"Ah... they really went all out, didn't they."
iser, who had returned to the building area, glanced around and found the place completely wrecked. The culprits were none other than the two figures currently facing off in the open space.
"Straw Hat Boy!!"
Moria, whose body had grown to nearly ten ters tall, had bloodshot eyes as he roared furiously, "Don't think you're the only one who can use shadows to enhance yourself! As a Devil Fruit user, I can do the sa!"
"ROAR!!"
To defeat the boy before him, he directly absorbed the shadows of so Zombies on the island, making himself even stronger!
This way, whether in strength or speed, he would no longer be inferior to the boy in front of him.
"So what?" Luffy said calmly, staring at Moria. "Even if you can use shadows to enhance yourself, you still won't be my match!"
"I'm one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea—"
"And I'm the man who will beco the Pirate King! What does being a Warlord matter?!"
With a furious roar, Luffy pushed off with his legs, launching himself at Moria with explosive speed.
"Gum-Gum Nightmare Fist!"
"Shadow Fist!!"
"BOOM!!"
Mid-air, their fists collided violently, generating a shockwave that sent debris flying in all directions.
This seed to ignite the fuse—the two of them engaged in a frenzied battle in the open space, their madness on full display.
"This guy can actually fight Luffy in this state to such an extent?" iser frowned. "That's really unexpected."
From what Moria had shown before... iser had thought he was pretty weak, possibly even inferior to Crocodile.
But now, it was like he was a completely different person—his speed and strength had beco terrifying.
It seed the shadow enhancent was extrely effective for him as a Devil Fruit user. Even Luffy couldn't easily take him down.
Just then, iser noticed the pair of horns on Moria's head and thought, "Those horns... why do they look so similar to Oars'?"
Could it be that Moria also had Giant blood?
Well, that made sense. Without Giant blood, he wouldn't have been able to grow this tall.
But... what kind of person would even combine with a Giant to produce a hybrid?
The size difference alone... was this so kind of cave adventure story?
As a certain image flashed through his mind, iser's expression turned strange, and his lips twitched.
Dispel the image... dispel the image...
Shaking his head, iser forcibly pushed the thought out of his mind.
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
"Oh... I get it..." iser said, as if enlightened. "There must be a Devil Fruit that lets you grow bigger."
Otherwise, how could a human possibly have offspring with a Giant?
With that thought, everything made sense.
"Hey!!"
"iser!!"
"Hm?"
Hearing Nami's voice, iser instinctively turned his head and imdiately spotted Nami and the others on the ground.
After jumping down from the rooftop, iser looked at Nami and asked, "Has the fighting on your side ended?"
"Yeah, it's over," Nami replied. "Our battle wasn't as intense as yours."
"Not many zombies?"
"Right, we didn't encounter many," Echo chid in.
"Black Leg and the others were amazing! Even the General Zombies were no match for them, hahaha!"
iser glanced at their feet and noticed that many of their shadows had already returned.
"Seems like things went smoothly..."
"3"
"The remaining zombies have gone into hiding. Finding them won't be easy," Sanji said. "So we ca over here to check on the situation."
If Luffy could defeat Moria, they wouldn't have to worry about their shadows anymore. Once the ability user was defeated, the shadows would naturally return to them.
"What about that Hogback guy?"
"I already took him down!" Chopper declared proudly.
This ti, he had thoroughly beaten that scoundrel, making him pay for trampling on dical ethics!
"iser, iser! I defeated enemies too!" rry raised her hand excitedly.
She had knocked out several zombies with her little hamr.
"Good job, rry~"
iser crouched down with a smile, ruffling rry's hair affectionately.
"What's the situation on your side?" Nami asked.
"Oars has been defeated," iser replied. "I purified him using seawater."
"Whaaat?!"
Lola and the others stared at iser in shock. Had he really used such a thod to purify that terrifying giant?
"I'm a Ninja, rember?" iser chuckled.
"Oh, right..."
Echo quickly realized—Ninja big bro might even know the Water Release Technique, so manipulating seawater made perfect sense.
As expected of Ninja big bro!!
"That commotion over there..."
"Is that Luffy?"
"Yep," iser nodded. "Luffy's locked in a fierce battle with Moria right now."
