Chapter 143: Talent for Observation Haki
Inside the gloomy ancient castle, Reiner's group of four walked down a long corridor.
Stone brick walls flanked them, with torches mounted every few meters, their dim yellow light barely illuminating the way.
Many paintings hung on the walls, all abstract-style close-ups of various figures.
Reiner walked in front, with Nami and Usopp following closely on either side, one step behind.
The depths of the narrow corridor seemed to be swallowed by darkness, with no end in sight.
"Everywhere on this island is so gloomy," Chopper, sitting on his shoulder, couldn't help but feel his skin crawl.
From the moment they landed on this island, through the dark forest hiding all sorts of bizarre and grotesque creatures, the cemetery wasteland full of ugly zombies, and now this ghostly ancient castle, every place was filled with a terrifying atmosphere.
"If only I were as bold as Luffy," Chopper sighed with a sense of dejection.
Usopp patted his back and explained comfortingly:
"Chopper, Reiner, Zoro, and Sanji are what you call brave. Luffy is different; he simply doesn't have that kind of emotion in his brain. Normal people can't compare to him."
"That's true."
Chopper lowered his head and sighed, then tilted his head in confusion.
"By the way, Reiner, you said at the beginning that you came here to find someone. Who is he?"
"It's that doctor who helps Moria modify zombies, Hogback."
Reiner glanced at him, then turned back and continued walking forward, "I want some of the zombies here to turn into undead. He knows more about the zombies' physical condition. I'll see if I can run into him along the way."
"Hmph! I'm going to find him too!"
A trace of anger appeared in Chopper's eyes as he shouted with dissatisfaction,
"As a doctor! To actually desecrate the dead with his knowledge and skills! This is an insult to medicine! To think I used to admire him so much. I'll definitely teach him a good lesson when I see him!"
"You have quite the professional spirit, Chopper," Nami said with a slight smile.
Chopper instantly became shy, covering his face with his hands and turning his head from side to side. "Even if you say that to me, I shouldn't be happy, you jerk."
"Speaking of which, has it been a bit too quiet since we entered this castle?"
Nami asked doubtfully, looking back at the pitch-blackness behind them. Her expression became a little worried. "We haven't encountered a single zombie again, but I somehow feel like we're surrounded by zombies."
"Really! I have that feeling too! I thought it was just a hallucination because I was too scared!" Usopp hurriedly chimed in.
Reiner couldn't help but glance at the two of them. Their feeling was correct; they were indeed surrounded by zombies.
They had been walking for a while since entering, and all the paintings on the walls along the way were ambushing zombies. They just didn't dare to attack him.
However, the cowardly trio was in a state of tension and panic, clearly not observing closely. How did those two sense it, while Chopper didn't notice at all?
Reiner thought of a possibility. Could it be that they both had good potential in Observation Haki?
He knew Usopp definitely had it. Nami, it seemed, had never trained it, but given Nami's personality and fighting style, it made sense for her to have a talent for Observation Haki.
Of course, he couldn't rule out the possibility that this was a power called 'a woman's sixth sense'.
He'd mention it to her later. Reiner reined in his thoughts, and the four of them continued walking for a while.
The white light of an exit could already be seen at the end of the long corridor; they were about to reach the end.
Suddenly.
Boom!!
Just as Nami and the others felt a slight relaxation, the left wall suddenly burst open.
Amidst flying rubble, a bucket-thick arm shot out, its surface deathly gray and withered, grabbing towards her!
"What is that!"
Crackle!
Just as Reiner extended an arm to block it, Nami had already subconsciously elementalized. A flash of lightning appeared beside the thick arm, and she drew her Clima-Tact, lightning condensing like liquid upon it.
She held the superheated staff with both hands, swinging it upwards like a blade of thunder!
The giant arm tried to pull back but found itself clamped by an immense force, unable to retract no matter how hard it struggled.
The searing thunder blade met some resistance as it cut down; the opponent's physical strength was far superior to the ordinary zombies outside.
Nami gritted her teeth and increased the power of her lightning, finally cutting it through. The person behind the wall staggered back and fell to the ground.
