"What do you want?" Hogback was trying to crawl away. He was not trying to die now.
"You research bodies, don't you?" Kairo said softly.
"I am simply curious about your research." The man said it as if a second earlier he wasn't asking the man to part with his body. The way he was code-switching was quite extraordinary.
But oh well.
Kairo went to the man's notes and began to read the book.
"So the shadows possess the memories of the user, and placing a shadow in a corpse could lead to them being reanimated. How fascinating. How did you come to figure that out?" Kairo sounded like a scientist asking another scientist a question.
Zoro did notice Kairo beginning to draw some sort of summoning circle around the man.
Yet Hogback was way too scared for his life to notice the fact that he was currently in the middle of said seal.
"I will tell you everything I know. Please don't kill me," the man begged like an animal, wanting his life to be spared by all means.
"I will not be killing you."
'He said I...' Zoro caught on to the wording near immediately. Kairo himself may not be the one to snuff out the doctor, but Kairo never had planned to let this man leave this room with his life.
Once getting the green light, the old man began to speak.
"A person's shadow is with them from the moment they are birthed into this world. Some may even say even sooner than that. Even as clumps of cells, we have shadows. Our shadow follows us everywhere, and that is a fact."
The doctor continued.
"What most people don't know, however, is the fact that your shadow is basically your soul. Have it stripped away from you and it's like losing part of yourself, losing some of your memory. I know this is true because when someone's shadow gets stripped away by Lord Moria, the shadow retains its original host's memory and personality. Well, that is until it assimilates with the body it was given."
That was a lot of spiel the man said, but it basically summed down to this:
Someone's shadow in the One Piece world is kind of like someone's soul in the JJK world. If the shadow is twisted into a shape, the body will soon follow after it.
So basically bootleg Idle Transfiguration.
The doctor began talking about if a body was a perfect fit for a shadow, the procedure and all of that.
About his research on how to bring back people from the dead, and how going this way would lead to achievements in science and humanity would advance as a whole and all that crappy stuff.
"That is interesting. But what if I tell you there is a much simpler way to bring someone back from the dead?"
Hogback's eyes widened. His scientific mind was ready to pounce at the idea.
"What is it?"
Kairo smiled a bit.
"Well, before I say it, I need to explain some ground rules. You see, when someone dies in this world, they go to the Abyss. The Abyss is where every single soul resides. It's everywhere. It can be used for teleportation."
Kairo teleported behind the man.
Who was too far gone to realize how deep in the trap he was.
Hogback's pupils dilated.
"A–Abyss...?" he repeated, breath shaking.
Kairo stood behind him now, voice calm, almost patient — like a lecturer indulging an eager student.
"Yes. The place beneath this world. Not Hell. Not some fairy tale afterlife. Just... where all souls sink once their bodies fail."
Zoro leaned against the wall, arms folded, watching the performance unfold.
Kairo continued.
"Your method uses shadows as placeholders. Memory imprints. Personality fragments. It's impressive — crude, but impressive."
Hogback swallowed hard, but curiosity was starting to overpower fear.
"If the soul goes to this... Abyss... then why use shadows at all?" he asked, voice trembling but hungry.
"Because shadows are residue," Kairo replied smoothly. "They are echoes. What Moria manipulates is an imprint. A reflection of the soul. Useful for mimicry. Not for restoration."
Hogback's breathing steadied.
He was thinking now.
Calculating.
"If the true soul still exists... then it can be retrieved?"
"Yes."
Zoro glanced down. The summoning seal was almost complete now. Thin black lines glowed faintly beneath Hogback's knees.
"But," Kairo added softly, "souls do not return willingly."
Hogback frowned. "Why not?"
"Because death untethers them. Once they sink into the Abyss, they dissolve into something formless. To pull one back... you must give it structure."
"And how is that done?" Hogback asked immediately.
Kairo crouched slightly so they were eye level.
"You need three things."
He raised a finger.
"A vessel — preferably one genetically or spiritually compatible."
Second finger.
"A summoning conduit — someone capable of opening the Abyss without being consumed by it."
A third finger slowly lifted.
"And a living anchor."
Hogback's lips parted.
"...Anchor?"
"Yes." Kairo smiled faintly. "A soul cannot return to an empty world without replacing something. The balance must be corrected."
Zoro's eyes narrowed slightly. He already knew where this was going.
"The anchor's life force is used to reconstruct the returning soul's individuality," Kairo continued. "Their vitality stabilizes the soul. Their essence becomes the ignition spark."
Hogback's scientific mind was racing.
"So the anchor... dies?"
"Yes."
"But their body—?"
"Becomes the price."
Hogback's breathing became uneven again.
"But if the anchor is strong enough," Kairo went on casually, "the reconstructed soul returns not as a corpse animated by memory... but as their prime self. Fully restored. Fully autonomous. Not a puppet. Not a zombie."
Zoro's grip on his swords tightened slightly.
"Prime," he muttered.
Hogback's eyes gleamed.
"Then this is perfection! This surpasses Moria's work entirely! With this method, death is obsolete! With enough anchors, humanity could—"
He stopped.
Something in Kairo's expression shifted.
Too calm.
Too amused.
Hogback slowly looked down.
The summoning circle was complete.
Black sigils pulsed faintly beneath him.
His breath hitched.
"...You said you would not kill me."
Kairo nodded.
"I won't."
Realization began creeping up Hogback's spine.
"Then... who...?"
Kairo's smile widened just slightly.
"You will not die per se. The jutsu requires the sacrifice to stay alive."
Silence.
The words didn't process at first.
"Ah," Zoro exhaled quietly.
Hogback blinked rapidly.
"No. No, no, no, that's not— that's not logical. I am the only one here who understands advanced corpse reinforcement. I can assist you. I can improve the vessel. I can—"
"You already have," Kairo said gently.
"I haven't done anything!"
"You explained everything I needed."
The circle flared.
Hogback tried to crawl forward.
His body didn't move.
Conqueror's pressure pressed him down, pinning him flat.
"I said I would not kill you," Kairo repeated calmly. "And I won't."
The air grew heavy.
The temperature dropped.
"You will simply become a puppet."
Darkness began leaking from the circle like ink.
Hogback screamed.
Black tendrils wrapped around his limbs, not tearing flesh — but phasing through it, reaching deeper.
"No— no, wait— WAIT— I can be useful! I can replicate the vessel structure! I can optimize—!"
Kairo placed a hand gently on the man's head.
"You will."
The floor split open beneath the seal.
For a split second, Hogback saw it.
Not fire.
Not demons.
Just endless depth.
Endless silence.
Endless souls drifting like stars in a void ocean.
And something vast turning its attention toward the summoning.
"NO—!"
His scream cut off as his life force ignited.
{Corruption level has risen}
A/N I changed ai after this since it's started adding shit, when all I asked for was for grammar check.
Would you rather crack echidna but she get something from you afterward.