Jerry wasn't entirely sure if defeating Ryoma would cause the shadow to return directly to Brook, but he knew that salt would definitely purify the zombie. As the legendary samurai's body crumbled to dust, a black shadow quickly shot out from where Ryoma's mouth had been, streaking across the room toward Brook's feet.
"Yohohoho! My shadow! You're finally back!" Brook exclaimed, his skeletal form trembling with excitement. The musician, who had looked like dried driftwood moments before, suddenly seemed to regain his vitality as the shadow merged with his feet. "I can't believe it's really—"
A tremendous explosion echoed from the Mast Mansion across the courtyard, cutting off Brook's joyful reunion. Jerry immediately activated his Observation Haki, his senses extending toward the source of the disturbance. Through the walls and distance, he could feel the chaotic energy signatures of his crewmates locked in intense combat.
"Just stay put for now," Jerry told Brook, moving toward the window. "The mansion shouldn't collapse completely. I'll be back soon."
"Wait, Jerry-san!" Brook called out, but Jerry had already leaped through the window without hesitation.
The drop was several stories down into Perona's Wonder Garden courtyard below. Jerry landed gracefully among the scattered zombie bodies that littered the ornate garden, their forms still smoking from earlier encounters with Ace's flames. Without pausing, he sprinted toward Perona's hall where the explosion had originated, his concern for his crew overriding any caution about potential traps.
Rewinding slightly in time, Ace had led Deuce and Skull to this very courtyard. Dense, twisted bushes surrounded them, and beyond the foliage, countless dark shadows swayed ominously in the moonlight. As they drew closer, the shapes resolved into a massive army of zombies—some humanoid, others bestial, and many clad in rusted armor that gleamed dully in the pale light.
These were Absalom and Perona's forces: zombie soldiers, zombie generals, and the various animal zombies that served as Thriller Bark's defenders. Due to the crew's rapid advance through the mansion, Perona's group hadn't had time to arrange elaborate ambushes or strategic positioning. Instead, they had hastily gathered every available zombie into one overwhelming force, hoping to crush the intruders through sheer numbers.
Now, seeing that Ace and his friends had easily broken through the mansion's initial defenses, the assembled zombie horde suddenly erupted into motion. Like a pack of rabid beasts, they attacked from all directions with mindless ferocity.
"Firefly Light!" Ace called out, his body erupting with countless tiny green flames. The miniature fireballs floated around him like a constellation of deadly stars, slowly orbiting the small group. With a gesture from Ace, the fireflies suddenly shot forward, seeking out their targets with precision.
"It's burning! Run away!" Screams echoed through the courtyard as the ordinary zombie soldiers found themselves completely outmatched by the swarm of flame projectiles. Some zombies caught fire immediately upon contact, running around in panic and inadvertently spreading the flames to their friends. The sight was both tragic and almost comical as the undead army began consuming itself in confusion.
The zombie generals, more intelligent and resilient than their foot soldier counterparts, used the chaos as cover to advance. While their burning subordinates provided an unwitting distraction, these elite undead launched coordinated attacks with various weapons and abilities.
"Hahaha! You guys are way too slow!" Skull laughed, his usual nervousness replaced by surprising confidence.
"That's right," Deuce agreed, dodging a zombie's clumsy sword swing. "Jerry's training methods might be unconventional, but they definitely work!"
Both Skull and Deuce had undergone Jerry's rigorous training regimen during their time together. While neither would claim to be master fighters, they had developed enough skill to hold their own in a chaotic battle like this. With Ace leading the charge and drawing most of the enemy's attention, they could coordinate their movements effectively, covering each other's blind spots and launching counterattacks when opportunities arose.
"Self-defense is perfectly justified!" Ace declared, his body transforming into living flame. He became a blazing whirlwind of destruction, constantly moving through the zombie ranks and leaving nothing but ash in his wake. The undead army's natural fear of fire worked against them, their instinctive terror making them easy targets for Ace's relentless assault.
Every technique Ace employed was like a force of nature. His flames spread wherever he went, consuming everything in their path. The zombie forces, despite their numerical advantage, found themselves steadily pushed back as their ranks thinned dramatically.
Before long, only a handful of zombie generals remained—those smart enough to retreat to safer positions and those with long-range capabilities that let them avoid Ace's close-quarters devastation. The courtyard was littered with the ash and scattered remains of what had once been a formidable army.
Some zombies had been forced off the high bridges connecting the various mansion sections, their forms disappearing into the mist below with haunting wails. The battlefield looked like the aftermath of a natural disaster.
Taking advantage of the momentum, Deuce and Skull followed closely behind Ace as he charged across the bridge toward Perona's hall. Their footsteps echoed on the ornate stonework as they left the burning courtyard behind.
Upon entering Perona's domain, the trio found themselves facing a much more organized defense. The remaining zombies had formed proper battle formations, their postures alert and ready for combat. Unlike the mindless horde outside, these undead showed tactical awareness and discipline.
