c3: The Zombie Army
That evening Buffon went down to inspect the ice storage chambers where the corpses collected by the Thriller Bark Pirates were preserved.
Inside the massive island-sized ship, these cold storage rooms were located deep beneath the haunted mansion, close to Hogback's laboratory where the zombie reconstruction process usually began.
Buffon clearly remembered from the original Thriller Bark arc in the One Piece manga that Gecko Moria's zombie army had a strict numbering system.
Most of the combat zombies created over the past decade were assigned identification numbers roughly ranging from 1 to 900.
If this information was accurate, then it meant that during the ten years since Moria retreated to the Florian Triangle after his crushing defeat in the New World, fewer than a thousand zombie soldiers had been fully completed.
At Buffon's current stitching speed, even without counting the zombies that had already been assembled over the past years, the remaining corpses in storage wouldn't even be enough to keep him busy for a single year.
If that were truly the case, Buffon would eventually need to consider alternative methods to continue upgrading his abilities through the Character Encyclopedia system.
However when he finally arrived at the underground ice storage chambers, Buffon immediately relaxed.
All twelve massive freezing vaults were completely packed with preserved bodies.
Pirates.
Mercenaries.
Adventurers who had disappeared in the Florian Triangle.
Even a few civilians whose ships had been unlucky enough to drift into the fog surrounding Thriller Bark.
The only restriction placed upon Buffon was that Moria strictly forbade him from touching certain high-value corpses.
Those bodies were reserved for creating elite zombies.
Especially those that could host powerful shadows stolen from strong warriors.
Buffon quickly realized that the reason Moria's zombie army had only reached the number nine hundred was almost certainly related to Hogback's work efficiency.
More precisely — the lack of it.
If Hogback had been even slightly more diligent in processing the available corpses over the past decade, the zombie army might have already exceeded several thousand soldiers.
Hogback was publicly known across the seas as a genius surgeon.
In the past he had miraculously saved countless patients through revolutionary surgical techniques, earning enormous fame and wealth throughout the Grand Line.
But the truth was far less noble.
Hogback valued money and reputation far more than the lives of his patients.
His obsession with wealth had always overshadowed his duty as a doctor.
Years ago Hogback's personality changed completely after the tragic death of a woman he deeply admired.
Victoria Cindry.
She had been a famous stage actress whose beauty captivated audiences across the seas.
During an accident she fell from a theater stage and died instantly.
The news devastated Hogback.
Later Gecko Moria approached him with an offer.
An alliance.
Moria promised that through the power of his Kage Kage no Mi the Shadow-Shadow Fruit , he could give Cindry a second existence as a zombie.
In return Hogback would help him build an army of undead soldiers.
Driven by obsession Hogback stole Cindry's corpse and modified it extensively, altering her body to improve combat efficiency and durability before allowing Moria to implant a stolen shadow inside.
Once a shadow was inserted into a corpse by Moria's ability, the resulting zombie inherited much of the personality and combat instincts belonging to the shadow's original owner.
However if a contract was imposed to suppress the original owner's will, the shadow would gradually lose access to the memories of its former body.
Over time the shadow and corpse would fuse more completely.
At first the zombie would resist its new existence.
But eventually obedience would replace rebellion.
Thinking about this process Buffon suddenly realized something troubling.
Most of the people whose shadows had been stolen by Gecko Moria were probably still alive somewhere on this enormous island ship drifting through the fog.
Their bodies were hiding in the forests and ruined buildings of Thriller Bark.
Because if they stepped into sunlight without their shadows…
They would burn instantly.
Just as Buffon finished considering this possibility, his Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.
He pulled the small transponder snail from his pocket and pressed the receiver.
Hogback's voice immediately came through the fishnet-decorated Den Den Mushi shell.
"Moshi moshi, Buffon!"
"Take a few zombie puppets and go to Warehouse 4."
"Those guys are here again trying to steal their shadows back."
Buffon answered calmly.
"Which one are they targeting this time?"
Hogback replied almost immediately.
"Number 833!"
"Just take a few with you and help distract them."
Buffon ended the call and placed the Den Den Mushi back in his coat pocket before slowly walking toward Warehouse Number 4.
As he moved through the dim corridors of the castle, Buffon couldn't help thinking about the combat forces currently available on Thriller Bark.
The legendary samurai zombie Ryuma whose corpse had been discovered in Wano centuries ago had not yet been brought out for active patrol.
Otherwise Moria would never have needed ordinary zombies to deal with these recurring intruders.
Perona was still very young.
Her powers from the Horo Horo no Mi were effective for psychological warfare but she rarely participated in direct combat.
As for Absalom…
Buffon suspected his combat level wasn't considered high enough yet to intervene in situations like this.