Now, it was just a matter of ti before Luffy erged victorious.
"Let's go check it out!" rry exclaid.
With that, she dashed off on her short legs toward the corner where the noise was coming from.
The others followed suit, but iser scanned the group and asked, "By the way, where are Zoro and the others?"
"Uh... no idea."
"I know!" Tooth suddenly spoke up. "I saw them earlier in the hallway, running around like they were searching for sothing."
"Running...?" A bad feeling crept into iser's mind, and he instinctively asked, "Who was leading the way?"
"Pirate Hunter big bro."
iser: "..."
Covering his face with his hand, iser groaned, "Why him...?"
Nami and the others sighed deeply. What were those guys thinking, letting Zoro lead the way?
That guy was hopeless with directions!!
At this rate, they might just end up running straight back to their own ship.
At that mont, rry, who had run to the corner, shouted, "iser, what's that horned guy over there?"
Hearing this, iser walked over to rry and looked at Moria in the distance. "That's a worthless fool who's lost his spirit and only knows how to rely on external things."
Lola:
Moria is worthless?
In iser's eyes, Gekko Moria—a Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea—is just a worthless fool?
What a terrifying man.
anwhile, Franky, who was running down the main road, opened his shark-like mouth and roared at Zoro beside him, "What kind of path are you leading us on?!"
He really shouldn't have trusted this guy. What should have been a re few hundred ters had sohow turned into several kiloters of detours under his guidance.
Franky was furious.
Zoro, sprayed with spit, scratched his head and said, "I don't think I took a wrong turn..."
"Yohohoho~"
"Mr. Zoro is quite amusing, isn't he~"
Brook wasn't angry at all—in fact, he found such a person rather entertaining.
"You actually trusted Zoro..." Usopp sighed helplessly. "This guy is famously terrible with directions, you know~"
"Hey!"
Ignoring Zoro's protest, Usopp continued, "Luckily, you ran into . Otherwise, you'd still be going in circles here."
After defeating the Ghost Woman, Usopp had gone downstairs to look for his crewmates, only to find them wandering in circles.
The first ti, he couldn't catch up. The second ti, he barely managed to reach them.
Upon asking, he learned Zoro was leading the way. Usopp's expression at that mont was indescribably complex.
"You defeated that Ghost Woman?"
"Yep." Usopp puffed out his chest proudly. "Clearly, she was no match for !!"
"Not bad at all!" Franky gave him a thumbs-up.
He knew firsthand just how troubleso the Ghost Woman was. Those terrifying Negative Spirits could drain all his fighting spirit the mont they touched him, turning him into a complete pessimist.
Only soone like Usopp, who wasn't afraid of her, could defeat her.
"Of course! Who do you think I am?"
"Ahahahaha!"
Usopp burst into laughter, thoroughly satisfied with his victory.
As if so asly Ghost Woman could stand up to him.
"By the way, who are they?" Usopp pointed at Sick and the others.
"Oh, them..."
Franky scratched his head. "They said they're Lola's subordinates. Luffy sent them to find us."
"Huh?!"
"And you just believed them?!" Usopp stared at Franky in shock. Was this guy an idiot too?
Hmm?
Too?
Recalling his own earlier antics, Usopp fell into deep thought.
"Because they don't have Shadows," Franky said, spreading his hands.
He wasn't a fool—he knew to verify things.
Though he couldn't confirm if they were truly Lola's subordinates, anyone without a Shadow was an enemy of Moria's.
And if they were enemies, what was the problem with joining forces?
"Fair point..."
"BOOM!!"
Just then, another deafening explosion echoed from the distance, as if sothing terrifying had detonated.
"Quick, let's go check it out!"
"Right!"
Upon reaching their destination, the group spotted iser and the others standing behind a pile of rocks.
"Hey, everyone!!"
"Ah, Usopp, you made it!"
rry was overjoyed to see Usopp and the others safe and sound, waving her small hands excitedly from atop a rock.
After regrouping, Zoro asked, "What's going on here...?"
"Is that Luffy?"
Zoro pointed at Luffy in his dream-like state, his eyes filled with confusion. If it weren't for the fact that this guy kept muttering sothing about rubber, he wouldn't have recognized him at all. But what was happening to Luffy?
