Ye Chuan and Robin continued deeper into Thriller Bark.
Along the way, they encountered more grotesque, patchwork zombies.
There were pig-headed men with boar heads and human bodies, zombie hedgehogs with claws like blades, and swift zombie dogs that moved in packs.
Yet these monsters, utterly terrifying to ordinary people, were no different from roadside weeds before Ye Chuan.
He did not even bother drawing his sword. With nothing but Soru's blinding speed and simple punches and kicks infused with Armament Haki, he smashed every zombie blocking their path to pieces.
"These guys... are too weak."
Ye Chuan shook his head, a trace of boredom even showing on his face.
"They don't even count as a warm-up."
The only one that earned a slightly longer glance from him was a zombie wearing a captain's hat.
From its attire and the faint, lingering aura of a powerful fighter, Ye Chuan judged that the corpse used for this zombie was probably Captain John, one of the legendary Rocks Pirates.
Unfortunately, even a great pirate whose name had once struck fear across the seas was now nothing more than a sluggish living target after a weak shadow had been stuffed inside him. Ye Chuan casually pierced his skull with a single Finger Pistol.
Robin followed behind Ye Chuan, deftly taking refined salt from the bag she carried and sprinkling it over the fallen zombies, purifying them completely.
Soon, the two passed through the eerie forest and graveyard, and a vast, magnificent Gothic castle appeared before them.
However, just as they were about to step onto the bridge leading to the castle, a figure silently appeared in its center, barring their way.
It was a zombie dressed in a tattered kimono, his face wrapped in bandages. At his waist hung a pitch-black katana with