After exchanging a quick glance of mutual satisfaction, Jerry and Ace approached the edge of the massive crater and peered down at the motionless form below. Moria's enormous body lay still at the bottom, no longer the terrifying shadow-enhanced giant but simply a burnt and battered man floating unconsciously in the accumulated seawater.
Countless shadows were streaming out of Moria's defeated form like wisps of dark smoke, finally free after years of imprisonment. Each shadow drifted upward before shooting off in various directions across Thriller Bark, seeking their original owners who had long since given up hope of ever being whole again.
"Well, looks like that's the end of it," Jerry observed with satisfaction, watching the last of the shadows escape their captor.
"Ace, go check on Deuce and Skull over there. Make sure they're both okay, then meet us back at the mansion."
"I'll head up and see how Brook is doing. It looks like Carina and the others made it here too."
After staring into the crater for a few more seconds to confirm that Moria posed no further threat, Jerry looked up at his friend. There was no point in delivering unnecessary punishment to a defeated enemy—the Warlord's complete loss of face and territory was humiliation enough.
Ace nodded his agreement, then gazed up at the tilted Mast Mansion, which was leaning at a precarious angle but somehow still standing despite the massive structural damage.
"Should be fine up there," he assessed pragmatically. "At least it hasn't completely collapsed yet."
With their plans settled, Ace walked toward the damaged mansion while Jerry turned and leaped through one of the broken windows, his movements sure and confident despite the building's unstable condition. He quickly made his way back to the room where he had left Brook.
The aftermath of Moria's devastating attacks and the earlier battles had left the interior in complete chaos. Furniture was overturned, debris littered the floor, and several walls had partially collapsed, creating new openings between previously separate rooms.
When Jerry entered, he found that Brook was no longer alone. Carina and Carrot were both present, having arrived with Kotatsu during the final confrontation. All three appeared unharmed but somewhat shaken by the experience.
"Brother Jerry! Are you okay?" Carrot immediately bounded over to him, her rabbit ears twitching with residual anxiety. "That last explosion was so loud! We were worried something terrible had happened!"
Jerry quickly scanned the group, noting with relief that everyone appeared intact and uninjured. "Looks like you're all fine, which is what matters most. Let's wait here for Deuce and Skull—they should be joining us shortly."
"Yohohoho! I'm feeling much better now, thanks to these!" Brook announced cheerfully, gesturing to several empty milk bottles scattered around his feet. At some point during the chaos, the skeleton musician had raided what remained of Hogback's kitchen supplies.
As they waited, Carina's natural curiosity got the better of her. She noticed that the structural damage had revealed previously hidden passages behind what had once been solid walls.
"Hey, what's back there?" she asked, pointing toward the newly exposed corridors.
Brook, who had spent more time exploring Thriller Bark than the others, provided the answer. "That would be Dr. Hogback's research laboratory. I believe there's a large refrigeration unit deeper inside where he stores his... materials."
Since waiting around seemed pointless, the group decided to investigate. The passages led them through a maze of scientific equipment and research notes before opening into a vast cold storage area. Rows upon rows of preserved corpses lined the walls—Moria's reserve army of potential zombies that would never be animated now.
After examining the macabre collection for several minutes and finding nothing of immediate interest beyond research tools and cadavers, they returned to the main area.
"Hey! Everyone come here! We found something amazing!" Skull's voice echoed from the opposite mansion, his tone carrying unmistakable excitement.
"They've made a discovery," Jerry observed. "Want to go see what they found?"
"Absolutely!" Carina replied without hesitation. Despite all the action, she still hadn't found any significant treasure, and she refused to believe that a Warlord's territory would be completely devoid of valuables.
"Alright, let's go together," Jerry agreed.
Rather than taking the long route through the damaged bridge connections, Jerry grabbed a nearby table and gestured for everyone to climb aboard. Using his water manipulation abilities, he drew seawater up from the crater below, creating a controlled geyser that launched their makeshift platform through the air directly to the opposite mansion.
"Wow! That's the most amazing way to travel I've ever experienced!" Carrot exclaimed as they sailed through the air.
"Yohohoho! Most extraordinary indeed!" Brook agreed, his skeletal form somehow managing to look exhilarated.
"Alright, enough sightseeing," Jerry called as they landed safely. "Time to see what has everyone so excited."