"Let explain," Sick stepped forward. "The Shadows Moria stole can be infused into a body to enhance combat power. Right now, Straw Hat Boy has 100 Shadows inside him."
"At this mont, he possesses the strength of a hundred people!"
"A hundred people?!"
"Exactly." Sick gave a thumbs-up. "Straw Hat Boy is incredibly powerful now!"
They had nearly been killed by flying debris while protecting these Shadows, but Sick didn't mind. A man must keep his word!
"That's right, Straw Hat Boy is amazing—he can withstand a hundred Shadows!"
"Yeah, we wouldn't even dare to imagine such a thing..."
"An ordinary person would struggle to handle even one Shadow, let alone a hundred."
Everyone chid in, each remark highlighting Luffy's extraordinary strength.
Finally, Sick turned to iser with a smile. "Ninja bro, we didn't let you down, did we?"
iser grinned and gave them a thumbs-up. "All I can say is... well done!"
"HAHAHAHA!"
The group burst into laughter, basking in the feeling of recognition.
"So it's thanks to you guys that Luffy beca like this..." Sanji remarked. "The power of Shadows is truly terrifying."
"Powerful, yes, but it won't last long..." Lola added. "Let's hope he can defeat Moria before his power runs out."
If he didn't defeat Moria in ti, Straw Hat Boy would be at a severe disadvantage.
"Hmph, these ants actually dared to co out..."
After exchanging a punch with Luffy, Moria glanced at the distant figures and sneered. "How bold. Straw Hat Boy's crew is one thing—they're strong enough to challenge . But those pathetic wretches hiding in the forest... why would they dare show themselves? Do they really think... I won't kill them?!"
With a cold laugh, Moria declared, "You fools have a death wish. Since you're so eager to die, don't bla for being rciless!"
Moria's fury was now fully ignited. He had no intention of sparing them—he could always collect more Shadows later. They were just small fry anyway.
"I won't let you lay a finger on them!" Luffy glared coldly at Moria.
"Kid, you should be asking them for help right now."
"I don't need it!"
"I told you—I'll defeat you myself!!"
With a roar, Luffy suddenly intensified the force in his arms, pushing Moria back with sheer strength.
Wh—
Moria, who was sent flying backward, had a look of disbelief flash through his eyes. Even in his current state, he had actually been knocked back by the Straw Hat Boy?
Keep in mind, the number of shadows within his body was double that of the Straw Hat Boy's!
Not giving Moria a chance to counterattack, Luffy swung his arm wildly, spinning it rapidly through the air before delivering a devastating punch straight at Moria!!
"Gomu-Gomu Rocket!!"
"BOOM!!"
The incredibly heavy blow struck Moria right in the stomach, causing his eyes to bulge out and his abdon to cave inward!
"THUD!!"
"AAAHHH!!!"
A piercing scream rang out as Moria was sent flying backward, crashing violently into the tallest building!
"CRASH!"
The impact left a massive hole in the structure!
Watching Moria sprawled on the ground, Echo exclaid excitedly, "D-Did we win?!"
"I... I don't know..."
"After taking such a heavy hit, he must be defeated!!"
The group stared eagerly at the gap, waiting for their shadows to return.
But to their confusion, not a single shadow flew back—as if Moria losing consciousness still didn't deactivate his ability.
"What's going on?" Franky frowned. "Even if he's unconscious, his ability doesn't stop?"
Normally, when a Devil Fruit user was knocked unconscious, their ability should deactivate.
"Because that bastard isn't unconscious at all," iser said calmly, perched atop a boulder. "He's still alive."
From his vantage point, he could clearly see Moria's condition—the man wasn't unconscious but was instead panting heavily, as if trying to control his injuries.
"What?! After taking such a terrifying attack, he's still conscious?!"
"What a monster..."
"Is this the power of a Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea?"
Echo and the others wore expressions of shock, clearly not expecting Moria's endurance to be this formidable.
Then... just how much more power would it take to defeat him?
At that mont, Luffy, standing on the ground, suddenly trembled. The next instant, countless shadows burst out from his body, soaring into the sky.
His form rapidly shrank back to its original size, like a deflating balloon.