Only a severed arm, smooth as a mirror and still carrying burning embers, remained. Reiner flicked his hand and tossed it away.
Usopp and Chopper reacted, looking over sharply. Through the hole in the wall, they saw a humanoid beast with bull horns, its eyes glowing crimson, staring at them.
At the same time, standing beside it was a slender figure wearing a black cowboy hat and a black cloak, with four arms – an obviously bizarre sight.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bang! The man in the trench coat drew pistols from his waist with all four hands and pulled the triggers without any aiming. Four bullets arrived in an instant!
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Reiner's white bone chain-sword uncoiled from his waist, the hard-as-steel bone shield sparking as it timely protected Reiner and the two behind him.
Nami, however, let the bullets pass through her elementalized body. She swung her Clima-Tact, and a violent bolt of lightning, like a long whip, lashed out towards the opponent, kicking up rubble from the ground.
Unexpectedly, the man in the trench coat was extremely agile. He leaped lightly, dodging the lightning, and even fired a few more shots in return!
Boom!!
Just as they blocked the bullets, another wall behind them was violently smashed open. A tall zombie, like a general, wearing golden armor and with an extremely long beard, appeared behind them.
The tall general held a double-edged sword and a shield, holding the shield defensively in front of him while raising the greatsword above his head, about to strike.
"Watch this!"
Bang!
Chopper, who had transformed into his sturdy human form at some unknown point, bent his right arm and punched the opponent's shield, causing him to slide back half a meter.
"Sure-kill Fire Star!"
Whoosh!
Usopp timely shot a pellet with his slingshot, which landed on the opponent's face and instantly exploded into a ball of fire.
However, the opponent was a zombie that felt no pain. The attacks from their quick reactions clearly didn't affect its movements much.
Under the flaming head, the long beard swayed, and the greatsword paused before crashing down!
Bang!!
The two dodged to the sides in time. The giant blade cut into the ground as if it were tofu, sinking halfway in.
Reiner stepped on it, preventing the opponent from pulling it out. He rolled up the sleeves of his blue shirt, clenched his fist, and the muscle lines on his arm immediately became visible.
Bang!!
A powerful punch slammed into the opponent's shield. The invisible air seemed to ripple, and a strong shockwave spread outwards!
Boom!!
The armored general's massive body shot backwards like an arrow loosed from a bow, propelled by the immense force. It broke through several walls, passed through several rooms, and slammed heavily onto the ground.
The aftermath of the air pressure made everyone's clothes flutter. Reiner's wildly dancing golden hair slowly settled.
His gaze swept over the dozen or so undead surrounding them, finally landing on the white light at the end of the corridor.
"Go fight outside. I'll cover you."
"Got it, Reiner!" Chopper nodded and quickly replied, picking up Usopp and running outside.
Nami glanced at him, then waved her hand, releasing several bolts of lightning to force back the charging Zombie Generals. Her elementalized body flew out rapid..
"Don't let them escape!"
A loud shout came from an unseen location. The next moment, the Zombie Generals, wielding swords and guns, charged towards the running Chopper.
Bang!
Reiner bent his legs slightly and pushed off violently. His figure shot out almost instantly, skimming close to the ground, leaving behind a spiderweb of cracks.
A knight zombie in full silver armor leaped into the air, holding a cruciform sword in a reverse grip, descending from the sky. The cold blade glinted, about to stab Chopper in the back.
Swish!
A blue figure suddenly flashed in front of him. Before his surprised eyes, a fist instantly magnified!
Bang!!
A punch as heavy as a mountain slammed viciously into the knight zombie's face. Accompanied by a powerful gust of wind, it directly smashed him into the ground, creating a deep pit.
The steel, closed helmet was already twisted into scrap metal. Reiner, having landed, grabbed the opponent's armor collar with one hand and lifted him up.
He took a step, twisted his body, and forcefully threw the lump of iron.
A humanoid zebra wearing boxing gloves was about to approach Chopper when a dark mass, like a heavy cannonball, flew through the air. The armored knight and the zebra were sent flying together.
