Chapter 705

“It’s… magnificent…” The words escaped Gecko Moria in a breathless whisper, stripped of their usual arrogance. For once, the self-proclaimed ruler of shadows stood speechless.

Before him, hidden deep beneath the sleeping city above, stretched an underground chamber so vast it resembled the hollowed belly of a mountain. Towering steel pillars disappeared into darkness overhead, while countless floodlamps bathed the cavern in ghostly amber light. Massive chains thicker than warship anchors hung from the ceiling, swaying faintly with metallic groans. The air itself smelled of oil, molten iron, antiseptic chemicals, and death.

And at the very center of that abyssal workshop stood a monster reborn. Oars. No—not merely the corpse of Oars. A war god.

More than seventy meters tall, the ancient giant loomed over the chamber like a black mountain given form. The body that had once been shattered and mutilated during Moria’s catastrophic clash against Kaido had been reconstructed piece by piece into something far more terrifying than before.

The giant’s skeletal frame had been completely reinforced with rare alloys stolen from across the Grand Line. Plates of dark metal layered over the corpse like the armor of a mythical samurai deity. Each segment of armor interlocked flawlessly, etched with glowing crimson patterns that pulsed faintly like veins carrying blood through a living creature. Its shoulders alone were large enough to crush mountains.

A monstrous kabuto-style helmet crowned the giant’s head, adorned with enormous demonic horns curving toward the ceiling. Beneath the shadow of the helmet rested a fearsome oni mask forged directly into the facial plating, its jagged fangs curled into an eternal snarl. From the mask’s eye sockets glimmered an unnatural scarlet glow, as though something ancient and hateful stared from within the darkness.

At Oars’ waist rested an absurdly massive katana, chained against its armored hip. The blade itself was longer than a Marine battleship, its sheath wrapped in iron talismans and reinforced steel bands. Merely looking at it made the air feel heavier. Perhaps it was because of the shadow stitched into the corpse. The shadow of Kozuki Oden.

That single addition had changed everything. The giant no longer resembled a mindless corpse crudely stitched together through dark science. It now carried presence. Posture. Identity. Even standing dormant, Oars radiated the oppressive aura of a legendary samurai awaiting the order to draw his blade.

It was majestic. Terrifyingly majestic. The dim lights reflected against the black armor plating, giving the illusion that the giant was clad in a colossal relic forged from steel and death itself. Around the chamber, hundreds of exhausted workers and surgeons stood frozen in silent awe beneath their creation. Some stared upward with pride. Others with fear. A few genuinely looked as though they regretted helping bring such a thing into existence.

Moria’s lips slowly stretched wider. Then wider. Until his grin became monstrous.

“Kishishishishishi…!” His laughter exploded through the underground chamber like thunder. The warlord spread his arms toward the colossal undead giant as though presenting the world’s greatest masterpiece.

“This… THIS is true power!” His eyes gleamed with manic excitement. “Kaido… Whitebeard… Roger… none of them possessed something like this!” Moria could already envision it: entire fleets erased beneath a single swing, islands crushed under armored feet, nations trembling as the undead samurai giant marched across the seas.

This was no mere zombie anymore. This was a calamity. Slowly, Moria turned toward the man responsible for the miracle. Dr. Hogback stood near a control platform overlooking the chamber, his white coat stained with oil and blood. Deep bags rested beneath his eyes from years of sleepless obsession, yet pride radiated from every inch of him. The mad surgeon gazed upon Oars not like a weapon…but like an artist admiring his life’s greatest creation.

“It took more than two years,” Moria said, his voice carrying genuine admiration now. “Two whole years… and nearly every resource I possessed.” His gaze climbed back toward the armored giant. “And it was worth every second.”

Moria’s grin sharpened. “You truly outdid yourself, Hogback. Your genius is utterly wasted on this pathetic backwater island.” The warlord stepped closer, his enormous shadow stretching beneath the floodlights. “You should join me permanently.” His voice lowered with temptation. “My offer still stands, you know.”

