[Whoosh!]
A long leg, gleaming with golden light, flashed past—
And Moria's head shattered, bursting into pieces of torn black shadows that danced through the air.
"Huh—?"
Borsalino stared in confusion at Moria's body, now transformed into a mass of dark purple-black shadows.
[Swish!]
Suddenly, the shadow lashed out with its sharp shadow blade, turning into a horizontal arc of black light that slashed cleanly across Borsalino's waist—splitting him in two.
Only—
There was no wound. No blood.
Instead, a radiant burst of golden light flared—
And in a flash, Borsalino reappeared where he had originally been standing.
"So scary~"
Borsalino wore a look of feigned fear, though his eyes were still locked with suspicion on Moria, now standing some 50 meters away.
"You're a Logia-type? But the records say you're a Paramecia-type with the Shadow-Shadow Fruit."
"Kishishishi... What I want to know is—how does your element form shrug off my slash? That last attack was clearly infused with Haki."
Moria had no interest in explaining his abilities. Instead, he shot the question back.
This was his first time facing a Logia user.
"Well, who knows~"
Borsalino's answer was utterly insincere.
"Hmph. We'll just have to fight it out and see! I don't believe Haki's useless against you!"
Moria snorted coldly.
[Bang!]
He stomped the ground with great force—
His nearly seven-meter-tall frame accelerated in an instant, tearing through the sonic boom with ease and surging forward like a giant mass of purple-black shadows.
At the same time, a shadowy figure identical to him—brandishing a shadow blade—rushed ahead to strike at Borsalino first.
Borsalino was faster.
With a casual flick, he drew a golden longsword formed entirely from condensed light particles.
In a blink, he blocked the oncoming shadow blade.
Then—
In less than two seconds, sword and blade clashed at such speed that to the naked eye, it was a blur.
Black and gold flashes collided again and again with crisp cling-clang sounds.
Wave after wave of air ripples burst through the air, while stray slashes carved ferocious gouges across the earth below.
In the next instant, Moria's true body closed in.
He tried to circle behind Borsalino—
But he flickered back a few meters in an instant, giving no chance for a pincer attack.
Left with no choice, Moria and his 'Shadow Doppelgänger' flanked from either side—
Slashing furiously with blades steeped in ominous purple-black energy.
Borsalino parried with one hand, observing them as he fought.
In terms of swordsmanship alone, Borsalino held the clear advantage, though Moria's skill wasn't bad either.
And then—there was speed.
[Swish—]
Borsalino once again transformed into a flash of light—
Vanishing in an instant, he reappeared on Moria's left flank and swung his blade downward.
Fortunately, Moria's Observation Haki wasn't lacking.
He sensed the attack immediately—
But it was too late to block with his sword.
At the last critical moment, Moria once again used his Shadow-Shadow Fruit power—
Switching places with his own shadow: the 'Shadow Doppelgänger'.
"Ah-le~~"
Borsalino raised an eyebrow in surprise.
But Moria didn't waste a single moment—
He launched his killing move right away.
[Boom!]
The 'Shadow Doppelgänger' in front of Borsalino suddenly exploded—
Transforming into a dense swarm of shadow bats that surged toward him from all directions like a giant black net.
Although the move came unexpectedly, Borsalino had Observation Haki.
Combined with the unmatched speed of the Glint-Glint Fruit, he dodged all the bats in an instant—
Reappearing high in the sky.
"Yo~ what a troublesome ability—"
Borsalino muttered as he scratched his chin and looked down with mild annoyance.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Gecko Moria frowned tightly as he stared upward and grumbled under his breath: "This guy's speed is ridiculous. How am I supposed to fight that?"
Looks like this fight is going to drag on...
Moria thought to himself.
Suddenly, he remembered his fellow clan members.
With a battle this loud and intense going on—
Why hadn't they shown up yet?!
[Beep————]
But Borsalino gave him no chance to check.
A dazzling golden light ignited at his fingertip.
[Zing! Zing! Zing!]
Three beams of light shot down at blazing speed—
Reaching Moria in an instant.
Yet with the help of his Observation Haki, Moria casually sidestepped them—
Effortlessly dodging all three lasers.
"Kishishishi—what's the point of that?"
Moria sneered coldly.
But the next second—
When those light beams struck the snow behind him—
Three bright-red fireballs erupted.