Among the scattered zombie forces, two distinctive figures commanded attention. The first was a young girl with pink twin-tails floating several feet off the ground—this was one of Perona's astral projections, her spirit separated from her physical body. The second figure was far more ominous: a massive, onion-shaped shadow that seemed to absorb the light around it. This was Gecko Moria's Shadow Doppelganger, an extension of the Warlord's own power.
Perona covered her mouth with one hand, giggling softly as if the entire situation amused her greatly. "Horohorohorohoro! You're pretty strong, I'll give you that, but this is where your little adventure ends."
Moria's deep voice resonated from the shadow construct, carrying an undertone of dark anticipation. "Kishishishi! That's right. Once I take your shadows, my zombie army will grow even stronger. Fresh shadows from powerful pirates are always welcome additions to my collection."
"I was originally planning to have my subordinates handle you," the shadow continued with Moria's characteristic laugh, "but I find myself curious about your abilities. Kishishishi! Let's see what you're really made of."
Both figures were merely projections of their true selves, created through their respective Devil Fruit abilities. Their real bodies remained hidden somewhere within the massive ship-island, safe from direct retaliation.
Skull, despite his limited combat experience, immediately recognized the tactical situation they faced. He had read enough about Devil Fruit abilities to understand the implications of fighting projections rather than the actual users.
"Ace," he whispered urgently, "that shadow thing is definitely Moria himself. We need to be careful—we can't actually hurt him while he's in that form."
"Got it," Ace nodded grimly, his flames already beginning to dance around his fists. "You guys watch each other's backs."
Ace decided to target the most dangerous opponent first, but the moment he took a step forward, the entire zombie formation sprang into action. Gone was their previous hesitation and fear—these undead moved with the ruthless efficiency of seasoned warriors, attacking in coordinated waves like a pack of predators.
Ace found himself forced to deal with multiple enemies simultaneously while Moria's shadow doppelganger joined the fray. The Shadow Doppelganger possessed all of Moria's strength and abilities while being effectively invulnerable to physical damage. Worse still, it could alter its shape at will, making it nearly impossible to predict or counter its attacks.
"Kishishishi! Resistance is futile!" Moria's voice echoed through the hall as his shadow construct harassed Ace relentlessly. The shadow would sometimes form razor-sharp claws, other times split into a swarm of shadow bats that obscured vision and disrupted breathing.
Every punch and kick Ace threw was either absorbed harmlessly by the shadow's malleable form or dodged entirely through rapid shape-shifting. Meanwhile, Moria's attacks came from unexpected angles—shadow tendrils erupting from the floor, bat swarms diving from above, or sudden claw strikes from the sides.
The situation grew worse as several zombie generals broke off to engage Deuce and Skull, forcing Ace to worry about his friends' safety while dealing with his own overwhelming opposition.
"Flame Commandment: Fire Pillar!"
Ace roared, deciding that subtle tactics were useless in this situation. He gathered his power and released it in one devastating attack, sending a massive column of fire shooting straight up through the hall's ceiling.
The entire Mast Mansion shook from the force of the explosion. The ornate ceiling cracked and collapsed, creating a gaping hole that let moonlight stream down into the battle-torn hall. Debris rained down as the ancient structure groaned under the assault.
"How dare you destroy my beautiful mansion!" Perona shrieked, though she seemed more annoyed than truly angry. Being in astral form, she had no physical body to protect from the flames or falling rubble.
"Kishishishi! Impressive power, but completely useless against me!" Moria's shadow construct had dispersed into countless bat-shaped fragments the moment before impact, reforming moments later without any apparent damage.
Glancing around the hall, Ace noted with satisfaction that most of the zombie soldiers had been eliminated by his wide-area attack. Only the zombie generals and his two main opponents remained standing. He prepared to launch another assault, but suddenly found his vision completely obscured by a storm of shadow bats that seemed to block out all light.
The dark swarm surrounded him like a living tornado, their tiny forms chittering and flapping in a maddening cacophony. Ace could hear Skull and Deuce shouting warnings, but their voices seemed to come from very far away.
His Observation Haki suddenly screamed a warning, but by then it was too late. Through the chaos of shadow and sound, three translucent, ghost-like figures had slipped past his defenses entirely.
"Negative Hollow!" Perona called out with malicious glee.
The hollow spirits passed through all three pirates simultaneously, their ethereal forms completely bypassing any physical defenses. The moment the spirits made contact, a crushing wave of despair and self-loathing washed over their victims.
"I'm such a failure," Skull moaned, collapsing to his knees. "All I do is collect junk and bother people with useless trivia. I might as well become a skeleton and join some museum display."
"I should just give up," Deuce wailed, covering his face with his hands. "What kind of navigator gets his crew lost in a place like this? I'm wasting everyone's time with my stupid dreams of writing novels. The world would be better off without my terrible stories."
Ace lay flat on the stone floor, staring up at the hole in the ceiling where stars were visible through the drifting smoke. "In my next life," he murmured softly, "I want to be a piece of seaweed, just drifting wherever the current takes me. No responsibilities, no expectations, no one getting hurt because of my choices..."