Fire Release, the Nemesis of Zombies!

"It really flew quite a distance."

Standing on the deck, Zoro squinted at the distance and said, "That direction... seems to be the direction Nami and the others left in."

If he remembered correctly, Nami and the others did leave in that direction.

"Yes, that's definitely the direction." Nico Robin smiled, then looked at the two people who had returned to the ship and said, "You just killed him like that?"

"Not trying to gather any intelligence or anything."

"You'll have to ask this guy." Xi Yan glanced at Sanji with annoyance and said, "I was originally planning to knock him down first before controlling him, but who would have thought that Sanji would hit so hard and kick him away with one kick."

That terrifying attack must have kicked someone to death, right?

At that moment, Xi Yan felt like he could smell the meat being roasted, but he didn't know if it was just his imagination.

"Sorry..."

Sanji, feeling relieved, offered a very sincere apology.

There was no way around it; the feeling of having his dream taken away was just too awful, and he couldn't bear it any longer.

So the moment the opponent broke free of control, Sanji began to charge up his Diable Jambe.

"Feeling better now?"

"Yeah, that feels better."

"That's okay too."

Xi Yan nodded without saying anything more. Anyway, he was going in that direction to find Nami and the others, so he might as well check if this guy had been killed.

If I'm not killed, I'll use my Sharinggan to gather some information.

"What happened to your foot?" Zoro pointed at Sanji's foot, which was gradually cooling down, and said, "You were really on fire just now, weren't you?"

That temperature wasn't some kind of imposing force; it was a real, tangible temperature!

"Yes, this is my special move, Diable Jambe," Sanji said. "By spinning at high speed, I heat up my legs, which not only increases the speed of my attack but also multiplies its power."

This was the move he had previously mastered, and it was precisely by relying on this move that he was able to defeat CP9 head-on at Judicial Island.

"You ate Devil Fruit?" Xi Yan asked in surprise.

No.

"Then why can you heat up your own legs?" Xi Yan retorted, "You kid, you don't actually have some kind of special bloodline or something, do you?"

"The temperature there is quite high; the meat is already cooked through."

He was just about to say that when Sanji gets so angry he's about to explode, it's like his body is on fire.

Is he really an ordinary person?

Sanji blinked, unconsciously thinking about his origins, specifically the so-called Genetic Modification.

After a moment of silence, Sanji shook his head, dismissing the thought, and said, "Don't overthink it. It's probably just because I'm stronger."

At the end, Sanji grinned and gave Xi Yan a thumbs up.

Xi Yan rolled his eyes. If you don't want to talk, just don't talk. Why use this kind of excuse to brush him off?

"Hey, you two," Xi Yan said, glancing at Luffy and Franky who were still lying on the ground, "Shouldn't you be done by now?"

"Ah!!"

Upon hearing Xi Yan's words, both of them raised their hands and stood up with a shout.

"That bastard!!"

Franky was furious! He was such a superhuman person, yet he was becoming so negative and unwilling to live a normal life because of the other person's Devil Fruit ability... He really wanted to punch that person!

"Hmm, looks like you're recovering well." Xi Yan nodded, then said, "I'll leave the ship to you; I need to go find Nami and the others."

So much time had passed, and there had been no other movement from over there. At the same time, Merry had not used Reverse Summoning Technique to summon him over, so Xi Yan figured that there should be no danger for the time being.

"Profound!"

"It's up to you now," Luffy nodded.

With Xi Yan around, Nami and the others will be safe.

After watching Xi Yan leave on the sea, Sanji turned to Luffy and said, "Now it's our turn."

"Let's get to shore quickly, we don't have Xi Yan's ability to Water Walking."

The Mini Merry 2 was taken away by Nami. The small boat below was also damaged by his attack, leaving a hole in it and rendering it unusable.

If they want to go ashore, the only option is for the Thousand Sunny to dock.

"I'm so envious..." Luffy said, watching Xi Yan's departing figure with longing eyes.

"Is this the time to worry about this?!" Zoro said irritably, "You better get serious!"

"Oh..."

Luffy nodded with a pitiful look, but his eyes were still fixed on Xi Yan's departing figure, as if he were imagining that he could be like that one day.

Zoro:...

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the sea began to churn, causing the Thousand Sunny to sway wildly and making it impossible to control its direction.

"Is it because of the anchor?" Nico Robin asked, frowning.

"Damn it, the rudder isn't working properly!"

"We're going to get ashore anyway, so it doesn't matter if we get washed ashore," Luffy grinned.