"It's over..." Lola said grimly.
Even soone as strong as the Straw Hat Boy couldn't maintain the shadow-enhanced state for long.
"What do we do now?"
"Let's go help him!!" Echo turned to iser. "Big Bro Ninja, using shadows leaves you completely exhausted afterward!"
"Right, we should all attack together—don't give Moria a chance to recover!"
"Hey, say sothing already!"
But the Straw Hat Pirates remained silent. Despite their concern for Luffy's condition, none of them moved.
Because Luffy had declared he would defeat Moria himself!
Seeing this, Echo was dumbfounded. At a ti like this, why care about so captain's duel? The priority was taking down the enemy!
"Big Bro Straw Hat, we'll—"
"Don't!" Luffy shouted.
"Don't?"
Echo froze. Even in this state, was he still trying to tough it out?
Luffy punched the ground, forcing himself to stand up as he declared, "Stay out of this, all of you!"
"I said Moria is mine! I'll knock him flying!"
After taking a deep breath, Luffy crouched low, his gaze locked onto the distant breach. Clearly, he'd noticed Moria's situation too.
Under Luffy's intense stare, Moria shuddered before slowly rising, his expression twisting into sothing even more sinister. Crushing the wall blocking him with one hand, Moria roared, "Straw Hat Boy!!"
"Moria!!"
Seeing Luffy show no fear, Moria sneered. "Heh, so your ability's worn off." His opponent's enhanced state had disappeared—aning that power capable of rivaling him was gone.
"So what?" Luffy inhaled deeply, suppressing his discomfort as he activated Second Gear. Then, glaring at Moria, he declared, "Even like this, I can still beat you!"
"Anyone can talk big!" Moria shot back, casting a sinister grin at iser and the others. "Bunch of brats who don't know their place... I'll crush you with my ultimate power!"
"Let show you what a real nightmare looks like!"
"Shadow... Grand Assembly!!"
"BOOM!!"
Thick black tendrils erupted from Moria's feet, rapidly spreading across the entire island. Every hidden zombie was ensnared by his power, their shadows forcibly ripped away. Right before everyone's eyes, Moria's body began swelling monstrously.
"Straw Hat Boy..."
"3"
"I'll make you understand with absolute power just how pathetic your strength is!!"
"300!"
"500!"
"700!"
"888!!" Moria bellowed. "888 shadows empowering my body! You stand no chance against !!"
"ROAR!!"
His eyes brimming with madness, Moria's roar made it clear—even for him, maintaining consciousness under 888 shadows was no easy feat. Having absorbed them, his body had grown terrifyingly colossal, reaching a horrifying height of dozens of ters!!
At this mont, the pressure Moria exerted dwarfed even what they'd felt from Oars earlier.
"Hey hey hey, this can't be real?!" Sick cried in terror. "Big Bro Straw Hat was terrifying enough with just a hundred shadows, and Moria's using 888 now?"
"Damn it, how strong must he be?!"
"He's enormous!!"
iser frowned too. If Luffy could send Oars flying with just a hundred shadows, how powerful must Moria be with this many?
"Thank goodness iser burned so zombies earlier..." Usopp gulped. Otherwise, Moria might have absorbed even more than 888 shadows.
Hearing this, the others looked relieved—iser's foresight had truly saved them!
iser himself remained silent, his focus fixed on the bulging veins across Moria's face.
Judging from the other party's expression, maintaining 888 Shadows wasn't an easy task.
If he absorbs more shadows... is there a risk of this guy losing consciousness completely? iser thought to himself.
"Hey, run away!" Echo shouted. "Get away from this monster!"
"No."
"There's no need." Zoro said calmly.
Not just Zoro, but none of the Straw Hat Pirates moved, because they all believed Luffy could definitely defeat this guy!
"Hey, you guys—"
Before Echo could finish speaking, Moria began to move.
"Straw Hat Boy, your crew really believes in you," Moria shook his head and slowly looked down at Luffy. "But it doesn't matter—I'll take you all out!"
As he spoke, Moria raised his enormous fist and swung it at Luffy, roaring, "Try enduring the power of these 888 punches!!"
"Straw Hat Boy!"
Luffy's expression changed as he imdiately leaped away to dodge the attack.
