"I didn't get to propose to that handsome guy…"
As she fled, Lola's face, painted with bright red lipstick, showed a look of deep regret.
"What if he had said yes? Just thinking about it is unbearable!"
Judging by her demeanor, it seemed she wouldn't be able to move on from this for at least ten days or so.
Her crewmates, running frantically alongside her, glanced at her in silent exasperation.
Was this really the time to be thinking about such things?
Besides, she had already failed over 4,000 marriage proposals. Would adding one more to the count really make a difference?
Of course, they wouldn't dare say that out loud.
And so, the group charged into the forest in a chaotic retreat.
On a narrow path leading to the church, several figures emerged from the mist, calmly watching the backs of the fleeing pirates.
It was none other than Lafitte, Law, and the others.
The bulk of Moria's zombie army had been stationed near the church.
Earlier, when they split up, Law had headed in that very direction, which meant he ended up doing the heavy lifting—helping Maude eliminate the main zombie forces.
With enough salt and the right intel, the task wasn't too difficult.
Afterward, Lafitte, having knocked out Perona, regrouped with Jim and met up with Law.
Upon their reunion, Lafitte instructed Law to use his ability to extract Perona's heart.
This effectively neutralized any potential threat posed by her Hollow-Hollow Fruit powers.
When Perona regained consciousness, she was oblivious to the fact that her heart had been removed. She secretly rejoiced, thinking that her captors had been careless in restraining her. Confident in her chance to strike back, she discreetly prepared her Negative Ghosts for a counterattack.
Then—
Lafitte gave her heart a squeeze.
Instantly, Perona was subdued.
The excruciating, soul-wrenching pain was something she never wanted to experience again.
"Moria-sama! Please come save me!"
Perona turned her gaze toward the distant castle, desperately crying out in her heart.
Even though she was physically unrestrained, she dared not make a move. Her only hope now rested on Moria.
At this moment, she was still unaware that Moria had already been defeated by Maude.
Jim, observing the fleeing pirates, spoke in his usual monotone, "Why are there still zombies? Should we pursue them?"
Lola and her crew had spent so long in Thriller Bark's eerie forest that their tattered clothing and ghastly appearances did indeed resemble zombies.
Since Jim lacked Observation Haki, he mistakenly assumed they were remnants of Moria's undead forces.
"They're not zombies. They're human."
Lafitte withdrew his gaze and turned toward Perona.
Under his sharp scrutiny, Perona involuntarily shivered and quickly averted her eyes, too afraid to meet his gaze.
Lafitte, his expression neutral, asked, "Do you know those people?"
Perona hesitantly nodded.
"What's their story?" he pressed.
"J-just a group of pirates who had their shadows stolen…"
"Hoho…"
A glimmer of intrigue flashed in Lafitte's eyes.
He had been contemplating how to publicize Moria's defeat at Maude's hands. Now, it seemed, they already had a batch of ready-made witnesses.
The group walked along the path, arriving at the wide-open entrance of the castle.
"You're here."
Maude immediately turned his gaze to Lafitte and the others as they entered, pausing briefly on Perona before shifting away.
"Hoho…"
Lafitte stepped into the grand hall, first glancing at Moria, unconscious on the red carpet, before shifting his attention to Brook, whose bones were grotesquely fractured. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
From Brook, he could sense a life force.
That meant this skeleton was a living being.
"Moria-sama!!!"
Perona let out a sharp cry, staring in disbelief at the fallen warlord, whose arms had been severed.
"Y-you bastards… How dare you do this to Moria-sama…?!"
Fury burned in Perona's eyes.
But the moment Maude's gaze swept over her, she fell silent.
What a terrifying man.
Perona lowered her head, trembling like a frightened animal.
The memory of that single glance sent a renewed wave of fear through her body.
Maude studied Perona, his mind swiftly recalling her information—
User of the Hollow-Hollow Fruit.
"You're pretty loyal. Even in this situation, you still have the guts to shout."
"I-I was wrong! Please don't kill me!"
Perona immediately deflated, tears welling up in her eyes.
Her last hope had been shattered, and now, to make matters worse, she had accidentally provoked these terrifying people.
Especially this man—what was with him? Just looking at him made her feel cold all over.
Perona's mood had hit rock bottom.
Ignoring her, Maude rose from the ground and grabbed Moria's massive body with one hand.
"Law, Lafitte, come with me."
With that, Maude ascended the stairs to the second floor.
Right now, the top priority was extracting the Shadow-Shadow Fruit from Moria's body.
Lafitte and Law exchanged glances before following.
They both knew exactly what was about to happen.
With Maude gone, those left in the hall—Jim, Brook, and Perona—stared at each other in awkward silence.
After a long moment, Brook finally broke the tension.
He awkwardly shifted his broken frame closer to Perona and earnestly asked, "May I see your underwear?"
"You pervert! Go to hell!"
Perhaps it was because Maude and Lafitte were no longer present, or maybe it was the frustration she had been bottling up—
The moment Brook's face neared her, Perona unleashed a flurry of punches on his skull.
By the time she stopped, Brook's head was covered in comically large lumps.
Having vented her anger, she felt much better.
Nearby, Philo glanced at Brook, shook her head, muttered something under her breath, and returned to sorting through various plants she had gathered.
Half an hour later.
Inside a room on the castle's second floor, the Warlord of the Sea, Gecko Moria, took his final breath, unwilling to accept his fate.
Maude had been the one to deliver the finishing blow, reaping substantial experience from Moria's defeat.
This latest gain pushed his Haki to the point where it solidified a fifth star, though his physical enhancements were less significant.
After all, he had already reached the six-star level. Progress would only slow down from here.
If he ever reached the third stage—nine stars—he would essentially be at the peak of this world's power. Beyond that… Maude couldn't even begin to imagine what the tenth star would entail.
Shaking off such distant thoughts, he turned his attention to Law, who was extracting the Devil Fruit.
Under Maude's watchful gaze, a pitch-black fruit with intricate patterns slowly took form in Law's hands.
Moments later—
The transformation was complete.
Law casually tossed the invaluable Shadow-Shadow Fruit to Maude.
Catching it, Maude's eyes burned with anticipation.
Lafitte, sensing something, raised an eyebrow. "You're going to eat it?"
"Yeah."
Maude grinned and nodded.
Lafitte hesitated, then sighed. "I actually think the Hollow-Hollow Fruit would have been better."
But before he could argue further, Maude decisively took a bite of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
So straightforward…
Lafitte could only offer a wry smile.
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