Heart of Freedom, Ghost Buster

"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"

"That's impossible, these are all my masterpieces..."

The brilliant surgeon Hogback, who was watching the battle from the mansion, went from surprise to shock, from shock to fear, from fear to terror... In just over ten minutes, most of the zombie generals that had surged out earlier had fallen! How could he accept this?

"One-Sword Style - Azure Dragon - Flame!"

"Humming Three-Verse - Arrow Tail Slash!"

Zoro and the zombie samurai with Brook's shadow passed each other at high speed! Zoro glanced at the Wado Ichimonji and breathed a sigh of relief when he found that it was undamaged.

After all, the opponent is Black Blade; if he were to injure Wado Ichimonji...

Boom!

The zombie samurai, whose abdomen had been slashed by Zoro, turned around, and flames erupting from the wound began to engulf his body, which had been dead for many years.

"I lost."

"You're Three-Sword Style swordsman, why aren't you using the Three-Sword Style swordsmanship? Is the third sword not good enough? Never mind—"

The zombie samurai, engulfed in flames, sheathed his Black Blade Autumn Water, and threw it at Zoro.

"To let this invincible body taste defeat... I truly cannot bear it..."

"Hey hey hey? My shadow is back!"

As the zombie warrior was defeated, his shadow returned to Brook's feet, bringing tears of joy to the afro-haired skull.

Finally, I can step out of this fog and go find Labun...

As the zombie slowly turned to ashes in the fire, Zoro contentedly put away his newly acquired equipment.

"If you feel ashamed... I really would like to challenge you in your time."

·······

Let's forget about it then.

Roman, one of the White Knight, rolled his eyes. If Ryuma were alive, wouldn't the Straw Hat crew be wiped out with a single slash? After all, even the yakuza bosses in Wano Country know the advanced Haki techniques, so there's no reason why Ryuma, who is revered throughout the country as the 'Sword God,' wouldn't know them.

With a single sword strike, he cleaved an armored knight in two, armor and all! While controlling the other two 'White Knight' to use their abilities to hold off several zombie generals, Roman glanced up at the second floor of the mansion across the street.

The enemy commander was nowhere to be seen on the balcony. If these guys weren't zombies, with half their men killed and their leader leading the escape, they would have scattered long ago!

"Chopper,"

Roman focused his mind, Observation Haki immediately allowed him to see through the building a fat figure running away along the mansion corridor.

"The enemy commander is fleeing—he's all yours now!"

"Oh? Mr. Roman..."

Chopper, who was struggling with his opponent, paused for a moment, while Sanji next to him launched a flying kick.

"Wind Blast - First Meat!"

With his immense strength combined with the jet-powered Spray Wind Shell that propels him backward, Sanji sent Chopper's opponent, a synthetic zombie monster weighing several tons, flying with a single kick.

"Go, Chopper."

"We can all see that you have a lot to say to that 'guy'."

······

Thank you!

"Jump Enhancement!"

Chopper didn't mince words. He transformed into a form with extremely high jumping ability, human-shaped arms, beast-shaped legs, and a beast-shaped face with antlers degenerated. He suddenly leaped across the entire battlefield and landed on the second floor of the tall mansion! At the same time, a paper bird flapped its wings and flew towards the corridor ahead.

"Is Mr. Roman's paper bird this way?"

In the building behind the mansion.

One by one, the Negativity Ghost flew back, bringing with them news of the zombie general's defeat.

Perona, waking up in her luxurious bed, took a pink parasol, opened it, and lightly jumped off the bed, spinning around once.

"Kumashi ~ Go and gather the animal zombies together."

"Yes!"

Faced with the answer from the giant sewn-on teddy bear wearing a mask, the girl with pigtails pointed at him angrily.

"Who told you to answer that? You're not cute at all!"

·······

"Absalom and Hogback are both useless guys~~"

"Immediately set up a defensive line in the courtyard to lure them here." The girl held an umbrella in one hand and put her other hand on her hip, looking like she was very strong.

"Watch me wipe out the entire Straw Hat crew!"

As the giant teddy bear waved goodbye and left, the girl flicked her ponytail.

"That's more like it... You're cuter when you're not talking."

'Whatever makes you happy, Master...'

"Did you just think that to yourself? That's not cute at all—"

"Hoo hoo hoo, why are you chasing me?!"

Facing the round, panting middle-aged man forced into the hall, Chopper stared intently at him. —The doctor he once greatly admired, yet the man's true nature was...

"Doctor Hogback, what do you think of these zombies?"

"Of course, they are the most obedient servants, soldiers, and warriors. — What else could they be?"

Chopper calmly shook his head at the chubby man's answer.

"The ultimate goal of medicine is 'immortality,' so I don't actually object to your actions of resurrecting zombies." Chopper walked towards the other person step by step.

"If you are resurrecting the dead for the sake of people's happiness, then you are still the world's top surgeon whom I respect."

"Who wants your self-righteous worship!"

Hogback retreated while retorting, "I have no grudge against you, do I? Just because your admiration has been shattered, you're going to cause me trouble..."

"Go quickly and kill them all!"

Boom!

Faced with the zombies rushing out of the picture frame next to him, Chopper simply punched them all away with a single punch.

"Seeing you like this, I feel relieved. Hogback the doctor... no, Hogback the freak!"

Chopper's muscles slowly bulged, entering muscle enhancement mode.

"I am not your enemy because of the disillusionment with worship, but because you have trampled on the most basic human freedom! In the hands of someone like you, those zombies and their shadows are truly unable to live or die."

