Screen 1
When Sonic learned that Gecko Moria had stolen the shadows of Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, and Sanji, his expression changed immediately.
He stared at the zombies carrying their shadows and clenched his fists.
"…He took their shadows too?"
The anger in his voice was obvious.
Dark sparks of static began to flicker lightly around Sonic's quills as he looked toward Moria's mansion.
"That's it."
His eyes narrowed.
"We're getting them back."
This was exactly the kind of thing that pushed Sonic toward losing his calm, because now it was no longer just about strangers on the island.
It was his friends.
Screen 2
After Sonic regrouped with Brook's team, they quickly shared what they had learned about the zombies of Thriller Bark.
Brook turned to Franky and Nico Robin and revealed the key weakness:
salt.
Because it carries the power of the sea, salt can force the stolen shadow out of a zombie's body and defeat it.
Sonic blinked, then looked down at the bag they were carrying.
"…So the answer was literally salt?"
He gave a short grin despite the situation.
"Okay, that's weirdly simple."
Still, hearing there was finally a way to beat the zombies and save the crew's shadows clearly gave him some relief.
Screen 3
Deep inside Thriller Bark, Gecko Moria finally awakened the ancient giant Oars, a massive being said to be over 500 years old.
Then Moria did something even worse.
He placed Monkey D. Luffy's shadow inside Oars.
Almost immediately, Oars began showing Luffy's traits, loudly asking for food and acting with reckless energy.
Sonic froze when he saw the giant moving with his captain's mannerisms.
"…That thing feels like Luffy."
The sight of Luffy's shadow being used inside a monster, along with the shadows of Roronoa Zoro and Sanji already stolen, pushed Sonic's emotions hard.
A dark aura flickered around him and grew stronger.
He shifted into a semi-Dark form, dark electricity crackling softly around his body.
This was the first time Brook and Nico Robin had seen this form up close.
Brook stared in visible shock.
"Yohoho… so that is the dark form they mentioned."
Robin's eyes narrowed, calm but observant.
She didn't look afraid, only deeply curious.
Sonic's voice became colder.
"We end this now."
Screen 4
Even in the middle of the chaos on Thriller Bark, the Straw Hat crew made a clear decision.
They officially invited Brook to join their journey once everything was over.
Brook was visibly moved by the offer, even with the danger still surrounding them.
At the same time, the crew fully resolved themselves to retrieve their stolen shadows and rescue Nami from Moria's forces.
Standing beside them, semi-Dark Sonic remained calm but intense.
The faint dark aura still crackled around him, but unlike full Dark Sonic, he was fully in control.
He looked toward the giant mansion and said coldly,
"We get their shadows back, save Nami, and take down Moria."
Even in this darker state, his focus was completely aligned with the crew.
Be continued