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Chapter 61: Waking Up in... Thriller Bark
I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling.
"Mmph…?"
A cracked ceiling, cracked walls, a dim interior… and patched-up stuffed animals scattered everywhere.
Let me be perfectly clear. This was incredibly creepy.
"Scary! Where the hell am I!?"
It looked like a room straight out of a haunted house. Despite everything being battered and broken, the bed alone was lavishly decorated… and it seemed that was where I'd been laid to rest.
What is going on…? I don't know this place at all.
I couldn't make heads or tails of it. To figure out why I was here, I decided to retrace my memories. Let's see…
I heard that Perona's captain, Gecko Moria, had been taken to the Holy Land Mary Geoise and turned into a slave.
The four of us—myself, Esune, Densuke, and Perona—stormed Mary Geoise.
Due to how things played out, we decided to free not just Moria, but all the captive slaves.
However, right in the middle of our operation, Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru appeared, followed by the new Admirals, Ryokugyu and Fujitora. Cipher Pol and God's Knights also showed up. More and more enemies kept coming.
Using my trump card—a reckless, max-mass burst of Conqueror's Haki in my "Supreme King Haki: Clad Mode"—alongside the power-up from Moria's Shadow-Shadow Fruit, I somehow managed to hold them off…
Eventually, I ran out of gas…
And that's it! A quick recap of our latest battle.
"…"
I let out a heavy sigh. Even after looking back, my current situation made absolutely no sense. How did the battle at Mary Geoise end? I feel like Kuma-emon showed up toward the end… but my memory is foggy.
"Hmm."
I was full of questions. More than anything, I just wanted to know if everyone was safe…
Just as I was thinking that—
"Brotheeeer!! You're awake!! Oh, thank goodness~~♡♡♡"
The answer came flying right at me.
"Bwuh!?"
"Brotherrr!♡♡"
Bursting out from a pile of stuffed animals, Esune charged at me with everything she had. There wasn't a hard thud of impact, but rather a soft squish. My entire body was crushed by her breasts. Five seconds after waking up, I was already buried in cleavage. Talk about a brutal morning wake-up prank.
"E-Esune…!? Mmph!? W-Wait… B-b-boobs!?"
"Brother! Brother! Brotherrr~~♡♡♡"
Without a moment to protest, I was hugged into submission. My tiny Tontatta body was thoroughly kneaded and smothered in softness.
Wait, wait, wait! I'm thrilled she's safe, but dealing with this right after waking up is a problem!! I had just woken up. That meant I was currently in full-blown morning wood mode! This was incredibly bad.
"L-Let go, Esune…! Mmph! Mmph!?"
If this kept up, I was going to misfire…!? Just as I leaned out of the valley to thrash around—
"Jee~!! Master~!!"
"Mmph-buh!?"
Densuke has joined the battle!! Just like Esune, she barreled into me, squishing me even more!
"Brother! Brother! Brother! Brother!"
"Master! Master! Master! Master!"
"B-B-B-B-Boobs!? Y-You two! Calm down! This is really bad! I! Just! Woke up! I'm pitching a massive tent right now!"
A double punch of softness. Exquisite plushness on both my right and left. This was dangerous. As I struggled to overcome this trial…
"Line~!! You're finally awake! You had me so worried~!!"
"Bwub-buh-mmph!?"
Perona has joined the battle!! You too!? She dove in exactly like the other two, squishing me further!! The double punch became a triple punch!? No matter where I tried to escape, it was breasts, breasts, breasts! A mountain of boobs! As a tiny Tontatta, I was completely helpless!
"Brother! Brother! Brother! Brother!"
"Master! Master! Master! Master!"
"Line! Line! Line! Line!"
Bad! Bad! Bad! Bad!
"I can't do this! All three of you, stop! I can't! I'm going to—… Ngh!"
"Ah♡"
"Jee?"
"Whoa!?"
…
Despite my resistance, I suffered a massive misfire. Line, officially signing out.
"Haa…aah…"
Even with my prized Observation Haki, I couldn't have foreseen this future… No, I did foresee it, but I was powerless to resist. The Three Boob Admirals were far more formidable than the actual Marine Admirals. Whimpering, I changed my pants.
"Um, well… uh… I-I'm sorry, okay? Line… I just… couldn't help but hug you…"
Perona looked away, her face red and awkward.
