A cold shiver runs down your spine as soon as you step through the entrance of Thriller Bark. The air is heavy and oppressive, like a sea beast lurking in the shadows, watching you, ready to engulf you. The dark waves lap against the walls of the immense ship-island's gate, their echoes resonating like a funeral chant. A skiff equipped with a revolutionary propulsion engine designed on the island of Hydra cuts through the waters swiftly.
As you delve deeper into the bowels of Thriller Bark, the landscape transforms into a nightmarish tableau. It is not the island itself, with its twisted trees and spectral mists, that inspires terror, but the remnants of a recent battle. Zombie bodies, torn apart and dismembered, litter the ground, their putrefied flesh gleaming under the pallid moonlight. The acrid smell of decay mingles with the salty scent of seawater, which has cleansed these cursed creatures. These abominations, animated by the power of a Devil Fruit, crumble in the face of this elemental weakness, their silent screams frozen in their empty eye sockets.
Around the corner of the Cerberus passage, an imposing figure stands tall, towering over the chaos. Nonchalantly seated on the back of the monstrous three-headed dog, the man gazes at the horizon, his piercing gaze fixed on the distant gothic castle. Behind him, a sea of defeated zombies sprawls, a silent testimony to his destructive power. His image is both majestic and terrifying. Shadows dance on his face, gradually revealing his features: a carefree, almost mocking smile, and a disconcerting serenity. This man is none other than Toji Fushiguro, one of the three cursed commanders of the Infinite Pirates, known as the Pirate Killer. With a bounty of 1,260,000,000 Berries.
"So, this is the biggest ship in the world?" he quips lightly, his smile widening as he surveys Gecko Moria's castle. "Even uglier than I imagined."
His voice, tinged with arrogant indifference, cuts through the oppressive atmosphere. Every word vibrates with absolute assurance, that of a man who knows that no opponent can match him. His presence makes the inhabitants of Thriller Bark tremble. They feel, deep in their souls, the intrusion of a monster, an implacable force come to punish their audacity. The murmurs of the surviving zombies, lurking in the shadows, speak of a divine curse, a punishment for daring to appropriate what did not belong to them.
Inside the castle, Gecko Moria's lieutenants, gathered in the grand hall with walls draped in cobwebs, are plunged into a tumult of panic and rage. The candles flicker, casting deformed shadows on their tense faces. Moria, seated in the center, clenches his teeth so tightly that his jaws seem ready to break. His eyes are bloodshot.
"You see, what did I say?!" cries Absalom, his voice trembling despite his lion-like appearance. "We have a monster on our hands now! A real monster!"
Perona, floating in the air, her pink pigtails dancing around her, crosses her arms, her face marked by worry. "What do we do, Moria-sama? We can't ignore someone like him!"
Moria pounds his fist on the armrest of his throne, making the room tremble. "That damned Gojo!" he roars, his shrill voice echoing through the corridors. "Sending one of their three Curses alone... They underestimate us, these arrogant fools!"
Despite his fear, Absalom dares to intervene, his tone wavering between bravado and despair. "Don't joke around, Moria-sama! Each Curse is a monster in its own right. His bounty exceeds a billion! We're talking about Toji Fushiguro, the Pirate Killer!"
Moria straightens up, his gigantic shadow cast on the wall behind him. "Are you suggesting we flee, Absalom?" he growls, his eyes sending a cold gaze. "On our own territory, facing a single pirate?! Never!" he shouts.
Hogback, the mad surgeon, bursts into hysterical laughter, his glasses sparkling in the candlelight. "Kishishishi! Why run? His shadow would be perfect to create our ultimate zombie soldier! Imagine, an invincible warrior under our control!"
Before anyone can respond, a stumbling zombie bursts into the room, his body half disintegrated by seawater. He collapses to his knees, his hoarse voice conveying a message that chills the assembly. "Moria-sama... Toji, the Pirate Killer... He's waiting for you downstairs. He said... not to keep him waiting."
