Oz's Adventure

Perona launches another wave of ghosts at Usopp, shouting, "Negative Hollows!!!" as the pale figures shoot through the room. She laughs, "Horo horo horo!!" and insists that last time must have been a mistake: "This time you will lose all will to live!!!" The ghosts strike Usopp four or five at the same time, but he remains standing. Perona watches in disbelief, because no one has ever been able "to resist these ghosts." The attack that destroyed Zoro, Sanji, and Franky has no visible effect on Usopp, turning his usual weakness into the one defense Perona did not prepare for.

The room erupts in confusion. The zombies cry, "The negative ghosts...!! They lost in negativity!!!" and wonder whether Usopp is "a saint or something!?" Perona herself sinks into despair from the shock, apologizing to Kumashi: "Kumashii... I'm so sorry for everything." Even her own followers notice the collapse: "It's even affecting Perona-sama!!" Usopp explains the source of his immunity with terrible pride: when it comes to thinking negatively, "No one can do it better than me!!!" He points at Perona and declares, "He's proud of being negative!!!" In this fight, the man who normally survives by fear has become the one person her power cannot reach.

Outside Perona's room, Sanji, Zoro, and Franky race through Perona's Wonder Garden, still thinking about what just happened. Sanji admits, "I never thought Usopp's negativity would come in handy..." Franky says that if it were not for him, they would all have been easily captured, and Zoro calls the power scary. They decide they now only need to worry about the weird animal zombies after them, then set their goal: after crossing the garden, they should be back in the mansion. Sanji breaks away with burning urgency, saying, "I'm gonna head for Nami-san from here!!" and launching himself with "I am the ghost fire of love!!" as he cries, "Nami-saaaan!!! I'm not letting you get married!!!"

Sanji flies off so quickly that Franky comments, "Well, they say tension can make you numb to pain..." while Zoro points toward the mansion and says the skeleton is in the lab at the top floor. Inside that laboratory, Brook and Ryuma continue their duel. The room is wrecked, machinery and tables split apart, and Brook is already gasping "Haa" as Ryuma presses him. Ryuma's blade flashes through the air, and Brook barely holds himself upright while laughing "Yohohoho." The rescue group is on its way, but for Brook the battle has already become a last stand against the corpse that carries his own shadow and his own swordsmanship.

Ryuma tells Brook, "You're like a phoenix... or a zombie... You shouldn't be able to stand back up anymore." Brook, breathing hard, faces the corpse that stole his shadow. Ryuma asks, "Where would you like me to cut with my Yahazu Giri?" and says he would like Brook to stop completely now, because Brook will never be able to get his shadow back again. Brook answers with fury when Ryuma uses his name, snapping, "You don't know anything... So don't use that name..." Then he explains the name's meaning: he used to be in the Rumbar Pirates, and his favorite move was renamed by his shipmates as "Hanauta Sanchou Yahazu Giri." The technique is not just a sword move; it is a piece of the crew and life Ryuma has no right to imitate.

Brook states the difference between himself and his stolen shadow. Ryuma may have Brook's personality and skill, but Brook tells him, "You don't have any of my memories or my humanity. You have no right to use that name...!!!" Ryuma laughs, "Yohohoho. If you claim to be its creator... then you must be able to best my 'fake' one!!" He draws his blade and calls it Brook's last chance. Brook steadies himself, even though he can barely stand and his body trembles with exhaustion. The duel has moved past winning a fight; Brook is defending the memory of his crew, his technique, and the part of himself that the stolen shadow cannot reproduce.

Both swordsmen prepare the same technique. Brook mutters "Hanauta Sanchou..." and Ryuma answers by launching the stolen version, "Yahazu Giri!!!" The slash crosses the room in a burst of speed and impact, and Brook is struck back through the wreckage. The panels show the two bodies moving with the same rhythm, but the result is clear: Ryuma's corpse, strengthened by the zombie body and armed with Brook's shadow, overwhelms the original. Brook's own move is being used against him, and the room fills with the bitter sound of a remembered technique twisted into a weapon for Thriller Bark.

Brook is thrown across the room, and the name "Laboon..." escapes him as the memory of his promise rises through the pain. He says, "I need to apologize...!!!" and then, with absurdly Brook-like priorities, adds, "I need to apologize for being so unlucky...!!! First, this afro." His thoughts fall back to the fifty years he spent trapped in the dark sea. He remembers that it was so long and so dark that there seemed to be no reason for his being. His skull twists with anguish as he cries, "It's lonely...!!! My life... has been so lonely...!!!" Yet even in that loneliness, the promise to Laboon is what keeps forcing him back to his feet.

A violent shaking tears through the laboratory. Brook and Ryuma are thrown off balance, and someone shouts, "Nu!!" while the whole mansion rumbles. Elsewhere, the others panic: "Heey! What's with this shaking!?" and "What is that!? The mansion is shaking..." The structure groans so hard that it feels like an earthquake, and Sanji, still racing through the building, asks, "Is this where the lab is!?" Then he spots Brook at last: "There!!! Hey, skeleton!!!" The duel has not ended by victory, but by the entire island-ship convulsing under a much larger force: Oars is moving Thriller Bark itself.