Passing by the laboratory Buffon called out to three nearby zombie assistants.
"403."
"523."
"518."
The three zombie puppets immediately stopped their work and followed him without hesitation.
Buffon had never once worried about losing in these encounters.
The pirates and wanderers who appeared around Thriller Bark were often deliberately allowed to survive by Moria.
They served as training targets.
Both for the zombie army and for new shadow experiments.
In many ways Buffon's role in these encounters was closer to that of a supervisor than a combatant.
When they finally arrived at Warehouse Number 4 Buffon immediately examined the situation.
Standing near the entrance was the massive zombie designated as Number 833.
The creature was nearly three meters tall.
Heavy metal gauntlets covered both of its arms, and every time it slammed them together a loud metallic clang echoed throughout the warehouse.
Buffon studied the zombie carefully.
Judging from the aura and the physical structure of the corpse, this individual must have been a powerful pirate during his lifetime.
Buffon estimated that within the Character Encyclopedia ranking system this body would be at least Tier Five.
Otherwise it would never have been assigned the number 833.
Because inside Gecko Moria's zombie army there was a clear pattern.
The higher the assigned number…
The stronger the zombie.
Animal Zombies: Numbers 0-199 are responsible for guarding and patrolling the forests, graveyards, and outer walls of Thriller Bark, and they are generally placed under the command of Perona, one of Gecko Moria's Three Eccentrics and the user of the Horo Horo no Mi.
These zombies are usually constructed from the bodies of wild animals collected from various seas or from strange beasts that wandered into the Florian Triangle, and their shadows are often stolen from unlucky pirates whose ships drifted too close to Thriller Bark's fog-covered waters.
Scary Zombies: Numbers 200-399 are also under the command of Perona, and these are the zombies most commonly encountered by intruders exploring the haunted mansion and surrounding courtyards.
Most of them hide inside paintings, mirrors, walls, stuffed decorations, or bizarre museum-like exhibits throughout the castle, waiting to ambush anyone who dares to wander through the eerie corridors of Thriller Bark.
Soldier Zombies: Numbers 400-799 operate under the command of Absalom, another member of the Three Eccentrics and the user of the Suke Suke no Mi, the Clear-Clear Fruit that grants invisibility.
This category contains the largest number of zombies in the entire army, and they are typically assembled from the corpses of pirates, mercenaries, or sailors who possessed decent combat abilities during their lifetime.
Their strength varies greatly depending on the quality of the corpse and the power of the shadow implanted within them.
General Zombies: Numbers 800-899 represent the elite combat units of Moria's zombie army.
These zombies are usually created using high-quality corpses and strong shadows, making them significantly more powerful than the ordinary soldier zombies.
Special Zombie: Number 900, also known as the legendary giant demon Oz more accurately known in ancient records as Oars the colossal corpse that Gecko Moria once retrieved from the frozen continent of the New World.
However the zombie army currently stationed on Thriller Bark had not yet reached its full capacity.
Although most numbers had already been assigned in preparation for future zombies, many positions were still empty.
As for the enormous corpse of Oars itself, Moria had not yet retrieved it from the frozen lands during this point in time.
Among the group currently attacking the warehouse stood a muscular man wearing a tight bodybuilding vest and a pair of boxing gloves.
Buffon quickly noticed that his fighting style was almost identical to the movements displayed by Zombie Number 833.
However the difference in their physical bodies was obvious.
The muscular man was barely two meters tall, while the zombie towering before him stood nearly three meters in height.
Because of this massive size difference, 833 completely suppressed the man in both reach and raw strength.
"This person must be the original owner of 833's shadow!" Buffon concluded silently.
After arriving at this deduction Buffon calmly gave a short command.
The three zombie puppets that had followed him Numbers 403, 523, and 518 immediately rushed forward to join the battle, surrounding the intruders and relieving the pressure currently placed on Zombie 833.
Although these three zombies carried no weapons, their movements clearly indicated that the shadows controlling them once belonged to experienced hand-to-hand fighters.
Their attacks were straightforward yet effective.
While they couldn't completely overwhelm their opponents, they were still capable of maintaining a balanced fight.
The true advantage of zombie soldiers lay elsewhere.
Zombie bodies felt no pain.
Even if swords cut into their flesh or weapons pierced their limbs, they would continue fighting as long as their bodies remained physically intact.
And even if severe damage occurred, Doctor Hogback could simply sew the body back together.
No.
At this point it would be Buffon who performed the repairs.
However the zombie army was not invincible.
Every zombie created through Gecko Moria's Shadow-Shadow Fruit possessed a critical weakness.
Salt.
Because the shadows were unnatural beings temporarily bound inside corpses through Devil Fruit power, a sufficient amount of salt infused with the energy of the ocean could purify them.