“Join you…?” Dr. Hogback let out a dry, skeptical chuckle as he adjusted his cracked spectacles, the reflection of the underground floodlights glinting sharply across the lenses. Behind him, the monstrous silhouette of Oars towered over the chamber like a slumbering god of destruction, its armored frame casting an immense shadow over the laboratory floor.

“Don’t mistake me, Moria.” His tone remained calm—far too calm compared to the trembling researchers and assistants scattered around the workshop. While the others avoided even making eye contact with the towering warlord, Hogback spoke to him almost casually, as one professional addressing another.

“I have absolutely no intention of becoming a fugitive and sailing beneath a pirate flag.” The surgeon spread his arms slightly toward the massive underground facility surrounding them.

“I already have a comfortable life here. Fame. Wealth. Influence. An entire island that worships my genius.” A smug smile curled across his face. “Why would I abandon all that to spend my days hiding from Marines alongside lunatics?”

Nearby assistants visibly stiffened at his bluntness. No one else in the room would have dared speak to Gecko Moria in such a manner. But Hogback was different. He was not a hostage. Not a subordinate. And certainly not someone who feared pirates.

Every single stitch, enhancement, and surgical miracle within Moria’s undead army passed through his hands. The zombies roaming Moria’s territories, the reconstructed corpses of infamous warriors, and even the colossal rebirth of Oars itself—none of it would have existed without Hogback’s expertise. That fact gave the doctor confidence. More importantly…it gave him leverage.

“The only reason I accepted this commission,” Hogback continued, turning his gaze back toward the armored giant, “was because I wanted to prove something to myself.” His eyes gleamed with obsessive pride. “That I am the greatest surgeon this world has ever produced.” He walked toward the giant slowly, his polished shoes echoing against the steel platforms.

“To reconstruct a corpse that had practically been reduced to scrap metal… to stabilize ancient giant musculature… to successfully merge shadow compatibility with reinforced skeletal enhancement…” His grin widened with near-maniacal satisfaction. “Do you understand how impossible this project was supposed to be?” Even now, speaking of it caused excitement to ripple through his voice.

“Medicine, surgery, anatomy, augmentation, corpse preservation—this surpassed all known fields of science!” Hogback placed a hand against one of Oars’ massive armored toes, looking upward almost lovingly at the giant samurai. “And yet I succeeded.”

For a moment, only the low hum of machinery filled the chamber. Then Hogback glanced sideways toward Moria again. “And of course…” he added shamelessly, “the absurd amount of berries you paid certainly helped.”

Several exhausted researchers nearly collapsed hearing the casual remark. The amount Moria had poured into the project over the last two years was enough to bankrupt kingdoms. Entire black-market networks had been mobilized just to acquire the rare metals, corpses, chemicals, and forbidden materials required for Oars’ reconstruction.

Yet Hogback spoke of it as though discussing ordinary business. Moria stared at him silently for several seconds.

Then—”Kishishishishishi!” The warlord burst into roaring laughter once more, his massive body shaking as his shadow stretched wildly across the chamber floor. “That’s exactly why I like you, Hogback!” His grin widened unnaturally.

“Everyone else trembles when they stand before me, but you…” He pointed a thick finger toward the doctor. “You only care about your experiments and your money!”

“Fosfosfos… Of course I do,” Hogback laughed without shame. “Fear doesn’t pay for research.” The surrounding assistants exchanged nervous glances, wondering whether Moria would take offense.

Instead, the pirate merely smirked wider. The truth was simple. Neither man truly trusted the other. But both understood value. Moria needed Hogback’s genius to maintain and perfect his growing undead army. And Hogback needed Moria’s limitless wealth, resources, and access to forbidden materials to pursue experiments the lawful world would never allow. It was a partnership born not from loyalty… but mutual greed and ambition.

