Shichibukai Bartholomew Kuma Appears

In the Treasure Room of Mast Mansion, Perona's fleeing servants lie battered on the floor. One coughs, "Cough...!! For us risky brothers, that was the worst mistake of our lives!!" Another groans, "What a terrible woman... We shouldn't have said anything... totally...!!" They admit the flaw in their plan: "But Perona really loves treasure." "Yeah... we can't deny her..." "But we told her how to find the ship, too..." Nami charges through the room and out toward the escape route, furious that the treasure and the Sunny are being taken. She shouts, "How dare they!! Taking our treasure, too...!! Trying to take the Sunny and get out of here, are they!!? I'll never let them do that!!"

Nami runs onto the bridge leading out of the mansion and immediately notices something strange. She asks, "But what's with this bridge...?" The passage is unusually narrow and clean, almost preserved despite the destruction around it. She wonders, "Why is it so narrow here!?" and adds, "It's also strangely well-kept." Then Oars rises in the distance with a furious roar, and the entire island seems to shake. Nami turns toward the noise with "!?" as the giant zombie, still trapped in the aftermath of the Straw Hats' counterattack, bellows, "Prepare yourselves. I'm going to flatten you all!!!" The story splits between her chase after the stolen treasure and the crew still facing Oars in the ruins.

Oars opens his mouth wide and threatens, "Even your bones will be gone!!!" The Straw Hats scramble across the broken ground as he charges, shouting "Uooooooo!!!" Chopper panics, "Oh my God!! He's ridiculously angry!!" and someone yells, "Here he comes!!" But then Oars's own huge horns betray him. He smashes forward, only to jam them into the narrow, solid bridge structure. The giant grunts, "My horns," then realizes the problem with a dull "..." while the crew stares. Oars mutters, "Are stuck!!" and finally shouts in frustration, "Crap. My horns are totally stuck...!!!" The bridge Nami noticed becomes the accidental trap that halts the monster's charge.

The Straw Hats stare at Oars in silence, then their expressions shift. Usopp sparkles with sudden relief, Chopper, Franky, and Brook look stunned, Robin observes coldly, Sanji grins, and Zoro lowers his eyes with the beginning of a plan. Someone says, "Aah, you're stuck...?" Oars struggles and groans, "Ah," but the crew has already understood the chance. The island shakes with his roar, "Aaaaaaaag gghhhh!!!" and the people watching from nearby shout, "It sounds like Oz is screaming." Another voice insists, "There's no way that's happening!!!" Yet it is happening: the strongest zombie on Thriller Bark has trapped himself, and the crew sees the opening clearly.

Oars thrashes in fury, screaming, "Give it a rest!!!" The Straw Hats pull back from the immediate blast zone while Zoro orders, "Retreat!!!" Oars's trapped body shakes the courtyard as the crew watches from safer ground. Franky pants, "Haa... haa... They're like demons...!!" while the others notice the new situation. Chopper spots the damage and exclaims, "Wow!! Look, a bunch of meat!!!" Another voice calls, "Over there!!" and Chopper adds, "Wow, it looks so good!!!" Oars, who moments ago seemed unstoppable, now becomes a furious pinned beast while the crew regroups and the absurdity of the situation briefly punctures the danger.

Oars tries to force himself free with brute strength. He slams his knees down and calls "Knee Crush"!!! The impact cracks the ground and drives him deeper into the masonry with twin "Dosu!!" blows. Zoro, judging the absurd situation, asks, "Is it a down if his knees touch the ground?" Brook answers dryly, "Even if there were rules, I don't think he would follow them..." Franky ends the debate with, "All right, it's over! 'Knee Kakkun.'" Oars collapses further with a humiliated groan. The attack is less a finishing blow than a prankish exploitation of anatomy: the crew hits a stuck giant exactly where he can least afford it.

Oars complains from the ground, "There's no meat... My knees hurt..." while the crew debates what the real objective should be. Chopper cheers, "We're not gonna lose!! Uhahaha!" and Usopp calls toward Luffy's absent body, "Come on, get those shadows, Strawhat! We just gotta wait until Strawhat kicks Moria's ass!!" Zoro interrupts, "Why do we have to wait? We just need to beat this guy." Sanji reminds him, "Hey, hey!! Weren't we just slowing this monster down so he wouldn't get in Strawhat's way!?" Chopper adds, "Are you seriously trying to win!?" Zoro answers by drawing Shusui and thinking aloud: "Even if a dinosaur stepped on it, it wouldn't bend a millimeter. I've heard that the 'hardness' of a black sword is unparalleled... Now that I finally got this 'superior blade' Shusui, this is the perfect chance to test it out."

The escape ship is stopped by Nami's shout: "Stop right there!!!" The servants aboard panic at the sight of her. One asks, "Who are you!?" and another recognizes her: "It's that pirate woman!" Nami stands before the ship in her wedding dress and demands, "What are you planning on doing with that treasure that's supposed to be mine!!? And the Sunny, too!!!" Her arrival turns the theft into a confrontation. She is not merely chasing money; the stolen cargo includes the Thousand Sunny, the crew's home, and the treasure she considers rightfully hers after surviving the horrors of Thriller Bark.

Perona steps out to face Nami, beginning with a mocking "Ho" and her eerie laugh, "Horo horo horo." She asks, "Who do you think you are, pirate woman...?" and dismisses Absalom immediately: "Is the ceremony with Absalom already over? Who would get married to that pervert?" Nami asks, "So? What are you going to do...?" and declares, "I'm going to take your ship and leave this island." Perona smiles at Nami's escape and says, "So you got away... What a foolish man." Then she summons her ghosts and warns, "If you want to stop me, then I'll play with you. For someone like you, my 'mini hollow squad' should be enough to tear you up!!! My only natural enemy is that long-nosed negative guy...!!" Nami realizes with dread, "Huh... who's that?"

