Chapter 117

"This is my fault. I didn't let you participate in combat directly, so it's only natural that you'd be afraid."

"Now is the time for you to overcome your fear and break through your limits."

Hearing Lord Lord Sima Di take the responsibility upon himself, Facing Facing Nami pursed her lips.

Was it really Lord Lord Sima Di's fault?

Facing Facing Nami suddenly smiled.

"It's just a fight, what's there to be afraid of?"

Facing Facing Nami didn't use the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit; she clenched her fists and charged straight into the zombie horde.

Even if it was only basic Armament Haki, it was still something these cannon fodder couldn't withstand; one punch sent one flying, no questions asked.

It was a total steamroll from the start!

She quickly carved a path through and reunited with Chopper and Usopp, who were still holding their heads.

Seeing the two of them acting like ostriches while she was on a rampage, Facing Facing Nami couldn't help but feel a surge of "frustration at their lack of ambition."

She stepped forward and kicked one over,

and scolded them in anger: "Look at you! Are you hurt? Get up and fight with me!"

Facing Facing Nami's authority on the ship was beyond doubt.

Usopp and Chopper subconsciously shuddered and stood up, and after seeing that they were both unscathed, they realized those zombies were nothing but paper tigers.

"What the, you scared me!"

"How dare you scare me! Fight back!"

With the protection of the Mk-5, wasn't beating people up simple?

"Energy Cannon!"

"Steel Whip Leg!"

"Fist of Justice!"

The three of them tore the zombie horde to pieces; there wasn't a single one that could withstand a single blow!

This boosted their confidence, and they continued to strike ruthlessly!

Lord Lord Sima Di, watching from the side, nodded in satisfaction.

The goal of building their courage had been achieved,

so he might as well let these zombies serve their final purpose.

[Salt Mountain!]

A mountain piled high with sea salt was manifested. Lord Lord Sima Di waved his hand, signaling everyone to take action. They chopped off the limbs of these weak zombies, dragged them before Brook, and fed them sea salt one by one, using the soul fire to burn and absorb them.

The process was a bit troublesome, but how could Brook refuse if it meant getting stronger?

But soon...

Brook discovered that by attaching his soul fire to his dual-bladed sword, he could directly damage the zombies' "shadows," purifying them into soul light points for him to absorb.

This significantly increased their efficiency.

The zombies were being slaughtered on a massive scale,

and as their master, Gecko Moria...

This was his hard-earned foundation accumulated over many years!

Could he just let them ruin it like this?

Just as he was about to inquire about the situation, Absalom arrived first.

As a user of the Clear-Clear Fruit,

he usually acted as the vanguard, entering pirate ships that had fallen into traps to scout for information, and then formulating targeted plans to defeat them one by one.

But today, he didn't dare to go at all!

"It's bad, Moria-sama! The Straw Hat Pirates triggered the trap and even killed Hilton!"

"What are you panicking about?" Gecko Moria...

As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, even the weakest one had the capital to be proud.

"The captain of the Straw Hat Pirates has a bounty of 300 million Berries..."

That was considered famous in the first half of the Grand Line, but it wasn't enough to make him, Gecko Moria...

"If it's 300 million Berries, the shadow could be given to Oars..."

"Moria-sama!" Absalom interrupted: "Although the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates is only worth 300 million Berries, they have the Pirate King's ship doctor, 'Devil Ship Doctor Crocus.' That's a person with a bounty of 824 million Berries!"

This was also the reason why Absalom didn't dare to scout for information today.

Crocus must have mastered Observation Haki, and the Clear-Clear Fruit only made one invisible to light; under Observation Haki, there was nowhere to hide.

How could he dare to go?

Moria-sama couldn't help but frown upon hearing this!

The Pirate King's ship doctor!

Could he be a simple character?

However...

If it was only 824 million Berries, it wasn't enough to make him stay away.

Even...

If he could use his shadow to awaken Oars...

Perhaps there would be a chance to wash away his past shame!

"Well done! Heh-heh-heh—" Gecko Moria...

"Ah? This..."

"Why aren't you going yet!"

"Yes..."

Lord Lord Sima Di wasn't in a hurry to go to the central castle; he stayed on the outskirts hunting zombies, training the courage of Usopp and the others while also enhancing Brook's strength.

It must be said,

the strength of the zombies left on the outskirts to fend for themselves was truly so pathetic that even a dog would despise it.

Later on, Zoro and the others were too lazy to even move, letting Usopp and the others practice on their own.

They were so weak that they had no motivation left.

Sensing this situation,

Lord Lord Sima Di thought about giving Gecko Moria...

Since the zombie grunts had been mostly wiped out, it was time to challenge the mini-bosses.

"Let's go, it's time to find the main target."

"Oh? Is it finally ending?" Zoro let out a sigh of relief.

He was bored to death.

"Ah? We're leaving already?" Usopp pleaded: "There are still so many zombies, let's keep helping Brook level up."

"Yeah, yeah!" Chopper nodded frantically.

Lord Lord Sima Di saw through it—helping Brook was a lie, bullying the weak was the real goal, right?

He turned and walked straight toward the center of the castle.

"Harvesting small fries isn't a good habit; you should appropriately increase the difficulty of the challenge," Robin reminded them.

What could Usopp and the others do?

They could only follow the main group.

Soon,

everyone arrived in front of the central castle. The open gate was just like the entrance, like stepping into the gates of hell.

"Hey, hey, that looks like a trap. How about we find another entrance?" Usopp lost his nerve again.

"What does it matter? Isn't this interesting?" Luffy took the lead: "It's too boring outside, I hope we can meet some interesting people inside!"

The corners of Zoro and the others' eyes twitched!

Let's not...