Ghost Princess

Chapter 78: Ghost Princess

"Dadadadada..."

"Dadadadada..."

The sound of footsteps echoed in the dim corridor. Even with torches, the faint flames couldn't fully illuminate the entire passage.

Entering the castle, the temperature dropped further. Combined with the gloomy environment and the peculiar and grotesque paintings hanging on the walls, it sent shivers down one's spine. The paintings depicted strange figures with stitched-up seams, giving off a sense of absurdity.

Rodney examined the paintings, while Robin asked, "What's wrong? Captain, do you notice anything strange about these paintings?"

Sister Slug said, "It's odd. They are similar to the ones outside, but also different, like living within the paintings." Since she arrived in this world, she felt that her previously established worldview was on the verge of collapse. After all, this was a world without logic and full of wonders.

"Yes, they're all zombies." After some thought, Rodney punched the wall, creating a hole in it.

"Ah, it's dangerous!"

The figures in the paintings miraculously evaded the punch, screaming in terror.

"Oh, these are zombies too?" Robin was slightly surprised.

"Yes," Rodney retracted his fist and said, "Just for spooking people. Their combat power is like this." He gestured with his pinky finger, "Same as the zombies we've encountered so far."

Moria's zombie army was divided into Wild Zombies, Surprise Zombies, Zombie Soldiers, General Zombies, and Special-Ranked Zombie.

Wild Zombies were monsters created and stitched together by Hogback. Surprise Zombies were the things in this castle, and there were also some zombies with combat abilities from outside mixed in. Among them were some Zombie Soldiers.

The main combat power came from the General Zombies, who were once powerful individuals. Moria stole their corpses and filled them with the shadows of others, resurrecting them as tireless monsters who followed Moria's commands.

"Hey, we also have dignity, you know?" One of the zombies couldn't help protesting.

"Shut up! Or I'll feed you a bag of salt."

With a flick of his hand, salt grains were thrown, and the zombies were frightened into silence.

"If these are zombies, then what about those paintings on the walls?" Robin looked around, and there were indeed numerous paintings. If her inference was correct, those paintings were also likely zombies.

"Yes, they are," Sister Slug confirmed and added, "Not just the paintings, even those animal decorations also seem to be zombies."

As she said this, the eyes of the figures in the paintings seemed to flicker, and some of the animal decorations reacted in the same way.

"Many decorations in this castle are zombies. Don't bother looking at them; just be careful."

"Captain, don't you think this place is too long to navigate?"

"Yes, it does." Without anyone guiding them, finding their way here was indeed troublesome.

"Then let's go straight."

Once again, Rodney punched the wall, making the hole big enough for a person to pass through. In the process, he caught a glimpse of a white figure passing by at high speed.

"...So, the Shadow Clone hasn't succeeded yet?"

...

At the same time, a zombie swaggered into the castle, muttering to himself, "Transformation Technique is really convenient. Anyway, where is Perona's room?"

This zombie was actually a Shadow Clone. His mission was to use the Seastone Cuffs he had on him to control Ghost Princess Perona. 

Her ability was quite troublesome, and if he could use Armament Haki, that would be a different story. However, he still couldn't use it properly, feeling like he was stuck and unable to make progress.

He was lacking just one layer between him and Armament Haki, and breaking through that layer was all he needed. The problem was, he didn't know how to do it...

Quite embarrassing...

"Whatever, let's just complete the task assigned by my main body first. Am I just a tool for him to use?" 

Shaking his head, he spotted something that looked like a sausage with a mask coming towards him.

"That seems to be..." It looked like Perona's pet. Her aesthetics and values were different from ordinary people.

This sausage-like creature had a mix of blue, white, and brown colors with bandages and stitches, clearly a typical zombie combination. Wearing a mask and a ball-shaped hat, most people wouldn't find it cute, but Perona did, as long as it didn't speak.

Rubbing his chin, he decided, "Let's follow this guy."

Hiding in the darkness, he followed behind the so-called "Teddy Bear" and easily went unnoticed.

Sneak!

Sneak!

Sneak!

Important matters must be said three times.

Feeling something behind him, Teddy Bear had no neck, so to turn around, his entire body had to move.

Thus, the Shadow Clone followed its movements closely, always staying behind it. (Reference to Tom and Jerry)

Doesn't seem like there's anything there?

Rubbing the back of his head, he continued forward, going up the stairs, passing by those spooky paintings. Since they looked like zombies, those guys didn't find anything unusual and thought he was just another zombie following Teddy Bear. Nothing to be curious about.

They reached the door, pushed it open, and entered the room. Candles burned inside the pink-themed room, and a pink-haired girl with twin ponytails and a crown lay on the large bed.

It was the true form of Ghost Princess Perona.

After consuming the Hollow-Hollow Fruit, Perona could separate her soul from her body and create small ghosts.

Since her soul was gone, she fell into a deep slumber, becoming an empty shell!

During this time, her true form was extremely vulnerable, making it the perfect opportunity for a break-in. Otherwise, with the bugged level of her Hollow-Hollow Fruit, Rodney, who lacked Armament Haki and had low luck, had only one path left – getting killed.

After all, not everyone was as lucky as God Usopp!

The peaceful sleeping face of the girl on the bed didn't faze the Shadow Clone. He rubbed his hands together, smirking with ill intent. He considered adopting another anime character's style and dyeing his hair blonde, but that might turn him into something else...

Unfortunately, Rodney was a serious person, and forcing himself to act like someone else wouldn't make him happy.

"Krrshhht!"

He took out the Seastone Cuffs he obtained from Smoker and appeared before the bed. After two clicks, the girl's arms were bound, and bunches of translucent ghosts uncontrollably flew back from various parts of Thriller Bark and returned into Perona's body.

Seastone could suppress the abilities of Devil Fruit users. Once the Seastone Cuffs locked onto them, their powers would be sealed. When Perona's soul was released, her abilities were rendered useless, and the ghosts she released voluntarily returned to her body.

After all, she wasn't a dead person; there was still a connection between her soul and her body. The body needed the soul; otherwise, it would gradually decay like a corpse. However, as long as the major organs didn't shrink, it would continue living until the trachea, blood vessels, heart, and other organs rotted away, and life finally extinguished.

Without feeling any pain, her body had no consciousness. It was even worse than being in a vegetative state, as without a soul, her body had no chance of recovery.

On the other hand, Brook had consumed the Revive Revive Fruit, which required the user to die for it to take effect. The fruit allowed the user's soul to return from the afterlife, and once it reconnected with the body, they could be resurrected. However, due to the fog of the Florian Triangle, Brook's soul lost its way and when it finally found his body, he had already become a skeleton.

As Perona's soul returned to her body, she opened her large, astonished eyes and said, "What's going on? Why can't I use my abilities? What's the deal with the handcuffs on my hands? Wait, who are you? Why are you here in front of my bed? Kumashi, what are you doing standing there? Catch him!"

Kumashi, known as "Teddy Bear," belatedly realized the situation. Roaring in anger, it swung its paw, but the Shadow Clone easily caught it and said, "This power is a bit weak. The strength of a bear is so disappointing."

Aren't these zombie toys made using a bear's body? How can they be this weak? Or is it that my strength is too great?

Saying this, he threw Kumashi out of the room through the window.

"Ku... ma... shi...!!"