A thick cloud of mist billowed across the battlefield, flowing ceaselessly toward Gecko Moria.
Moria, in turn, used the power he had gained from his shadows to clash with Enel.
The two giants engaged in the most primal of battles beneath the sky, a pure collision of strength, their fists meeting flesh with every blow.
BOOM!
A violent explosion roared. Moria and Enel were both knocked back a step.
"Kishishishi, do you see? This is my power!" Moria was exultant. With the power of the shadows, he had finally managed to fight on even terms with Enel.
"Borrowed power is ultimately an illusion. Watch me shatter you," Enel said with utter contempt upon hearing Moria's words.
"There's a limit to arrogance!" Moria was deeply dissatisfied. With his current strength, he felt he could even take on Kaido.
False power had blinded Moria, obscuring the path ahead and the true gap between them.
"Then let me show you what real power looks like!" Enel knew that words were ultimately futile. Only by crushing his opponent with sheer strength could he make him see the difference between them and accept reality.
"Cloud Stream Impact!"
"Shadow Spear!"
Their attacks collided once again, erupting in a violent explosion between them. Enel seized the opportunity to instantly appear before Moria.
Moria was shocked. He hadn't expected Enel, even in his giant form, to be able to move so quickly.
But there was much more that Moria hadn't expected. Enel's techniques were not so simple. Otherwise, how could they be considered ultimate moves?
Enel's massive cloud fist shot straight for Moria's big onion-head. Moria, seeing this, met it with a punch of his own without hesitation.
BOOM!
Surprisingly, this time, Moria was sent flying back several dozen meters by Enel's attack. Enel, however, didn't move an inch, a smug grin plastered on his face.
Thrown back, Moria stared in disbelief, shouting, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Go to hell!"
In his disbelief, Moria threw a desperate punch straight at Enel's face.
"Whether it's once or twice, from the moment you retreated, your defeat was sealed. Gecko Moria, you have already lost. Admit it," Enel said flatly, his tone not mocking, but stating a simple fact.
"Brat! When I was sailing the seas, you were probably still playing house somewhere! Defeat? What a joke! How could I possibly lose?!" Moria refused to admit his failure. He was unwilling. He had already failed once; was he to fail again this time?
Absolutely not! He wouldn't accept it! He still had to defeat Kaido again, to lead his crew back to the throne of a king!
The two, fueled by their own convictions, grappled with each other. The casual attacks of the two giants were more than any ordinary person could withstand. The once unremarkable island was being torn apart by their relentless, costly assault.
"A loser should have the dignity of a loser."
Enel knocked Moria down, sighing at his opponent's madness.
"If I still can't beat you, it just means I'm not strong enough!" Moria said with a crazed look.
"Shadow's Asgard!"
He stuffed a massive number of shadows back into his bloated body.
"Kishishishi, this is the feeling of power! It's wonderful, just wonderful! This time, I'll definitely be able to kill you, you little brat!" Moria had gone mad, his eyes filled with nothing but the thought of defeating Enel.
"Still can't face reality? What a hopeless idiot. If you really have what it takes, then come and try," Enel said with a sigh.
"You'll see! Go to hell, you brat!" Moria roared at Enel.
"You won't cry until you see the coffin. Die, big onion-head," Enel said, his anger finally flaring.
Moria focused all the power of the shadows into a single punch. With a crazed will, he intended to shatter Enel's confidence.
Enel was not to be outdone. On his Cloud God form, all the fluid clouds began to surge, gathering like a raging torrent into his fist. His once-white fist was then coated with the power of Armament Haki.
This was the final, strongest blow for both of them.
The other Warlords stopped what they were doing, their attention completely focused on the final outcome of the duel.
Crocodile and Kuma were quite impressed with Enel. As powerhouses themselves, they could already see that Moria was at the end of his rope. He was certain to lose. In fact, from the moment he started relying on false power, his defeat was already set in stone.
The Empress's expression was unreadable. This operation had shown her what a true powerhouse of the sea was. She still had a long way to go.
Although she was talented and young with a promising future, compared to Doflamingo and the others, she was far behind. One might even say she was currently on the same level as Moria.
Arrogance, pride, and willfulness can ruin a person. For someone who has hidden away in Paradise, never seeing the cruelty of the world, no matter how talented they are, they will eventually be destroyed by that peace.
Of the five battlefronts, Enel's was the first to see a victor.
The fists of Enel and Moria collided in mid-air. One was surrounded by an endless, ethereal white, like a god from a myth. The other was shrouded in a boundless black terror, like a horrifying creature of the night.
The clash of white and black, the torrent of power they unleashed was like Mars crashing into Earth. The island itself seemed unable to bear it and began to shake violently.
The weak couldn't even stand firm under their attack, desperately clinging to any solid object to save their own lives.
BOOM!
The clash of the black and white forces, which had been at a stalemate, began to show a clear shift. The black torrent was clearly losing momentum, retreating under the pressure of the white torrent.
"Impossible! I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Give me strength! Give me strength!" Moria roared madly, trying to squeeze every last ounce of power from the shadows within his body.
Enel was cold and ruthless. The clouds all over his body surged like blood, granting him immense power, completely and utterly suppressing Moria.
"You've lost, Gecko Moria," Enel said, his merciless words piercing Moria's heart as he watched his crazed opponent.
Moria refused to believe it. He tried to wring out every last bit of power from his body, but alas, it was already overloaded. This time, the shadows he controlled abandoned him.
"Aaargh!"
Enel's fist struck Moria's large belly. One punch, just one punch, was enough to make him vomit blood.
A massive number of shadows fled from Moria's body, scattering in all directions to find their true owners. Moria coughed up a large mouthful of blood and collapsed weakly to the ground, his eyes still filled with a dazed confusion.
"I lost... I lost again," Moria murmured.
Enel reverted to his normal form, looking as if the intense battle had been nothing. There were no visible injuries on his body.
Tap, tap, tap.
Enel walked over the rubble and stood before Moria, looking down at him from above.
"Have you accepted your defeat?" Enel asked flatly.
Hearing Enel's question, Moria came back to his senses. His eyes were filled with a complex mix of emotions. In that instant, he had understood. False power was ultimately false. Enel had been right.
Since his defeat by Kaido, he had wasted too much time, lost in the illusion of false power, playing pirate games in Paradise, still dreaming of becoming the Pirate King, hoping for a chance to start over.
He had lost. Everything had failed. He had taken the wrong path. There was no chance to start over again.
Moria's expression shifted from complex to calm. Gravely injured, he was no longer a match for Enel. He... had no way out.
"Kishishishi, you win, brat," Moria laughed, a genuine smile on his face, with no hint of loss.
"Then, farewell, Gecko Moria. You were a good opponent. I will remember you," Enel said, looking at the happily laughing Moria without a shred of pity. If you dared to oppose the Donquixote Pirates, you had to be prepared for the consequences.
"Kishishishi!"
His laughter grew louder. Moria faced death without fear, calmly accepting his fate. His only regret was for his beloved subordinates. He wouldn't be able to take care of them anymore.
"Farewell."