Deuce was waiting for them at an intersection, waving enthusiastically with an expression of pure academic joy that Jerry recognized from their early adventures.
"Quick! Come and see!" Deuce called out. "It turns out the old legends were actually true!"
Intrigued by his navigator's obvious excitement, the group followed him through a series of corridors. As they walked deeper into the structure, the temperature dropped noticeably, and they could feel cold air emanating from somewhere ahead.
Jerry had a growing suspicion about what they were about to discover.
Soon they encountered Ace and Skull standing before an enormous figure that dominated the chamber. The body was secured with massive chains and restraints, its sheer size making even the spacious room feel cramped.
Carrot and Carina stared in amazement at the colossal humanoid form, which stood several dozen meters tall even in its restrained position. Despite having descended from the even larger Zunesha, Carrot was still overwhelmed by seeing a human-shaped being of such incredible proportions.
"If I'm not mistaken, this would be from the great incident about 500 years ago..." Jerry began, but Deuce's excited voice cut him off.
"Exactly! Jerry, I can't believe you know about this! That should be the legendary demon Oz from 500 years past!" Deuce's eyes shone with the fervor of a scholar who had just confirmed a mythical discovery.
"I always thought it was just a legend recorded in old books, but here's the proof that it was all real!"
Skull, who had been examining the massive form with professional interest, added his own observations. "That height is definitely much greater than ordinary giants, isn't it? I've never seen anything quite like this scale before."
Ace studied the giant with obvious curiosity. "So does this have some connection to Little Oz?" he asked, referring to the descendant he had met during his time with the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Possibly some kind of ancestral relationship," Deuce replied, though his knowledge of the specifics was limited. "The bloodline connections of these ancient beings aren't well documented."
"Yohoho! It appears Moria discovered this body and planned to turn it into his ultimate zombie," Skull observed with dark humor. "Fortunately, we dismantled his operation before he could complete such a terrifying project."
The chamber contained nothing else of immediate interest besides the chained giant. While Deuce continued to frantically scribble notes about their discovery, Jerry turned to Skull with a practical question.
"This isn't really our concern anymore, and we certainly can't take something this size with us. Did you find anything else of interest during your exploration?"
"Oh yes! We discovered several treasure chests in another area..." Skull began, but he had barely started speaking when Carina's eyes lit up like searchlights.
"Why didn't you mention this sooner?!" she interrupted loudly, practically vibrating with excitement. "Where exactly are they?"
Skull realized he had triggered what Jerry privately called 'Carina's treasure mode' and resigned himself to the inevitable. "Well... there are quite a few chests. We should probably all go together."
"Lead the way! Hurry up! Move, move, move!" Carina commanded, already pushing the group toward the exit.
Everyone except Deuce, who remained behind to continue documenting the giant Oz, followed Skull through the mansion's corridors. They eventually reached the floor where Perona's chamber was located, though they carefully avoided the room that still reeked of Skull's chemical warfare.
Skull led them to an unmarked door and opened it with a theatrical flourish. The sight that greeted them caused even Jerry to raise an eyebrow in appreciation.
The room was packed wall-to-wall with treasure. Gold coins, precious gems, ornate weapons, jewelry, and valuable artifacts filled every available space. Most of the wealth was organized in wooden chests, but several piles had been arranged into small mountains of glittering riches.
"It's all mine! Woohoo!" Carina dove into the treasure like a swimmer entering a pool, rolling around in the gold with an expression of pure bliss. Her eyes reflected the gleam of countless precious metals as she reveled in the sight of more wealth than she had ever seen in one place.
"Don't get too comfortable," Jerry said with ruthless practicality, already moving toward the nearest pile of valuables. "Obviously this gets divided among everyone who participated in the raid, plus we need to set aside funds for ship maintenance and supplies."
Jerry's system storage made quick work of collecting treasure. His hands moved with practiced efficiency, causing entire stacks of gold and gems to vanish into his dimensional space.
"No! Stop! That's mine! All of it belongs to me!" Carina wailed, watching in horror as the treasure mountain rapidly diminished. She made desperate attempts to interfere with Jerry's collection efforts before finally throwing herself protectively over one of the larger chests.
"Well, if you're not going to actively help collect it," Jerry observed with amusement, "then I suppose I'll just have to be more proactive about securing our shares."
Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.