Lloyd arrived at the territory of one of the Shichibukai, Gekko Moriah, the massive pirate ship known as Thriller Bark.
The current Gekko Moriah could only be described as a disgrace to the Shichibukai. After losing to Luffy, his continued position among them was nothing more than a stain on their reputation. Lloyd had not come here to warn him or to negotiate. In the original story, Kuma had appeared to help Gekko Moriah clean up the aftermath, but Lloyd had come for a very different reason. This time, there would be no second chances. Gekko Moriah would be completely eliminated.
Of course, someone like Gekko Moriah was not important enough to make Lloyd act personally. The real objective was the Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
The original power of the Blood-Blood Fruit that once existed in his right arm had already been completely fused and absorbed by the Vampire Fruit. Because of that, Lloyd could obtain another Devil Fruit again. Out of all the possible abilities in the world, the one he had his eyes on was the Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
In Lloyd's view, shadow and darkness were nearly identical. Darkness created shadows, and shadows could not exist without darkness. That meant the Shadow-Shadow Fruit most likely contained the missing origin power that the Dark-Dark Fruit lacked.
After storing the speedboat inside the dark bible, Lloyd leaped into the air and landed directly on the enormous pirate ship known as Thriller Bark.
Although it was called a pirate ship, it felt more like a gloomy island. Thick fog covered everything, and the sky above it was always dark. The atmosphere alone was enough to make ordinary people tremble, but Lloyd simply walked forward without hesitation.
Because of the earlier battle with the Straw Hat Crew, the number of zombies roaming the island had already decreased significantly. Lloyd did not waste time dealing with the remaining ones. He walked straight through the fog, passed the broken courtyards, and eventually reached the giant castle where Gekko Moriah resided.
Inside the castle hall, Gekko Moriah was lying lazily on a sofa. His thick neck was wrapped in bandages, and his face still looked weak from the injuries he had suffered. Absalom and Hogback were sitting nearby, both of them also covered in bandages.
The moment the massive gate was kicked open, the loud crash echoed through the hall and all three of them jumped up in shock.
Gekko Moriah's voice was filled with anger and unease.
"Who is it?"
Footsteps echoed through the silent hall. At first they were faint, but they became louder with every step. Soon, a tall figure wearing a cloak appeared in front of them.
When Gekko Moriah saw the face clearly, his expression instantly changed.
"Admiral Black Dragon?!"
Lloyd slowly raised his eyes and looked at him. His gaze was calm and emotionless.
"Gekko Moriah, you have lost the right to remain a Shichibukai. I am here to take your life."
"What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Gekko Moriah stumbled backward in panic and almost tripped over the sofa. Lloyd walked forward step by step. Every step sounded heavy, like a funeral bell echoing inside the hall.
The pressure in the air became suffocating. Cold sweat appeared on Gekko Moriah's forehead. He swallowed nervously, then forced himself to speak.
"Black Dragon, don't push it too far!"
Even so, Gekko Moriah still refused to beg for mercy. His stubborn personality had not changed at all.
Absalom slowly moved closer to him and whispered nervously,
"Gekko Moriah-sama, we should escape..."
Hogback had already collapsed back onto the sofa. His entire body was trembling uncontrollably. To him, Lloyd looked like death itself walking toward them.
The hall became completely silent.
Under the unbearable pressure, Gekko Moriah finally acted. The shadow beneath his feet suddenly stretched and transformed into a long black blade shaped like a gecko. It shot forward and stabbed directly toward Lloyd.
"Horn Blade Shadow!"
Clang.
Lloyd did not dodge at all. The shadow blade stabbed into his chest, yet it produced a metallic sound, as if it had struck solid steel.
Gekko Moriah's eyes widened in disbelief.
"How is that possible? Did you use Haki?!"
In truth, Lloyd had not even used Armament Haki. With his Mythical Zoan abilities and the Lunarian bloodline factor in his body, attacks at this level could not break his defense even if he stood completely still.
Lloyd lowered his head slightly and looked at the black blade pressed against his chest. Then he raised his right hand. Black mist began to gather around it before he pressed his palm directly onto the shadow blade.
In the next second, the Horn Blade Shadow that Gekko Moriah had created suddenly softened. The shadow began to distort, then half of it was instantly absorbed into Lloyd's hand.
Gekko Moriah desperately tried to pull it back, but he could only recover a small portion. This was his own shadow, yet he was losing control of it.
The moment most of his shadow disappeared, his body weakened immediately. It was the first time he had ever experienced the terrifying feeling of losing his own shadow.
Fear filled his face. He could not believe what was happening. He had actually lost control of his own shadow to Lloyd.
Lloyd stared at his right hand, which was now covered in deep black mist. A faint smile slowly appeared on his face. He was now completely certain that the Shadow-Shadow Fruit was exactly what he had been searching for.
As the master of darkness, shadows should naturally fall under his control. He had once tried to manipulate shadows while developing the Dark-Dark Fruit, but he had never succeeded. There had never been any connection between him and shadows.
Until now.
The moment Gekko Moriah materialized his shadow, Lloyd clearly felt that connection. It was so strong that he could directly seize the shadow by force.
Thinking about it, Lloyd raised his head again. A faint golden light flashed through his eyes.
A sense of danger exploded inside Gekko Moriah's mind.
"Absalom!"
Absalom instantly understood. He immediately grabbed Gekko Moriah and activated the power of the Transparent Fruit. In an instant, both of them disappeared from sight.
Only Lloyd and Hogback were left inside the hall.
Hogback tried to stand up and escape, but his body felt completely frozen. Lloyd did not even look at him. A bolt of lightning appeared in his hand and shot forward instantly, reducing Hogback to ashes before he could even scream.
In the next moment, Lloyd's figure vanished.
He reappeared directly in front of the entrance. The air in front of him suddenly rippled.
A wet tearing sound echoed through the hall.
Gekko Moriah and Absalom were forced back into visibility. Absalom's eyes were wide open, and blood poured out of his mouth.
Lloyd slowly pulled his arm out of Absalom's chest. Absalom's body collapsed to the ground lifelessly.
Seeing his subordinate die instantly, Gekko Moriah's face twisted in rage.
"Black Dragon! You bastard..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lloyd's hand was already pressed against his enormous stomach. A dark vortex appeared immediately. In an instant, his internal organs were completely destroyed.
Gekko Moriah's eyes rolled back, and his massive body crashed onto the ground.
Silence filled the hall once again.
Lloyd stood calmly in front of the corpse. Black mist gathered in his palm and slowly formed a black-covered bible. When the bible disappeared, a black fruit wrapped in strange leaves appeared in its place.
The Shadow-Shadow Fruit.