Silence swallowed the room.
Inside the dim castle hall, candle flames flickered unsteadily, casting long shadows across the stone walls. In the wavering light, Moria's face was deathly pale, his eyes burning blood-red with rage.
Having those words thrown in his face filled him with fury. At this point, Kojin wasn't merely criticizing him; he was openly humiliating him.
"Feh heh heh heh!"
Moria laughed instead of exploding, his teeth grinding loudly as he glared at the Marine before him. He was on the verge of snapping.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Absalom and Hogback anxiously signaling him to calm down. In the next instant, cold sweat broke out across his back.
'I almost lost control.'
Who exactly was the man in front of him?
This was the legend who had already made a name for himself across the seas while Moria was still young, the man who had hunted the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and defeated Golden Lion Shiki.
Back then, Kojin had only been in his early twenties. Now, twenty years had passed. No one could imagine how terrifying his strength had become. It wasn't something a mere Warlord like Moria could hope to challenge.
"Is there anything else you need, Admiral Kojin?" Moria asked coldly.
No matter what, he was still one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. As a Marine Admiral, Kojin couldn't just attack him without cause.
"I thought whatever little pride you had left would be enough to make you take a swing at me," Kojin said, shaking his head. "It seems your courage is even more pathetic than I expected."
"You...!!" Moria's face twisted with fury.
But before he could move, Absalom and Hogback grabbed his arms, desperately shaking their heads.
"Heh." Kojin sneered. "It's nothing important. The World Government learned that the Straw Hat Pirates arrived on this island. They're worried another Warlord might lose."
He paused, a mocking smile crossing his face.
"So they asked me to come and see... whether you need our help."
Moria clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. Every word dripped with contempt, and his pride couldn't bear it.
"No need! They're just a bunch of Straw Hat brats. Crushing them will be easy."
Kojin nodded. "Very well. Then we'll be leaving."
Without another word, he turned and walked toward the exit. Moria and the others exchanged surprised looks before quietly letting out a sigh of relief.
But just as Kojin reached the doorway, he stopped.
"One last thing, Gekko Moria. If you lose this battle... and drag the reputation of the Seven Warlords through the mud... the consequences won't be something you're willing to accept."
With that, Kojin disappeared beyond the doorway, and Bartholomew Kuma silently followed.
Moria's teeth ground together, his fists trembling with rage. "That bastard... He's got the most unbearable mouth!"
Absalom and Hogback looked at each other, both secretly relieved. They had genuinely feared Moria would clash with Kojin.
The Straw Hat crew was one thing, but provoking both a Marine Admiral and another Warlord?
That was way beyond anything they could survive.
---
Outside the castle, Kojin and Kuma found a quiet corner hidden from view.
"We're not leaving?" Kuma asked.
"Rather than leaving..."
Kojin smiled,
"...I'm much more interested in watching the show about to begin."
Confusion remained in Kuma's eyes. He didn't understand what Kojin meant, but he knew the answer would reveal itself soon enough.
Time passed. Hidden in the shadows, they watched an intense battle unfold.
'Straw Hat Pirates vs. Gekko Moria, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.'
Kojin seemed only mildly interested, but Kuma watched every moment without taking his eyes off the fight.
Roronoa Zoro versus the legendary samurai Ryuma.
Monkey D. Luffy versus Oars and Moria.
In the end... Moria was defeated.
Thriller Bark grew strangely quiet. Light finally pierced through the dark clouds and heavy mist, shining down upon the land as though dawn itself had arrived.
Kuma sat silently, his gaze drifting toward Kojin beside him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out what the man was thinking.
'Buru Buru Buru...'
The Den Den Mushi in Kuma's arms suddenly rang.
"Answer it," Kojin said without looking over.
Kuma nodded and answered the call.
"Moria has been defeated! This is yet another disgrace for the Seven Warlords of the Sea! Bartholomew Kuma! The honor of the Warlords cannot be tarnished! I order you to eliminate the ones responsible for this humiliation, the Straw Hat Pirates! Only by erasing them can the reputation of the Seven Warlords be preserved!"
An angry voice roared from the other end of the line. Kojin raised an eyebrow, recognizing immediately that the speaker wasn't one of the Five Elders.
Kuma looked toward him, silently seeking his opinion. Kojin merely shook his head and said nothing.
Kuma frowned slightly before hanging up, neither accepting nor refusing the order. Then his pupils suddenly contracted as Kojin slowly rose to his feet.
Kuma tensed. For a moment, he feared Kojin was about to make a move against the Straw Hat Pirates.
