One Piece Chapter 453: Cloudy with a Chance of Bones

The scene opens in "Perona's Wonder Garden" inside Thriller Bark. The garden looks like a beautiful enclosed courtyard, but it is full of battered wild zombies and smoke from the fight. Usopp, Nami, and Chopper stand amid the chaos while the zombie animals panic over the newcomer who has been knocking them around. One zombie shouts, "Hey, what are you doing, new guy?!" Another protests, "Our zombie bodies shouldn't be able to disobey our master's orders!!" The wild zombies stare across the ruined garden and realize the problem is worse than rebellion: "So, why... can he defy them?!" and "... Also, he's as strong as a general...!!" The dog-penguin body, carrying Sanji's shadow, stands against them as if its borrowed heart remembers exactly whom it wants to protect.

The dog-penguin roars with Sanji's passion. "A power that can't be judged by ordinary means... A power to make the impossible possible...!! It'll blow everything away!!" he declares, and names the hurricane inside him: "The name of that hurricane is... love!" The wild zombies are stunned. One cries, "Whaa!! He really is our enemy!!!" while another yells, "Stop with your fucking mumbling, pirates!!" Usopp, Chopper, and Nami call to the dog-penguin, "Hey, dog-pen!! Do you know something about Sanji?! We're Sanji's friends, so any help..." but the creature only says, "It reminds me of Sanji-kun...!!" Another zombie mutters, "What that 'dog penguin' is saying is really stupid." Then from deeper in the garden comes a new commotion. Usopp hears it: "I hear something coming!! What is it this time?!" Nami says, "Wait!!" and the dog-penguin screams toward the distance, "Wait, Lolaaaaaa!!!"

A huge female boar zombie bursts into the garden, smiling with terrifying affection. Usopp and Chopper shriek, "A wild boar!!" She coos, "Let me catch you, huhuhuhu!! Huhuhu!!!" and charges after the tiny thief she has mistaken for her romantic rival. Nami, bewildered, asks, "Huh? Me?" but the boar zombie points straight at her: "I found you!!! The woman over there!!! You 'thief cat'!!!" Nami protests, "B-But I haven't stolen anything yet!!!" The boar refuses to listen. "I won't give Ab-sama to you!!!" she screams as she rushes forward, while Nami cries, "Wait a minute!!!" The accusation is absurd, but the danger is real: Lola's jealousy has made Nami the target of a rampaging monster bride.

Before Lola can reach Nami, the dog-penguin throws himself into her path and yells, "Don't lay a hand on that lady!!!" Lola reels back with "Nu?!" and the Straw Hats stare as Sanji's shadow takes control of the zombie's instincts. Lola snaps, "Don't interrupt!!!" but the dog-penguin keeps fighting, even striking her hard enough that the other zombies cry, "!!!" When the dust clears, the garden's zombies shout, "Dog-pen was beaten!!" and "Dog-pen, why didn't you attack?!" The dog-penguin lies on the ground, battered but still loyal to Sanji's code. The page makes the contradiction clear: the zombie should obey Perona's side, yet the shadow inside it refuses to hurt Nami.

Nami's crisis collides with Absalom's obsession. From the distance, Absalom calls with dreamy madness, "Even if I die, I can't kick a woman!!! So wonderful...!!! Acknowledging that one as a woman... you're glittering!!" Usopp yells for help, "Usopp, Chopper!!! Save me!!!" and Luffy's name is not here to rescue her. Chopper asks, "Nami?!" while Usopp reacts, "Huh?! Nami is flying?! Amazing!!" Nami corrects him with panic: "That's not it!! I'm being kidnapped!!!" Absalom, invisible except for his effect on her body, announces, "I've chosen my bride!! We'll hold the ceremony right now!! I've already finished the preparations. Garururuu!!" Chopper asks, "Being kidnapped? By who?!" Usopp understands: "I see!! It's the invisible man, right?!" Nami screams, "Let go of me!!" as Absalom says, "You are the invisible man that was in the bath!!" and, when challenged, introduces himself through the chaos: "I have done my evaluation and you're fit to be my bride!!"