The next mont...
"BOOM!!!"
The terrifying strike shattered the ground of Thriller Bark completely.
The sheer force made the entire island tremble.
"What kind of power is this...?"
"What a terrifying monster!!"
Echo stared at the ground in horror. Moria had just shattered the ground with a single punch?
Just how monstrous was this being?
"Don't be fooled by appearances!!" iser shouted. "He's in a berserk state right now—he's not in good shape either. He might collapse on his own soon."
This guy was already struggling just to maintain his current form. How much longer could he fight?
Even if he was the original user of this power, iser refused to believe he could keep this up for long.
"You little ninja brat, who the hell do you think I am?!" Moria bellowed. "I am Gecko Moria!!"
"My own power could never make lose control!!"
"With my current strength, even a Yonko could—"
"Gomu-Gomu Rocket!!"
"BOOM!!"
Luffy didn't give him ti to finish, slamming a devastating punch into Moria's body and forcing so shadows to spill out from him.
"Urk—"
"No! My shadows!"
Moria imdiately clamped a hand over his mouth, desperate to keep the shadows from escaping.
If all the shadows disappeared, his form would collapse—and then he'd have no chance of killing these people.
After forcibly stabilizing himself, Moria glared down at Luffy. "Straw Hat Boy, you—"
Before he could finish, he saw Luffy leap into the air again, his hands rapidly swelling to a size comparable to a giant's!
"Hey, is Luffy really okay in this state?!" Usopp cried in panic.
Back at Enies Lobby, just using Second Gear had nearly killed Luffy. And now he was using both at once?
Wouldn't... wouldn't that make it even worse?
Unfortunately, no one could answer him—because the others were wondering the sa thing.
"Moria!!"
"I'll defeat you and take my crew out of here alive!!"
"Gum-Gum Giant Rocket!!"
As Luffy hurtled toward him, Moria roared and swung his own massive fist to et the attack.
"Straw Hat Boy!!!"
"Die!!!"
"Bam!!"
"Boom!!"
Moria's attack landed squarely on Luffy, deforming his body from the sheer impact, yet Luffy's fists never stopped—they hamred rcilessly into Moria's torso!
"Boom!!"
"Boom!!"
Moria's monstrous strength sent Luffy crashing into the ground, carving out a massive crater!
anwhile, Luffy's counterattack struck Moria's abdon with such force that it caved inward, sending the warlord flying backward until he smashed through Thriller Bark's main mast!
"Boom!!"
The colossal structure began to tilt, collapsing directly toward Moria.
"No!!"
Watching the impending doom, Moria's eyes bulged with rage, yet he was powerless—
He could only stare as the wreckage crushed him beneath its weight.
The unimaginable force shattered his consciousness, his eyes rolling back as his vision whitened.
Moria weakly reached out, grasping at nothing before his arm fell limp.
"Seems we've won," iser sighed in relief.
He then leaped over to dig Luffy out from the rubble, intent on treating his injuries.
"Damn it..."
Glancing at iser's approach, Moria recalled the words once spoken to him.
'Is this... the consequence of neglecting my own strength?' Moria thought bitterly.
Now, it felt as though he was handing iser an answer—one the man had predicted from the start.
With a hollow laugh, Moria mustered his last breath: "Ninja brat... was I truly wrong?"
He'd created immortal zombies to spare his crew from death, to conquer foes with undying might.
Yet in the end, his puppets ant nothing.
Even the invincible Oars fell before them.
And now, even he—empowered by shadows—lay defeated.
His heart twisted with regret.
Hearing Moria, iser turned back. "Find that answer within yourself."
"Within... myself?" Moria murmured.
Then—iser's crimson eyes consud his vision, the iconic Three Tomoe spinning slowly.
Moria's awareness dimd, his breath fading.
A final, rueful chuckle escaped him. To think he'd lose to rookies...
Darkness crept in. Was this the end?
Yet—impossibly—his beloved crew appeared before him!
Not as mories, but flesh and blood!
As if... they'd never died.
"You've... co for ...?"
At this mont, the mories buried deep within Moria's heart were completely awakened!
Tears welled up in Moria's eyes as her head tilted to the side, losing consciousness.
I'm sorry...
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