"What business is it of yours what other people's freedom is? What right do you have to say that?"

Chopper raised his hoof as Hogback retreated against the wall and began to argue wildly.

"I don't need qualifications, because I am—"

Boom!

Chopper silently turned around after blasting the man and the wall together with a single hoof strike.

"Pirates!"

The courtyard behind the mansion.

"Haha, tonight's workout was really great!"

While Luffy was enthusiastically eating his Luffy, the others were quite different:

"You can actually eat in a place like this..."

With the Straw Hat crew having defeated all the zombie generals at the front gate, the group passed through the mansion and entered a courtyard. As they cleared away the ordinary zombies hidden in the murals, carpets, and statues, although these zombies were relatively 'clean,' their smell and appearance after being blasted and split open were... well, let's just say they were quite something.

Only Luffy can still eat—

You good-for-nothing!

Sanji kicked Luffy in the back of the head, Luffy's face was completely buried in poop as he continued chewing.

"Didn't you realize you were eating someone else's portion?!"

"Ah·····"

Luffy, his Luffy covered in food, Guotou and handed the bento box in his hand to everyone.

"Then you can have it."

??!!

"No, no," everyone, including Roman, shook their heads. The reason... the Luffy 'face model' in the bento box was really hard to swallow.

Slurp—

With a swift flick of his tongue, Luffy scooped up the food from Luffy's face and stuffed it into his mouth, Luffy that made Roman's brow twitch. He almost blurted out a witty remark...

"Well, anyway, we've cleared out most of the elite monsters in this 'dungeon,' and all that's left is—"

Rumble!!

"Kill them!"

"Capture them—"

"Given to the owner as a gift..."

Groups of stitched animal zombies wielding weapons charged forward, their adorable appearances even giving them a somewhat... cute look, much to the surprise of everyone who had just experienced a major battle.

That's it?

Crackling sound—

The animal zombies that had just charged forward were sent flying backward like raindrops, and then:

"Ugh, how scary!"

"No, we can't win, run!"

"Help! Master, I'm dying!! Huh? We're already dead, so it's alright..."

········

"Is there no troop left here?"

They walked through the courtyard and entered a corridor, but did not see a single enemy.

In response to Sanji's question, Roman nodded. "Yes, their main force consists of that group of zombie generals. The remaining miscellaneous soldiers are not a threat, but—"

"Horo horo horo~~"

Amidst a burst of clear, girlish laughter, the Straw Hat crew looked up and their expressions instantly changed drastically!

Of course, it wasn't because of the cute pink twin-tailed girl on the other side—except for the smoke rings Sanji exhaled, which all turned into hearts, everyone else looked wary and serious.

"I am Perona, the 'Ghost Princess' under my master's command,"

The girl's self-introduction was very One Piece-esque—even without her introduction, the simple line drawing ghosts fluttering around her were enough to remind the Straw Hat crew's main fighters of their past embarrassing moments.

"I am a user who ate the 'Hollow-Hollow Fruit' and can create ghosts,"

With a wave of the girl's hand, swarms of Negativity Ghost rushed towards the Straw Hat crew! And since they were in a corridor, there wasn't even anywhere to dodge in the chaos...

"Everyone be careful..."

"Don't be—"

It's here!

Roman's eyes narrowed. He had already ordered two White Knights to wait on the perimeter, giving the order to kill Perona as soon as the entire Straw Hat crew was incapacitated! When the crucial moment arrived, there was no time to worry about Zoro's old age...

These ghosts can certainly affect people, but they can't affect the White Knight, who is also a creation of power. Well then, behold my Haki! — Roman struck a pose very similar to 'Tekkai,' preparing to take the hit again!

Armament Haki -

"What's the point of my life if I can't even step on the Five Elders or punch Imu?"

"If there is an afterlife, I would like to be a kowtowing worm..."

"I'm not even as good as a mackerel, I might as well be dead..."

"I don't deserve to walk with you all, I'm sorry!"

Seeing the Straw Hat crew's four main combatants kneel down instantly, Nami, Chopper, and even Franky and Brook walking behind them were all horrified!

What's the point of fighting? You'd be instantly killed the moment you touched it.

Even Robin frowned, secretly wondering if she could defeat the girl instantly with a surprise attack. However, those ghostly figures kept fluttering around her—and if Robin's Flower-Flower Fruit -grown arm was injured, it would affect her main body!

Unsure whether she would be negatively perceived, the intellectual beauty hesitated for a moment.

"Horo horo horo~~"

Perona, surrounded by ghosts, snapped her fingers.

"To prevent you from escaping, ghosts—"

Brush, brush, brush

Ten consecutive hits with the Negativity Ghost!

The Straw Hat crew' four main fighters are unable to rise again.

"Capture these key combatants first, then deal with the rest..."

Thump, thump, thump,

However, the zombie animals that were about to rush up to grab people suddenly knelt down one by one, and their shadows darted away!

?

"No one is allowed to touch mine—"

A figure wielding a large slingshot blocked the way for Roman, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji.

"Partner!"

??

"Could it be that this guy hid in the back and wasn't touched by the ghost?"

With a flick of Perona's finger, a Negativity Ghost pierced through Uso's chest! But:

Perona was so surprised to see Usopp standing still that she took a step back.

Why didn't you kneel down?

"What trick did you play...?"

"I didn't play any tricks," Usopp said, looking up with an upright expression.

"Because of me—"

"It's inherently extremely negative!!"

Perona:??!! (Above image)

P. S.: The previous chapter has been revised; it was actually just a 'skin' for the White Knight...