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As it descended, the fist grew, swelling to the size of a mountain.
Moria was terrified.
"Doppelman!" he screamed.
His shadow, a towering specter, rose up in front of him, a shield that could withstand any attack.
But...
CRACK!
The Fist of the Demon was too large. It blotted out the light, and it punched straight through the shadow clone.
Moria desperately crossed his arms in front of him.
The force of the blow was too great.
His arms shattered, and he was sent flying back, his body a broken mess.
The massive fist descended, enveloping him completely.
He screamed, his vision going black, his body wracked with an all-consuming pain.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The earth sank. A mushroom cloud of dust and debris rose into the sky.
Moria was gone, smashed into the ground by the giant fist. A web of cracks spread out from the point of impact, and blood began to seep from the earth.
Silence fell.
Robin panted, the giant fist dissolving into a shower of flower petals. Below, Moria lay unconscious, buried in the earth, his body a broken, bloody mess. He was covered in fractures, nearly turned to paste by the single blow.
And the shadows within him, they too escaped from the cracks in his body, scattering in all directions.
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In the mist, on a drifting, dilapidated ship, a skeleton with an afro sailed alone.
Suddenly, he felt something. He looked off into the distance, toward a faint, rumbling sound.
"That's Thriller Bark! Is someone making a ruckus over there? Yohohoho! Impossible!" the skeleton said to himself.
Suddenly, a black shadow shot through the mist.
"What?" the skeleton said, looking down. In the dim light of the ship's lantern, he saw that he now had a shadow.
—————————
She had won.
She had defeated one of the Seven Warlords.
A powerful joy welled up within her.
Robin smiled.
Her massive body, like the giant fist, dissolved into a shower of flower petals, which then faded into the air and vanished.
Her real body fell from the sky. Just before she hit the ground, Jin caught her.
Seeing that it was him, Robin allowed herself to fall into unconsciousness.
The giant form consumed an immense amount of stamina and energy. Like Luffy's Gears, it was a technique that shortened one's lifespan.
Jin looked down at her. The transformation had shredded her clothes, leaving nothing behind. Her soft, supple body was completely exposed.
Her graceful neck, her delicate collarbones, her firm breasts, her slender waist... a gash on her side was still bleeding.
After a moment, he raised a hand and opened a door in the air. He stepped through, carrying her in his arms, and emerged in her bedroom.
The Paramecia Door-Door Fruit.
"Ai, heal her."
"Right away, Master!"
Golden flames, born from the carrier's soul furnace, erupted from the mark on her chest. They spread like liquid lightning, and the wound on her side healed instantly, leaving not even a scar.
Jin carried her to the bathroom and, using the power of the Bubble-Bubble Fruit, washed away the dirt and grime, leaving her refreshed and radiant.
Then he placed her on the bed and pulled the covers over her.
Seeing the peaceful look on her face, he leaned down and gently kissed her lips. Then he turned, opened a door, and left.
Robin's eyelashes fluttered. A blush spread across her cheeks.
The golden flames had not only healed her wounds, but had also restored a part of her consciousness. She had only been pretending to be asleep.
She gently touched her lips, her mind flashing back to the bathroom, to the feeling of his hands on her skin, like an electric shock. Her face grew even redder.
After a moment of reverie, exhaustion finally overcame her, and she fell into a deep sleep.
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Jin stepped back out onto the grounds of the castle.
He began to whistle the theme from Kill Bill.
He killed Moria and Absalom, then opened the Munch-Munch space and, while they were still warm, took their Devil Fruits.
The Paramecia Clear-Clear Fruit.
The Paramecia Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
After taking the fruits, he returned Moria's body to the ruins and found the still-unconscious Hogback.
A genius surgeon? He still had his uses.
Jin severed his shadow and stuffed it into Moria's corpse. Then, he waited.
"AHHHH!" Hogback screamed, waking with a start.
He raised his arm.
No, it was Moria's arm...
He looked down.
He had become Moria.
No... the Shadow-Shadow Fruit...
He looked to the side. His own body was standing there, a look of utter disbelief and horror on its face.
Moria was dead.
And his Devil Fruit had been stolen.
"Well, Hogback," a voice said from the shadows, "from now on, you are Moria."
Hogback looked up.
A young man was sitting in Moria's old chair, holding Ryuma's sword.
Beside him stood Perona.
Her face was a mask of terror, but she stood there like a maid, holding a tray with a steaming cup of coffee on it.
When she had woken up, she had found that everything had changed. Her master, Moria, was dead. Absalom was missing...
She had tried to escape, but she had found that her own shadow was being toyed with by the young man, twisted and molded into different shapes.
Perona knew all too well the fate of those who lost their shadows.
She was powerless to resist.
—————————
Elsewhere on the island.
"Huh? What's happening?"
One by one, the people whose shadows had been stolen began to stand up, rubbing their heads in confusion.
"I think... I was just walking, and I suddenly passed out."
"Hey! Look! It's the sun! The sun is shining on us!"
"Ah! Get out of the sun! Ah! I'm going to die! Help me!"
"What's going on? I'm not disappearing! Are we... in heaven?"
"No, not heaven! Look at the ground! It's our shadows! Our shadows are back!"
"Ah! My shadow! It's really back!"
"We're free! We can live in the sun again!"
"My shadow... it's back..."
"This is wonderful!"
A chorus of cheers erupted.
"But what happened?" someone wondered. "Did something happen to Moria?"
"Hey! You people..."
Everyone looked up.
Perona was floating in the air.
"Ghost Rap!"
"Negative Hollow!"
A series of explosions, and a swarm of ghosts passed through the crowd, leaving everyone in a state of deep depression.
A dark cloud covered the sky, blocking out the sun.
Moria, like a demon king, emerged from the mist. He brandished his scissors and began to take back all the shadows.
"The news of Moria's death can't get out yet," Jin mused from the top of the castle, looking out the window. "So we'll just have to keep everyone trapped on the island."
Perona was very capable.
"Yes, Master," Hogback said obediently.
"From now on, everything will be business as usual," Jin said. "Compile all your medical notes and journals. I have a use for them. And... you have a new task. You are to salvage any shipwreck victims from the surrounding waters. The living will be added to the zombie army. The dead... will be sent through the door on the top floor."
The door, imbued with the power of the Door-Door Fruit, was a portal to the demonic carrier's internal space. For now, however, it could only maintain one fixed portal, like a safe house.
Every year, hundreds of ships were lost in the Florian Triangle. It was the perfect place to farm soul crystals.
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