An oppressive silence descends on the room. Perona, nervously levitating, breaks the calm. "Do we accompany Moria-sama? Do we take all the zombies? We can't let him face this alone!"
Moria raises a hand, his expression shifting between anger and calculation. "Wait..." he murmurs, his eyes narrowed. "His seastone weapons are a problem. They could purify too many of our zombies. No, I'll go alone... Kishishishi!"
Despite his words, the Mysterious 4 - Moria, Absalom, Perona, and Hogback - descend together, followed by an army of 200 zombies. Their confidence, forged by years of domination over Thriller Bark, wavers in the face of their opponent's reputation. Absalom, in particular, feels a cold sweat trickling down his neck. Beneath his brave facade, he knows that a Commander of an Emperor like Gojo is no ordinary adversary. *May I survive to spy on Perona another day*, he thinks, his heart pounding wildly.
Thirty minutes later, Toji is still there, lying on Cerberus' back, his arms crossed behind his head, gazing at the dark sky where heavy clouds seem to herald an imminent storm. The low growl of the giant dog beneath him contrasts with his nonchalant attitude. Heavy and erratic footsteps catch his attention. He sits up slightly, a mocking smile on his lips, as the Mysterious 4 emerge from the shadows, followed by their army of zombies. The creatures, though numerous, seem hesitant, as if they sense the overwhelming aura of the man before them. The most powerful specimens, like Oars or Ryuma, are conspicuously absent, likely reserved for a later confrontation.
"I didn't expect such a welcoming committee," Toji quips, his smile widening as he straightens up on Cerberus. "Am I that popular?"
Moria, at the center of the formation, lets out his maniacal laughter. "Kishishishi! Toji, the Pirate Killer... What is the reason for this intrusion into Thriller Bark? Speak, before I decide to add you to my collection!"
Toji dismounts Cerberus, stretching his imposing stature. At nearly 9 feet tall, he towers over his opponents, his combat-ready body exuding a silent threat. "You should know, Gecko Moria," he replies, his tone calm but laden with implications. "Did you really think there would be no consequences to your little schemes?"
Moria squints, a twisted smile distorting his face. "This ship was full of perfect subjects for my zombies, kishishishi! Can't we reach an agreement? Tell me, what does your captain want?"
Toji looks up at the sky, as if pondering a joke that only he understands. "An agreement, huh..." he murmurs, his smile widening. "Very well. Kneel, all of you, and ask for forgiveness. I'll let it slide this time."
A shocked silence falls over the assembly. Moria, red with anger, nearly chokes. "What?! Who do you think you are, you filthy dog?!" he roars, his giant scissors clacking in the air. Kneeling would be an unbearable humiliation for a pirate of his status, an affront to everything he stands for.
Perona, fluttering at his side, points an accusing finger. "How dare you speak to Moria-sama like that, on his own territory no less! What a brute! You have no respect!"
Moria, swallowing his fury, regains his twisted smile. "I see..." he says, his voice trembling with contained rage. "Very well. Zombie soldiers, attack, kishishishi!"
Hogback, laughing like a madman, adds, "Fosfosfosfos! With your body, I will create my most beautiful corpse! An immortal masterpiece!"
The thick mist of Thriller Bark wraps like a shroud around the twisted trees, muffling the cries of the charging zombies. Their putrid flesh and clacking bones form a grotesque tide, a horde of fifteen hundred screaming creatures, ready to overwhelm their prey. In the center of this macabre storm stands Toji Fushiguro, motionless, a mocking smile on his lips. His eyes, cold as steel, sweep over the wave of undead with nonchalant contempt.
With a fluid motion, he reaches out to Wamu, the strange, sinuous creature coiled around his torso. The beast opens its gaping maw, revealing a long seastone dagger, its blade shimmering with a cold light under the pale moon. Toji grasps the weapon, twirling it with a provocative nonchalance.
"You fools," he mutters in a drawling, almost amused voice.