Thriller Bark

Water 7, aboard the Eternal Truth.

Yake and Robin were preparing to set sail. The pointer seemed to be tilting downward slightly, meaning their next stop was Fish-Man Island. However, Yake had several Eternal Poses. He wanted to visit some other islands in the first half of the Grand Line first; perhaps he could find a few good crew members.

"Robin, sail in this direction. There's no need to rush to Fish-Man Island yet." Yake tossed the Eternal Pose to Robin.

"What island is this? Sagonto?" Robin asked curiously.

"Probably an island on another route. My mom gave it to me, and I've never been there either, so I thought we'd take a look first." Yake smiled.

"You actually have a mother?" Robin looked stunned.

"What do you mean, 'actually'? Am I not worthy?" Yake shouted.

"I always thought you were some monster that crawled out of a corner somewhere." Robin conjured an arm to massage Yake's shoulders and calm his anger.

"It's a long story. Let me tell you..." Yake began talking about his childhood.

The Eternal Truth sailed calmly across the sea when the sky suddenly darkened. Thick fog began spreading, and the surrounding waters were filled with an eerie atmosphere.

"What's going on? Why did it suddenly get dark?" Robin asked in confusion. She was not exactly a proper navigator, but even the navigation books had never mentioned anything like this.

"I didn't expect to run into him here. He's got some nerve." Looking at the familiar scene before him, Yake immediately thought of someone.

"Was this man-made?"

"Just a loser who's lost his spirit. Keep going. I want to meet him." There was someone on Thriller Bark whom Yake found particularly disgusting. He might as well kill him while he was at it and call it a good deed.

Bang! After sailing for some time, a tremendous sound came from the stern, as though something had snapped shut.

A gigantic mouth closed, swallowing the Eternal Truth whole.

"What's going on?"

"Don't panic, Robin. We've arrived." The ship drifted unconsciously toward a certain direction before crashing headlong into a huge spiderweb, unable to move.

"Yake, the ship can't move anymore. It seems ghosts are haunting this place?" Robin said with interest.

"Mm... more or less. Come on, Robin. Let's meet the owner of this place." Carrying Robin in his arms, Yake jumped off the ship and arrived before a dilapidated, ancient gate.

Yake and Robin slowly walked inside. A staircase leading downward greeted them, with an enormous pit below.

Before they had gone far, they encountered a strange creature.

It was a dog with three heads and a vicious appearance.

"Is this Cerberus? Looking closely, one of its heads is actually a fox." Robin carefully examined the creature.

Cerberus bared its teeth at Yake and Robin, growling low in its throat.

"It'd make a pretty good mount. Come here, little dog." Yake rolled his shoulders and raised a fist the size of a casserole.

"Awoo... whimper, awoo, whimper whimper..."

He reasoned with the dog!

Cerberus obediently lay flat on the ground, wagging its tail wildly with an overwhelming desire to survive.

"Let's go, little dog!" Yake and Robin sat on Cerberus's back, one on each side, and headed straight for the castle.

Only after passing through a long corridor and climbing the stairs did their view open up. They passed through a dark forest and a graveyard without stopping, heading directly to Hogback Castle.

"Come out, Moria! Stop hiding. It's not fun." When no one appeared, Yake grew irritated. This place was disgusting.

"So this is the territory of Gecko Moria, one of the Shichibukai? What strange taste." The dark, elegant Robin looked thoroughly disgusted.

Eerie sounds echoed through the castle. Four or five pale, translucent ghosts flew out from the walls, constantly chanting, "Negative, negative~"

"There really are..." Robin had only gotten halfway through her sentence when a ghost passed through her chest. Robin dropped to her knees, radiating an intense aura of despair.

"Captain... Poneglyphs, the truth of history, none of that matters anymore. Someone like me doesn't deserve to live in this world at all..." Robin looked deeply sorrowful. As she spoke, tears began streaming down her face, making her look pitiful and fragile.

"Hahahaha! Robin, you got hit! No, I need a moment. Hahaha!" Yake was laughing so hard he could barely catch his breath. How could he usually ever see the cool, aloof Robin make such an expression?

Seeing that their ability had worked, the ghosts immediately chose the still-laughing Yake as their next target and flew toward him at high speed.

