Sitting on the Ice Wolf's back, Robin asked, thoroughly puzzled, "How do you know it's Gashara? After seeing you and the Marines land, shouldn't she have run as far away as possible?"
The others were one thing. Kizaru and Fujitora were simply Devil Fruit Users. But Loa was the one Gashara feared most!
Loa's power centered on ice and resurrection, but he had developed other branches from those two main abilities. There was Thousand Forest Thrust, the pinnacle of Stillness, which could riddle an island with holes in a single strike. And there was the Ice Clone, the pinnacle of Motion, which shared his thoughts and Magic Power and acted almost like a living person!
Most importantly, Loa could command souls too!
All available information on Soul-Soul Fruit users indicated that their true selves were their souls. The death of their bodies merely freed them from their shackles, leaving them somewhat more vulnerable—just like Perona back then.
And with Loa, who could also command souls, right here, Gashara's soul would not escape his notice once her current body was destroyed! Whether he dragged her back to kill her or do something worse would be entirely up to him.
Loa had a theory. "Maybe it's precisely because we're here that she's even less willing to leave?"
"Hm?"
Pointing toward a faintly visible cave in the distance, Loa explained, "That cave carries the presence of one of my kind. And whoever left it was stronger than me!"
"Dragon's Might, combined with some other kind of magic, keeps the Undead from entering or even approaching the cave. It doesn't suppress the living as strongly, but Gashara's true body has long since become one of the Undead. So she needs someone to go in and bring that sword out."
"To get the Dragon-Slaying Sword