The colossal gates of Thriller Bark creaked shut behind them, sealing them inside the misty confines of the world's largest pirate ship. Before them, a dense, dark forest stretched towards a towering mansion that loomed like a jagged silhouette against the perpetually gray sky. An eerie silence hung in the air, broken only by the crunch of their footsteps on the damp earth. Shrouded in a thick, unnatural fog, the woods felt ancient and menacing.
Ace, ever the fearless leader, paid the oppressive atmosphere no mind. He grinned, cracked his knuckles, and strode confidently onto the path leading through the trees. "Alright, that big spooky house has to be our target. Let's go say hello!"
The others followed, though with considerably more caution. The forest was unlike any they had ever seen. Trees with gnarled, twisted bark seemed to watch them with hollow eyes, and strange, misshapen animals scurried through the undergrowth, their forms obscured by the shifting fog.
"Hey… does that tree over there have a human face?" Deuce muttered, his hand instinctively moving towards the hilt of his sword.
"I think I just saw a unicorn-hippo hybrid," Skull added quietly, his eyes scanning their surroundings with the intense focus of an intelligence officer.
"Ooh, look!" Carrot chirped, pointing a finger. "All kinds of weird critters! This place is full of surprises!"
As they ventured deeper, the forest grew gloomier. Suddenly, Kotatsu let out a low, guttural growl, his fur bristling. Carina, startled by the lynx's reaction, shrieked and pointed a trembling finger at a patch of disturbed earth beside a moss-covered tombstone.
"Ah! Over there! The ground… it's moving!"
Everyone's eyes snapped to the spot just as a grimy, bandaged hand clawed its way out of the soil. A moment later, a bald, wrinkled head emerged, followed by the grotesque body of a man wrapped in decaying bandages. It pulled itself free from the grave and staggered toward them, its jaw hanging slack.
Ace tilted his head, his expression one of pure confusion. "Whoa, old man. Did you trip? You look like you're hurt pretty bad."
SMACK!
Carina brought her hand down sharply on the back of Ace's head. "He's not hurt, you idiot! He's a zombie!"
"Ow!" Ace rubbed the sore spot, looking utterly baffled. "A zombie? Really?" He turned to his long-suffering friend. "Deuce, quick! You're the smart one—draw one of those paper talismans or something!"
A vein throbbed on Deuce's forehead. "Since when do I know how to do that?!" he roared.
"You don't? But Jerry said you were the crew's jack-of-all-trades. I figured you knew everything," Ace replied, a hint of genuine disappointment in his voice. "That's too bad."
"You have no right to say that to me!" Deuce shot back, his composure completely gone.
Carrot blinked her wide, innocent eyes, looking from the bickering crewmates to the approaching zombie. "Um, this is fun and all," she said, tilting her head, "but shouldn't we do something about him?"
"Oh, right. We probably should," Skull agreed calmly, stepping into a ready stance. Just as he spoke, the ground around the small cemetery began to bulge. Dozens more tombstones were pushed aside as more decomposing figures clawed their way to the surface. It wasn't just one zombie; it was a horde.
The sight seemed to snap Carina and Deuce out of their panic. Having faced down Emperors, a few shambling corpses no longer felt like the end of the world—as long as they kept their distance.
Ace grinned eagerly, his fists igniting into blazing fire. "Alright, let me handle this. Zombies should be afraid of fire, right?"
"Uh… probably," Deuce and Skull replied in unison, exchanging an uncertain glance. "That's what the legends usually say."
By now, dozens of zombies had fully emerged and were lurching towards them, letting out guttural moans. But the moment they saw the brilliant flames dancing on Ace's arms, their groans turned into whimpers of terror. In a flash of unexpected agility, they all spun around, scrambled back to the holes they had just crawled out of, and frantically buried themselves back in the dirt.
The crew stared in stunned silence.
"Well," Carina said, breaking the quiet. "That was… decisive. I guess they really are afraid of fire."
"Aren't zombies supposed to be slow and clumsy?" Deuce wondered aloud.
"Maybe these are a special, high-speed model?" Skull mused.
Deciding not to dwell on the bizarre encounter, they were about to press on when a new sight caught their attention. A cluster of small, white, ghost-like figures came drifting through the trees.
"Hey! What are those things!?" Carina yelped.
"More ghosts? I hope they're not as pathetic as those zombies," Ace scoffed.
Just then, the ghosts opened their mouths and began to chant in unison, their voices echoing eerily through the fog.
