In the mist-laden forest, stepping on the thick layer of leaves felt like walking on a luxurious carpet.
The air around was slightly chilly, and the tree trunks grew in grotesque shapes, resembling the withered arms of the dead.
Jake and Monet followed behind the tree zombie, chatting casually and at ease.
This scene left the other restless zombies lurking in the forest utterly bewildered.
Had they slept too long in their graves, making them out of touch with the outside world?
Why were those two still able to laugh and talk in a place like this?!
Shouldn't they be running in terror, pissing themselves at the sight of them?
The forest was pitch black, with even the moonlight struggling to pierce through the dense foliage to reach the ground.
Thus, the zombies, whose vision was already poor, failed to notice the Marine coats draped over Jake and Monet's shoulders.
They could only judge by the pair's cheerful voices that they weren't frightened in the slightest.
The tree zombie felt as though his heart might leap out of his chest.
He was on the verge of tears—he was just a lowly thug who liked to bully others, never imagining that Moria would steal his shadow.
Losing his shadow was bad enough, but now, while he was dutifully trying to do his job, he had run into a Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral!
What kind of luck was this?!
A being of that caliber could reduce him to splinters with just an accidental flick of their wrist.
He wanted to flee, but every time the thought crossed his mind, the other seemed to sense it.
Faint golden arcs of lightning would silently shimmer around him.
Realizing escape was impossible, the tree zombie had given up.
Fine, if they wanted to see Moria, he'd take them there.
He couldn't die, at worst, he'd just endure Moria's torment.
But if he could witness these Marines being slaughtered by Moria, then even if he suffered punishment, it would be worth it.
The only thing he feared now was his fellow zombies in the forest foolishly provoking the Marine before them.
If that happened, once the lightning ran wild, they'd all be finished!
But as often happens in this world, the more you dread something, the more likely it is to occur.
The moment a gaunt, skeletal zombie crawled out of a grave, the tree zombie's heart shattered.
As roars echoed from the dense woods behind them, the tree zombie felt certain today would be his last.
What followed, however, defied his expectations.
A frigid gust of wind swept through, and in an instant, every zombie present was frozen into ice sculptures.
From their appearance to their icy demise, the entire ordeal took less than ten seconds.
Even the tree zombie was no exception.
Staring at his frozen wooden body encased in thick ice, he felt a chill so deep it seemed to freeze his very soul.
Although zombies don't feel pain, their shadows that once belonged to humans still retain basic reflexive responses to certain situations.
"Um, sir... you froze me too..."
The tree zombie turned its head, looking somewhat obsequiously at Monet and Jake
. Its withered face was covered in excessive wrinkles, appearing rather comical.
Monet and Jake didn't give it a hard time.
With a slight movement of Monet's fingertips, a Finger Pistol shattered the ice encasing the tree zombie.
"You don't need to guide us anymore. Find a way to break the ice on your companions. Be gentle though, or you might shatter their bodies along with the ice."
Hearing this, the tree zombie's heart skipped a beat.
From what it knew, when someone no longer needed your services, it often meant your life was about to be taken.
Without hesitation, the moment it regained movement, the tree zombie immediately knelt and began kowtowing frantically to the two:
"Marine officers, please spare me! I'm definitely not with those guys! I'm not even familiar with them!"
Seeing the sudden pleading from the tree zombie, Jake quickly understood its misunderstanding.
He shook his head slightly and said with a smile.
"You're being way too paranoid. Don't worry, we're not going to kill you. It's just that Moriah has come to find us."
At these words, the tree zombie trembled all over.
Before it could say anything, a voice that made all zombies' legs go weak rang out.
"Kishishishishi! What brings the famous Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral, future Marine Fleet Admiral, to my humble abode? What rare guests! Since you barge in here, you'll have to pay the price with your shadows!"
Though Moria said this, he didn't actually attack.
Shadow Bats flew from the depths of the dense forest, coalescing into a burly, tall man with iron-blue skin that gave the illusion of being a zombie himself.
Grinning widely, he revealed shark-like teeth that looked extremely ferocious.
In response to Moria's words, Jake just smiled and said.
"If you really intended to attack us, Moria, you wouldn't have warned us beforehand. By giving us warning, you're clearly showing you don't actually want to harm us, right?"
"Shishishi, you arrogant brat! If it weren't for your Marine affiliations, I would have already cut your shadows and thrown you out of the Devil's Triangle!"
"That's not necessarily true. The Moria who once went head-to-head with Kaido might have made me cautious, but the current you? I don't think you're my match. The two of us alone could wipe out everything here."
"And that's precisely why I dared come to your territory with just one companion, Gekko Moria, the new Warlord of the Sea."
Hearing Jake's words, Moria's grin widened even more, becoming exaggerated, but all traces of joking vanished from his tone.
"Two people are enough to wipe out my entire pirate crew? Kishishishi, you damn brat! It seems you've been coddled too much in the Marines! I'll turn you into a zombie right now! You'll be my slave forever!"
As Moria spoke these words, he raised his arm, and countless dark purple bats flew out from his shadow—the battle was about to begin!