"I wonder what level of strength these newcomers possess," Hogback muttered with a frown.
The man who had been staring at him earlier had given him an immense amount of pressure. Even now, Hogback could still recall the cold sweat running down his back.
Were they pirates?
"Hey, Cindry-chan, do you have any information on these guys?" Hogback asked. "Has Perona come by?"
"No, she hasn't."
"She hasn't?"
Hogback was surprised. Normally, Perona would come to inform him after luring enemies into their territory. Why hadn't she shown up this time?
Could something have gone wrong...? No, no—Perona's Ghost Fruit powers were invincible. Nothing could have happened. She must have been delayed by something.
Just then, two small squirrel-like zombies rushed in, their expressions frantic.
"Lord Hogback!!"
"What are you doing here?!" Hogback snapped. "It's not even midnight yet!"
"What if the prey notices you?"
He was still in the same building as those people. What if they discovered him?
He had gone to great lengths to deceive them with his story—he didn't want his lies exposed so easily.
The mere thought of that terrifying man sent an involuntary shiver down Hogback's spine.
If that guy found out he'd been tricked, he might just come and cut him down.
And what about that doctor, Chopper? What kind of ability user was he?
He could turn into a tanuki, then a gorilla...
"Sorry, Lord Hogback..." the squirrel zombie said cautiously. "We have something very important to tell you."
"Go on."
"First, about the pirates who arrived this time," the squirrel said seriously. "Lord Moria said they're the Straw Hat Pirates, with a total bounty exceeding 1 billion!"
"Wha—?!!"
Hogback's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull in shock. "1... 1... 1 billion?!!"
What an unbelievable number! And this was the Grand Line!
Why would a pirate crew with such a high total bounty still be here instead of heading to the New World?
Swallowing hard, Hogback muttered, "That guy earlier... Could he have been the captain?"
No wonder he hadn't been intimidated by the title of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea. A pirate of that caliber would probably be eager to fight one—after all, it would only make them more infamous!
"Now that I think about it, it makes sense why he gave me such pressure..." Hogback thought to himself.
At the end of the day, he was just an ordinary man.
"The captain?" The squirrel zombie blinked, then pulled out Luffy's wanted poster. "Is it this guy?"
Hogback glanced at the photo and shook his head. "No."
"Then this one?"
"Yes, that's him—" Hogback's words cut off abruptly as his eyes landed on the bounty figure below. Instantly, his face was drenched in cold sweat.
"4... 400 million?!"
The person he had just faced was actually a pirate with a bounty of 400 million Berries?
That was practically like dancing on the edge of death... How thrilling.
Thankfully, his acting skills were sharp enough—otherwise, the other party would have casually slaughtered him without a second thought!
After taking a deep breath to calm himself, Hogback asked, "What are Lord Moria's orders?"
"Lord Moria says the shadows of strong individuals are more useful."
Hogback immediately understood—this meant they were going to target this group of pirates.
It seemed even a pirate crew with a combined bounty exceeding 1 billion Berries wouldn't intimidate Lord Moria.
After all, he was one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea.
As if swallowing a calming pill, Hogback quickly steadied himself.
"Cindry-chan, go inform Ryuma and tell him it's time to act," Hogback instructed.
Against pirates of this caliber, he himself would be nothing more than cannon fodder—only Ryuma, working alongside the zombies, stood a chance against them.
"Yes."
After watching Cindry leave, Hogback turned to the small squirrel and said, "Go tell Absalom—the Zombie Generals must be mobilized."
Ordinary zombies would never be enough to take down such a formidable pirate crew. Only the powerful Zombie Generals could handle this.
Recalling some of the strongest among them, Hogback grinned excitedly.
"Ho ho ho ho~"
"That's actually what I was about to mention..." The squirrel awkwardly added, "Lord Absalom went to ambush the Straw Hat Pirates alone, but he was defeated and is currently unconscious. He needs your treatment."
Hogback's laughter abruptly cut off, as if someone had choked him. His expression turned incredulous. "He challenged the entire Straw Hat Pirates by himself?"
"Yes."
Hogback: "..."
What in the world was that idiot thinking? Why would he take on an entire pirate crew alone?
Wouldn't it have been better to send the zombies in first for reconnaissance?
That way, they could gather intel and wear down the enemy's stamina.
But now? Not only did the ambush fail, but he got knocked out cold. Hogback was absolutely furious.
"Fine, take me to him," Hogback snapped irritably. "Might as well check his brain while I'm at it."