Sanji reaches the laboratory and snaps at Brook, "Yohoho!! You mustn't touch that logger without my consent!!" while seeing that Brook is alive but badly beaten. Brook looks up and asks why Sanji is there, and Sanji tells him to wait just a second before clashing blades with Ryuma. The impact rings through the room. Sanji's arrival interrupts the duel at the instant Brook was nearly finished, bringing the rescue he needed but did not expect. Ryuma is surprised by the new opponent, while Sanji, already burning with the urgency to save Nami, refuses to let the fight with Brook's shadow delay him for long.

Zoro arrives as well and studies Ryuma with interest. "So you... are the legendary samurai who cut a dragon. I didn't even know that someone like that existed..." He attacks with a sharp "Shun!!" and says, "I've been looking forward to this!!!" The clash begins immediately, sword against sword, and Zoro is excited rather than afraid. Brook, stunned, wonders who Zoro is, and Franky explains that Zoro can get Brook's shadow back for him. He calls Ryuma pretty formidable and jokes that a pirate who uses three swords has been easily provoked. Brook, desperate, whispers, "My shadow...!!? Really...!? Then... please." The duel shifts from Brook's last chance to Zoro's challenge.

Brook begs for his shadow back, but Zoro snaps, "Shut the hell up!!!" When Brook cries "Whaaat!?" Zoro is already more interested in Ryuma's weapon. He notices the blade and says, "That sword of yours... It looks nice." Ryuma answers with pride: "Yohohoho!! You have a good eye... This is... one of the 21 great swords... It is called 'Shusui.' It's not something you see everyday." Zoro immediately recognizes the opportunity: "So it's one of the great swords!! I'm in luck, then. I was expecting something good from a samurai." With a sharp smile, he says, "Okay! I'd love to wield it!!" What began as a rescue becomes a duel for both Brook's shadow and a legendary sword.

At Thriller Bark's church, the forced ceremony is interrupted by shaking so violent that the guests and bride are thrown off balance. The priest and zombies cry "Waaa!!" as the whole building sways. Absalom, inches from kissing Nami, is knocked away and yells, "Hey!!! Wait!!! Why are we shaking!? I can't even do my kissing bit!!!" The congregation panics: "Thriller Bark is caught in a strange current!!! The whole island is shaking!!!" Nami, still dressed as the bride, stands amid the chaos while Absalom shouts, "What, did you find out anything!?" The wedding is delayed not by a clean rescue, but by the monstrous motion of the island-ship itself.

Outside, the cause becomes clear: Oars has grabbed the steering mechanism of Thriller Bark. The zombies stare upward in panic and shout, "How did that happen!?" and "The, er... the special zombie is randomly steering the ship...!!!" Oars is delighted: "Ooh, it moved, it moved." The command structure collapses into emergency orders. Someone screams, "Stop Oz!!!" while another orders, "General zombies!! All of you, go!!" The general zombies rush forward, but their own side already understands the problem. Oars is not acting like a weapon under control; he is playing pirate captain with the entire island as his ship.

The general zombies surround Oars and try to stop him, shouting, "Get him by the legs!!!" But Oars vanishes from their grasp with terrifying speed. The zombies cry, "He's gone!! Where did he go!?" and someone notes, "With that size... and he's quick." Then Oars appears above them, announcing in Luffy's rhythm, "Gomu Gomu no..." and unleashes "Gatling Gun!!!" Massive fists rain down like a storm, smashing the general zombies into the ground as they scream "GYAAAAAAA!!!" The attack is unmistakably Luffy's, but magnified through a giant body. Thriller Bark's strongest zombie troops are crushed by the stolen shadow they thought would serve them.

The dust clears around Oars, and the general-level zombies lie flattened beneath him. Oars raises his fists and bellows, "Don't interrupt... my adventure!!!" The surviving zombies are horrified: "Annihilated!?" and "All those that just went out!?" Another confirms, "They were all crushed!!" These were not weaklings but general-level zombies, the strongest level of fighting zombies, and they were destroyed in the blink of an eye. Even among Thriller Bark's monsters, Oars now stands outside the expected hierarchy. The island's masters have created a special zombie so powerful that their own army cannot restrain him.

The zombies panic because their own special zombie is rampaging. One cries, "I thought Oz was on our side!! Why is he rampaging!?" Another asks whether that is really him, and someone explains the horrible truth: zombies can only follow instructions, so if Oars is left to go free, no one knows what will happen to Thriller Bark. The answer arrives from the church, where Sanji bursts through the wall screaming, "Nnnnaaaaami-swaaaaaaan!!! I've come for youuuu!!!" Absalom and Nami both snap toward the entrance. Sanji sees her and shouts, "There you are!!!" while Absalom realizes, "The Strawhats...!?" The rescue has finally reached the wedding at the exact moment Thriller Bark falls into chaos.

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