ONE PIECE : Lighthouse Empire Arc

Lighthouse Empire Arc, Episode 5

Tydal turns to the steering wheel again. "Alright--let's do this." 

Moments later, Chong's smoke snakes through the air silently, traveling quickly along a mooring rope, then through one of the holes in the side of the deck. He lingers behind a few storage boxes for a while, letting sailors pass. When the passage is clear again, he starts to make his way through various hallways, peeking inside rooms as he passes.

Soon, he comes to what appears to be a information terminal, with a map of the ship laid out on the wall. A few sailors linger in the back looking through paper work, so he stays low to the ground while examining the map. Before long, he spots the section where Aiku would be held: the guarded medical room, down the hall from the infirmary. "Got it." He whispers to himself. 

"What are you doing?" A voice calls out.

Chong freezes in fear, thinking he's just been discovered. He slowly turns his head toward the voice, but to his surprise, he sees a sailor talking to a picture of a captain on the wall.

"Did you not hear me? What are you doing?" The sailor continues to interogate the picture. 

"What the..." Chong breaths in confusion.

The sailor points frantically at the picture. "You can't be down here. This is a secure facility. It's no place for people like you. Let me see your...umbrella? Yeah. Let me see it right now!"

Chong watches in bewilderment as the sailor continues to converse with the picture. His words become more random and crazed by the moment. When Chong hears the other sailor start to talk, he peers over the desk to see the crewman counting numbers in the air with his fingers, as if he's pressing an imaginary, floating calculator. 

"What the heck is wrong with them?" Chong remarks. "These Navy guys really do have issues..." He uses the opportunity to waft out of the room, and back down the hallway. 

Soon after, he arrives near the guarded medical cell. One of his eyes pops around the corner to survey the situation. Two armed guards are posted on each side of the door. "This must be it." He whispers. "Now, how to get inside..."

Just then, he notices that some of his smoke is billowing down the hallway and in front of the guards. At first, he is concerned that they will see it, giving away his position. But as he hides, he suddenly hears the guards break out in laughter. When he peaks around the corner, he sees both guards keeled over, crying with boisterous giggles, unable to keep themselves standing.

"What's so funny?!" One of them exclaims. "I don't know!? But it's hilarious!" The other cackles. They fall onto the ground and begin to roll on the floor, unable to control themselves. 

Chong looks to them, then raises one of his smoky arms in front of his face, slowly realizing this may have been caused by his new powers. "No way. Am I doing this?" He looks to them one last time, making sure they are still distracted. "Well, better use this opportunity fast." His cloudy form flies briskly down the hall and in front of the door. He then thins himself once again, and slides through the keyhole. When he pours out the other side, his ghostly form reappears and stands silently by the door. Then he notices Aiku near the back of the room. She sits on a metal bed, chained by the waist, and crying into her hands.  

Chong floats over to her with a warm smile. "Aiku! There you are."

Aiku wipes her tears, sniffles softly, then looks to Chong. Shock quickly grows on her face. "W-w-what...WHAT?!" She backs away fearfully. 

Chong can tell she's about to scream and desperately tries to stop her. "No, no! Wait! It's me!"

"A GHOST!" She screams.