and their aura, exudes the threat of a powerful figure!

"The kingdom's guardian knight, the infamous captain, the fearsome bounty hunter—" The chubby man on the balcony spread his arms wide.

"Go! Take down the Straw Hat Pirates!"

"Use their corpses to please your master, and then I Hogback, will 'resurrect' them!"

Hogback?!

Chopper stared in disbelief at the smug man on the balcony, finding it hard to reconcile this image with the doctor he admired. But...

As expected, Mr. Roman was telling the truth.

You've fallen, Doctor...

Or rather, you've revealed your true nature. You—don't deserve to be a doctor!