"This guy, his strength is simply inhuman..." Absalom, invisible, stood in the distance, watching the battle before him with a grave expression.
That man named Reiner didn't even use any techniques in combat; he suppressed several Zombie Generals relying solely on his terrifying brute strength.
"Hey, Hildon!"
Absalom turned his head and barked at the bat-man in the distance:
"Quickly go to Lord Moria! Ask him to send the zombies with Roronoa's and Black Leg Sanji's shadows over to support us!"
"As you command, Lord Absalom!"
Hildon shouted, jumped out of a window, spread his giant black bat wings, and flew towards a building at the back of the castle.
Nami was the first to fly out of the corridor into a courtyard. After landing, she quickly scanned her surroundings.
This place was very spacious. Unlike the gloomy environments they had passed through, it was a flat, verdant lawn. A few bluestone paths were laid on it, and tall, slender trees stood sparsely by the roadside.
Under the night sky, this courtyard even seemed somewhat tranquil and serene...
...if not for the group of surrounding zombies.
"There are way too many!"
Nami couldn't help frowning. A rough count showed dozens, even hundreds, of zombies around. "But most of them don't look strong. They probably aren't all Zombie Generals."
From Hildon, the bat-man who had brought them in the carriage, they had heard about several categories of zombies. Clearly, the ones who had attacked them just now were the so-called Zombie Generals.
"Even if they're not Zombie Generals!"
A kangaroo wearing boxing gloves stomped the ground and leaped high, its eyes glinting fiercely as it rapidly threw a punch at Nami from above!
"Don't underestimate us!"
Crackle!
"Eh?"
The zombie kangaroo looked at its fist passing through the opponent's body with a puzzled expression. Amidst the crackling electricity, its arm gradually turned black.
The next moment, a dazzling blue light flashed. The kangaroo, charred black and smoking, its skin split open, lost control of its body and crashed headfirst to the ground.
Seeing this scene, the surrounding zombies all looked at Nami with panicked expressions.
"What's with this woman!"
"Attacks don't seem to work on her!"
"She's so cute~~"
Bang!
"Idiot! That's the enemy... but she really is cute~~"
Some rogue ninjas with hearts in their eyes appeared among the zombie horde.
At this moment, Chopper also ran out from inside. The surroundings and the large number of zombies startled him for a moment, then he looked towards the figure flashing with electricity not far away.
"Are you okay, Nami!"
"I'm fine, Chopper!"
"There are too many zombies here!" Usopp, being carried on Chopper's shoulder, exclaimed, lying prone and firing several pellets.
"Fire Star Triple Shot!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Whoosh! The pellets accurately hit the heads of several animal zombies, instantly erupting into raging flames.
"Ah, I'm on fire!"
"Help, help!"
"Hey, don't come near me, you bastard!" The area in the encirclement ignited by Usopp instantly fell into chaos.
Nami, Chopper, and Usopp stood back-to-back, forming a triangle formation. They looked at the enemies, led by several Zombie Generals, closing in on them, their expressions grave.
"I've thought of a way."
Chopper took out a Rumble Ball and put it to his mouth, speculating, "I can try attacking their joints. That should make them lose their ability to fight."
"Then I'll cover you, Chopper."
Usopp reached into his pouch, his gaze resolute. "Fire seems to be more effective against them than lightning."
"Leave those Zombie Generals to me. Their bodies are much stronger than ordinary zombies. My abilities aren't powerful enough to kill them instantly, but at least I can keep you from being distracted," Nami said, releasing lightning to envelop her Clima-Tact.
In a few words, the three of them had already decided the fate of these zombies.
In the corridor, Reiner watched the three of them and couldn't help but smile. The cowardly trio was gradually starting to look like real fighters.
Then let's increase the intensity a bit. He'd let Usopp and Chopper fight a few Zombie Generals.
As for Nami, her strength far exceeded these zombies. With her elementalization, she was already invincible. This could only serve as practice, a way to familiarize herself with her abilities and moves.
He would take care of the rest.
(End of chapter)
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