"It seems there's nothing wrong with your body. If anything, you're full of energy…? Ehehe, I'm just so glad you're safe, Brother…"
Esune looked blushing and happy.
"? ? ? Jee~~?"
Densuke looked like she had no idea what had just happened.
The three of them had completely different reactions.
"—Wait! This is no time for this!!"
"""!!?"""
Having put on fresh pants, I decided to pretend my recent disgrace never happened and boldly stepped up to the three of them.
"I have a lot of things to say, but first of all, you guys!"
"""!!"""
"I'm so glad you're alive. Truly… I'm so glad you're safe…"
"""Ehe♡"""
Esune, Densuke, Perona. Knowing these three were safe brought me relief from the absolute bottom of my heart. After all, cute girls are always my top priority. Hehehe.
"So, I'd love it if you could tell me where we are…"
"Horo-horo-horo! Good taste, right? This is my room!"
"Huh?"
As I poked at a nearby stuffed animal, Perona laughed her signature laugh and answered.
I see. So this was Perona's room. …Wait, what does that mean?
While I was still confused, Esune tapped on the window, pointing outside.
"Hm?"
I used my Tail Copter to fly over and peeked out. The sight that spread before me was—an eerie graveyard. A gloomy forest. And battered ruins. No matter how you looked at it, this was a ghost island. Thank you very much… Wait…
"Gyaaaaaaahhh!!? So this is Hell!! I really did get killed at Mary Geoise!!"
"It's not Hell!! This is Thriller Bark! Master Moria's pirate ship!"
Huh? Pirate ship…?
…
After getting a detailed explanation, it turned out we were currently on Gecko Moria's personal vessel—an island completely converted into a super-massive pirate ship called Thriller Bark.
I see. So that's what she meant when she said this was her room. Come to think of it, Perona was a member of the Thriller Bark Pirates.
"Horo-horo-horo! Thriller Bark is the largest pirate ship in the world, you know!"
Perona looked boastful. But she wasn't lying; it really was incredible. At a glance, you wouldn't even think it was a ship. I've always liked big things. Hearing it was the "largest in the world" made my heart dance a little. Huge, huge~♪
…Though I still couldn't understand the haunted house aesthetic…
"By the way, all the slaves we rescued from Mary Geoise are here on Thriller Bark right now."
Oh! That was great news.
I had been fairly worried about them—what if they were still wandering the ocean on the banana boats, or what if the Marines caught them and dragged them back to Mary Geoise? Rescuing them and just leaving them to fend for themselves would have been far too irresponsible. Hearing they were safe was a huge relief.
With Thriller Bark's massive size, it could easily house all those people. What a perfect hiding spot.
"Everyone! The Little God is awake!"
"Ooooh! Thank goodness! Little God!"
"Kyaa! Little God~~!"
"The Little God has awakened~!"
"Our savior! Little God~~!!"
"""""Waaaa!! Kyaaaa!!"""""
When we stepped out of Perona's room, a massive, thunderous cheer from the former slaves awaited us.
Alright, alright. I'm just glad you're all safe. I get that you're excited, but… could we please drop the "Little God" title?
"Kishishishi! So you've regained consciousness. Glad to hear it, Line!"
"Thank you, Line. I don't even know how to begin expressing my gratitude… It's beyond my imagination."
Mingled among the crowd of former slaves, two men nearly seven meters tall approached, their heavy footsteps echoing. Gecko Moria and Bartholomew Kuma.
Yep, see? Don't call me "Little God." Call me by my name like these guys do…
"—Wait, why is Kuma-emon here!?"
Aren't you an enemy!? You're with the government! You're a Warlord!
"Ah, right. You don't know the full details yet, Brother. …Actually, Kuma-san was captured and made a slave in Mary Geoise, too."
Huh? A slave? Kuma-emon?
"It's true. If you hadn't come for us, Line… I would probably still be hurting countless people as a government pawn…"
"Hold on a sec, what does that mean!? Explain, please!!"
"Yes, you're right… I should tell you everything. You are my saviors. I'll tell you about my life up until now…"
And so, Kuma-emon began to slowly recount his life story.
He spent his childhood as a slave, ate the Paw-Paw Fruit, and barely managed to escape… He grew up and joined the Revolutionary Army, which was great, but then his "daughter" fell ill. To cure her, he made a deal with the World Government and joined the Warlords. His body was modified into a cyborg, his human memories were completely erased, and he was thrown right back into slavery… wait…
"No, no, no, that's too heavy!! What is wrong with your life!?"