"I told Moria before... if he lost and brought shame upon the Seven Warlords, he'd have to face consequences he wouldn't like," Kojin said. "So I'll be the one to deal with this disgrace."
After a brief pause, he added with a faint smile, "As for the Straw Hat Pirates... I'll leave them to you."
Kuma's eyes widened slightly before he nodded. By the time he looked up again, Kojin had already dissolved into a flash of lightning and vanished.
"The Straw Hat Pirates..." Kuma murmured to himself, turning toward the exhausted crew as they rested after the battle.
---
Meanwhile...
In an instant, Kojin appeared right before Moria.
"Kojin!"
The badly wounded Hogback and Absalom immediately stiffened in alarm. Perona's eyes widened in shock as she stared at the Marine who had appeared out of nowhere. "What are you doing here?"
Kojin ignored her, his gaze sweeping silently over the group.
Lying battered on the ground, Moria slowly opened his eyes. The moment he recognized Kojin, his heart skipped a beat. "Kojin...!"
A cold smile spread across Kojin's face as he stepped forward. "I believe I warned you, Moria. If you lost to the Straw Hat Pirates and damaged the reputation of the Seven Warlords... the price would be more than you're willing to bear."
Moria's heart sank. Using every ounce of strength he had left, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky. "What do you want?"
Kojin didn't answer. He strode over to Moria.
Then, right before the horrified eyes of Hogback, Absalom, and Perona... he planted his foot squarely on Moria's face.
"You're truly the shame of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Gekko Moria."
Those few words, and that humiliating act, set the three of them ablaze with anger. Without hesitation, they rushed Kojin, but every attack passed harmlessly through his body. It was as if he weren't even there.
"Stop! It's useless!" Moria shouted, stopping his subordinates before they could go any further. "He's eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit! He's a Logia!"
Moria fixed his eyes on Kojin. "You can do whatever you want to me. Even kill me. But please... spare Perona, Absalom, and Hogback."
Kojin fell silent for a moment. Then he let out a cold laugh, his foot grinding down onto Moria's face once again.
"Look at yourself, Moria. Pathetic. Weak. And you think you're in any position to negotiate with me?" He sneered. "I can hardly believe a lump of mud like you once fought Kaido of the Four Emperors."
The instant he heard that name, Moria's body shook violently, his eyes turning bloodshot with rage.
"Kaido...!!"
He ground his teeth, growling the name out. If not for that man... if not for Kaido... he never would have lost every precious companion he had. He never would have fallen this far.
"How laughable, Gekko Moria. Look at yourself now. Compared to Kaido, you're nothing. He stands at the peak of the New World, while you can't even defeat a rookie pirate. You actually think you can challenge one of the Four Emperors again? What a total failure."
Kojin's words were merciless. Perona clenched her teeth and tried to charge him again, but Absalom and Hogback grabbed her before she could move. Both of them had realized something: an Admiral like Kojin wouldn't go this far out of simple spite. There had to be another reason.
"I'm not a failure!" Moria roared.
His heart was already overflowing with rage. Just hearing Kaido's name was enough to drive him mad, especially now, right after losing to the Straw Hat Pirates. All the pain, frustration, and helplessness he had buried for years came rushing back at once.
"You're not?" Kojin looked down at him. "Then what are you? You want to defeat Kaido? You want to reclaim everything you lost? With how you are now, you'll never do it. You'll only lose even more."
He pointed at Moria with open contempt. "Look at you. You've let yourself get as fat as a pig. You've completely lost faith in yourself. All you ever do is tell others, 'I'll leave it to you.' Moria... you're nothing but a lump of mud that can never be shaped into anything."
Every word struck Moria like a hammer. The memories he'd buried deep inside came flooding back, the friends who had fought beside him, the blood-stained battlefield, Kaido, their defeat, their deaths.
His defenses finally shattered, and he burst into tears.
"You're trash. The disgrace of the Seven Warlords. You've even disgraced the very name of a pirate," Kojin continued without mercy.
Moria wept even harder. For the first time in years, he truly wanted to die. His world had gone completely dark.
Then,
Through his blurred vision, a voice suddenly reached his ears.
"So... do you want to become stronger? Do you want to return to the New World... and defeat the man who destroyed everything you once held dear? Do you want another battle with Kaido, Moria?"
The voice was low and steady, filled with an irresistible gravity that pulled at the depths of his soul.
Moria's entire body trembled. His eyes snapped wide open, and he stared up at Kojin.
The mocking smile was gone. In its place was an expression of absolute seriousness, his eyes fixed firmly on him.
(End of Chapter)
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