"Hey, hey, not me! Don't come over here!" Yake drew Tensa Zangetsu and swept the blade across. The slash infused with Armament Haki cut the four Negative Hollows in half, silencing them completely.

Robin had also returned to normal, but a powerful aura erupted from her body, making even Yake glance at her.

"Robin, you've recovered..." Yake could not continue, because Robin was standing with her arms folded, staring at him with killing intent.

"Captain, with your strength, you could have dealt with them easily, couldn't you?"

"I-I just..."

"What a terrible captain. Did you really want to see me make a fool of myself that badly?"

"Well, I was just careless."

"Really? Then why were you laughing so happily?" Robin fired off three deadly questions in a row, and there seemed to be no end in sight.

"I'm very sorry, Robin. I apologize. I was wrong." Yake apologized decisively. He really had wanted to see what Robin looked like in a negative state, which was why he had not immediately killed the ghosts.

"I'll accept your apology for now. But I want the owner of those ghosts." Robin said with a dark expression. She could not really do anything to Yake, but that did not mean the same applied to others.

"Don't worry, Robin. When I handle something, you can rest assured." Yake patted his chest in assurance, silently wishing Perona good luck. Robin was a deviously scheming woman.

"Someone's coming. Protect yourself, Robin." Yake sensed an invisible person approaching. However, he pretended not to notice and waited for him to come closer.

"Got you! Die, you pervert!" Yake swung Tensa Zangetsu through the air. A huge lion head separated from its body and fell to the ground, twitching.

The lightning-infused slash severed Absalom's head in a single stroke. Even until his death, Absalom never knew how Yake had discovered him.

"Moria, these nobodies are too weak. Come out yourself!" Yake instantly unleashed a powerful burst of Conqueror's Haki, covering all of Thriller Bark.

Moria, who had been sleeping, was instantly awakened by the powerful pressure.

"Who is it? Who dares cause trouble on my territory? Where are the Three Weirdos?" Gekko Moria roared angrily.

"No need to look, Moria. They've already been knocked unconscious." Yake appeared before Moria. In this place, Moria was the only one who could withstand the impact of Conqueror's Haki without fainting.

"It's you! God Yake! Damn it, what are you doing on my territory?" Moria immediately recognized Yake, who had recently been making a name for himself.

"We were bound to meet somewhere on the sea, weren't we? I hate what you do with the bodies of the dead. Return the shadows, and I'll pretend nothing happened." Yake spoke calmly.

"That girl who controls ghosts is your subordinate, isn't she? Unfortunately for you, she offended one of my crew members. Hand her over to me."

"Hehehehehe, arrogant brat. I had already gone to sea before you were even born! I'll be taking your shadow. Shadow Horn Lance!" Moria attacked without another word.

Yake stood there blankly, allowing the Shadow Horn Lance to stab toward him. He had already activated his elemental form in advance, leaving a hollow space where his heart should have been. Moria's attack struck nothing but air.

"It's useless. Even if you've mastered Armament Haki, you still can't hit my real body."

"For a Shichibukai, you're far too weak."

"Arbitrating Dragon!" Yake's right hand transformed into lightning, and a massive lightning dragon flew from his hand, roaring as it charged toward Moria.

"Doppelman!" A black, demon-like shadow appeared before Moria and blocked the Lightning Dragon.

"Hehehe, my Doppelman is invincible. Try this, Brick Bat!" Moria released a sky-filling swarm of bats toward Yake.

"Not bad, but this ends here. Shinra Tensei." Powerful repulsive force erupted, scattering the bat swarm. Yake suddenly vanished and appeared above Moria, raising Tensa Zangetsu high.

"Mugetsu Thunder Kill!" Tensa Zangetsu surged with lightning, its black blade turning a dazzling blue.

Moria had no time to react and could only jerk his head aside to avoid the fatal blow. However, Yake's sword had already struck Moria's short arm, effortlessly severing it completely and sending it falling to the ground.

"Your hand-to-hand combat is really pathetic. After being defeated by Kaido, did you only dare hide away in a place like this? Moria!" Yake mocked him without mercy.

Moria, who had been rolling on the ground in pain, seemed to have had his defenses shattered. He actually forgot the pain and roared in fury, "Damn it, don't mention that bastard Kaido to me! You too... all of you will die!! Shadow's Asgard!!"

