Cover Page: Enel's Great Space Operations, Vol. 17: "Flashback—Karakuri Island, the Day I Was Born".

Barely clinging to life, Spacey begins recalling his past—from the very day a strange old professor built him and his fellow Automata on a faraway island.

Nami, Usopp, and Chopper run around the castle of Thriller Bark as the rest of the Straw Hats go deeper into Thriller Bark. They find out the person they are trying to beat is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Inside the castle Usopp, Nami and Chopper examine the room, which appears to belong to Cindry. On the walls are photos of a different Cindry to the current one. Nami picks up a newspaper and begins to read it. She discovers Cindry in her previous life had been a very famous actress and child prodigy. She then discovers that Cindry had fallen to her death after falling off the stage. Then Nami, to her horror, discovers that Cindry had died more than 10 years ago. This also horrifies Usopp and Chopper, both forming the conclusion that the undead beings on Thriller Bark were indeed zombies. Usopp states that he was getting a bad feeling and tries to sit down on a box but misses and falls onto the ground.

Nami, suddenly delighted at the prospect of a "super strong box", asks Usopp to open it. Usopp opens the box, only to be a jack in the box, saying that this box was not the treasure box. The trio flee the room, going through the hall with pictures. Nami then gets the brainwave that the jack in the box had said "this is not THE treasure box".

A lone man wanders through the corridors of the castle. Two pictures attempt to get him but soon stop themselves, saying "It's THAT man" and resume their places. The man states that he would capture the intruders and laughs a lot like Brook.

Outside, Sanji argues that they could not recruit anyone they wished for the Straw Hat Pirates. He states that they have a reindeer and a robot. Outraged at the prospect of being called a robot, Franky begins arguing with Sanji, saying he is a cyborg and that he is based on a human. Sanji yells that Franky was based on a pervert and the cyborg pirate takes this with a laugh, thanking Sanji for the "compliment". Luffy is seen singing on the three-headed dog. Robin then brings the subject of the monsters in Thriller Bark, saying that all of the monsters had bandages, stitches and a number imprinted on the side. Zoro agrees, noticing the number "82" on the side of the three-headed dog.

A ghost appears which gets Luffy excited. The ghosts, saying "negative", multiply, exiting Luffy even more. Luffy attempts to catch one to keep, only to fail. Franky shoots one, only to go straight through. The ghost runs through Franky. At that point, Franky loses the will to live and grows depressed, only to get yelled at by Sanji. Luffy tries to catch a ghost barehanded, only to have it go straight through, also making him depressed.

Robin comes up with a conclusion, saying that when the ghost touched a person, they lose the will to live. Zoro calls them a disgrace, that they did not try to train their spirits to be strong and no mastery over their mind. He states that it wasn't a surprise they fell for the "poltergeist trick". A ghost runs through Zoro, also making depressed, ironically. Robin wonders about Thriller Bark, calling it mysterious. Revitalized, Franky and Luffy start bad-mouthing the ghost while Sanji mocks Zoro for his "mastery of the mind". They pass on through a graveyard, where Luffy wanted to eat his lunch, only to be stopped by Sanji.

Suddenly, a hand comes out of the ground and then the top half of a zombie. Luffy simply walks over and shoves the zombie back into the ground. The zombie gets up again, saying "Do you think I would just go back home you moron?!!!". Luffy studies the zombie, concluding that he was "badly wounded". Franky, Zoro and Sanji yell at Luffy that it was a zombie. Zombies rise up from the ground, doing dances in the air, preparing to fight the pirates. The Straw Hats accept the challenge, getting ready to fight.

The five use a combo move called 600,000,000 Jackpot, defeating all the zombies. They all kneel down in front of Luffy, scared that the Straw Hats would attempt to hurt them once more. Luffy asks if Nami, Usopp and Chopper had passed through. The zombies state that they could not answer the question under orders. Luffy finds out that they indeed passed through the graveyard and once again asks if the zombies touched them. They all reply with a no. Luffy asks again and one zombie rats out another, shocking the latter. Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, Franky and Robin all leave the graveyard, leaving the zombies stuck in the ground upside down.

A zombie calls out, saying that he had a story to tell. Luffy states that he was badly injured. Franky, Sanji and Zoro shout at Luffy that it was a zombie. However, this "zombie" reveals himself as a badly wounded old man. The old man continues, saying that he had a certain task for the Straw Hats, that he would be grateful if his shadow was returned to him and the perpetrator was stopped from his ill doings. Luffy relates this story to Brook's and the old man states that a man named "Moria" had taken his shadow. Robin, suddenly interested, asks if the name was "Gecko Moria". Luffy asks why this was so important. Robin states that Moria had a bounty exceeding Luffy's, and that Gecko Moria was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Chapter Notes:
Cindry's full name is Victoria Cindry, who was a famous stage actress that died 10 years ago.
It is also revealed that she's a zombie.
A man named Gecko Moria is the one who stole Brook's shadow.
Gecko Moria is revealed to be a Warlord of the Sea.