"Luffy, I feel like... someone's watching us."
Robin had been feeling uneasy ever since they entered the castle. After walking in silence for a while, she finally spoke up.
"Huh?" Luffy turned and looked at her, surprised.
He hadn't expected Robin's senses to be this sharp. Was it because of her glasses? She hadn't mastered Observation Haki yet, was this just instinct?
How strange.
"You mean someone's watching us?" Luffy pointed up at the wall above the fireplace, where a pig's head was mounted. He grinned and waved. "Look at that pig head. It's staring right at us.
Hee hee. Hello there!"
"Eek!!"
The pig head instantly broke out in a cold sweat, squeezed its eyes shut, and began chanting in its mind:
You can't see me. You can't see me. I'm not here...
As for his duty as a zombie captain? That was a joke! Even Absalom was being dragged around like a dead dog, resisting wouldn't end well.
The lion-head captain kept his eyes tightly shut, fervently trying to convince himself he was invisible, like some devout zealot clinging to blind faith.
Unfortunately, if there really were gods in this world, none of them heard his prayer.
Luffy walked up to the fireplace, clenched his fist, and placed it on top of the lion-head captain's skull. With a tone of mock-annoyance, he said, "Hey! I said hello, and you ignored me?"
Then he twisted his knuckles on the lion-head's forehead.
"H-hello!!" the lion-head stammered in panic.
Sweat rolled down his cheeks, though technically he had no real sense of pain. Still, the moment Luffy touched him, he felt a chilling premonition of death.
"That's more like it!" Luffy gave him a nod of approval, as if saying, "Smart kid, I like that." Then he grabbed both sides of the lion-head's face and began stretching his mouth wide, up, down, left, right, playing with it like it was made of rubber.
All around them, the zombie wall paintings and carpet bear zombies remained perfectly still, pretending to be lifeless decorations.
As Luffy played, he suddenly had a strange sense of déjà vu. He stretched the lion-head's mouth back all the way to his ears, then,
Snap!
Let go.
The lion-head's skin bounced back several times like elastic before slowly returning to its original shape. He didn't dare make a sound.
Luffy glanced back at Robin in confusion. That scene... it felt oddly familiar, like something he'd experienced before.
Meanwhile, Robin had her hands folded behind her back, pretending to examine the nearby decor as if nothing had happened.
But the playful glint in her eyes that kept sneaking peeks at Luffy completely betrayed her.
Luffy's brow twitched.
Robin... you've changed!
BOOM!!
Just as Luffy was about to give Robin a serious "talking-to," a huge crash echoed through the castle as the inner doors exploded open.
A samurai in a white bathrobe stepped out slowly.
Clack... clack... clack…
The sound of his wooden sandals echoed crisply on the stone floor.
"The Grand Line... the Red Line... and the wine of Laboonkinks~"
He murmured nonsense and occasionally hummed as he walked forward.
Clack... clack...
Just as he was about to exit the castle, his aura suddenly shifted.
The confusion vanished, replaced not by vitality, but by an eerie stillness.
Like a fresh bud withering in an instant, it lost all life, yet began to nourish the earth with a deeper essence.
The samurai slowly lifted his head, eyes glowing with ghostly fire, and spoke:
"I am under Moria-sama's command, Dragon-Slaying Swordsman, Ryuma! Yohohohoho!"
That goofy voice and weird laugh instantly reminded Luffy of someone.
Someone he had never met in this world...
Ryuma, the zombie swordsman, turned to face them and unsheathed the legendary black blade, Shusui.
"Yohohoho! You must be the pirates who just arrived. Moria-sama gave orders to capture you! Yohohoho!"
"Oh?" Luffy casually tossed the lion-head captain aside and studied the zombie before him, clearly just imbued with a new shadow.
Ryuma, freshly reanimated, didn't recognize Absalom, one of the "Three Weirdos", who was frantically trying to signal him.
He simply assumed Absalom was a captive zombie, especially since the guy looked even uglier than most zombies.
"Yohoho! Before we begin the fight, just one question!" Ryuma suddenly asked with mock seriousness. "Miss, may I take a look at your panties?"
Snap!
Before Robin could respond, Luffy's fist clenched, flames of Sky Flame Haki igniting over his hand. He lowered his head, eyes dark with fury, and strode toward Ryuma.
"Looks like Luffy's... a little angry," Robin thought sweetly as she prepared to strike.
But Ryuma didn't care. His sword was drawn, there was no turning back.
He struck first.
The gap between them closed quickly. Luffy raised his flaming fist to meet him.
Clang!
A loud clash of steel rang out.
Luffy froze, then calmly lowered his fist and extinguished the flame.
"Yohohoho~ Leave this one to me, young man!"
Brook dropped from above, intercepting Ryuma's strike.
Luffy glanced up and noticed a tiny hole in the ceiling. Only Brook's skeletal frame could've slipped through that.
Still, he was impressed, Brook had even evaded his Observation Haki.
Guess I need to figure out how to extend my Haki to cover above me, Luffy thought.
While Luffy pondered, the two swordsmen were already locked in combat.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Their blades clashed in a rapid flurry.
"Yohohoho~ That's the best you've got?" Ryuma laughed mockingly.
"Damn it! You're using my sword techniques, how are you stronger than me?" Brook struggled, steadily losing ground.
Then, just as Brook faltered, Ryuma suddenly withdrew his sword and vanished behind him.
Brook's eyes widened in disbelief.
Clack... clack...
Ryuma walked past, sheathing Shusui slowly.
"Hanauta Sancho: Yahazu Giri"
Slice!
Brook's chest exploded in a burst of cloth, his bones bending under the force as if struck by a heavy blow.
Ryuma tilted his head slightly, the glowing void of his eye sockets glancing back at Brook.
"I have your sword style, your techniques... and this dragon-slaying warrior's body. You can't defeat me.
I only used the back of the blade. If you died, it would be... inconvenient."
"Damn it... Give me back... my shadow!"
Brook collapsed to the ground, unwilling to accept defeat.
==========
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