“Well, in that case, I suppose our partnership ends here.” Gecko Moria announced it almost casually, as though discussing the conclusion of a business contract rather than the completion of a project that had consumed two entire years and countless lives.

The warlord stood beneath the colossal shadow of Oars, his massive coat fluttering faintly in the cold underground draft. Behind him, the resurrected giant samurai loomed silently like an ancient calamity waiting to awaken.

“Soon,” Moria continued, his grin slowly widening, “I’ll be returning to the New World.” At those words, something dark flickered behind his eyes. Not excitement. Hatred. Old hatred. Unpaid debts. The memory of humiliation. The memory of losing everything to monsters stronger than himself. Especially one man. Kaido. The mere thought of that name caused the shadows around Moria’s boots to writhe unnaturally.

“Kishishishi…” A low, ugly laugh escaped him as he reached into his coat and casually tossed a small transponder snail toward Dr. Hogback. The doctor fumbled the catch awkwardly, nearly dropping it before snatching it from the floor with visible irritation.

“If you ever change your mind,” Moria said, “you can contact me anytime. I’d truly be delighted to have someone as talented as you by my side, Hogback.”

For a moment, Hogback said nothing. Then his gaze shifted away from Moria…toward the dozens upon dozens of exhausted figures scattered throughout the cavern. Researchers. Doctors. Engineers. Laborers. Men and women stolen from islands across the Grand Line and forced to work beneath this underground hell for nearly two years without sunlight or freedom.

And judging by the terrified expressions spreading across their faces…they had finally realized something horrifying. The project was complete. Which meant their usefulness had ended.

“I wonder…” Hogback muttered carefully, choosing his words with precision, “what exactly you intend to do with all your captives now that the project is finished? With the project completed they are practically useless.”

The chamber fell strangely quiet. Even the workers froze. Moria slowly turned his head toward the doctor, his grin never fading.

“Why?” he asked softly. “Are you worried about them?” The question itself felt wrong. Predatory.

Hogback immediately understood he had stepped close to a dangerous line. “And as for being useless…” Moria’s smile stretched wider. “I don’t think so.”

He turned toward the terrified captives. His gaze swept across them one by one. Like a butcher examining livestock. “Now that I’m returning to the Grand Line…” he continued, “I’ll need to replenish my corpse army.” Silence. Then—”They’ll help increase the numbers quite nicely… don’t you think?”

The meaning hit the chamber like a cannon blast. Panic erupted instantly.

“No—!”

“Wait—!”

“Please!”

“We did everything you asked!”

Several workers stumbled backward in terror. One elderly researcher collapsed to his knees sobbing. Another desperately tried to run toward one of the exits—but stopped abruptly. Because the shadows had begun moving. From every corner of the cavern…they emerged.

Hundreds of zombie soldiers stepped forward in perfect unison from the darkness lining the walls. Rusted armor groaned. Dead eyes glowed faintly beneath shattered helmets. Rotting fingers tightened around cleavers, sabers, axes, and hooks. The undead army surrounded the captives completely.

And then Moria smiled. That was the signal. The slaughter began. A scream tore through the chamber as the nearest zombie drove a rusted blade through a researcher’s stomach and ripped upward violently, spilling steaming entrails across the steel floor. Another undead soldier buried an axe into a fleeing laborer’s spine hard enough to split bone. Blood exploded everywhere. The cavern descended into absolute chaos.

“PLEASE—!” A doctor tried shielding himself with his arms only for three zombies to seize him simultaneously. One held him down while another hacked repeatedly into his shoulder and neck until his head separated halfway from his body.

A woman shrieked as skeletal fingers grabbed her ankle and dragged her screaming across the blood-slick floor before a massive cleaver came down. Again and again. The wet crunch of breaking bone echoed endlessly through the underground chamber. Some captives tried fighting back with tools and equipment. One man smashed a wrench into a zombie’s skull before another corpse soldier impaled him clean through the mouth with a spear.