Absalom appears with Nami trapped in his grip and declares himself without shame: "My name is Absalom!!" He adds, "That's the name of your husband-to-be, so remember it well!!" Nami marks him with a sharp "!!" and Absalom continues, "There is no way my body is going to shine every day... For an arrogant, perverted beast that deliberately looks at naked people." Nami answers with her clima-tact, bringing the punishment down as lightning: "Thunder Charge"!!! The blast crashes into Absalom with "Gwahh!" and sends him flying. Nami lands, breathing hard, while Usopp shouts, "Nami!!!" and Absalom groans, "Ugh!!" From the garden, the others urge her, "You did well, now run!! We're leaving this forest."

Absalom smokes from the lightning strike, confused by the force moving through him: "What is this... this shock that is surging through my body...!?" Nami explains the feeling from her side: "... It's like I was suddenly hit by lightning..." Chopper and Usopp stare at Absalom and say, "Wha... what?! He's not beaten yet?!" and "You can tell he's not normal just by looking at him... Hurry!!" The stunned Absalom looks after Nami and mutters, "Is this... love?!" then screams, "I won't let you run away!!! You thief cat!!" The wild zombies, meanwhile, remember their orders: "H-Hey, now isn't the time for us to be standing around and looking at them." "It's our job to capture those three!!" "That's right!! Perona-sama's punishment will be waiting for us if we fail!!" Yet the dog-penguin collapses in conflict, thinking, "... I can't let it happen!! A lady is being targeted... But why am I protecting that girl...? ... Also, my body can't move as well as I thought it could!! My flesh is... too weak...!!!"

The wild zombies try to regain control of the chase. One orders, "Hurry up and catch those three!!" while another shouts, "Wild zombies!! Wait!! Don't lay a hand on that woman!!" Absalom roars, "Shut up!! You erosalom!!" and the wild zombies insist, "We, the wild zombies, are under orders from our master. We are the underlings of Perona-sama!! We aren't under your control!!" But the dog-penguin, carrying Sanji's will, blocks them again and growls, "Garururu ruru!!!!" The others react with "!!?" and "Hiii," as he declares, "I'm telling you to wait!!!" He faces the crowd and says, "I know that you're under Perona's control, but you should also know that you shouldn't make me angry." When a zombie snaps, "Close that... arrogant mouth of yours...!!" the dog-penguin's fury only deepens.

The garden falls silent around the dog-penguin. He stands with his back to the fleeing Straw Hats and stares down the wild zombies. A zombie asks, "What is it, you bastard...!?" Another warns, "... I won't let you..." and someone else orders, "Chase that lady...!!" But the dog-penguin does not move. Usopp and Chopper panic from behind: "He-Hey, new guy, stop it." "Don't make Absalom angry!!" Still, Sanji's shadow holds the body in place. His eyes narrow, his breath roughens, and the page lingers on the pause before violence. Even trapped in a ridiculous animal zombie, Sanji's instinct to shield Nami has become stronger than Perona's commands, stronger even than the fear of Absalom.

A massive blast suddenly tears through the garden. Zombies scream "Dowaa!!" and "Gyaaaaaaaa" as a dark, cloaked figure stands calmly at the center of the explosion. Usopp, Nami, and Chopper are thrown into panic. Usopp shouts, "Hey, Nami, you're the only one they're targeting...!!" Nami answers, "It's really troublesome." Chopper proposes, "Shouldn't we split into two groups?" but Usopp is distracted by the new threat and yells, "A lure?! You cold-hearted bastard." Nami, still furious and afraid, runs while shouting, "Waaaaaaaaaaiiiiit!!!" and Chopper cries, "That wild boar is scary!!" The page shifts the danger again: Absalom and Lola are not the only pursuers; someone much stronger has entered the garden and scattered the zombies with one attack.

Back at the general zombie side, Luffy's body, Robin, and Franky confront Talleran and the armored dead. The caption reads "General Zombie Side." Franky sees the faces of their missing crewmates in the enemies and says, "No way." Luffy recognizes the same thing: "Those three..." Talleran boasts, "Monkey, monkey♪ Hahahahahahaha!! You'll soon be sucked in there too!" Franky asks, "Were sucked into the wall," and Luffy adds, "Just like Strawhat just now?" General zombies advance with heavy "clank... clank..." steps as Talleran crows, "You're completely surrounded by immortal zombies!! Accept it!!" The impossible battlefield closes around them: their friends' shadows are in enemy bodies, the exits are sealed, and the spider-monkey is ready to trap them in the same wall system.

