Before long, dawn arrived.
"Captain, why isn't he waking up yet?" Leo asked, standing on Moria's face and prying at his eyelids to check his eyes.
Badak grabbed Leo by the collar and placed him on his own shoulder. "Soon. We've already healed all his injuries—he should regain consciousness any moment now.""Badak, shouldn't Leo stitch him up? What if he wakes up uncooperative? Would we have to fight again?"
It wasn't until dawn that Robin fully grasped the extent of destruction these two had caused overnight. The surroundings were pockmarked with craters, the forest reduced to ruins, massive boulders shattered into fragments. At the epicenter of their clash, a giant pit was already filling with water - this would likely become a new lake.
"No need. His abilities are... special. I'm not sure Leo's stitching could restrain him. Besides," Badak flexed his arm, "after fighting him, I've grown stronger. I already defeated him before - now there's even less to worry about."
After consideration, Badak deemed restrictions unnecessary. Moria's Shadow Asgard allowed body-swapping with shadows, and shadows couldn't be restrained by stitching anyway. Without sea-stone shackles, they might as well forgo restraints entirely.
Of course, his Observation Haki remained active. While Moria posed no threat to him, the warlord could still endanger his crewmates.
"He's waking up."
Badak sensed Moria's eyelids twitch. The others turned to see Moria's eyes open, yet the warlord remained motionless, staring vacantly at the sky.
"What's wrong with him? Did the fight damage his brain?" Perona asked, puzzled.
"Impossible," Mansherry asserted, having personally healed Moria's injuries. "His wounds are completely mended."
"Moria," Badak nudged the warlord with his foot, "don't tell me you've given up after one defeat?" Still, Moria offered no response.
Resigned, Badak produced a visual Den Den Mushi and turned to Perona. "Hit him with your Negative Hollows."
"Ehh, do I have to?" Perona still harbored some fear toward her former captain, but under Badak's insistent gaze, she relented. "Fine, but you have to protect me if he retaliates. Negative Hollows!"
The crew watched as the white ghost phased through Moria... then promptly knelt on the ground. Perona mirrored the posture.
"I'm so useless... I can't do anything right... I only ever take my frustrations out on Kumashi..."
"Eh...?"
Robin nearly dropped her coffee cup. The Negative Hollows had rebounded?
"Pfft... hehehe..."
Remembering her own experience with the depressing ghosts, Robin couldn't suppress her laughter at seeing Perona's predicament. Soon the entire crew - even Daz Bones - wore amused smiles.
Badak didn't laugh. Really. He just... recorded the scene. Originally intended to document Moria's humiliation, he'd serendipitously captured Perona's instead - an absolute treasure. Outside of Moria's current state and perhaps Usopp in the future, the seas might never produce such profound negativity again.
The hollow's effects soon faded, but Perona remained facedown, motionless. Was this how shameful the experience felt? She wished the earth would swallow her whole.
"See, Perona?" Badak seized the teaching moment. "I've always said relying solely on devil fruit powers leaves you vulnerable when they fail. You really need to train your Haki more.As Perona's depression lifted, Badak emphasized the importance of Haki training for the umpteenth time.Robin stepped forward to help Perona up, brushing the dust off her clothes and stroking her hair as she said, "It's alright, Perona. We'll learn Haki together."
"Haki is what truly matters. That bastard said the same thing."
A sharp voice cut in—it was Moria. Though still lying motionless with his eyes fixed on the sky, he had clearly recovered.
"Oh, that bastard—you mean Kaido?" Badak asked knowingly.
"I lost, yet you didn't kill me. You even healed my wounds," Moria countered instead of answering. "What's your goal? If you're thinking of recruiting me, save your breath. For a true pirate, death is never a threat."
"Ah, worthy of a great pirate who returned from the New World, a hero of the West Blue," Badak praised.
"You—!" Moria glared at him.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not being sarcastic. How many in the entire sea could return to the West Blue in one piece after facing a monster like Kaido?"
Badak acknowledged him first before continuing, "But I can't agree with your zombie plan."
"What do you know? A zombie army is immortal. If their bodies break, just replace them. Even if Kaido is strong, we can overwhelm him with numbers. And zombies won't stay at this level forever. Once I get—"
Moria caught himself, realizing he'd nearly revealed his core secret, and quickly shut his mouth.
Badak didn't press. Instead, he asked, "Tell me, did you know zombies fear fire and can be purified by salt?"
"Minor flaws. No weapon is perfect. They might even be improved later," Moria retorted, clearly aware of the weaknesses.
"That's why I say you're working in isolation. Kaido, a member of the Oni Tribe, ate the Mythical Zoan-type Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon. One of his techniques, Boro Breath, spews flames that can vaporize a mountain in an instant."
"His subordinate, King the Wildfire—guess why he's called 'Wildfire'? He's a master of fire."
"Then there's Queen the Plague, a cyborg with multiple flame-based techniques."
"Moria, you're walking into a death trap. Do you realize that?"
With each sentence, Moria's face grew paler, now ashen like a corpse.
"Wait—how do you know all this? I fought the Beasts Pirates myself, and even I didn't know some of these details. There's no way a brat like you could. You're lying, aren't you?"
"Moria, stop deluding yourself. A zombie army might let you carve out a kingdom, but it'll never help you take revenge on Kaido. You're heading the wrong way—the further you go, the further you stray from your goal."
Badak shattered Moria's illusions. "Your Shadow-Shadow Fruit is incredibly powerful. You need to wield it yourself. Stop relying on subordinates, stop pinning your hopes on immortal zombies. Only your own strength can make you invincible."
Sweat poured down Moria's face. After a long pause, he muttered, "What's your goal? You didn't come just to crush my spirit, did you?""That's the heroic figure of the West Sea I know, calming down so quickly," Badak praised. "Your Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability allows the shadows you cut to retain the same skills as their original owners. In other words, if you place a shadow into another living person, that person will quickly gain a skill they didn't possess before. Building on this foundation to learn the skill, they'll master it in no time."
"For example, if you place the shadow of a master swordsman into someone with zero sword skills, and then have them study swordsmanship, imagine how fast they'd master it."
"It's easy for you to say, but shadows naturally repel other living beings and can't remain in another person's body for long," Moria shook his head, unconvinced by the proposal.
"Hmph, first, it doesn't need to be for too long—just increase the frequency. Second, with strong enough willpower, one can suppress another's shadow. Your Shadow's Asgard technique already contains multiple shadows, doesn't it?"
Badak looked at Moria, his eyes seemingly glowing. "You could use this to grow stronger quickly!"