In the building where Moria resided, Meiser walked leisurely down the corridor with his hands in his pockets, heading toward the refrigeration room nearby.
He had followed the zombies carrying food all the way here without being noticed.
Upon reaching the entrance, Meiser stared at Oars in astonishment—it was his first time seeing someone so enormous.
"What an absurd amount of food..." Meiser muttered under his breath.
The food piled on the floor resembled a small mountain, yet under Oars' relentless consumption, it was visibly shrinking at a rapid pace.
"This is so delicious!" Oars exclaimed.
As he spoke, he picked up the last massive piece of roasted meat and stuffed it into his mouth.
Then, he turned to Moria and said, "Little garlic-head, I don't know you, but thanks for the meal."
"Gehihihihi~"
"No need for thanks~" Moria chuckled.
It was just some food, after all. If Oars wanted to eat, he could eat as much as he liked.
Once the memories of the Straw Hat Boy within the shadow completely faded, everything would be resolved.
"Ah~"
"I'm full." Oars patted his stomach contentedly. "Feels great to be full."
As he spoke, he began glancing around, as if searching for something.
"Oars!" Moria declared. "As the infamous Nation Bearer who terrorized the seas five hundred years ago, I know full well how powerful you are!"
"From today onward, you shall be my subordinate!"
"Gehihihihi~"
"Subordinate?"
Oars glanced at Moria and shook his head. "No way. I don't wanna be your subordinate."
"I've got dreams of my own."
"Eh?!"
The zombies gaped at Oars, clearly shocked that he could defy their master's orders.
"You bastard, how dare you speak to the master like that!"
"Just a mere Special Zombie, yet so arrogant!"
"Hmm?"
"Sorry..."
A single glare from Oars sent the zombies kneeling on the ground in fear, terrified he might flatten them into pancakes with one punch.
Oars paid them no mind and instead scanned the walls. "This place is too cramped. I'm gonna go outside and look around."
"Yeah, then I'll set sail and travel around the world!"
"Ahahahaha!"
"Idiot, these walls are made of special materials! There's no way you can—"
"Gomu-Gomu Pistol!"
"BOOM!!"
An overwhelming force blasted straight through the wall!!
The zombies were left utterly dumbfounded.
"To think he could..."
"Such terrifying power!!"
"Hahaha, off I go!" Oars laughed as he leaped out.
"Master, is it really alright to let him leave like this?"
"It's fine." Moria waved his hand dismissively. "He'll come around eventually."
For now, Oars' behavior was simply because the Straw Hat Boy's shadow retained strong memories, preventing them from fading quickly.
But given time, he'd obediently return and call Moria "master."
"Gomu-Gomu..."
Meiser walked in, stroking his chin. "His personality's just like Luffy's. Is this Luffy's Shadow Zombie?"
"Indeed, it's the shadow zombie of the Straw Hat Boy, Monkey D. Luffy..." Hogback confirmed with a nod.
After speaking, he immediately sensed something was wrong—why did that voice sound so familiar?
Turning his head instinctively, he spotted Meiser standing not far behind him and was so startled his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
"It's... it's you?!!"
"Huh?!"
The other zombies turned around in shock and immediately noticed the unfamiliar figure standing behind them.
"Looks like a human..."
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Me?" Meiser chuckled. "Just a passing ninja, that's all."
"A... ninja..."
The zombies chewed over the word, then their expressions twisted in fear. "You're that ninja who can breathe fire?!"
At the mention of fire, the other zombies immediately backed away, putting distance between themselves and Meiser.
By now, the presence of a ninja on the island was no secret to most of the zombies.
In fact, this ninja was their natural nemesis!
"Yeah, that's me."
"Why are you here...?!"
Hogback stared at Meiser in terror, afraid the man might suddenly strike him down.
"If he's here... doesn't that mean Ryuma failed?!"
How terrifying! That was the Dragon-Slaying Swordsman we're talking about!
"Just happened to run into them and followed them here," Meiser replied casually.
His relaxed demeanor showed no regard for the zombies surrounding him—not even the presence of one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea could make him tense.
"Lord Moria, that's the guy!"
"Yeah, I know."
Moria slowly turned around, his cold eyes fixed on Meiser. "Kid, you've got some nerve coming here alone."
Meiser's appearance dredged up painful memories for Moria, causing veins to bulge on his forehead as his face twisted into a grotesque snarl.
The zombies, witnessing this, all paled in horror—they had never seen their master so enraged before.
"You look furious... Is it because I took out your General Zombie?" Meiser asked curiously.
"That's part of it."