Even if the pirate ship does land, they don't need to worry about the ship being unable to sail, because the Xi Yan's Water Release Technique can easily lift the Thousand Sunny!

"That's true..." Franky hadn't finished speaking when he noticed a huge spider web in front of him.

"Look, there's a spider web!"

"Everyone, prepare for the impact!!"

Meanwhile, the four people who had been chased by the modified Zombie Dog managed to escape by hiding in a tree.

"I finally dodged it..." Usopp breathed a sigh of relief.

He was so scared when he saw that Cerberus hellhound just now that he almost peed his pants.

Once she realized what was happening, she immediately picked up Merry and ran wildly into the distance, terrified that the terrifying guy would catch her.

"Is that guy really the Cerberus you were talking about?" Merry whispered, clinging to Usopp's back.

"Forehead..."

"I guess so," Usopp said uncertainly.

"Then why is one of the heads a fox's head?"

Usopp fell silent. How would he know such a thing? It looked like Cerberus, but it had a fox's head.

"Maybe... this is what Cerberus looks like?" Nami guessed.

Ultimately, they had never seen that thing before, so who knew what it really looked like?

"I don't know if that guy is the so-called Cerberus, but... I have a feeling something's off," Chopper said.

Normally, even if an organism undergoes a genetic mutation and grows multiple heads, it shouldn't develop the heads of other organisms.

Unless it was sewn on later, but how could that be?

A head transplant is absolutely impossible because a person will die after their head is removed!

"Oh ho ho, it seems you guys are quite curious about that guy~"

"Who?!"

Hearing the sounds coming from behind, goosebumps instantly rose on the bodies of the group, and a feeling of fear began to spread through their hearts.

Turning their heads, they saw a toy that looked like a bat hanging from a tree, grinning at them.

"Ah!!"

"A ghost!!"

"Everyone, please don't get so agitated," Hilton said with a smile. "I'm not some kind of ghost. My name is Hilton, and I'm a native of this island."

"I saw you being chased by wild dogs, so I quietly followed to check it out."

"Wild dog..." Usopp glanced in the direction they were being chased and said, "So it wasn't Cerberus?"

That's true. If they were really the kind of creature from mythology, the four of them would have been killed long ago.

"Quietly?" Nami's eyes immediately became wary. "You're not some kind of bad guy, are you?"

"Oh ho ho ho, how could that be?" Hilton laughed. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you don't mind, please take my carriage and come with me to the castle to hide for a while."

"This forest is very dangerous at night; only the castle is safe."

"A castle?" Usopp asked doubtfully. "Do people actually live in a place like that?"

This place doesn't look like a human habitation area at all.

"That's right, Dr. Hogback's residence is just ahead!"

"Hogback?!"

Chopper immediately showed an excited expression, as if he had heard the name of his idol.

"Chopper?"

Do you know this person?

"That's right!" Chopper exclaimed excitedly, "Hogback is the most famous doctor in the world! Doctors all over the world admire him!"

"So, can we see Hogback here?"

A drop of water appeared on the back of Hilton's head; he really hadn't expected the other party to fall for it so easily.

Is this guy still a fan of Lord Hogback when it comes to matters of the heart?

"Hahaha, that's right. Just follow me to the manor, and you'll see Lord Hogback," Hilton laughed. "My carriage is here too. Please, everyone, dismount."

The group exchanged glances, their inner struggles beginning to fester.

"Well then, let's go take a look," Chopper said. "Anyway, Xi Yan and the others won't be here for long, so let's go check it out."

He was really looking forward to meeting his idol, who was the most outstanding person in the medical field!

Seeing Chopper's expectant look, Nami paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Let's go then."

There is no other way.

If we rush back, we might encounter that terrifying Cerberus again. It would be better to follow this guy in front of us and take a carriage to the castle.

At least... that doctor Chopper knows shouldn't be a bad person... right?

After making their decision, the group didn't waste any more words, quickly climbed down from the tree, and followed Hilton away in a carriage.

A moment later, a man peeked out and sighed, "Another group of people are going to suffer..."

What good could come of being taken to the castle by Moria's men?

It's estimated that before long, their shadows will be mercilessly stolen by Moria, and they will eventually become like them, living in darkness like ghosts, unable even to touch the sunlight.

"Alright, stop looking. Captain Lola sent us out to check what caused that tremor."

"And these people..."

"They look weak, and most likely won't escape the fate of having their shadows stolen."

