"The Undead"

"Meowna, Wolff, stop running around and follow me obediently, or I'll have Setsuna spank you when we get back!"

The rainforest seemed to awaken the wild nature in the two kids. As soon as they entered, they were filled with intense curiosity about their surroundings.

Not long ago, she saw Setsuna tying a rope around the children's waists when taking them out. At the time, she thought Setsuna was being overly cautious as a mom, but now she understood her feelings.

Either someone watches them closely, or you tie a rope around them; otherwise, these two will disappear in a flash.

Especially Meowna. Although she was a girl, she was even harder to find than Wolff when she ran. It seemed she had a natural talent for climbing trees.

Still feeling it wasn't safe enough, Shayna handed the two over to Chansey, forbidding Chansey to let go of them.

"You're all veterans, so I won't waste words. Lord Sacred Beast's order is to rest and relax, but be mindful. If anything unusual happens and someone messes up, don't blame me for being harsh!"

This time they brought 200 people on Genesis, it may not be much, but they were all elites. Moreover, within the Beasts Pirates, the bond of companionship was relatively minimal. Only the earliest members could barely be called companions; the rest were more like subordinates.

If you couldn't prove your ability, the higher-ups might not even remember your name. These people were Shayna's trusted troops, but there was still some distance to being considered companions, with only Amalee having a closer personal friendship with Shayna.

This situation wasn't unique. Unless it was a small pirate crew with only a few dozen people, the crew naturally don't know each other well.

But in these large pirate crews, numbering in the thousands, they were composed of small groups, and people with similar strength and status were more likely to develop friendships.

Even the captain couldn't remember all the subordinates' names.

Of course, among the many officers, Shayna was considered more friendly to her subordinates, as long as they didn't touch her bottom line.

"Don't worry, Boss, we understand."

"Yeah, after all these years, don't you know us by now?"

Their tone was very relaxed. As long as the people keeping a night watch didn't all die suddenly, they could handle 90% of situations, and only the remaining 10% would need Shayna to step in.

As for Arceus, unless it was an extremely special situation like the underworld, he didn't need to take action himself. If any random small fry could make Arceus act, it would be an insult to these pirates.

Soon, the sound of music came from the forest ahead, and a carnival park appeared before them. Leading the procession was a man riding an elephant, with an exotic tropical hairstyle, but the most striking thing was the strange flower on his shoulder.

The flower had a human-like smiling face, and the people beside him all had two leaves growing from their heads.

"Pirates of the Grand Line! I am the master of this island, Baron Omatsuri. I'll be your host, so enjoy the carnival to the fullest! But before that, you must face the Trials of Hell!"

"Boss, I don't sense any strong presence. The leader also doesn't have a powerful aura. How should we handle this?"

Amalee, standing by Shayna's side, asked. Although there were many people here, most of them were ordinary. If necessary, she was confident she could lead the team to deal with them within 10 minutes.

"Let the kids play for a while first. You handle the arrangements. But, I didn't expect to find this here..."

Shayna's attention was entirely on the flower on Baron Omatsuri's shoulder, making Amalee feel a bit puzzled.

Shayna maintained her transformed state, but the mask didn't hide her eyes. From Amalee's understanding of Shayna, it seemed she wanted that thing.

"Boss, should we...?"

"No need. I need to observe it a bit more to be sure. I haven't seen this thing in many years. You might as well enjoy the carnival. I'll keep an eye on things here."

...

At Shayna's signal, the pirates eagerly began participating in the games. It wasn't that they loved playing, but they wanted to show off.

Arceus had his preferences. A decade ago, his favored one was Yamato, something everyone in the Beasts Pirates knew. As Yamato grew older, the doting behavior naturally faded.

However, with the birth of Meowna and Wolff, Arceus' favoritism seemed to shift slightly towards them. Previously, Arceus would never take other children out while searching for plates, except for Yamato.

This trip to Omatsuri Island was clearly intended for the two children. Moreover, their parents were high-ranking officers within the crew, so making an impression on them could only benefit their development.

Goldfish scooping, ring tossing, and various bizarre gaming events appeared on Omatsuri Island. The results didn't matter much, but the two kids had a great time, even if they were mostly just along for the ride in the competitions.

The events continued, and some pirates started chatting with the baron's men. During these conversations, they noticed something odd.

"Hey, are you kidding? You've never heard of the Beasts Pirates?"

"Nope, haven't heard of them. Are they a famous pirate crew?"

"You... what the..."

At first, Amalee thought they didn't recognize the emblem of the Thousand Arms, as Kaido's flag was still predominant across the seas. But when they didn't react to the Beasts Pirates' flag either, Amalee realized something wasn't right.

However, this wasn't the main issue. The sea was vast, and there were plenty of ignorant pirates in the first half of the Grand Line. The next topic was what raised Amalee's suspicions.

"Actually, we're quite famous pirates too, the Red Arrows Pirates. Ever heard of us? We even ran into Gol D. Roger not too long ago."

She didn't know the Red Arrows Pirates, but she knew Roger's reputation.

"Roger? He's been dead for sixteen years."

"Impossible! We saw him not too long ago. He's an amazing man, the first to conquer the Grand Line, during that stormy night... that stormy night... the storm was particularly fierce that night..."

As he spoke, he suddenly stopped, his expression turning to one of terror. The leaves on his head began to wither, and sweat poured down from his forehead, his skin shriveled and turned purplish, eventually looking like a dried-up zombie.

"What is this...?"

"It seems I wasn't mistaken. These people are already dead."

"Boss? What is going on?" Looking at Shayna who had appeared behind her, Amalee asked in confusion.

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