XX-level Hokage

"My name is Hogback, and this is Perona. We represent Captain Moria, the captain of Thriller Bark, to welcome you, Shichibukai, sorcerer."

"Your Excellency," Hogback began.

Perona looked at Mashiro with a mixture of wariness and curiosity, surprised by her youth yet wary of her status. "It's a pleasure to meet you both," Mashiro said with a light laugh, glancing at Hogback and Perona.

After dealing with the Sky Island matter, Mashiro used the Light-Heavy Rock Technique combined with Universal Pull to bring the entire Sky Island back to the skies above Ohara. She then explained the situation to Robin, asking her to relay it to the scholars.

This immediately caused a stir among almost all the scholars on the island. It can be said that none of the scholars who are still alive today have actually seen the Sky Island, let alone studied its plant ecology, climate, culture, etc.

So they quickly began to discuss and try to learn about Skypiea and Ohara.

However, a distance of 10000 meters is not something they can solve in a short time.

So, Mashiro decided to go and find another piece of the Poneglyph while they were discussing it. From a scholar who studied the sea, Mashiro learned some interesting information.

The Devil's Triangle in the East Blue is occupied by Gecko Moria, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, who may possess a Poneglyph.

After pondering for a moment, Mashiro decided to go and see for himself. On the one hand, he wanted to collect the Poneglyphs, and on the other hand, he wanted to see the strength of the other members of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, one of the strongest forces in the pirate world.

So Mashiro informed Moria in advance that she would be visiting him personally. [Name: Hogback]

Gender: Male Age: 44

Affiliation: Pirates; Haki: None; Devil Fruit Ability: None; Height: 223cm; Luck Value: 30; Agreement: 0

[Name: Perona]

Gender: Female Age: 22

Affiliation: Pirates

Tri-color Overpowering Aura: None

Devil Fruit Ability: Paramecia-type Ghost-Ghost Fruit

Height: 160cm; Luck Value: 70; Approval Rating: 01

[Paramecia-type Ghost-Ghost Fruit: Can create ghosts. When a ghost passes through an enemy's body, it will put the enemy in an extremely negative state for a short period of time, preventing them from recovering.]

"Attack, and the ghost cannot be attacked."

"They've come as expected," Mashiro muttered helplessly to herself.

She had previously wondered if some Devil Fruit abilities were unsolvable, like the divine arts of the Rinnegan with its tomoe. Now it seems that such abilities do exist.

Perona, is it? She remembered. Mashiro gave Perona a deep look.

Led by Hogback and Perona, Mashiro and Claire tiptoed into the interior of Thriller Bark.

On the way, Claire kept looking at Hogback with a questioning gaze. "What's wrong?" Mashiro asked softly.

“Um, Master, I think I’ve heard of him, the eccentric doctor Hogback,” Claire said softly. “Oh?”

"Hogback, known as a genius surgeon, miraculously saved many patients with his surgeries and thus earned the reputation and status that a doctor deserves."

"She was once an incredibly respected doctor," Claire said. "Once?" Mashiro had already guessed what would happen next.

"Later, people discovered that this doctor was not so noble at all. On the contrary, he was a terrible doctor who believed that money was more important than saving lives. I also heard that under Moria, he had done a lot of things that created zombies and humiliated the dead."

"I initially thought it was just a rumor, but it turns out it's true," Claire said with considerable emotion.

"To call me a bad doctor is truly excessive. My purpose in studying medicine has always been clear: to gain power and status." - Hogback

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!" he said with a laugh.

Hearing Hogback's words, Claire glanced at Mashiro. After Mashiro nodded slightly, Claire countered, "Since you studied medicine for money and status, why did you choose to be a ship's doctor under a Shichibukai? As far as I know, pirates shouldn't have a higher status than legendary doctors."

Claire's eyes are sharp enough to see whether someone is lying, so she can very clearly judge the truthfulness of Hogback's words.

Upon hearing this, Hogback seemed to realize something and fell silent, his smile fading. The four continued walking forward.

Suddenly, Mashiro stopped what she was doing and said softly, "Before I came here, I specifically looked up some information about the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Gecko Moria, in the Navy's archives."

From what I understand, he had three extremely important subordinates, known as the Three Eccentrics. One was Hogback, the zombie maker and ship's doctor.

Perona, the commander of the zombie animal and frightening household.

And Absalom, the zombie soldier and zombie general commander.

"So, Lord Absalom, it's truly impolite of you to have been secretly following me for so long," Mashiro said softly, pointing with her finger.

Blood gushed out instantly from the wall beside him.

Absalom raised his arms, revealing his true form. [Name: Absalom]

Gender: Male Age: 33

Affiliation: Pirates

Tri-color Overpowering Aura: None

Devil Fruit Ability: Paramecia-type Clear-Clear Fruit

Height: 195cm Luck Value: 30 Approval Rating: 0

[Paramecia-type Clear-Clear Fruit: Allows the user to become transparent, and also makes people and objects that come into contact with the user transparent.] "Paramecia-types are all such strange abilities," Mashiro muttered to herself.

The power of the Clear-Clear Fruit is truly extraordinary; Mashiro's perception was completely unable to detect any trace of Absalom's presence.

But Absalom was still a living person, and as long as he was alive, he couldn't escape Masashi's eyes. Looking at Absalom with his missing arm, Hogback's expression became extremely strange.

It's important to know that Absalom's body had undergone special modifications, possessing the jaw of a lion, the skin of an elephant, and the wild strength of a bear and a gorilla combined, weighing 300 kilograms. His hands were also equipped with rocket launchers, yet one of his hands was so easily severed?!