I was genuinely horrified by how dark it was!! I had imagined something fun and dreamy, like a futuristic robot cat… but there wasn't a single millimeter of a dream in there.
"That is why, if you hadn't come, Line, I would still be a mindless human weapon right now. Thank you, truly…"
"…I understand why you were in Mary Geoise, and I get why you're thanking us… but based on what you just said, I don't understand how you got your erased memories back…"
"My memories returning is all thanks to Densuke."
"Densuke?"
"Jee!"
Hearing her name, Densuke happily trotted over to me, the halo above her head shining brightly.
"Nihehe, that's right. I put Kuma's memories back! Am I a good girl? Master! Am I a good girl?"
"Ah, yeah. Good girl. Pat pat."
"Nihehe~♡"
"No, but seriously, how?"
Densuke's power came from the Angel Fruit. I didn't know the exact details… but she said she had the power to communicate with souls, right? How did that ability restore Kuma-emon's memories?
"Well, you see… there are two kinds of memories."
"Two kinds?"
"Jee! Memories you keep in your brain, and memories you keep in your soul. Those two. Kuma's brain memories were all erased, but his soul memories were still there, so I just brought those to the surface!"
"Soul memories…"
Wow, so souls can hold memories too… The normal reaction might be to shout, "That's impossible!" but it actually made a lot of sense to me. If souls had memories, it perfectly explained why I still retained the memories of my past life.
"Densuke, you're amazing. You can use telepathy, talk to corpses, and even restore memories… That Angel power can do all sorts of things."
"Jee—it's actually all the same thing! I'm just connecting souls!"
"Huh."
I still didn't fully get it… but it was an undeniable fact that Densuke had been a massive MVP in this battle. So, I decided to give her plenty of head pats.
"Who's a good girl! Yes you are!"
"Niiin~♡"
"Thanks to Densuke, I was able to remember my precious memories with the people I love. Truly… I cannot thank you enough."
"Jee! You should thank Master and Densuke!"
"Indeed…!"
Kuma-emon bowed his head deeply. Honestly, I didn't really do anything, so thanking Densuke alone would be fine… But I was glad he got his memories back.
"Well, anyway! We rescued Moria, freed all the slaves, and saved Kuma-emon! We might have taken a few hits, but no one was sacrificed… This battle is our total victory!!"
At my declaration of victory, the slaves erupted into a massive cheer.
""""Waaaaahh!!!""""
People were throwing their arms up, hugging each other, and crying toward the heavens… Yeah, yeah. Tables full of feasts were already set up in Thriller Bark's plaza, so it looked like we were heading straight into a banquet.
The slaves, of course, but also Moria, Perona, Kuma-emon, and Densuke—everyone looked so happy.
However…
"…A few hits? No one was sacrificed… you say?"
"Huh?"
What was supposed to be a grand, happy ending was suddenly derailed when Esune's tone changed completely. She glared at me with narrowed eyes.
W-What's wrong?
"Don't 'Huh?' me! Because during this battle… you were injured so badly, Brother!!"
"Eh? Me?"
"Yes! After Moria-san stuffed you full of shadows, you turned into a giant… went on a total rampage, and took so much damage trying to protect everyone…! You might not have realized it, but right after we escaped Mary Geoise, you were magnificently on the brink of death!"
Tears spilled from Esune's eyes as she scolded me angrily.
Ah~, right, that. The part where Moria pumped me full of shadows and I grew huge… My consciousness had been fading, but I distinctly remembered feeling absolutely amazing. Even if only temporarily, my lifelong dream had come true!
My first time ever being incredibly tall! Fuhehehehehe~!
"Hey Moria, pump me full of shadows one more time so I can get huge—"
"You haven't learned a thing!!"
"Bwub-buh-mmph!?"
Esune violently snatched me up and forcefully shoved me back into the valley of her cleavage. And just like that, she started squishing me again! Squish, squish, squish, squish, squish, squish!!?
"Mmph-mmph!? W-Wait…! E-Esune! I'm gonna misfire again! I'm gonna misfire!"
"If you want me to stop, swear you'll never do something so stupid ever again! Otherwise, I'll just keep making you misfire infinitely until you get my breasts pregnant!!"
"What kind of threat is that!?"
Esune was unusually, uncharacteristically furious. Left with no other choice, I raised the white flag.
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