"One Piece:The True Codex"Chapter 351: A More Dangerous Man
Absalom's body was steaming, his wounds no longer bleeding. After being kicked mid-air by William, he rolled on the ground a couple of times before falling silent.
Even in death, Absalom fulfilled his duty, managing to throw Moria toward the window. By the window stood several zombies, including the drunken general zombie who had previously fought Brook. The time Absalom and Moria managed to buy finally allowed these undead creatures to react. Under Moria's strained commands, they all lunged toward William.
Meanwhile, Moria himself made a desperate dash toward the large floor-to-ceiling window nearby. The window was wide enough for two ordinary people to pass through simultaneously, but Moria's massive frame proved problematic. His head and feet burst through the window first, but his bloated stomach got stuck in the frame. Only by exerting more force did he manage to free himself, though shards of glass left his belly bloodied.
The drunken general zombie unsheathed two curved blades and, laughing maniacally, charged at William with the other zombies. William, however, seemed oblivious to Moria's escape through the shattered window. After landing from mid-air, he didn't immediately pursue but instead assumed a half-squatting stance. His right fist was pulled back to his waist, while his other hand extended, palm open, toward the line of charging zombies and the fleeing Moria.
If there had been a Fish-Man Karate master present, they would have recognized elements of Fish-Man Karate in William's stance. An even sharper observer might have identified it as the preparatory pose for the "Karasawa Straight Fist."
The strength of Fish-Man Karate lies in its ability to concentrate the user's entire physical power into a single point for an explosive attack. The "Karasawa Straight Fist" is a technique within Fish-Man Karate that uses shockwaves to strike enemies.
William had not been practicing Fish-Man Karate for very long and was nowhere near the level of the true masters who had honed their skills over decades. However, he excelled at adapting and integrating techniques. By combining Fish-Man Karate with his Steam-Steam Fruit powers, he found a way to amplify the technique's destructive potential significantly.
As the drunken general zombie and the other zombies reached William, he unleashed a straight punch.
With a thunderous BOOM, a torrent of steam erupted violently from William's fist. The high-pressure steam, finally finding an outlet, roared forward. A powerful, fan-shaped shockwave of scalding white steam followed, sweeping across everything in its path.
The entire wall where Moria had been fleeing was obliterated by the shockwave. The drunken general zombie and the other zombies were completely blown away, vanishing without a trace.
Moria, who had summoned his shadow clone to assist him after smashing through the window, found himself in even greater peril. His bat-shaped shadow clones clung to his clothes, flapping furiously to keep the "heavyweight" Moria airborne and to prevent him from plummeting straight to the ground. Given Moria's current injuries, a direct fall could very well kill him.
But William's punch changed everything. The powerful shockwave not only demolished the wall and scattered the zombies but also sent debris hurtling toward Moria. The impact left Moria feeling as though his internal organs had shifted out of place.
Already gravely injured from the wound on his neck and suffering significant blood loss, Moria was barely holding on. His escape was driven purely by willpower. Now, after sustaining further damage, Moria involuntarily coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with chunks of flesh. His body wavered and began to fall diagonally downward.
William slowly retracted his fist just as he heard a thud behind him. Turning around, he saw that Perona, the "Ghost Princess," had been taken down by Selkirk, who had closed the distance with astonishing speed.
"Take care of the zombies. Keep an eye on the living," William instructed succinctly before turning back. He leaped to the demolished wall, glanced at Moria's faltering figure, and bent his knees. A swirl of white steam erupted from beneath his feet as he propelled himself downward like a hunting eagle, diving toward Moria.
From William's sudden ambush to Moria's desperate escape and William's relentless pursuit, the entire sequence of events, though chaotic, had unfolded in mere moments. By the time Moria and William had both left the room, the battle had already left the space in ruins.
The room's occupants, bound by webs, stared in shock at the destruction wrought in such a short time. The earlier steam pillar that had erupted when William killed Absalom had left the entire building teetering as though it might collapse at any moment.
As Gin and Selkirk, no longer holding back, began dispatching the remaining zombies in the room, Brook turned to look at Karslana. The female Marine, who had been pale and trembling ever since William revealed his power, seemed utterly paralyzed with fear.
"Who are they?" Brook asked softly, sensing that Karslana knew something.
The crew of the Starlight also perked up, their ears straining to catch her response. Karslana's bloodless lips quivered before she finally spoke in a trembling voice, "The one who ran... that was Gecko Moria, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a former pirate with a bounty of over 300 million."
Moria's distinctive appearance was unmistakable. Despite being only a low-ranking Marine sergeant, Karslana had immediately recognized him.
She wasn't foolish enough to loudly declare that Moria, as a Warlord, was technically an ally of the Marines. Doing so might have reminded Moria to silence her permanently.
The realization that she had been in the presence of a Warlord was terrifying enough. Whether as a Warlord or as a pirate with a bounty exceeding 300 million, Moria was someone far beyond the reach of a mere Marine sergeant.
But when William, cloaked in white steam, appeared and severely injured Moria, saving the Starlight crew in the process, Karslana felt no relief—only despair.
Her fear of William surpassed even her terror of Moria. Like Moria, she had recognized William's identity, and by extension, that of Gin.
"What about Becker, Gannis, and Bedivere?" one of the Starlight crew members couldn't help but ask.
Brook had originally intended to ask about William and his companions. Now, after hearing Moria's identity, the others were even more curious about William.
"Do you remember the flood of newspapers from a while back?" Karslana said hoarsely. "That's the Steam-Steam Fruit. He's the infamous super-criminal from the East Blue, 'Lionheart,' 'Sea Emperor,' Morgan Stolt William. And the other one... the 'Fallen Marine,' 'Demon Man' Gin!"
Karslana hadn't recognized Selkirk, who was less well-known, but identifying William and Gin alone was enough to make her feel as though she had plunged into an icy abyss.
Recalling the latest bounty list she had seen through Marine channels, Karslana felt her chances of survival were even slimmer than when she had faced Moria.
Karslana's words carried a certain weight, silencing the Starlight crew instantly. They held their breath, terrified of drawing the attention of Gin and Selkirk, who were still clearing out the zombies. It was as if they believed that by staying quiet, they could avoid being noticed.
Only Brook, still confused, asked, "Who?"
Karslana, realizing that Brook had spent years wandering the Florian Triangle and was likely unaware of recent events, reluctantly elaborated, "They're all great pirates."
Fearing that the term "great pirates" might not fully convey the danger, she added in a trembling voice, "Morgan William's bounty... is one billion..."
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