Two towering, strangely proportioned women followed closely behind.
One had orange hair and a wide, heavyset frame; the other had green hair, her figure tall, slender, and flexible.
Behind the three walked a tightly formed group of elite warriors, carefully selected from the Kuja tribe.
The second sister of the trio, the green-haired Boa Sandersonia, flicked her long tongue as she spoke warily:
"Big Sis, this island isn't on any of our sea charts. We've passed through this region before, but I don't remember ever seeing this place."
The youngest, Boa Marigold, also gripped her weapon tightly.
She couldn't explain why, but the sudden appearance of this island filled her with a strange sense of unease.
"Lady Empress! Look over there!"
A female warrior behind them suddenly pointed and shouted.
Everyone turned to look in the direction she indicated.
Just off the coast where their ship had docked, a massive waterwheel churned steadily.
Silhouettes of figures moved faintly above it.
"It seems this isn't an uninhabited island," Marigold observed, her voice low and guarded. "That thing appears to be powering the island itself!"
"Let's go," said a commanding voice, cold yet irresistible.
With a face of breathtaking beauty and a presence that exuded absolute authority, the leader of the Kuja Pirates, Boa Hancock, stepped forward.
"This island has successfully piqued my curiosity."
"Be careful, Big Sis," Sandersonia cautioned. "It looks like this island has an owner."
The enormous waterwheel and the looming walls in the distance all suggested that this was no deserted place.
Trespassing might offend the island's rightful master, leading to unnecessary conflict.
Hancock brushed her flowing hair back.
As the silken strands danced through the air, her delicate, flawless face radiated irresistible charm.
In a sweet, honeyed voice, she said:
"No need to worry. No matter what I do…
I'll always be forgiven, because I'm simply… too beautiful."
"Waaah! Snake Princess-sama!"
"Hancock-sama! You're so stunning!"
"Big Sis!"
Just those few words were enough to send every member of the Kuja crew into a swooning frenzy.
Eyes turned into pink, heart-shaped symbols.
Without exception.
"Let's move," Hancock suddenly commanded, returning to her frosty, regal demeanor.
Her cool tone left no room for disobedience.
"Yes, ma'am!!"
Meanwhile, outside Hogback's massive laboratory inside the castle,
A colossal zombie, over a thousand meters tall and hundreds of meters wide, knelt silently before Moria.
Its tail, covered in spiked scales and stretching over 200 meters, lashed lazily through the air.
Its thick, earth-toned skin was streaked with violet markings. Upon closer inspection, each mark bore the faint outlines of surgical stitching.
"Kehehehehehe!!" Moria laughed maniacally as he stood in front of the beast, Shukaku.
With his towering horns, monstrous grin, and razor-sharp teeth, he looked every bit like a demon king poised to conquer the world, just waiting for some brave hero to challenge him.
Unfortunately, our "hero" was currently too busy beaming with excitement, practically glowing with joy as he slapped the monster's shoulder and praised it endlessly:
"Hahahahaha! Hogback! You're amazing! This is incredible!"
Luffy burst into laughter at the sight of the creature, an exact replica of the tailed beast from his memories.
He was thoroughly impressed by Hogback's medical genius.
In Luffy's mind, if he could pull up Hogback's stats like a game interface, there would absolutely be a glowing plus sign next to his aptitude level.
To develop something of this scale in just a few months?
Geniuses of that caliber were nearly impossible to find.
And this meant one thing for Luffy, no more worrying about EXP or gold.
The Grand Line was crawling with sea kings and marine beasts. Corpses were never in short supply.
And with the shadow issue now handled, the possibilities were endless.
It was just a shame that the most powerful sea king's shadow had already been used to create this Shukaku zombie. Otherwise, Luffy would've loved to use it to grind for levels.
Each fight would've netted tens of thousands of gold and thousands of experience points.
He could've had Moria stay up a few nights and help power-level him.
Heck, with how fat Moria was getting, it'd do him some good to lose a few pounds.
Let Hogback prep the corpses, and Moria could work overtime for his health!
The only problem?
Finding sea kings of this strength was no small feat, even in the Calm Belt.
"Right!" Luffy suddenly remembered something.
That other sea king, the one that had its shadow extracted, was still sitting in the storage room.
Now that the sun was up, it couldn't be returned to the sea.
He turned and asked, "What about that giant sea king in storage? It won't wake up today, will it?"
"Don't worry, my lord," Hogback replied, bowing deeply with two huge dark circles under his eyes.
"I've had the zombies administer large amounts of sedatives. The effect might not be perfect, but it should remain unconscious until nightfall."
He hadn't slept a wink since yesterday afternoon.
And when Shukaku had first awakened, it went on a short rampage.
As a normal human, Hogback was beyond exhausted.
Working alongside monsters like Luffy and Moria was taking its toll.
Even Robin and the others had long since returned to rest.
Luffy, noticing how drowsy he looked, couldn't help but say, "You should really get some sleep."
After all, Hogback was a critical asset now.
"Thank you for your concern, my lord," Hogback replied weakly.
"But I still need to collect some samples from that sea king. I can't rest just yet…"
"Samples? What kind?"
Luffy asked with curiosity.
"Well," Hogback explained, "I suspect that within the sea kings' genetic material lies something, some trait, that allows for rapid, limitless body growth. A sort of genetic code I'd like to study."
Even though the world of pirates had no formal education system, let alone biology textbooks, he wasn't sure if Luffy would understand terms like "genetics."
"Oh! Genes, huh? Now that you mention it, yeah, that makes sense," Luffy replied, nodding in understanding.
"If you figure it out, we could probably make custom giant zombies. Way more flexible than stitched ones. You better go work on that."
Hogback was stunned for a moment.
He hadn't expected Luffy to not only understand, but instantly grasp his intent.
"Yes, my lord!" Hogback responded, just about to leave when,
"Moria-sama! Luffy-sama!"
A frantic voice cried out.
"Something's wrong! Someone is sabotaging the power system! The zombies can't hold them back!"
==========
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From Naruto Onwards, I Control Time — Up to Chapter 337
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