Others simply begged. Cried. Prayed. It changed nothing. The zombies advanced without emotion, without hesitation, carrying out the massacre with mechanical brutality. Blood pooled across the floor in widening rivers. Bodies piled atop one another. The scent of iron became suffocating.

And through it all, Moria watched. Laughing. “KISHISHISHISHI…!” The warlord’s booming laughter drowned out the screams of the dying. Beside him, even Hogback looked visibly shaken now. His face had paled beneath the floodlights as he witnessed the carnage unfolding around him. For all his arrogance and obsession with medical science, even he had not expected such immediate and merciless extermination.

But he said nothing. Not a single word. Because deep down, Hogback understood the truth. The line separating him from the corpses being butchered around him was terrifyingly thin. One wrong sentence. One wrong protest. One wrong look. And he too would become another body added to Moria’s army.

So the doctor remained still. Silent. Watching. As the underground chamber transformed into a slaughterhouse beneath the shadow of a resurrected giant.

The slaughter around him only grew worse with each passing second. Screams echoed endlessly through the underground chamber as blood spread across the steel floor in dark rivers, pooling beneath twitching corpses and severed limbs. The stench of iron and death had become so thick that even the air itself felt suffocating.

Dr. Hogback finally exhaled slowly and adjusted his spectacles with trembling fingers. “…Well,” he muttered, forcing a brittle smile onto his face, “it seems that despite being a doctor… I do not possess the stomach for this level of slaughter.”

Nearby, a fleeing researcher was tackled to the ground by three zombie soldiers. His desperate screams were cut short beneath a barrage of rusted blades hacking into flesh and bone.

Hogback deliberately looked away.

He was many things—arrogant, selfish, morally bankrupt perhaps—but even he found this carnage excessive. His gaze shifted toward Gecko Moria, who still stood beneath the towering shadow of Oars laughing thunderously while death unfolded around him like theater.

At that moment, Hogback understood something clearly. This man was insane. Not the theatrical insanity pirates often flaunted to intimidate others.

No. There was something fundamentally hollow inside Moria. A cruelty that no longer distinguished between practicality and sadism. The captives had already served their purpose. Killing them now achieved little beyond feeding Moria’s grotesque amusement and adding disposable corpses to his undead ranks.

And that realization unsettled even Hogback. “So,” the doctor continued carefully, ensuring his tone remained light and professional, “I believe I’ll take my leave now.” He straightened his coat. “You can always contact me if you require my expertise again. As long as the payment remains generous…” a faint greedy smirk returned to his lips, “…I’ll be more than willing to assist.”

It was deliberate. Hogback knew men like Moria valued greed far more than morality. Presenting himself as a man motivated purely by profit made him predictable. Safe. Or at least safer. Without waiting for a response, Hogback turned toward the distant exit leading out of the cavern.

And immediately the zombies moved. Dozens of undead soldiers stepped aside in eerie synchronization, silently parting to create a narrow pathway through the massacre. Rotting heads followed Hogback as he walked between them, empty eyes lingering on him like starving predators denied a meal.

For the first few steps, Hogback maintained composure. Then another scream rang out nearby. A laborer stumbled into the path, covered in blood, one arm hanging half-severed as he desperately reached toward the doctor.

“P-Please…! D-Doctor… save—” A shadow flashed. A zombie’s cleaver split the man’s skull before he could finish speaking. Blood sprayed across Hogback’s white coat in a hot crimson splash. The doctor froze. For one horrifying second, the cavern fell silent in his ears except for the sound of his own heartbeat.

Then slowly…very slowly… Hogback resumed walking. He did not look back again. Each step quickened. The further he moved from Moria, the more oppressive the atmosphere became. It felt as though death itself was staring directly at his spine. Even without turning around, Hogback could practically feel Moria’s yellow eyes watching him from across the chamber.