"Part of it?"
Meiser was puzzled. What did he mean by "part of it"?
There was no way this guy cared about ordinary zombies—those things could be easily replaced.
Moria didn't answer. Instead, he forced himself to calm down. Before taking action, he needed answers.
"Kid, tell me—are you from the Land of Wano?"
"The Land of Wano?" Meiser frowned. "Why do you people keep asking that?"
Moria was taken aback. What did he mean by "you people"?
"The Marines ask me that, pirates ask me that... What's so special about the Land of Wano anyway?"
"Why is everyone so obsessed with it?"
"It's just some isolated, closed-off country, isn't it?"
Meiser didn't know what to say. Just because he was a ninja, did that automatically make him from the Land of Wano?
Give me a break. Since when did ninjas exclusively belong to the Land of Wano?
If some Devil Fruit user out there had a ninja ability, would that make them a citizen of Wano too?
What a joke.
"The Land of Wano is indeed a closed-off..." Moria's words were cut short as he suddenly realized something.
His expression darkened as he said, "Kid, I wasn't asking about that. I'm asking if you're from the Land of Wano!"
"No, I'm not from the Land of Wano."
"Then why are you a ninja?"
"Who told you ninjas must belong to the Land of Wano?" Meiser retorted irritably. "The sea is vast—isn't it reasonable for new ninjas to emerge?"
Hogback blinked beside them. Upon closer thought, it didn't seem entirely impossible.
Perhaps this kid was a Devil Fruit Ability User.
Someone who ate the Ninja Fruit!
"Not from the Land of Wano..." Moria fell silent for a moment before growling, "No, kid, you must be lying to me!"
"As one of Kaido's subordinates, you must know me. It's only natural you wouldn't tell the truth."
As he spoke, Moria's eyes reddened again. He felt this brat was toying with him.
"Kid, tell me honestly—did Kaido send you? If you confess, I might grant you a quick death!"
"You're insane," Meiser scoffed. "What kind of joke is Kaido? You think he's worthy of having me as a subordinate?"
This guy was clearly deranged. Even the truth didn't convince him—had he been traumatized or something?
"Kaido... what kind of joke?!"
Hogback stared at Meiser in shock. Did this guy even understand what those words represented?
That was one of the Four Emperors of the New World!
Such an overwhelmingly powerful figure, yet in his eyes, Kaido was nothing?
Moria also froze briefly before gradually calming down. For the first time, he actually started to believe the kid's words.
If this brat truly were Kaido's subordinate, he would never dare say such things.
Otherwise, word getting back to Kaido would mean certain death!
Glancing at the zombies and Hogback in the room, Moria waved them away. These minions were useless against a fire-breathing ninja and would only cost him more zombies.
Besides, his ship's doctor wasn't safe here either, so it was best they left.
Hogback blinked but quickly grasped Moria's intent and led the others out.
With his level of strength, staying here was pointless. Worse, Moria would have to divert attention to protect him, which would only complicate things.
Leaving now was the best choice for everyone.
Meiser paid no mind to Hogback. That guy was reserved for Chopper—he wouldn't steal the kill.
Once everyone had left, Moria finally spoke again. "Kid, you claim you're not from the Land of Wano."
"Then how did you become a ninja?"
"What's it to you?"
"You really are... an arrogant little brat." Moria's expression darkened. "Don't think just because you have a 400 million berry bounty, you can act tough in front of me."
"Even your captain had his shadow stolen by me!"
A mere brat with a 400 million bounty, daring to act so insolently before him—did he think a Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea had infinite patience?
Meiser didn't answer. Instead, he turned his gaze outside.
To be honest, he truly hadn't expected Luffy's shadow to be stolen by the enemy, but it didn't matter—they could just take it back later.
"Hey kid, I'm talking to you!"
Meiser still didn't answer the question. Instead, he countered, "Why are you so fixated on whether I'm a Ninja or not?"
"And... you seem to hate Kaido?"
Moria fell silent at Meiser's words, sinking into some kind of memory.
The next moment, Moria suddenly became agitated.
"Kaido... Kaido!!"
Watching the visibly furious Moria, Meiser narrowed his eyes and said, "If I'm not mistaken, that man once defeated you?"
As he spoke, Meiser thought of Crocodile—wasn't that guy someone who had been utterly crushed in battle, slinking back in defeat to become one of the so-called Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea?
Moreover, that guy also relied heavily on external tools, bearing an uncanny resemblance to this Moria.
Thinking this, Meiser added, "Did losing to him break your spirit, making you resort to researching Zombies here?"
