"Celestial Dragons?"
Katakuri's brow furrowed deeply, his voice carrying disbelief. "Are you mistaken? There's no way Celestial Dragons would come near Totto Land. The Marines wouldn't dare approach the territory of a Yonko without authorization."
He suppressed the unease in his chest. After what had happened earlier, the mere presence of Shirogai made even Katakuri wary. Still, he needed to know—was Shirogai truly serious, or just looking for another excuse to tear through Totto Land?
Shirogai's tone was calm, almost amused. "Not bad. After everything that's happened, you still dare to question me."
He lifted a hand, fingers curling slightly. "Come back… you wronged souls."
The pirates accompanying Katakuri exchanged puzzled looks. None of them understood what Shirogai was doing—until they felt it.
"!!!"
A flash of crimson crossed Katakuri's vision. Through his Observation Haki, he saw a vision that made his blood run cold.
The ground trembled.
A bone-white mist seeped from the soil, drifting over the hundreds of mounds Shirogai had shaped earlier. The entire island was swallowed by a heavy, unnatural gloom.
Then—
Crack!
A single, bloody arm burst from the ground.
Crack, crack, crack!
A corpse clawed its way free—a man with half a head missing, his blank eyes lifeless and leaking milky brain fluid. His broken mouth twitched as he turned toward the smoldering ruins of the nearby village.
"...Celestial… Dragons… made the Marines… kill… us…"
Katakuri's jaw tightened. Even with his iron will, a shiver ran down his spine.
---
Three Marine warships surrounded the island that day.
Hundreds of armed soldiers stormed the village, shouting:
"Stop! Don't resist! We are Marines of the World Government!"
They kicked open doors and dragged everyone out—men, women, children, elders.
"Come out! You criminals who dared collude with the Four Emperors!"
The terrified villagers were forced to their knees before a young man on a luxurious ship. He wore an ornate bubble helmet and garish robes—his smug grin unmistakable.
"Saint Simone! According to your command, all sinners have been gathered!"
The Celestial Dragon giggled like a child with a new toy. "Hehehe… I want to be the judge! I'll judge them myself!"
"Bring out the prisoners," the Marine Vice Admiral barked.
Two men were dragged out—one young, one old. Both battered and bruised.
"It's Karl! And Old Yorl!" the villagers cried.
"These two witnessed your crimes," the Vice Admiral sneered. "They dared to call the BIG MOM Pirates the 'Four Emperors' in front of the noble Saint! Such blasphemy is treason against the World Government!"
The villagers froze in disbelief. That's it? That was their crime?
Living in Totto Land's shadow, how could they not refer to Big Mom as "Empress" or "Four Emperors"? Did the Marines not know whose territory this was? Or did they simply not care?
The village chief, trembling, tried to plead, "Celestial Dragon-sama! This is a misunderstanding! We're just—"
No one listened.
"Saint Simone," said the Vice Admiral reverently, "the judgment awaits your word."
The Celestial Dragon giggled madly. "Then… I sentence them all to death! Execute them on the spot! Hehehe!"
"What—!?"
The village chief's eyes widened. "We've never done anyth—"
Slash!
His words ended with a spray of blood. His head rolled onto the ground.
"Saint Simone wants you dead," the Vice Admiral said coldly, wiping blood from his cheek. "That means you're guilty."
He turned to his soldiers. "What are you waiting for? Kill them all. Leave no one alive. Everything is for justice!"
"Everything is for justice!!" the Marines roared in unison.
Gunfire thundered. Blades flashed.
"Please! We're not pirates!"
"Don't kill my wife!"
"Ahhhh—!"
In seconds, the village was drenched in blood. The screams faded. Only laughter remained—high, shrill, and inhuman.
"Ahahaha! Fun! So much fun!" Saint Simone clapped gleefully aboard his golden ship.
---
"I… I'm not reconciled!!!"
The half-headed corpse raised his face to the sky, shrieking in agony.
His cry became a signal.
All around, the other mounds trembled. Dozens—hundreds—of corpses crawled from the dirt, their broken bodies twitching, their hollow eyes burning with hatred.
"Wuwuwu… Marines… weren't you supposed to be justice?"
"Why did the Celestial Dragons kill us… WHY!?"
"Mama… I'm hungry…"
Their pitiful wails turned into roars, beasts of vengeance awakened.
"C-Corpses! They're all crawling out!"
Even the battle-hardened pirates of Big Mom's crew took a step back, their faces pale.
Katakuri clenched his fists. "The dead… revived?"
Though they were killers, they were still human. And this… this was something beyond even the horrors they'd wrought.
A crowd of villagers once slaughtered now gathered again at the shore—only this time, they were the ones to be feared.
"Don't be afraid."
Shirogai's calm voice cut through the fear. He turned to the pirates, his gaze cold and steady.
"Their enemies are not you."
He walked past them, each step echoing against the silence. Then, before their stunned eyes, he stepped onto the ocean—
Crack.
The sea froze solid.
For miles.
A white mist swirled around him, twisting into a ghostly path that stretched to the horizon.
"The time for vengeance has come," Shirogai Yamikuro declared, his voice carrying across the ice like a command from the underworld.
"I give you your chance for revenge. Go—make them feel the despair you once knew!"
"Wuwuwu… hissss… AHHH—!"
The wailing corpses roared and surged forward across the frozen sea, following the path Shirogai had forged.
---