If salt was forced into a zombie's mouth, the shadow would be expelled from the body and return to its original owner.
Furthermore if the original owner of the shadow died, the shadow itself would also vanish completely.
When that happened the zombie body would immediately collapse.
Seeing additional zombies entering the battle, one of the attackers angrily cursed.
"Buffon!"
"You damn dog of Moria!"
"You're still a living human, yet you willingly work for that monster!"
"Give us back our shadows!"
Buffon looked at the shouting man with a completely expressionless face.
Inside his mind he sighed quietly.
"Foolish."
Even if he returned their shadows right now, these people would still have no chance of escaping Thriller Bark.
Without their shadows they could not step into sunlight.
And without defeating Moria they would never regain their freedom.
"You can't even defeat a single General-class zombie."
"And yet you think you can resist?"
Buffon shook his head slightly.
"Wouldn't it be easier to simply live quietly on this ship until I finish developing my abilities?"
Seeing that Buffon ignored their demands, several attackers suddenly changed strategy.
If they could capture Buffon the only living assistant inside Hogback's laboratory they might be able to force him to stop controlling the zombie puppets.
With that thought they charged directly toward him with swords drawn.
Buffon's eyes instantly turned cold.
Previously he had been someone who preferred strategy and careful planning.
But after gaining several attribute boosts from the Character Encyclopedia system, something inside him had changed.
Now he could fight as well.
With his Level Two vision enhancement Buffon could observe movements with astonishing clarity.
Every shift of muscle.
Every tightening of fingers around a sword hilt.
To him it felt like watching a series of storyboard frames slowly unfolding.
Nothing escaped his sharp blue eyes.
If this perception ability continued improving, it might one day resemble the early stages of Observation Haki.
The attacker swung his sword downward.
Buffon stepped aside almost instinctively.
At the same moment he drove his right fist forward into the man's abdomen.
He only intended to test his current physical strength.
So he used roughly ten percent of his power.
Even so the result surprised him.
The muscular man — roughly the same size as Buffon himself — was blasted backward through the air.
Buffon slowly lowered his hand and silently evaluated the outcome.
"If the power I just used were measured according to the levels in my Physical Records..."
"It would probably qualify as roughly Tier Eight."
After reaching that conclusion Buffon immediately lost interest in the fight.
He folded his arms and continued watching from the side.
As long as the attackers eventually retreated he could simply order the zombie puppets to stop pursuing them.
However when the opposing group saw Buffon fighting so aggressively completely different from the cautious observer he had been in previous encounters a strong sense of unease began spreading among them.
One of them shouted urgently.
"Quick!"
"Use the salt!"
"Temporarily awaken Kuis's shadow and make it attack Buffon!"
The boxer immediately understood the plan.
He waited for an opening.
Then he suddenly removed one of his gloves and threw it forward.
No.
It wasn't exactly throwing away the glove.
It was more like launching a hidden weapon.
The glove flew directly toward Zombie 833's face.
Because it appeared to be nothing more than a harmless boxing glove, the zombie didn't attempt to dodge.
However the moment the glove struck its face the truth was revealed.
Salt burst outward from inside the glove.
The grains scattered across the zombie's eyes and mouth.
Although the amount wasn't sufficient to fully expel the shadow, it was enough to temporarily disrupt Moria's control.
For a brief instant the shadow inside Zombie 833 regained its original consciousness.
And in that short moment the zombie turned toward Buffon.
The nearly three-meter-tall body charged forward like a raging bull.
Its metal gauntlets slammed together as it aimed a devastating strike directly at Buffon's head.
Caught off guard Buffon instinctively raised both fists to block the attack.
The moment their fists collided a sharp cracking sound echoed through the warehouse.
But the sound did not come from Buffon's bones.
Instead the metal gauntlets covering Zombie 833's fists shattered apart.
Seeing this unexpected result the attackers immediately lost the will to continue fighting.
Without hesitation they turned and fled.
Buffon looked down at his slightly stinging fists with annoyance.
Then he crouched slightly and gathered strength in his legs.
The next moment he launched a powerful punch directly into Zombie 833's jaw.
The giant body didn't fly away like the earlier attacker.
But even a nearly three-meter-tall zombie was lifted half a meter off the ground before crashing backward onto the floor.
The shadow inside lost control again.
Zombie 833 fell unconscious.
Buffon rubbed his fist slowly and spoke with mild regret.
"I really should have hit you harder."
"If I had damaged your body properly, I could have stitched you up again."
Then he grabbed the massive zombie by the collar and began dragging it back toward the laboratory.
"No external injuries is fine."
"But those disgusting stitches on your body still need to be cleaned up."
...