Judging him. Measuring him. Deciding whether he remained useful. That thought alone sent cold sweat crawling down Hogback’s neck. By the time he reached the massive iron doors leading out of the underground facility, his calm facade had nearly cracked entirely. His breathing had become uneven beneath the screams still echoing behind him.

He wanted to leave. Immediately. To put this island, this chamber, and that monster far behind him. Perhaps forever. As the heavy doors groaned open, the sounds of slaughter finally began to dull behind the thick stone corridors. Yet even then…Hogback could still hear Moria’s laughter.

Just as the last echoes of screaming finally died beneath the cavern ceiling, an eerie silence swallowed the underground chamber whole. Blood pooled between shattered tiles and broken surgical equipment. Severed limbs lay scattered amidst overturned operating tables while the metallic stench of fresh death clung thickly to the air.

Hundreds of corpses—researchers, laborers, doctors—were already beginning to rise again beneath the influence of Moria’s shadows, their vacant eyes twitching unnaturally as the zombie soldiers dragged bodies into piles for processing.

And through all of it— Gecko Moria’s grin slowly faded. The grotesque amusement vanished from his face as though someone had wiped it clean.

“How many times have I told you…” Moria’s voice rumbled through the chamber, low and annoyed, “just because you ate that Devil Fruit doesn’t mean you can sneak up on everyone.”

His yellow eyes shifted lazily toward an empty stretch of darkness near one of the collapsed pillars.

“Anyone with decent Kenbunshoku Haki can clearly detect your presence.” For a moment, nothing happened.

Then—the air distorted. Like ripples spreading across invisible water, a figure slowly materialized from thin air. A young man in his early twenties stepped forward with his hands casually tucked into his pockets. He had messy blond hair, pale skin, and sharp predatory eyes that carried an almost playful madness within them. A permanent crooked grin rested on his face, giving him the appearance of someone who found humor in things ordinary people would consider horrifying. Which was fitting. After all, Absalom had just walked through a massacre without batting an eye.

“You and your Haki, Master Moria…” Absalom scoffed dramatically, rolling his shoulders. “You never give me a chance to actually startle you.” He kicked aside a severed arm carelessly as he approached. “What’s even the point of me having the Suke Suke no Mi if you can instantly tell where I am?”

Moria snorted. “Well, if you stopped using your Devil Fruit to peek at naked women every chance you get, maybe it wouldn’t be wasted on you.”

Absalom grinned shamelessly. “Oi, that’s unfair. It’s the dream of every man to use invisibility for that purpose. If I didn’t do it, I’d practically be betraying mankind itself.”

“Idiot.” Moria folded his massive arms across his chest. “I told you already—train your Haki properly. The stronger your Kenbunshoku becomes, the more your Devil Fruit will evolve alongside it. One day you might actually learn how to erase your presence completely.”

Absalom clicked his tongue. “Yeah, yeah… I know.” Truthfully, he had changed drastically during the past year under Moria’s command. When he first joined, Absalom had been little more than a violent thug gifted with a powerful Devil Fruit. But Moria had forced brutal discipline onto him. Endless combat drills. Observation Haki training. Assassination exercises. Stealth missions across entire islands.

The Invisible Man was slowly becoming something far deadlier than a mere pervert with a useful ability. Even now, among weaker fighters, Absalom could move entirely undetected. But against true monsters? Against men like Moria? He still had a long way to go.

Absalom’s eyes drifted toward the carnage around them, amusement flickering across his face. “Still…” he muttered, stepping over a corpse, “you really cleaned house here.”

“Waste should be recycled,” Moria replied indifferently. The zombie soldiers continued hauling away bodies behind him like tireless ants. “But enough of that.” Moria’s expression sharpened slightly. “That errand I sent you on…”

Absalom immediately understood what he meant. Even Dr. Hogback had never realized Moria possessed a subordinate capable of remaining invisible for extended periods. For nearly a year now, Absalom had secretly shadowed the genius surgeon whenever ordered.