"What are you doing all of a sudden?!" Perona said angrily, and then tried to summon a ghost to attack Mashiro. But Mashiro was a step faster than her, and with a light touch, an invisible force instantly bound Perona to the spot.

Mashiro approached quietly and patted Perona on the shoulder. Perona instantly fainted and collapsed to the ground.

"Finally out?" Mashiro tossed Perona to Claire and turned to look down the corridor. "Hehehehe..."

Then a huge shadow appeared. [Name: Moonlight Moria]

Gender: Male Age: 47

Affiliation: Pirates

Three types of Haki: Observation Haki, Armament Haki. Devil Fruit Ability: Paramecia-type Shadow-Shadow Fruit.

Height: 692cm; Luck Value: 60; Approval Rating: 0

[Paramecia-type Shadow-Shadow Fruit: Allows the user to control their own shadow, which can be used as a substitute to defend against attacks or to replace the user.]

It launches an attack, and its strength is equal to that of the ability user.

The shadow itself can also split and change into various shapes to attack, such as splitting the shadow into a bat to bite the opponent or trapping the opponent in a shadow box. The shadow is like water and has no fixed shape; it can be destroyed and then reformed.

Users with this ability can also freely switch positions with their shadows to dodge attacks, and can also control other people's shadows.

The user can pull apart someone's shadow as if tearing duct tape, and at the same time cut off the target's shadow. The person whose shadow is stolen will be burned to ashes if exposed to sunlight. If the stolen shadow is placed inside a person's body, it can turn them into a zombie. The zombie itself has the same combat power and personality as the original shadow owner, but the Devil Fruit ability cannot be transferred to the zombie.

However, if the cut-off shadow is placed into a living person's body, the shadow's power can be transferred to the person into whom it was placed. However, this requires a mental strength far exceeding that of an ordinary person. An average person can only insert two or three shadows at most, while a person with strong mental strength can insert up to 100, and a true ability user can insert up to 1000.

Looking at the description of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, Mashiro felt dizzy; this was the first time she had ever seen such a complex Devil Fruit ability. "Sorcerer, you've come to my Thriller Bark and attacked my crew! Do you want war?!" Moria roared.

A series of black bats flew out from behind him. Moria's true form was then revealed.

With a scallion-like hairstyle, two horns on the sides of his forehead, and pointed ears and teeth, his head and neck have crisscrossing sutures resembling stitched wounds. He looks like a demon, wearing a bat-collar shirt and Gothic-style clothing, making him look incredibly sinister.

"So you're Moria? You must be quite strong." Mashiro said with a light laugh. An hour later.

The entire Thriller Bark was reduced to ruins, littered with broken zombies, and a colossal giant zombie lay sprawled on the ground, Moria covered in blood, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Impossible?! How could this be?! My zombie army actually..."

Moria also had a passionate period, recklessly drifting the seas until he encountered Kaido in Wano Country, where his pirate crew suffered a crushing defeat.

All of Moria's companions were killed in this battle, which dealt him a heavy blow. He believed that "because we live, we lose," so he abandoned the living and abandoned life itself.

Hidden in the dark mist for decades, they finally completed their zombie army.

He originally intended to use this army to avenge himself against Kaido, but unexpectedly, they were all wiped out by a newly appointed Shichibukai. This is impossible!!!

Moria roared, and countless shadows surged out from the fallen zombie's body, then continuously poured into Moria's body.

This is Moria's strongest move, and one he has never used before. "Shadow Gathering Ground!"

Moria's body grew enormous, and he roared as he slammed down with his palm. Mashiro took flight to dodge.

The palm landed on the ground, causing the ground to tremble, dust to fly up, and several cracks to appear.

Sensing the immense power contained within, Mashiro laughed and said, "That's more like it." He stretched out his finger and drew a cross in the air.

An invisible slash landed on Moria, but it didn't even break his skin.

"His defense has also increased significantly? I wonder how long he can maintain such a huge increase in power," Mashiro muttered to himself.

Chapter 57: Perona

Moria struggled and attacked Mashiro repeatedly, only to be easily dodged by her. "You damned bug!"

Moria roared, splitting his shadow into numerous bat-shaped shadows.

The bat-shaped shadows continued to attack Mashiro. "Scattered Bats!"

In response, sheets of white paper floated down from Mashiro's body, folding into origami cranes. These origami cranes then approached the shadow bat.

Moria was furious, but completely helpless against Mashiro. Mashiro looked at Moria with a hint of resentment.

It's truly tragic that after paying such a high price and hiding in the shadows for so long, all they've gained is this kind of power.

Shinpaku's Rinnegan with its tomoe appeared. He pointed a finger at Moria, and a beam of white light shot out, striking Moria's massive body. "Shinra Cube..."

In an instant, Moria's body twisted, followed by a shrill scream, as countless black shadows were squeezed out of his mouth.

Meanwhile, Moria's body continued to shrink. Eventually, all the shadows returned to their original form.

Moria also reverted to his normal form, coughing up blood as he collapsed to the ground.

After Moria collapsed, Mashiro used her Byakugan to scan the entire Thriller Bark. A moment later, she found the Poneglyph embedded in the ship's hull.

Using her personal storage space, Mashiro put away the Poneglyphs, then called Claire, who had been hiding deep inside the ship, and also brought along the unconscious Perona.

This trip to the Devil's Triangle has now come to an end. Ohara.

At this time, Ohara was already showing signs of prosperity.

Scholars and their families, along with some commoners who had come with caravans, were among the group. Stusi further fueled the rapid development of commerce on the island.

Kibsen and Umit ensured uninterrupted warehousing and transportation.