Chapter 288: Is It My Fault for Not Having Face Blindness?
The next moment, that spot seemed to become a window for a prison break, as countless shadows frantically fled through it.
When it came to toying with shadows, Nereus naturally couldn't match Moria's abilities. The Shadow-Shadow Fruit was the true expert in manipulating shadows.
However, melting into the shadows to accomplish a bit of stealth was still well within Nereus's capabilities.
As a bloodline descendant, Ginny had inherited a fraction of that power. Relying on her ability to utilize shadows, she had forced open a window of salvation from within the very prison where Moria kept the shadows trapped inside his body.
Those shadows were already struggling to escape. Upon discovering the opening, they instantly began fleeing with reckless abandon.
"Bastard... what did you do to me?!"
Moria noticed the anomaly at his feet, but it was already too late. Ginny made a funny face at him, even waved hello, and then simply closed the door, retreating into the Door World.
Seeing Ginny's actions, Kuma didn't remain idle. The abilities of the Paw-Paw Fruit were incredibly comprehensive—healing, teleportation, defense, close combat, and ranged attacks made him an absolute all-rounder.
This time, the target of Kuma's attack wasn't a physical body, but the air itself.
Kuma pressed his hands against the empty space in front of him, compressing the air in the entire area until it shrank into an insignificant, paw-shaped bubble.
"Ursus Shock."
Kuma launched the tiny bubble forward. It wasn't until it struck his chest that Moria heard the sound of tearing air.
There were no flames, nor the deafening roar of an explosion. Struck directly, Moria seemed to freeze perfectly still.
The highly compressed air detonated inside him, the terrifying concussive force blowing straight through his body. The shadows trapped within him completely lost control, fleeing wildly in all directions as they desperately sought to return to their original masters.
Moria's massive frame began to deflate like a punctured balloon, slowly collapsing to the ground.
The residual force pierced through Moria's body and shot straight into the clouds, carving an arc through the thick, oppressive fog and allowing sunlight to fall upon this cursed land for the first time in ages.
However, this was no blessing. Those whose shadows had already returned to them were fine, but those who hadn't retrieved their shadows yet frantically scrambled for cover at the sight of the sun.
Moria himself didn't fear the sunlight, nor did his zombie creations. But if the light touched those who had lost their shadows, they would instantly turn to ash.
This was exactly why Moria had chosen these waters. It wasn't out of any respect for the shadow's original owners; he simply needed them alive to ensure his zombie army could function normally.
The people trapped on Thriller Bark were pirates themselves. The moment they reclaimed their shadows, they immediately bolted toward where Moria kept their ships, determined to flee these waters.
As for the battle between Kuma and Moria, the pirates couldn't care less. They had no intention of gambling on Kuma's good nature. Their previous interactions were solely based on the hope that this powerhouse could defeat Moria for them.
...
"Come to think of it... what was our reason for fighting this guy again?"
"No idea. We originally just wanted to investigate what was going on here, then we got attacked by zombies, and then this guy popped out. Looks like a grave robber, maybe? Why else would there be so many corpses around here?"
With the battle over, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi suddenly found themselves confused about how the fight had even started.
This "onion-man" in front of them had shown up rambling about stealing shadows. Even during the fight, he was spouting complete nonsense that they couldn't begin to understand.
"Hold on, I definitely have some intel on this guy written down. I just can't quite remember."
Luna flipped through her intelligence notebook. After sailing for so many years, taking notes was essential. At the very least, they needed to know exactly who they were up against.
"It should be... this one, right?"
After rummaging through it for a while, Luna showed a page from the notebook to the others.
"Isn't this exactly identical? What are you doubting?"
"Yeah, you really need to eat some carrots for your eyesight. How could you not recognize him?"
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi repeatedly compared the image to the man on the ground. They felt the portrait in Luna's hand and the defeated Moria were cast from the exact same mold, completely identical. They couldn't fathom why she had stared at it for so long.
"I hate carrots... Wait, no! How are they identical at all?!"
Luna compared the drawing with the fat, shut-in version of Moria lying in front of her again, completely bewildered by her companions. She never expected that not having face blindness would be the thing causing her trouble.
The Moria in Luna's notes was the one from before his war with Kaido. Back then, while you couldn't call him handsome, he was well-proportioned and muscular. He looked nothing like this round, flabby figure whose neck had somehow stretched out.
After his defeat at the hands of Kaido, Moria had gone down the path of a lazy shut-in, rarely showing his face. This caused a delay in Luna's intelligence updates, leading to her failure to recognize him immediately.
However, based on his Devil Fruit powers and the pirate flag revealed after the fog dispersed, they could now confidently confirm his identity.
"Defeated by Kaido seven years ago, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea..."
After a brief comparison, Luna completed the missing gaps in her data.
"If all the Warlords are at this level, that's actually a good thing. At the very least, a guy like this won't interfere with Lord Nereus's plans. But... will defeating a Warlord cause us any trouble?"
"Maybe. I certainly didn't expect you guys to bump into a Warlord out here. It seems... we have a tendency to clash with the Warlords."
As Luna was muttering to herself, a slightly unfamiliar voice chimed in from behind. Only this time, there was no trouble recognizing who it was.
"Your Highness? How did you get here?"
"Just passing through. I was on my way back to Fish-Man Island but felt a commotion over here, so I came to take a look."
Kuma's final strike had blasted a temporary gap through the perpetual fog. In this mist-covered stretch of sea, a gap like that was basically like lighting a torch in the dead of night.
Once someone noticed the anomaly and flew up high, it didn't take long to see what was happening.
"Don't worry. You aren't flying Fish-Man Island's flag, and the outside world doesn't know the details of your situation.
"Logically speaking, either your bounties will go up and draw a massive Marine encirclement, or... you'll receive an invitation from the World Government to join the Seven Warlords."
There had never been a case of a Warlord being defeated before, so Amphitrite couldn't be certain what the future held. They could only take things one step at a time.
However, Amphitrite had no intention of doing anything about Moria. It wasn't like the situation in Alabasta where she couldn't easily make a move and thus decided to leave him as a whetstone for the next generation.
Rather, Amphitrite understood that unless the Warlord system was abolished entirely, defeating one would simply result in a replacement stepping up shortly after.
Rather than letting the World Government acquire a new, unknown combatant, it was better to leave an easily manageable opponent like him right where he was...
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