Catch Us Instead

"It wasn't a Rumbar Pirates ship." Miming sounded disappointed. He hadn't expected this sea to be so vast. They had drifted around for three days and encountered nothing but wreckage.

"Feels like another ship full of dead people!" Kuina had already decided not to go take a look.

"Oh, it's heading toward us. There might be living people on this one." Miming gave the order to prepare for battle.

As the ship drew closer, they saw a group of sallow-faced people aboard. No one knew how long it had been since they had eaten. They swayed about like zombies.

"It's a merchant ship! Don't let them get away!" Savage light flashed in the pirates' eyes. Perhaps they were truly starving. They raised their blades, unfurled their sails, and rammed toward them.

The Twenty-Thousand-Li Sunny's gun ports opened, rows of cannons rolling out. Soldiers crowded the deck and raised their rifles.

The pirates instantly dropped to their knees with a thud. Starving and half-conscious, they hadn't seen clearly. This wasn't a merchant ship—it was the Navy!

"That works too. Better than starving to death. Please, arrest us." The lead pirate looked utterly despairing. "We only have one request. Don't let any of us see sunlight."

"What's going on?" The Marines were confused.

"Raise the lamps." Miming ordered the lamps shone on those people. The Marine soldiers sucked in sharp breaths. They had no shadows!

"Are they vampires?" Discussions broke out all around them.

"No, they're people whose shadows were taken." Miming's expression grew grave. "Did you encounter Gecko Moria?"

"Yes!" The people burst into tears. They had once been a fairly well-known pirate crew, but they had encountered Gecko Moria in these waters. Their captain and fighters had all had their shadows taken. If they saw sunlight, they would turn to