Blazing heat and concussive force instantly devoured a vast patch of snow—
And engulfed Gecko Moria entirely.
[Beep————]
Borsalino watched from above with calm detachment.
His fingertip continued to flash as he fired another volley of three lasers straight downward.
[Shing!]
Suddenly, amidst the rising blaze and smoke—
A massive purple-black slash tore through the flames and shockwave, parting them for a brief moment.
The 'Shadow Doppelgänger' shot into the sky—
Flying straight toward Borsalino.
But midair, the black color receded from its body—
Revealing a slightly battered Moria himself.
"Die!!"
He swung down with his massive blade—three meters long.
Its razor edge was cloaked in a thick layer of purple-black shadow energy and dense Armament Haki—
Crashing down on Borsalino from above to cleave him in two.
Only—
Just like before, there was no blood.
Instead, he split into two golden flashes that shot off to the left and right—
Then merged in midair some distance away.
That infuriatingly smug face reappeared once again.
"Yo~ So your shadow clone can fly too? What a scary power~~"
Borsalino puckered his lips in mock surprise.
But as he saw Moria drop back to the ground, he smirked and said: "So that's it. Once you switch, you can't stay airborne anymore."
Still—
Judging by Moria's torn clothes and furious expression,
It was clear the six earlier laser blasts had done some damage.
In that case… time to ramp it up!
Just as Gecko Moria landed amidst the scorched and cratered battlefield—
The sky above suddenly lit up like a second sun,
Blinding golden light swallowing the entire blue expanse.
"Yasakani no Magatama~~"
...
A warship bearing the emblem of the World Government lay quietly anchored in the sea between the three White Aya Islands.
It silently observed the Eastern Island, shrouded in wind and snow.
Golden flashes, red fireballs, and slashes of violet-black light occasionally streaked across the island.
The deafening booms were near constant.
"It's been five days now, hasn't it?"
On the deck, a man dressed in white, wearing a white mask, asked in a deep voice.
Behind him stood more than a dozen members of CP6, all clad in black suits, exuding an elite presence.
Upon hearing his question, one of them quickly stepped forward and responded: "Reporting, sir—yes, it's now the fifth day!"
"Looks like the battle is about to end. What about the Onis we locked up in the brig? None of them have died, I hope?"
The man in white asked without turning his head.
"The ship's doctors have treated them all. Plus, their natural vitality is far stronger than that of ordinary humans, so they're still very much alive. All of them have been sedated and remain unconscious."
The man in white nodded with satisfaction. "Good. Keep a close watch on them."
"Yes, sir!"
Time continued to pass, carried forward silently by the cold wind—another four hours went by unnoticed.
Suddenly, White Aya East Island fell silent.
The flashes, the explosions—everything had come to a halt.
Even the endless snowfall had ceased at some point.
All that remained was brilliant sunlight blanketing everything around, casting the countless craters and slash marks across the island into sharp, terrifying relief.
Just then—
The agents aboard the warship sharply caught the muffled thud of something crashing.
A black figure shot out rapidly from within the Eastern Island.
It slammed hard into the ground and rolled over a dozen times before finally collapsing motionless on an intact patch of beach.
A moment later, a golden flash coalesced beside the figure.
It was Borsalino.
Only, he looked utterly disheveled.
Sweat poured from his brow, his breathing was labored and heavy, and his signature bright-yellow suit was torn to shreds.
"Phew—what a troublesome guy. That really wore me out~"
Borsalino looked down at the unconscious Gecko Moria, whose eyes had rolled back, and shook his head wearily.
The past five days of fighting had been, without question, the most difficult and time-consuming battle he had experienced since joining the Marines.
Gecko Moria's strength was no joke.
If it hadn't been for his Pika-Pika no Mi powers, the guy might've actually escaped.
Strangely, though, the man had shown no intention of running solo.
All that effort guarding against a move that never came—what a waste!
Ten minutes later, the World Government warship approached the beach, and over a hundred CP6 agents in black suits disembarked.
They immediately secured Gecko Moria with seastone handcuffs and shackles.
Then, six agents worked together to lift him onto the ship and locked him inside a solitary cell in the brig.
In the adjacent cells, each room held two Oni crew members from the Gecko Pirates.
There were only twenty of them in total—
But given their massive builds—each averaging six meters in height—they took up a lot of space.