That fool, whose head was filled with nothing but lust—maybe he should just remodel his brain this time to prevent future blunders.
"Yes, Lord Hogback! Please follow me!"
"Hmph."
Grabbing his medical tools, Hogback leisurely trailed behind the squirrel, heading down the corridor toward the backyard.
Just as they were about to pass through the gate, Ryuma emerged from a side passage.
"Yo ho ho ho~"
"So, another enemy requires my blade?"
"Indeed, Ryuma!"
The moment he saw Ryuma, Hogback's confidence surged.
"Ah, here's one of the wanted posters for this enemy." Hogback snatched the poster from the squirrel's hands and handed it to Ryuma.
"Yo ho ho ho... A ninja from the Land of Wano, huh?" Ryuma mused nostalgically. "How nostalgic."
Who would have thought we'd encounter a ninja in this place? That's... truly unexpected.
"Ninja?"
Hogback was taken aback, instinctively glancing down at the wanted poster in his hand. He hadn't noticed this detail earlier, having been too focused on the person's appearance and bounty amount.
"Could they be from the Land of Wano?" Hogback wondered aloud.
He knew Ryuma's origins. Now that Ryuma mentioned the other was a ninja from his homeland... didn't that mean this ninja was also from the Land of Wano? What an unexpected discovery.
"Yohohoho, if I'm not mistaken, that's exactly the case," Ryuma chuckled. "Everyone, go attend to your duties. I shall go meet this ninja from my homeland."
With that, Ryuma turned and left.
"Dr. Hogback?"
"Let's go," Hogback said. "First, we need to treat that idiot."
As for the Zombie General, he'd leave that to Lord Moria to awaken. He didn't have the authority to rouse a Zombie General himself.
"Oh, right, Cindry-chan, hold my tools for me."
Cindry didn't move, just stared coldly at Hogback.
Hogback: "..."
"Cindry-chan..."
"Plates should all be broken!"
"There are no plates in here, none!" Hogback said, looking utterly frazzled.
This time, Cindry didn't waste words. She simply took the toolbox from Hogback, pulled out the tray inside, and hurled it away with all her might.
Hogback: "!!!"
"Plates should all be broken."
After saying this, Cindry closed the toolbox, strode out, and slammed the door shut behind her.
"I... I haven't... haven't caught up yet..." Hogback lamented, on the verge of tears.
"Ah~"
"Feeling refreshed after a bath!"
Nami, now in fresh clothes, felt like her whole mood had changed.
"Merry feels the same way!" Merry, also in new clothes, laughed.
"Come on, we should head out now."
"Mm!"
Hearing voices behind them, the three instinctively turned to see the two girls' transformation.
"Huh?!"
"You even changed clothes?" Usopp exclaimed in surprise.
"Merry has spatial abilities, remember?" Nami said with a grin. "I've got spare clothes stored inside~"
"Right, Merry~"
"Mm-hmm!"
"You're really prepared for anything..." Usopp muttered.
She'd actually stored clothes in Merry's spatial pocket in advance—had she anticipated this situation?
"Might as well make use of convenient abilities when you have them~" Nami laughed.
With such a useful ability, why not use it? It wasn't just clothes—most of the ship's important treasures were also kept in Merry's spatial pocket. That way, even if they weren't on the ship, their valuables wouldn't be stolen.
As a seasoned thief herself, Nami couldn't tolerate the thought of their treasures being stolen.
"Let's go, we should find Cindry."
If she hadn't been lying to them, she'd take them to their resting place.
Meiser didn't say anything about it, merely following the group in silence as they walked into the distance.
Upon returning to the previous room, Usopp exclaimed, "That's weird. Why are the lights off too?"
"Hey, Cindry! Hogback! Are you still here?"
His voice echoed through the corridor, but unfortunately, there was no response—as if the two had never existed there in the first place.
Usopp's expression immediately changed. "Don't tell me that Hogback was really lying—"
"Whoosh—"
Before he could finish, the candles in the room suddenly lit up, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
"It's you!" Nami pointed at Hilton. "You bastard, you dare show your face again?!"
"Hilton!" Usopp roared. "Why the hell did you abandon us in the graveyard?"
Usopp was furious. If not for this bastard, they wouldn't have encountered those terrifying Zombies!
Hell... they might've even reunited with Meiser earlier!
"Ohohoho, how can you blame me~" Hilton said. "I just went to take a leak with the coachman—"
"Stop lying!" Nami snapped. "Do you really think we're idiots?!"
"You freaky-looking guys are all Zombies, aren't you?!"
