Ash slowly descended toward the manor courtyard. Through the mist, he saw Hogback — looking like a stiff, bird‑like doctor — whispering to a translucent ghost.
Landing quietly a short distance away, Ash watched as Hogback suddenly called out into empty air.
"Hey, Absalom! You're here, right? Where are your Zombie Soldiers? Why didn't you send them out to drive our targets into the castle? Did you tell them all to go nap in the Cemetery?"
"Hoo woo woo... Hogback, what kind of joke is that? Do zombies even need sleep?" a beast‑like voice sounded beside Hogback.
"I gave the order as soon as they arrived at the Cemetery," Absalom continued, "but they just slaughtered Hilton and his two guards. Somehow, those fools even buried all of my Zombie Soldiers into the ground. They're more trouble than they're worth!"
"But…" Hogback asked, "but what?"
"That pink‑haired girl," Absalom bragged, "she's pretty cute, just my type! So she belongs to me!"
The translucent ghost beside Hogback suddenly spoke up, sounding offended, "Pink‑haired girl? Absalom, what are you talking about? Do you want to die!?"
Absalom, invisible as always, snapped back, "Hoo woo woo… Perona, I wasn't talking about you! The pink‑haired girl among the prey is a hundred times cuter than you!"
The ghost burst into a strange giggle, "Horo horo horo, Absalom, you ridiculous pervert. How dare you compare me to someone else!? I've already sent out a hundred Negative Ghosts and Kamikaze Ghosts to find you."
Absalom roared in frustration, "Damn it! Perona, what kind of joke is this!"
"Alright! Both of you shut it!"
Hogback finally intervened, "Stop fooling around. We know the targets are tough. Absalom, you should use every ounce of strength to capture them! We have a big job tonight, and Lord Moria is still waiting for results!"
"Fine," Absalom grumbled. "What a pointless conversation. At least now I know where you guys are."
Hogback was stunned. "What? Absalom, what are you saying?"
Absalom pointed upward. "Up in the sky!"
Hogback looked up and saw Ash hovering in mid‑air.
"Damn it, it's one of the prey!"
"God, I really hate being called prey," Ash rolled his eyes, "especially when you're not bar girls!"
With a flick of his hand, a line of fire shot out and instantly engulfed three mysterious figures.
Hogback was incinerated before he could scream, but the translucent ghost flew out of the flames and toward the nearby castle.
As it fled, the ghost taunted, "Horo horo horo, idiot, do you think fire can hurt a spirit!?"
"Spirit body or not," Ash murmured, "I have more than just ordinary fire!"
Pointing decisively, a golden flare shot from his fingertips, catching the fleeing ghost and vaporizing it entirely.
"Two down, one injured. Mission accomplished perfectly. The rest is up to Youki and the others!" Ash said with satisfaction, then turned to fly toward the Cemetery outside the castle.
"This Invisible Man should be worth at least a hundred energy points, plus Hogback and a few zombies… I should be gaining at least one hundred and fifty points, right? Now… what kind of Devil Fruit should I design for Tsuki, that brat?"
Ash opened his personal panel.
[Personal Status Panel]
Name: Ash
Age: 13
Physique: 374
Spirit: 65
Abilities: Iron Body LV2 (Deployable), Armament Haki (Deployable), Observation Haki (Deployable)
Energy: 127
"?? 127 points?!"
Ash blinked. He clearly remembered having 98 energy after designing a Devil Fruit for Sali. Even though he'd only been defeating sewer‑level pirates over the past half‑month, his energy should've climbed to around 110.
How could Hogback, the Invisible Man, and a handful of zombies only give less than 20 extra points?
Hogback being weak made sense — he was only a doctor — but the Invisible Man!?
There was only one explanation...
"Damn it! I wasted fire for nothing and only killed a perverted useless doctor!?"
While Ash was still muttering to himself, a loud shout came from the Cemetery.
"You pervert! What are you trying to do to my sister!?"
Ash instantly sprinted toward the commotion. In a blink, he hovered above the group.
He saw Kirk holding someone within a sealed space — a ring of warped space formed by Kirk's power.
"What happened?" Ash asked as he landed.
"You ask what happened!? Didn't you go deal with the Invisible Man? Then why did this guy suddenly run over here and try to lay hands on Saff!?" Kirk snapped, furious.
"Huh!?" Ash glanced at the sealed space in confusion. "The Invisible Man was inside here? How did you know?"
"Don't you have a nose?" Kirk narrowed his eyes. "This guy smelled strongly of burnt barbecue!"
Burnt barbecue?
Ash turned to Youki and the others.
Youki, Tsuki, and Brook all shrugged. "No…"
Saff quickly comforted her brother before explaining, "We were talking about when you might return, maybe even thinking about getting some food. Then a strong smell of burnt barbecue came flying toward us from the direction of the castle."
"This guy's target was me," she continued. "Because that awful smell came almost directly at me. So instinctively… I punched him. He called me a 'ferocious violent woman,' tried to run, and then got trapped by Kirk."
Ash instantly pieced everything together.
Absalom must've used his invisibility to escape after Ash set the fire. But the flames still burned him badly, explaining the foul smell Kirk mentioned.
And despite nearly dying, the pervert still hadn't given up thinking about Saff — before he was cornered by Kirk.
Even alone, Saff's strength massively outclassed a sewer‑level fighter like Absalom.
At the very least, someone with 100 Physique who can instantly activate Armament Haki wasn't someone Absalom had any right to target.
After explaining the situation to the group, Ash looked toward the sealed space, smirking rather than annoyed.
Because his physique had grown stronger, he'd become slightly overconfident.
Now that they were near the end of the Grand Line's Paradise Stage, stronger pirates would only appear more frequently. The Blazing Flames that once seemed unstoppable had finally failed — and it wouldn't be the last time.
Even a lion had to give its all to catch a rabbit — Ash couldn't afford to be careless anymore.
With that thought, he waved his hand. Blazing fire flared out, sweeping over the sealed area.
"Since you refuse to show yourself, then you won't ever again."
Ash watched the Energy value jump from 127 to 255 and nodded.
He had underestimated this opponent — Absalom wasn't completely useless sewer‑trash after all. Besides the 100 points from his Devil Fruit, he still contributed a decent 28 energy points for how badly he'd been damaged.
"Alright, we took care of two of the three mysterious men. Bro Youki, the rest is up to you."
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