"That's right!" The other person nodded and said, "Going out now would easily expose our location. Let's wait until their shadows are taken away before rescuing them."

"All right..."

The group quickly left, silently bypassing some zombie trees and similar structures, and stealthily made their way to the spot where the tremor had just occurred.

Looking at the large crater in the ground, the group asked in confusion, "There should have been something here, right? Where did it go?"

Logically speaking, anything that flew in and created such a large crater must have been quite large, so the question is, where did it go?

"Could it be a zombie?!"

"You mean..." Ai Ke said, "Someone defeated the zombies?!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.

What was their purpose in risking their lives to come out?

Naturally, it's to find those who can defeat the zombies... even Gecko Moria!

So whenever someone comes to the island, they sneak out to take a look. If a strong person appears, they will not hesitate to win them over in order to defeat Moria.

Unfortunately, after all this time, no one has been able to pose a threat to Moria.

Even... very few people are capable of defeating zombies.

"If that's really the case, then we..."

Before he could finish speaking, he heard the screams of zombies coming from afar.

"Monster... a monster!"

"Run! Everyone, this human is a monster!"

"Don't go near him, he's terrifying!!!"

"He's a demon, a demon!!"

A group of zombie trees and strange zombie animals were fleeing in the distance, as if some incredibly terrifying beast was lurking behind them.

Every zombie wished they had eight legs so they could run faster than the last.

Some zombies passing by saw the group, but they didn't even stop; they just ran away.

Clearly, they value their lives more than capturing humans.

This scene made Ai Ke and the others shudder, their teeth chattering uncontrollably.

"What... happened over there?"

"I don't know, but there are two possibilities for what could cause this disturbance among the zombies," Ai Ke swallowed and said, "Either a more powerful zombie has appeared here."

"Or... perhaps there's a powerful individual among those who came here this time, someone strong enough to terrify even the zombies!!"

That next sentence acted like a shot of adrenaline, forcefully suppressing the fear in their hearts.

"Let's go take a look," one of them said cautiously.

If it's the former, they can only accept their bad luck and then see if they can escape from the zombies.

But if it's the latter... then they have a chance to defeat Gecko Moria!!

Once they defeat their opponent, they can return to the sunlight, a temptation they cannot resist.

Ultimately, their yearning for freedom triumphed over everything, and the group carefully disappeared into the distance.

The screams of zombies could still be heard there, along with the sound of sharp weapons cutting through flesh, which sounded like a skilled swordsman attacking the zombies.

"Ah!!"

"Don't kill me! Please don't kill me!"

Xi Yan ignored him and raised his right hand to chop.

The Chakra Kusanagi Sword, imbued with Wind Attribute chakra, easily sliced the zombie tree in front of it in two.

But the other person wasn't dead; they were still screaming there.

"Tsk... what kind of trash are you all?" Xi Yan frowned.

Even if you cut them into eight pieces, you still can't kill them... They do have a striking resemblance to zombies.

Could these guys be the reason this place is called Ghost Island?

After splitting the head of a zombie animal open with a backhand sword strike, the creature did not die; instead, it struggled even more violently.

"It's not a zombie... it looks like a ghoul."

The most effective way to deal with this type of creature is to use Fire Release!

With that in mind, Xi Yan activated Fire Release without hesitation.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Boom!!"

"Ah!!"

A terrifying Fire Release swept towards some zombies, burning them to ashes in just a few breaths, creating a vacuum zone in the process.

After losing its fuel, the flame gradually shrank and eventually went out.

"It seems that fire is the weakness of these things," Xi Yan murmured.

We actually encountered zombies here... I wonder how Merry and the others are doing. Could they have run into these things too?

Just as Xi Yan was pondering, several shadowy figures suddenly burst forth from the ashes, rushing upwards at incredible speed to find their original master!

Looking at the departing shadows in the air, Xi Yan squinted and asked, "What were those dark shapes?"

Could it be a shadow?

Could it be that the reason the enemies here stole the Shadows was to create these zombies that are hard to kill?

It's not impossible.

"Click~"

The sound of footsteps on tree branches immediately caught Xi Yan's attention.

He turned to look into the distance, revealing a 'kind' smile, and said, "So there are still some that haven't run away... Then let's kill them all together, so you don't have to bother Nami and the others!"

Standing beside a rock, Xi Yan tilted his head slightly, gazing into the distance. His blood-red eyes stood out eerily against the forest backdrop.

This scene nearly scared the pants off Ai Ke and the others.

"Evil... demon!!"