Throughout Thriller Bark, countless shadows gathered above Moria's head and rushed straight into his body. Moria radiated a shocking presence as his body continuously grew larger. Even his severed arm was stuck back in place by the shadows.

"Roarrr!" Moria bellowed loudly, seemingly having already lost some of his sanity.

"How laughable. You can't even control your own power. Die in peace, Moria!" Yake looked down on this technique. If Moria could truly control it, it would be extremely powerful. Unfortunately, Kaido had already beaten Moria into a fat shut-in; his physical skills were weak, and his will was even weaker.

"Super Railgun!" Yake flicked a golden coin into the air with his thumb, then extended his right hand and held it firmly in his palm. The coin trembled without end.

After being continuously accelerated by the electromagnetic field, the coin could no longer be controlled. It instantly created an explosive airwave as it flew toward Moria.

Within the fog-shrouded Thriller Bark, an orange-red beam wrapped in electricity shot from Yake's fingertips and pierced giant Moria through the forehead. Moria's massive body crashed to the ground, and countless shadows flew out of him in a spectacular sight.

"Even old man Rayleigh wouldn't dare take that head-on. He could only dodge it. You really were brave!" Only after seeing that Moria had stopped moving did Yake turn and leave.

The castle had nearly been reduced to ruins, but Yake still had to find Perona first.

In midair, Yake activated Observation Haki and scanned the entire Thriller Bark. After searching for a long time without finding her, he instead picked up Shusui beside a skeleton and accepted it without ceremony.

At last, he found the unconscious Perona in a castle to the left of the main hall. Carrying her over his shoulder, Yake flew back to Robin.

"Robin, it's all taken care of. Moria is dead as a doornail. Here's the person you wanted; she was the one controlling the ghosts. How do you want to deal with her?" Yake said to Robin with a grin. Robin's face was still dark. Perhaps what had happened earlier had become a black mark in her history.

"Very good, Captain. Starting today, she'll be a maid on our ship." Robin said coldly.

"Bring her aboard. I'm going to properly train her." Robin did not forget to remind Yake. As for how she would punish this little girl later, Robin revealed an evil smile as countless good ideas sprang to mind.

Yake broke out in a cold sweat, hoisted Perona over his shoulder, and ran. Robin like this was too terrifying!!

After Yake killed Moria, countless shadows returned to their owners' bodies, and Thriller Bark collapsed with them. Yake also took Perona and Robin back to the ship, and they continued sailing.

Inside the ship's lounge.

The unconscious Perona gradually came to. Opening her eyes and seeing the unfamiliar decorations in the room, she immediately screamed, "Aaaah! Where is this? Where is Master Moria? Kumashi? Come save me!"

"Stop shouting. No one will come save you even if you scream your throat raw." Robin said faintly, while Yake stood silently in the corner.

"Who are you, you random woman? Where am I? What did you do to Master Moria?" The moment Perona saw that Robin was a woman, she immediately became much bolder.

"Moria? He's probably been buried in the sea by now. You're my trophy now." Robin deliberately frightened Perona, revealing an evil expression.

"Aaaah! Kumashi, come save me! You... don't come any closer! Negative Hollow!" Terrified out of her wits by Robin, Perona instinctively released several pale Negative Hollows.

"Captain?" Robin glanced at Yake.

"Oh, right, leave it to me." Yake jolted upright and quickly drew his sword, cleanly cutting the several Negative Hollows into pieces.

"This... this is impossible. How could anyone in this world harm ghosts? I must be dreaming." Perona's proud technique had been broken, and she fell into deep self-doubt.

"You're the one who killed my four Negative Hollows! Aaaaaah!" Perona seemed to recall something terrifying and screamed as she ran wildly around the cabin.

Yake swiftly subdued Perona. Looking at the little girl who might soon become his crew member, Yake revealed a gentle smile and radiated friendliness.

"Waaah... don't kill me." Perona rolled her eyes back and fainted.

Yake: ??? Was my smile really that terrifying?

Robin patted Yake on the shoulder:

"Sure enough, it's her. Captain, go outside. Let me have a proper 'talk' with her..."