Franky and Robin analyze Talleran instead of panicking. Franky says, "I don't know whether you're a stupid spider or a stupid monkey... but the huge spider web that Sunny got stuck in at the entrance to the island is yours." Talleran laughs, "Hahahaha!! All your moves are being reported directly to Perona-sama's ghost network!!" Robin watches his dangling ear-like parts and says, "--I wonder if those big ears of yours are part of your informative power? They look like ears that can hear quite well..." Talleran sputters, "Huh? ...What?" and Franky realizes, "They're just for show?!" The situation remains awful. Robin says, "... This situation is the worst...!! This is what's called 'being plugged up from all sides.' We need an urgent counter-plan, so..." She asks Franky, "Can you leave it to me?" Franky answers with a grin, "Do what you want. I'll try coping with you." He starts, "Coup de..."

Franky's plan hits the architecture itself. With "Vent"!!! he blasts the bridge apart, sending stone and zombies flying while Talleran shrieks, "Hmmmm, whaaaaaat!? You just broke the bridge!!" The general zombies tumble with "gyaaaaaaaa" and crash through the broken span. Robin adds her own move, "Cien Fleur"!!, and a hundred blooming arms seize and fling enemies away as the bridge collapses. Franky, battered but satisfied, says, "-- Well, something like that." Robin, with her usual composure, calls him "Such a violent person." The move is destructive, but it works: by destroying the path beneath the encirclement, Franky and Robin create a brief opening out of a trap that had surrounded them from every direction.

Robin makes the escape airborne, at least for a moment. From her back, enormous feathered arms bloom into a pair of wings, and she calls the technique "Wing"!!! Franky, hanging below her in Brook's body, cries, "Wha--?!" Talleran stares upward in shock, "Huh...?!?!" and someone asks, "You are... flying?!" Robin answers with calm precision: "For about 5 seconds." Franky complains, "So short!!!" but Robin says, "Yes, but it's enough...!!!" With the brief wings carrying them over the ruined bridge and above the general zombies, she gives Franky just enough height and timing for the next step of the escape.

As Robin's wings fade with "basa basa," Franky extends Brook's arm across the gap: "Strong Right"!!! The fist shoots out with a chain and catches the far side while his body groans "giko." Franky shouts, "Alright!!!" as the escape line pulls taut. Below, debris and zombies fall into the broken courtyard. Franky explains the route: "If we can somehow get to the entrance, we can chase Strawhat." But Robin's strength is already running out. She says, "Ugh...!! Sorry, I can't go any farther...!!" Franky yells, "Woo, return, hand!!!" and the two begin to drop away from the wall. Their plan has bought distance, but not safety, and their chase after Luffy is still hanging by one desperate extended arm.

Franky and Robin crash into the upper area with a heavy "oops," landing among broken stone and dangling chains. Franky groans "giko..." while Robin catches her breath, "...!! Haa haa." Franky observes, "... Everyone is already in the courtyard. It's not over yet, but it'll take some time for them to find us again." Robin quietly says, "You did well..." Franky snaps back from below, "You bastard, you used me like a footstool to jump up there!!" and from the spider-monkey side comes a furious shout, "...!! Hey, you bastards!" Talleran complains, "I'm a spider! I'll be over there soon enough!" The escape has succeeded only temporarily: Robin and Franky have climbed out of immediate reach, but the monster below is already promising to cross the gap.

The battlefield hears something new from above. Talleran looks up with "Hmm?" while armored zombies ask, "Eh?" and "What is that?!" Franky also notices a falling silhouette and says, "What is that?" Robin sees it too: "!" Then the object drops faster, with the sound of a voice screaming through the air. Someone shouts, "Something is falling from the sky..." and realizes, "No, it's someone!!!" The falling figure is a skeleton in an afro, plummeting into the broken courtyard while crying, "Booooo-ooooone!!" He hits the ground in a violent crash and the punchline lands with the chapter title: "Just bones, of course!!!" Brook has quite literally fallen out of the sky into the middle of the chaos.

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