She finally saw through it—this guy wasn't some kind of ability user. He was just a modified Zombie!
If you looked closely, his body was covered in stitching marks.
A bead of sweat rolled down Hilton's face. "No need to get so worked up—"
"Hey, Hilton, where's Hogback?" Chopper asked sternly.
"The two of them have already retired for the night," Hilton replied.
As he spoke, he flew up to the staircase and pointed at the hallway behind him. "Dr. Hogback specifically instructed me to escort you to your bedrooms. Just go through this—"
"Save the lies," Nami interrupted. "Is there something dangerous waiting for us back there?"
"We're not fools," Merry added. "Your tricks won't work anymore."
Hilton: "..."
Seeing that they weren't falling for it, Hilton hesitated. His mission was to lead them through this hallway into the pre-set trap.
But now... they weren't taking the bait at all.
"Teehee, Hilton, you've been found out~"
"Who said that?!"
Hearing the unfamiliar woman's voice, the group immediately tensed up, scanning their surroundings—but found no one.
"It's coming from that painting," Meiser said, narrowing his eyes at the artwork near Hilton. "Is that thing a Zombie too?"
"Correct! I, too, was granted life by Lord Moria!"
The woman in the painting leaped out, twisting her upper body midair. "Humans, just surrender quietly! Otherwise... you'll suffer endlessly!!"
"KYAAAA!!!"
"THE PAINTING CAME TO LIFE!!!"
The Cowardly Quartet shrieked in terror, scrambling backward.
"How adorable~" the female Zombie cooed. "Come here, let big sister hug you!"
Before he could get close, Meiser kicked him away with a single strike.
"Whoosh—"
"BOOM!!"
His head slammed straight into the wall!
"Some sister you are—just a dead person from who knows how many years ago," Meiser said disdainfully.
"You bastard!!"
The female Zombie shrieked angrily, "How dare you say that to me?!"
"You just wait— Damn it, I can't pull my head out!"
The female Zombie struggled desperately to free her head from the wall but found it impossible. That was also why her voice sounded so strange.
Ignoring her, Meiser glanced at the surrounding murals and said, "You're all the same, aren't you? Not coming out?"
If one mural could transform into a Zombie and attack, the others likely could too.
Meiser's words seemed to act as a signal, instantly animating all the murals in the room.
"Ohahaha, Zombies on the move!!"
"You lot better be ready!"
"We're gonna eat you!"
"Raaah!!"
A horde of Zombies surged out from the murals, twisting grotesquely in the air, instantly turning the atmosphere into something utterly terrifying!
The sight alone paralyzed the Cowardly Quartet with fear.
Trembling, they huddled close to Meiser, as if that was the only way to feel even slightly safe.
The Zombies were thoroughly pleased by this.
Nothing delighted them more than watching these cowardly humans shiver in fear—it brought them pure joy!
Just then, the pig head on the wall twitched before regaining its vitality.
"Hmm?"
"Human, aren't you afraid?" Puwai Chuck asked curiously, staring at Meiser.
"Why should I be afraid of you?" Meiser smirked. "If anything, you're the ones who should worry. Once you're stuck on the wall, can you even dodge an attack?"
His words seemed to trigger something in Usopp, freezing him in place.
In that moment, the scene from the graveyard flashed in his mind—Meiser descending from above, using Fire Release to send the Zombies wailing in terror. It was clear they feared flames.
"So that's it—fire is your weakness?!"
Revitalized, Usopp whipped out his slingshot and aimed at the sky. "Special Attack: Fire Star!"
"Whoosh—"
"BOOM!!"
The gunpowder exploded instantly, igniting several Zombies writhing in midair.
"AAAH!!"
"FIRE!!"
The Zombies screamed in agony, as if enduring the most brutal torture imaginable.
"Damn it, stay away from me!"
"Bastard, get back!"
The remaining unharmed mural Zombies shrieked in terror, hastily retreating into their paintings to avoid the flames.
"Heh, looks like this strategy works," Usopp said with a grin.
Now that he knew how to deal with the Zombies, fear was the last thing on his mind.
"Chopper," Meiser said, glancing down at him. "Do you understand now?"
The Zombies here were attacking them—which meant Hogback had been lying all along!!
"Yeah..." Chopper nodded, his head lowered. "I get it now. That Hogback lied to us... He actually dared to lie to us!!"
Chopper's fury ignited as he looked up and declared, "I won't let that bastard get away with this!"
A despicable individual who violates medical ethics, he is utterly unworthy of being called the world's top doctor!