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Chapter 339: Ryuunosuke’s Suspicion!

Chapter 339: Chapter 339: Ryuunosuke’s Suspicion!


Chapter 339: Ryuunosuke’s Suspicion!


With Moria’s sudden arrival, a sense of unease began to settle in Ryuunosuke’s mind.


Something about it felt off—too coincidental, too convenient.


Even seeing Blackbeard in zombified form didn’t shake him much. If anything, it amused him.


After all, Blackbeard had walked straight into his death back at the Holy Land. If Moria had scraped together a zombie version of him, then all he’d done was recycle trash. Blackbeard had always been a glutton for power. In the end, he’d just delivered himself on a silver platter.


Besides, what stood before him now was just a walking corpse. A shell. And with the enhancement of the Holy Wings and the abilities he’d extracted from Meliodas, Ryuunosuke no longer paid much attention to others’ combat power.


He was on a different level now.


---


"Captain Ryuunosuke!"


Moria’s deep, gruff voice called across the water.


"May I come aboard?"


So it really was Moria himself—not a copy, not a messenger, but the former Shichibukai in the flesh.


Oddly enough, the man was being... polite?


Of course, that was likely thanks to Ryuunosuke’s overwhelming strength.


Still, the fact that Moria had come here personally and hadn’t brought his whole crew was telling.


"You can," Ryuunosuke replied casually.


He already knew why Moria was here.


Perona.


Ryuunosuke had no intention of stopping her if she wanted to leave. She had joined his crew only recently, and she wasn’t bound to him.


Moments later, Moria stepped onto the deck alone. The Blackbeard zombie remained aboard the eerie three-masted Thriller Bark ship, anchored nearby.


---


"Captain!"


Perona squealed and flew straight into Moria’s arms, throwing herself at his long neck with unrestrained joy.


She twirled midair, her eyes bright, cheeks flushed, and her voice full of excitement.


That joy... it couldn’t be faked.


"Perona, I’m here to bring you back," Moria said gruffly, but there was warmth in his tone. "But first, thank Captain Ryuunosuke for looking after you."


"Oh... right."


Perona turned, arms crossed and a smug little smile on her face. "Thanks, I guess."


Ryuunosuke gave a faint chuckle. This girl really lives up to the Ghost Princess name.


"No problem," he said. "But I do have one question, Captain Moria."


Ryuunosuke turned his gaze toward the figure on the other ship.


"Blackbeard... is he really dead?"


His voice was calm, but there was a sharp edge to it.


The last time he encountered Blackbeard, the man had wielded the Mythical Zoan Dog-Dog Fruit: Hellhound Model—an ability that allowed him to survive death three times. And the final blow Ryuunosuke dealt should have been the real one.


Now, seeing him shambling about as a zombie... it didn’t add up.


Moria grinned darkly. "He’s not dead. What you’re seeing is a puppet. I created it using someone else’s corpse and imbued it with Blackbeard’s shadow."


"That’s why the aura seems real. It’s only a fragment."


Ryuunosuke’s eyes narrowed. So it wasn’t truly Blackbeard’s body—but it was close enough to make the hair on his neck stand up.


After exchanging a few more words, Moria nodded and signaled to Perona. Together, they returned to Thriller Bark, and the ship slowly drifted away into the mist.


As the eerie silhouette vanished into the horizon, Najenda approached Ryuunosuke from behind.


"Captain..."


"I know."


Ryuunosuke didn’t turn, but his tone silenced her immediately.


She glanced toward Zoro and Brook, who were laughing and training near the bow, then looked back at her captain with understanding in her eyes.


---


They arrived at Jaya Island shortly after.


Najenda quickly organized the crew to begin resupplying. With Zoro being the ship’s number one food vacuum, he was naturally conscripted into lugging crates.


Eventually, only Najenda and Ryuunosuke remained on board.


"Captain," she began, her voice low and cautious. "Do you think... someone on our ship leaked information?"


Her eyes narrowed. "Could it be those two from the Straw Hat Pirates?"


She didn’t have solid proof—but Moria’s timing, his words, and the presence of a Blackbeard puppet all made her uneasy.


Moria should have had no idea about the events at the Holy Land—let alone what happened to Blackbeard.


"It’s what I’ve been thinking too," Ryuunosuke replied, arms crossed. "Moria shouldn’t know what happened between me and Blackbeard."


"But the way he spoke... it was like he knew more than he should."


"He knew too much. About us. About Perona."


He looked out over the water, eyes sharp with thought.


"Moria’s objective wasn’t just Perona. He wouldn’t risk crossing me unless he had a reason. Either someone’s feeding him intel... or Perona herself is connected to something bigger."


Najenda’s brows furrowed. "Because of her aura?"


"Yes. It’s faint, but it’s pure. The same type of energy I sensed in certain World Government agents. It’s subtle, but I’d bet my blade it’s connected."


"Do you want me to investigate?" she asked immediately.


Ryuunosuke nodded.


"Get Chrollo on it. I want to know everything about Moria’s movements. And Perona’s past."


Najenda saluted and turned to handle the orders.


Meanwhile, Ryuunosuke retrieved his Den Den Mushi and spun the dial.


Beru... Beru... Beru...


Click.


"Finally! You’re calling!" came Morgans’ enthusiastic squawk. "Captain Ryuunosuke! What’s the word? Ready to make headlines again?"


The giant newsbird hadn’t heard from Ryuunosuke in months. With the Dragon Hunter Pirates off the grid, the seas had grown boring—stale, even. The thrill had vanished.


"Has Moria contacted you?" Ryuunosuke asked, skipping all pleasantries. "To buy information on me?"


"Moria!?"


Morgans sounded stunned.


"You mean Gekko Moria, the washed-up warlord who vanished after the Government blacklisted him?"


"That’s the one," Ryuunosuke replied.


Morgans quickly rustled through papers and squawked instructions to his News Crows.


After a pause, he answered.


"No. Not a peep from him. He hasn’t tried to buy intel on you—or anyone."


"Then has anyone been buying information about me lately?" Ryuunosuke pressed.


"Of course. The World Government’s been buying your intel nonstop. The Navy too—mainly for tracking your movements."


Morgans sighed dramatically. "You really do know how to stir the ocean, don’t you?"


Ryuunosuke frowned slightly. If Moria hadn’t bought the information directly, then either someone had handed it to him... or something else was going on entirely.


"You’re near Jaya Island, right?" Morgans added, flipping through the latest data. "Just so happens, Moria’s ship was spotted in those waters not long ago."


A coincidence?


Doubtful.


"That guy’s up to something," Ryuunosuke muttered.


"Keep tracking his movements. He’s going to slip—and when he does, I want to know immediately."


"You got it!" Morgans replied. "He’s not the only shadow moving these days, you know. The New World’s heating up again..."


Ryuunosuke cut in. "One more thing."


"Yeah?"


"Has Blackbeard—the real one—shown up anywhere?"


Guys What do you think of a fanfic based on Tensura (That Time i got reincarnated as a slime?)


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