The moment she heard "Clear-Clear Fruit," Nami instantly darted behind Oguro.
After all, when people heard "invisible man," the first thoughts that popped into their minds were never wholesome.
And being unseen meant being unknown, and humanity's greatest fear always came from the unknown.
But even with Oguro exposing him in one breath, Absalom didn't panic at all.
He had eaten the Clear-Clear Fruit. No one could possibly detect his presence.
As long as he was careful and didn't make noise, none of these people could do a thing to him.
He glanced at Nami unwillingly.
The only regret was not managing to carry off that perfect bride.
But that was fine. He still had chances.
Anyone who entered this castle would never escape Moria's clutches.
Smiling to himself, Absalom slowly stepped backward.
But the instant his foot lifted, Oguro's eyes sharpened and he swung his blade, sending out a flying slash.
He found me? Impossible!
Absalom jumped aside in terror, barely dodging the attack.
A split second later, a sharp gust cut through the air above him.
Soi Fon shot in like lightning, her right leg coming down straight toward his head.
"Wheel Kick!"
Boom!
Absalom smashed face-first into the floor and his figure finally appeared.
Everyone could now clearly see what he looked like.
After Hogback's modifications, his jaw had been replaced with that of a lion, his skin with that of an elephant, and his arms were equipped with small cannons.
His body had essentially abandoned the concept of being human.
But Oguro's focus was on something else entirely.
His eyes lit up with pleasant surprise as he looked at Soi Fon.
"Soi Fon… your Haki awakened?"
Absalom's movements were extremely light. Oguro had only sensed him using Observation Haki.
Soi Fon finding him so precisely could only mean she awakened hers as well.
Soi Fon allowed a small smile.
"Yes, Soul King. Soi Fon has lived up to your expectations."
She was a Captain after all. Even with the group training together, she had been the first to succeed.
Oguro nodded in satisfaction, though he reminded her.
"Do not get complacent. You still have Armament Haki left."
"Once you master both types, even Logia users won't be your match."
"Yes!" Soi Fon answered earnestly.
After fighting Aokiji, she understood better than anyone how important Haki was.
Elementalization was simply too broken.
Without a counter, even a Captain-class Shinigami struggled to suppress it.
Hearing that Soi Fon had awakened a type of Haki, Rukia and the others looked on with envy.
It strengthened their resolve to train even harder.
Only then could they receive more of Oguro's attention.
"Soul King, how do we deal with this one?"
Rangiku glanced at the unconscious Absalom.
"Kill him."
Oguro didn't hesitate.
Anyone who dared attack his companions had to be ready for death.
Fortunately no one present was soft-hearted.
Rangiku drew Haineko and stabbed toward Absalom's throat.
"Night Light Song, True Thrust!"
Suddenly a figure dropped from above, a black blade stabbing toward Rangiku.
The piercing whistle of the strike made its power obvious.
Clang!
Rukia flash-stepped forward, Sode no Shirayuki blocking the attack cleanly.
The attacker flipped back and landed.
It was a man wearing traditional Wano-style robes.
"The samurai Ryuma of Wano."
Oguro narrowed his eyes.
Brook's shadow was inside this zombie.
Poof!
With Ryuma's interference gone, Absalom's throat was finally pierced clean through.
The Zombie General he relied on as his trump card couldn't save him after all.
Right then, the system chime rang in Oguro's mind.
"Ding. An unclaimed soul has been detected. Absorb?"
"Absorb."
Moments later, a translucent Devil Fruit appeared in Oguro's palm.
The Paramecia, Clear-Clear Fruit.
This fruit could be exchanged for an Epic Lottery Ticket.
But after some thought, Oguro already knew where this fruit should go.
CP9's Kalifa.
Sanji had once called this fruit "a man's ultimate dream."
Its natural usage leaned toward the perverted side.
Giving it to a woman was the better option.
And Kalifa worked in intelligence.
With the Clear-Clear Fruit, infiltration and reconnaissance missions would be twice as efficient.
"I'll have someone deliver it to her when we return." Oguro made his decision.
But before that, he needed to deal with the obstacle in front of him.
Ryuma sheathed his sword with elegance and smiled toward Rukia.
"Yohohoho. Beautiful lady, would you allow me to—"
Wham!
Before anyone could react, Brook sprinted forward like a fired arrow, his cane-sword stabbing straight through Ryuma's mouth.
"Dear god, shut up!"
Brook was terrified.
The moment this zombie spoke, he could tell it was his shadow.
Which meant he knew exactly what the next words would be.
He absolutely could not let him finish.
Last time on the sea, just one sentence nearly got him smashed.
If it happened again, he really would be dead.
In that instant, pure survival instinct pushed his strength to its limit.
He struck before Ryuma could even react.
Ryuma reached for his sword to counter.
The moment his hand touched the hilt, a bag of sea salt slammed into his head.
His body convulsed for a moment, and a shadow quietly peeled away from beneath him, slipping back into Brook's body.
"Yohohoho! My shadow is finally back!" Brook cheered, dancing around in joy.
Oguro picked up Ryuma's sword.
The black blade Shusui.
One of the twenty-one Great Grade swords and a national treasure of Wano.
He couldn't use it himself, but he could bring it back for his men in the future.
Storing the sword away, Oguro asked Brook,
"Brook. Now that you have your shadow back, will you wait for us outside, or join us against Moria?"
Brook answered without hesitation.
"I'm going with you! Moria tormented me for years. I want to watch him fall into hell with my own eyes!"
Meanwhile, deep inside the castle, a massive and bloated figure sat on a chair, listening to Perona's report.
Gecko Moria.
Once a mighty warrior, now a huge shut-in.
"Hehihihihi. 'Gentleman' Sith Oguro, huh? I heard they escaped from Aokiji."
"If I used his shadow for a zombie, it would be my greatest masterpiece."
As a Warlord of the Sea, Moria naturally had informants within the World Government.
Unfortunately their rank wasn't high enough, so the intel they received was watered down by the government.
And now, all he could think about was how to handle this pirate upstart named Oguro.
***
Btw I added a 18+ scene on chapter 50, if you're interested you can check it out. Feel free to skip as it has no relevance on plot, I'm just adding my own flavour where the cn author skimmed it over.
Read 20 Chapters early on P-atreon.com/Redestro666