Moria leaned slightly forward. “Did you find anything?”

“Is there a way to make Hogback join us willingly?” His massive fingers tapped slowly against his folded arm. “It’d be a damn waste leaving someone like him behind. Especially now.”

Moria’s eyes shifted toward the colossal armored corpse towering in the darkness behind them. Oars. No—something far beyond the original Oars now. A seventy-meter titan clad in monstrous samurai armor, reinforced with steel and carrying a colossal katana worthy of a god of war. Moria’s masterpiece.

“My army’s going to need constant maintenance,” he continued. “And I’m not dragging my ass back to this island every time one of my zombies loses a limb.”

Absalom leaned lazily against the cold stone wall, a crooked grin spreading across his face beneath the dim candlelight. “Well… it seems there might actually be a way, Captain. Have you ever heard the name Victoria Cindry?”

Across the chamber, Gecko Moria frowned in visible confusion. The name meant nothing to him, and the irritation in his shadowed eyes only deepened as he stared at his subordinate. Seeing the blank expression, Absalom chuckled darkly.

“Ahh… figures. You really should step outside your crypt once in a while, Captain. She’s a famous stage actress. Beautiful too…” His voice dropped into something sickeningly indulgent, his tongue slowly dragging across his lips as his thoughts wandered.

“Those curves… hah… I still can’t get them out of my head.” A depraved gleam flickered in his eyes as memories surfaced—the steam-filled bathhouse, the silhouette of her body behind the mist, the shameless thrill he felt while secretly peering at her unseen. Even now, the recollection made him shiver with disgusting delight.

“She’s even more stunning without clothes…” he muttered under his breath, almost lost in fantasy. Moria’s expression darkened immediately.

“Get to the point,” he growled, his patience finally snapping. Absalom straightened at once. The lustful haze vanished from his face, replaced by a calculating grin. He understood perfectly when not to test his captain further.

“Right… the point.” He stepped closer, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “It turns out our dear Doctor Hogback is completely obsessed with her. Madly in love. From everything I’ve gathered, he worships the ground she walks on. The fool’s apparently planning to propose soon.”

A cruel chuckle escaped him. “But here’s the amusing part… the actress already has a fiancé.” Moria’s eyes narrowed slightly now, interest beginning to form. Absalom noticed immediately and continued. “Hogback doesn’t know yet. He still believes he has a chance. Which means…” His grin widened into something vicious. “…we can use that.”

The room seemed colder as Absalom continued weaving the idea together. “You see, Captain, people become desperate when their dreams are ripped away from them. Especially pathetic men in love. And desperation makes them easy to control.”

He spread his arms theatrically. “So imagine this… the great Victoria Cindry suddenly dies in some tragic ‘accident.’ A carriage overturns. A balcony collapses. Poisoned wine at a banquet. Anything believable.”

His tone was disturbingly casual, as though discussing the weather rather than murder. “Hogback would be destroyed. Crushed. He’d refuse to accept it. And when grief finally drives him mad…” Absalom’s grin sharpened. “…that’s when you step in.”

Moria slowly leaned forward in anticipation. “You offer him the impossible.” Absalom’s voice became almost reverent. “The chance to bring her back.” Silence swallowed the chamber for a moment before he continued.

“Hogback is already one of the greatest surgeons in the world. But grief? Grief would break whatever morals he still clings to. If he believes your powers can return the woman he loves, he’ll willingly throw away his humanity for you.”

A dark laugh echoed from his throat. “He wouldn’t serve us out of fear… he’d serve us out of hope.” Absalom tilted his head, eyes gleaming with cruel satisfaction. “And the best part, Captain? He’d never even realize he was manipulated until it was far too late.”

For the first time since the conversation began, Moria’s confusion disappeared entirely. Now, he smiled. A slow, monstrous smile.