Before Perona can enjoy the fight, a massive figure appears behind her. Her servants scream, "Lady Perona, please run away!!!" Nami stares upward, startled, while Perona turns and demands, "Who the hell are you...!?" The zombies shout warnings: "We don't know who he is, but he's an enemy!!" "He just destroyed some of our brothers right in front of us! There's not even a trace of them left!!!" "He's not just anybody!!! He's dangerous!!!" Nami senses the danger too, asking only, "...?" as the shadow looms over the deck. One zombie trembles, "Of course he's not ordinary...!!" The page builds Bartholomew Kuma's threat through absence: the missing zombies prove his power before he explains anything.

The enormous stranger is identified: "He's one of the Shichibukai!!! The 'Tyrant,' Bartholomew Kuma!!!" Kuma stands with a Bible in his hands, towering over Perona, Nami, and the terrified zombies. Someone says, "Once... he was the cruelest pirate on the seas...!!!" The panic spreads at once: "Whaaa--!?" "No way!" "A 'Shichi-bukai'!?" "How can that be!?" and "A man on the same level as Lord Moria...!?" Nami covers her mouth, thinking, "This can't be...!!" while others scream, "Wh... why did he come to Thriller Bark!?" Kuma's arrival changes the scale of the chapter. The fight over treasure and escape suddenly becomes a confrontation with another Warlord of the Sea.

Perona tries to distance herself from Moria immediately. Kuma asks, "Are you one of Moria's men?" and she answers, "Lord Moria... No, Gecko Moria and I have no relationship!! I was just... about to flee this island..." Kuma does not attack her. Instead, he asks with unsettling calm, "If you were to go on vacation, where would you like to go?" The zombies panic at the strange politeness: "Whaaa~!? Small talk!?" Perona, still confident in her own style, answers anyway: "Well, a vacation... Somewhere dark... damp... near an old castle, swimming in malice. I'd like to pass the time singing cursed songs." A servant says, "She answered!!! That's Lady Perona, without a doubt." The question feels absurd, but Kuma's stillness makes it ominous.

Perona decides to attack before Kuma can unsettle her further. She snaps, "Don't screw around with me...!! I was intimidated by your title, but that's not enough to scare me! Not with my powers! There's no one I can't bring to their knees...!!!" Kuma stands silently, apparently not even listening, while she yells, "Are you even listening!?" Perona boasts, "Your shadow must be extraordinarily strong, Kuma!!! I'll take you down and give you to Moria as a parting gift!" She releases her strongest combination: "Negative Ghost"!! and "Special Hollow"!!! The hollow ghosts stream out around her, and her zombies cheer, "There it is!! Lady Perona's strongest combo!!!" The panel frames her confidence at its peak, just before Kuma's power reveals how little that confidence means.

Kuma responds before Perona's attack can matter. He says, "If you keep on yapping, then I won't be able to ask you where Moria is..." and moves with a soft "Patsu." In the next instant, Perona is gone. Nami looks around, startled: "Where did she...?" The zombies stare at the empty space, then erupt in panic: "Lady Perona!?" "Hey, what happened!!?" "Lady Perona disappeared!!!" and "Where did Lady Perona go!?" Kuma stands where he was, while the escaped ship and the bridge shake around him. The terrifying part is that there is no visible impact, no struggle, and no explanation on the page. One moment Perona is attacking; the next, Kuma has erased her from the scene.

Perona's servants briefly try to be brave. They shout, "You bastard...!! What did you do with our princess!?" and "We won't forgive you!!" "That's right!! We'll never forgive you!!" Then fear wins. The same crowd breaks and runs, screaming, "But we're also terrified!!! Run away!!!" Kuma's silent presence empties the area as thoroughly as his power removed Perona. Nami is left frozen, sweating, while Kuma turns his attention to her. He identifies her calmly: "You're the 'Cat Thief'... one of the 'Strawhat's' nakama...!!" Nami can only stare back, caught between the stolen treasure, the missing Perona, and the Warlord who now knows exactly who she is.

Kuma asks Nami a question that cuts straight to Luffy: "Is it true that Monkey D. Luffy has a brother?" Nami is stunned by how suddenly he appears above her and thinks, "What...? He got here in an instant... Did he warp...?" She answers carefully, "Y... yes, he does. Ace, right? What about it?" Kuma says, "I see... it was true..." Nami realizes his target may be Luffy and demands, "What!? Are you here for Luffy!? Why are you here!? Are you really a Shichibukai!?" Kuma gives only the coldest answer: "What I do is up to me." Nami understands the danger at once: "He's bad news!! Is he after Luffy!? I have to let the others know!!"

Far away from Kuma and Nami, Luffy finally reaches the end of his chase. He bursts toward the figure ahead of him and shouts, "I got you, Moria!!!" But when he grabs the target, the trick is exposed. Moria, or a shadowy decoy, laughs while the real chase continues elsewhere. Luffy stares down and realizes, "A shadow?" The beaten figure mocks him: "You... you're not getting away, you bastard!! Now, let's go!!! Give back everyone's shadows!!!" Then the scene snaps to Luffy's frustration: "Aw, crap!!! He tricked me!!!" The narration warns, "Dawn, the shadow recovery time limit, approaches." Luffy has been led away and now asks, "Where am I!?" just as the urgency of sunrise grows worse.

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