"As I expected, this is actually an enormous ship."
Kuro had one hand tucked into the pocket of his slacks, the other carrying a black briefcase. Tilting his head back, the round lenses of his glasses flashed with light.
"How can you tell that?" Buggy stuck out his round, red nose, the skull-and-crossbones tattoo between his brows creasing. "This clearly looks like a towering castle—an old manor at that!"
"Buggy, your eyes only see the surface. You're not perceiving the true substance hidden behind those details."
"What? Who are you calling moon-nose?!"
Kuro ignored Buggy's outburst, brought on by mishearing him, and pulled his hand from his pocket. He pointed toward the silent, faintly glowing mansion ahead.
"Buggy, look higher. See? This manor was built around the mast of a colossal ship. And at the very top, a pirate flag flutters. Black field, white skull—you can't possibly fail to recognize it."
Buggy raised his head. Sure enough, a pirate flag was there.
When he made out the skull—wreathed in what looked like mist or flames, with the faint silhouette of bat wings in the background—he immediately knew whose territory he had stumbled into.
Buggy's silence caught Kuro's attention.
"What is it? You recognize it?"
"Kuro… are we really picking a fight with a Warlord of the Sea? This has to be Gecko Moria's territory! Ugh, I can't believe this. Before Moria notices us, we should turn back right now."
"But haven't we already cut down a considerable number of… zombies, I suppose? That would make them Moria's subordinates. In that case, haven't we already declared war by default?"
Kuro shot the cowardly Buggy a sidelong glance.
"Can't it just be a misunderstanding?" Buggy snapped back, though he knew there was no way to explain their way out of it. Hands on hips, he flared his cloak to reveal the bandages beneath. "This is all because you act too fast—who just cuts people down the moment they see them on someone else's turf?"
"They attacked us first. They didn't even look human. I'd say striking back was perfectly reasonable, don't you? And didn't you fight back too? I'd say this fits the Davy Jones Pirates' style just fine. The captain would approve—we should act the same."
Buggy thought about it. His "Mini Buggy Bombs" had all gone into those zombies blocking the road. "Tch. Well, no use harping on it now…"
"My thoughts exactly," Kuro cut him off, then pointed forward. "Didn't you say you wanted to explain the misunderstanding? Well, here come some of them. Go explain to their faces."
"Huh?"
Buggy turned his head.
Before them stretched a bridge, linking the building they stood on with the colossal "mast-mansion" ahead.
At the far end of the bridge, a crowd emerged, their figures hazy in the dim light. Most were clad in silver armor, wielding swords, spears, and shields like medieval knights.
But each and every one radiated a heavy stench of death.
Only two figures lacked armor.
One was a long-haired skeleton, twin swords crossed at his waist, clutching a bottle as he guzzled it down. The liquor spilled straight through the holes in his ribcage, spraying out the other side—a grotesquely comical sight.
The other wore traditional Wano garb, a katana at his hip and clogs clacking against the bridge as he walked.
This was no ordinary horde—these were the General Zombies!
Of the five zombie classes, the "Soldier Zombies," "Surprise Zombies," and "Animal Zombies" were the weakest—the shambling corpses in graveyards, the wall-dwelling horrors and taxidermy abominations, and the beasts or beast-hybrids.
The "General Zombies" were a level above, far stronger than the rest.
And at the very peak of the pyramid lay the "Special Zombies"—of which there was only one, still frozen in Moria's tower, yet to awaken.
"Zombies again?!" Buggy slapped his forehead.
"And not the same as before," Kuro noted, his Observation Haki honed enough to tell the difference at a glance. "These aren't like the ones we fought earlier. Careful not to get sloppy and disgrace the captain. Or—why don't you try talking to them, see if you can clear up that 'misunderstanding' of yours."
Buggy bristled at Kuro's mocking tone. "What am I, an idiot? Talking to zombies? If they catch us, we're done for!"
"Good. At least you know."
Kuro set down his briefcase, slowly unzipped it, and began equipping his Ten-Blade Cat Claws, sliding each one onto his fingers with deliberate care.
"They're charging us!" Buggy shouted.
But Kuro continued his calm preparations.
The armored knight zombies thundered across the bridge, armor clattering as they rushed the two intruders.
The two unarmored zombies lagged behind, advancing at a leisurely pace.
By the time the knight zombies closed in, Kuro had just fitted the last claw into place.
The zombies reeked of rot, their howls piercing the air—
Shing!
As their blades came crashing down, Kuro vanished from where he stood.
Buggy, meanwhile, was hacked into pieces!
"You're the ones who attacked the great Buggy first!"
Now split into even tinier chunks than before, Buggy scattered his parts into the air. Only his hands and torso remained joined, armed for battle.
Around his waist was strapped a belt lined with throwing knives, mini-bombs, and even a pistol.
His white-gloved hands drew weapons one after another, raining fire down on the General Zombies below!
Throwing knives pierced through gaps in their armor, stabbing into their eyes. Several clutched their faces and toppled.
The smarter ones raised their shields, hiding behind their iron bulwark.
But Buggy's bombs rolled to their feet and blew their formation apart.
Some of the more agile zombies suddenly leapt skyward, blades swinging down at Buggy.
Though Buggy knew their swords couldn't hurt his body, the sight of so many zombies lunging at him sent a chill up his spine.
What if they bit him? Wouldn't that turn him into a zombie? He'd read plenty of horror stories that said so.
But Kuro saved him the next instant.
Twin Rankyaku blades of compressed air tore through the swarm, blasting the General Zombies clean off the bridge.
With bone-rattling shrieks, armored knights plummeted to the ground below, shattering on impact.
Landing lightly, Kuro struck again with Soru, darting forward.
His Ten-Blade Cat Claws flashed in a frenzy of strikes, sending shockwaves that hurled the remaining General Zombies from the bridge.
"Like this, even if they're undead, they won't be moving again anytime soon."
Kuro adjusted his glasses delicately with his palm, careful not to nick himself on the claws.
Buggy's scattered parts snapped back together with a series of pops. He pointed ahead. "Two left."
Indeed—at the far end of the bridge, the two unarmored General Zombies still stood.