His words only enraged Moria further.
"You brat, what do you know?!" Moria glared at Meiser furiously. "Kaido's strength is beyond anything you can imagine!!"
Now he was absolutely certain this kid wasn't one of Kaido's men—this was undoubtedly some greenhorn who had just set sail!
He had no idea what kind of monsters the Four Emperors were—beings at the top of the food chain, impossible for ordinary humans to oppose.
"I don't know how strong Kaido is, but I do know that someone who's lost their fighting spirit can never regain true power," Meiser said.
If even your will is shattered, then you're basically finished.
How much strength could someone like that possibly have?
"Fighting spirit, huh..."
Moria suddenly quieted down, carefully reflecting on his life.
"Brat... you have no idea just how terrifying those kinds of people are."
"So you think that with enough Zombies, you can defeat him?"
"Exactly!" Moria exclaimed passionately. "As long as I have a massive army of Zombies, I'll regain the power to stand against Kaido!"
"Becoming the Pirate King isn't even out of the question!"
Most importantly, Zombies don't fear death—even if they're destroyed, they can be revived using Shadows again!
He... never wanted to experience the pain of losing his comrades again.
"Pirate King..." Meiser shook his head. "You've got quite the imagination."
"That's not something you can achieve by relying on external tools."
Without immense personal strength, how could he ever hope to reach Roger's level?
Right now, Moria seemed like nothing more than a delusional loser to Meiser, dreaming of one day achieving his goals with these so-called Zombies.
But... against true powerhouses, Zombies are meaningless.
Whether it was his flames or Aokiji's ice, they could effortlessly wipe out Moria's Zombie army.
"Who says you can't rely on external tools?!" Moria sneered. "As long as I have enough powerful Zombies, no enemy can stand against me!"
"But if the ability user isn't strong enough, no number of Zombies will make a difference," Meiser countered.
As he spoke, he raised his hands and said, "Alright, enough chit-chat. It's time to finish you off."
"Once I defeat you, the shadow problem will be solved in an instant."
Though this guy was somewhat pitiable, that wasn't a reason to hold back.
Since he had attacked them, he needed to be prepared for death!
"Quite the arrogance," Moria said, pulling out his giant scissors. "You really think you can defeat me, brat?"
"Just because I lost to Kaido doesn't mean just anyone can act tough in front of me!"
Moria knew all too well the consequences of a Devil Fruit user lacking strength.
But... that didn't mean others could defeat him!
He had lost to Kaido, but no one else!
As Moria spoke, the shadow behind him began to twist, as if struggling to rise from the ground.
"Then let's give it a try!"
"Lightning Release: Earth Run!!"
"Zzz... zzzzt!!"
"Lightning?!"
Moria's face twisted in disbelief. The guy could already release fire, and now he had something called Lightning Release?!
Just how many elemental attacks did this ninja master?!
Instinctively, Moria tried to dodge, but the lightning spread faster than he could move.
"Ahhh!!"
Struck by the lightning, Moria let out a pained scream, fueling his rage. How many years had it been since anyone had landed a hit on him?
"You damn brat!!"
Moria glared at Meiser with murderous fury, wishing he could devour him alive.
"Anger is meaningless—it only clouds your judgment," Meiser said coolly.
The moment the words left his lips, he was already above Moria, Grass Sword in hand, its blade wrapped in wind-attribute Chakra.
One slash was all it would take to finish this guy off!
"Shadow Doppelganger!"
"Thud!"
The sword came down, cleaving "Moria's" head clean in two!
"Hmm?"
Glancing at the pitch-black mass, Meiser instinctively retreated, wary. "This is... a shadow?"
"Interesting. It can fight independently?"
He wondered if it could perform something like a Shadow Imitation Technique—being immobilized would be troublesome.
If he got caught for even a moment, a single scissor stab could end him.
"You... damn... brat..." Moria gasped, his voice ragged. "I... I..."
Lying on the ground, Moria's eyes burned with fury. He had almost been decapitated by this brat!
If not for his shadow pushing him down at the last second, that slash would have taken his head off.
Without Armament Haki, he couldn't have withstood the strike.
"Lost your spirit, but your physical prowess is still decent..." Meiser narrowed his eyes. "Makes sense. The foundation is still there."
Even if this guy looked like a washed-up shut-in, it didn't change the fact that he was once formidable.
That was probably why he had become one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea.
At that moment, the severed Shadow twisted and distorted before reforming back into its original human shape!
Then, the Shadow moved behind Moria and slowly lay down on the ground.
The next instant, Moria actually stood up directly!