BAM! Two colossal fists collided. Badak was forced back several steps, overpowered once again—but he was tough. Thanks to his Armament Haki, he remained unharmed, while Moria's fist bled profusely.
Ignoring the injury, Moria charged forward, determined to crush Badak in close combat. He couldn't sustain this form for long—he had to finish this quickly.
"Whoa, they're huge!"
"Yeah, both of them got so big!"
Mansherry and Leo gaped in shock at the two titanic figures battling.
"Quick, let's move back! We're way too close to them!"Robin urged everyone to quickly retreat. As the battle escalated, their current location could be affected at any moment, and the deafening collisions were already causing extreme discomfort to their ears.
"Is this Badak at full power?"
Perona stared blankly, like an ordinary human watching Ultraman fight a monster. She never imagined that Badak could be this powerful and destructive when going all out.
"This is the boss for you!" Daz Bones blocked the flying debris and noticed Perona still standing in place. He couldn't help but remind her, "Stop spacing out! Catch up!"
After retreating further, they realized the intensity of the battle had increased even more.
It was unclear whether Moria's shadow contained a martial arts expert, but during their earlier swordplay exchange, Badak had remained almost unscathed. Now, however, they were locked in a fierce struggle. Even with his Indestructible Body and dual Haki, Badak had sustained significant injuries—arguably the worst he'd suffered since arriving in this world.
In truth, this was a tactical error on Badak's part. He shouldn't have used Maximization to counter Moria's Shadow's Asgard. Firstly, Moria had the enhancement of 250 shadows, while Badak relied solely on his own strength. Secondly, although Badak's power increased after enlarging, he lost some agility, forcing him to tank attacks he could have otherwise dodged.
But then again, who told him he wanted to defeat Moria head-on?
Spitting out a bloody mouthful, Badak had a realization. Both he and Moria were currently in burst-type states with time limits—somewhat like Ultraman's warning light. However, Moria had one additional weakness: his shadows could be forcibly expelled.
"Iron Fist: Gut Punch."
Badak dodged Moria's palm strike and landed a solid punch to his abdomen. Moria staggered back several steps, retching violently before spitting out several shadows. He quickly covered his mouth, swallowing the remaining shadows back down.
"Damn it! Shadow Bats!"
His shadows split apart, forming a swarm of bats that flapped and bit at Badak's face, both obscuring his vision and disrupting his movements to prevent further attacks.
Knowing these shadow bats could reform even if destroyed, Badak ignored them entirely. Closing his eyes, he used Observation Haki to track Moria's movements, accurately pinpointing his position.
"Iron Fist: Rising Elbow."
Badak's elbow strike landed perfectly—right in the abdomen—sending Moria flying backward. Mid-air, Moria began vomiting shadows uncontrollably.
By the time Moria hit the ground, he had expelled all his shadows, reverting to his original size. Badak approached and found him unconscious, eyes rolled back.
It made sense. Even with Armament Haki and Indestructible Body, Badak had been beaten until he spat blood. Moria's injuries were far worse—he'd only been holding on through sheer willpower. That final elbow strike had been the last straw.
Exhaling in relief, Badak deactivated his ability, returning to human form. From his well-protected pocket, he took out a dandelion and ate it. For fairness' sake, he hadn't used dandelions to heal during the fight. Now, it was finally over.
Footsteps approached—Robin and the others had come over upon realizing the battle had ended.
"Badak, that's amazing! You defeated Moria!"Robin finally let go of the worry that had been weighing on her, while Perona nodded repeatedly—she had been the most anxious of all.
"That's right, Captain! You defeated that freak. You're amazing," she said.
Leo looked at the devastated scene left in the wake of their battle and couldn't help but marvel.
"Captain, do you need any healing?" Mansherry asked with concern, noticing the blood at the corner of Badak's mouth. The others also turned their attention to him.
"It's fine. I'm already healed," Badak replied, wiping away the blood and waving off the offer.
"Boss, what should we do with Moria?" Daz Bones asked curiously, looking at the unconscious Gekko Moria.
"Moria?" Badak stroked his chin thoughtfully. "His injuries are severe, but none are fatal. Let me recover some stamina first, then I'll talk to him."
With Badak's battle concluded, the residents of Tero Island finally breathed a sigh of relief. The constant rumbling in the latter half of the night had made them think an earthquake had struck.
Little did they know that if Badak and Moria had fought in the town, the destruction and casualties would have been far worse than any ordinary earthquake.
Meanwhile, in many distant places, countless people erupted into cheers simultaneously.
On a pirate ship somewhere in the West Blue, a pirate pointed at the shadow cast by candlelight and shouted, "Captain, look! A shadow!"
"Go to sleep if you're tired. Stop talking nonsense," the captain muttered without even looking up, his voice listless.
Ever since Moria had taken their shadows, they had been forced to live like nocturnal creatures. The prolonged absence of sunlight had left them devoid of enthusiasm for anything.
"It's true, Captain! I'm not lying—our shadows are back!" the crewmate insisted urgently.
Only then did the captain raise his head—and the next second, his eyes widened in shock. "A shadow... it really is a shadow! Our shadows have returned!"
"Amazing! The shadows are back! We all have shadows again!"
At a Marine base in the West Blue, a group of shadowless soldiers had been assigned night watch duty. After all, they couldn't be exposed to sunlight. Since they couldn't work during the day, night shifts were their only option.
"Look, what's that?" one Marine said, pointing at the shadow beneath the lamplight and rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
"That's just a shadow, idiot. Wait... how is there a shadow? It really is a shadow! I have one too! Everyone does!" another Marine exclaimed, his words tumbling out in excitement.
"The shadows are back! Does this mean... someone defeated Gekko Moria?"
"No way. Moria's a veteran pirate who's been to the New World!"
"This is incredible! We don't have to fear the sun anymore!"
"Right! No more night shifts for me!"
"What's all this noise? Have you forgotten discipline?!" a colonel's angry voice rang out from a distance. The Marines adjusted their caps, suppressing their excitement as they focused on completing their duties.
Across the West Blue and even parts of the Grand Line, people who had once lost their shadows rejoiced in celebration.