"Negative… Negative…"
As they twisted and danced in the air, one of them broke from the group and shot straight towards Deuce. The crew immediately took defensive positions. Carina fired a shot from her pistol, but the bullet passed harmlessly through the ethereal form. Before anyone could react, the ghost phased directly through Deuce's body.
Deuce froze. The fight drained from his posture, and he dropped to his knees, his head hanging low. "I can't even draw a simple talisman," he mumbled, his voice thick with despair. "I'm useless… a complete waste of space. I might as well just die here."
Ace let out a short laugh. "Shishishi! Lighten up, Deuce. I was just kidding earlier. You don't have to take it so hard."
"Yeah, Boss Deuce, you'll get 'em next time!" Skull added, though the smirk on his face betrayed his amusement.
Carina and Carrot watched in confusion, unable to understand what had just happened. As they stared, the other three ghosts in the air swooped down to attack. Ace's fiery punch and Skull's powerful hook both passed right through them, doing no damage. A moment later, they too were struck.
"If there's another life… I hope I'm reborn as a carefree, salted fish…" Ace whispered, collapsing onto his back and staring blankly at the sky.
"I've spent my life studying the rare and unusual," Skull murmured, slumping to his knees. "But I never realized there was such a fine specimen of a skeleton right here on this island. I'm a failure as a collector. I'd be better off dead."
Even Kotatsu, who had leaped forward with a protective roar, was hit. His claws swiped through the ghost with no effect. The proud lynx whimpered, fell to the ground, and let out a soft, defeated "Meow~" He had always followed Jerry's orders to stay out of the way during dangerous fights, but now, facing a threat head-on, he felt utterly powerless.
The last ghost, having passed through Kotatsu, paused and then shot towards Carrot and Carina.
"They turn you like this when they touch you! Carrot, get us out of here!" Carina shouted, finally understanding what was happening.
"Okay, Sister Carina!"
With Carina clinging to her back, Carrot moved like a bolt of lightning. She effortlessly dodged the ghost's lunge, her movements a blur of speed and grace. The other ghosts joined the chase, but they couldn't even brush a whisker on the speedy mink.
"Negative… negative…" the ghosts giggled, sticking their tongues out provocatively at the defeated pirates on the ground. Then, as quickly as they appeared, they faded back into the forest.
As soon as they were gone, the cloud of despair lifted. Ace, Deuce, and Skull slowly picked themselves up, their faces flushed with embarrassment.
"Hehe, you guys were quite the sight just now," Carina teased, a sly grin spreading across her face. "I really should have recorded that with a Video Den Den Mushi."
"You! Don't you dare!" Deuce roared, his face turning beet red. "If you recorded that, I'd have to bury myself in one of those graves for real!"
"Yes, Miss Carina, please don't," Skull pleaded, waving his hands frantically. "If Captain Jerry ever saw that, he'd mock us for an entire year."
"Hmph! Those sneaky ghosts!" Ace shouted, shaking his fist in the direction they had disappeared. "Attacking when we weren't looking! Next time I see them, I'll blast them to smithereens!"
"Ace, keep it down!" Deuce hissed, gesturing wildly. "Do you want Jerry to find out about this?"
Watching the three of them fuming over their newly acquired dark history, Carina felt a wave of relief that she hadn't been the ghosts' first target. Carrot just found the whole thing hilarious, scratching her head and giggling. "Hee hee, you all looked so funny!"
Deuce's eyes darted to the innocent rabbit mink. He knew he had to act fast. "Hey, Carrot," he said, leaning in conspiratorially. "Don't you go telling Jerry anything, and I'll buy you all the carrots you can eat next time we're in town. Deal?"
Carrot's eyes lit up. "Woohoo! And snacks? And juice?"
"Yes, yes, whatever you want! I'll make a note of it." Knowing Carrot's primary weakness, Deuce felt a small sense of victory.
"Ahem. And what about me?" Carina purred, holding out her hand with a devilish smile. "I'm not so easily bought. Let's say… ten thousand Berries from each of you, and I'll pretend I saw nothing."
Deuce turned to see Ace and Skull pointedly looking away, their faces hidden as they waved their hands at him in a gesture of 'you handle it.' With a heavy sigh, he agreed. "You really know how to take advantage of a situation. Fine. We'll add it to your tab."
"Pleasure doing business with you," Carina chirped, pocketing her future earnings.