This is the ability of his Shadow-Shadow Fruit; he can insert someone else's shadow into his own body, thereby gaining the power, skills, and moves of the shadow's owner. These shadows are the spoils of his voyage.
He doesn't kill everyone he defeats; instead, he takes away their shadows.
Those who lose their shadows won't be affected otherwise, except that they can never be exposed to sunlight. Once they bathe in sunlight, they will turn to ashes.
But as long as they stay alive, the shadows will always exist. Currently, Moriah isn't thinking about creating a massive amount of zombies; these shadows are his means to enhance himself.
Originally, Moriah's physique could only be described as sturdy, but as those shadows are absorbed into his body, the muscles around him start to swell, quite comparable in size to Kaidou.
Speed, power, reaction—all aspects of Moriah have improved more than a notch, and during the ensuing battle, Kaidou finds that Moriah's combat skills have also changed.
During the fight, he frequently changes the combat mode, with various flashy moves that even ignite Kaidou's interest.
"Interesting, the power of shadows?"
"Correct, shadows and people are one entity. As the shadow disappears, the owner's lifetime efforts fall into my hands. Kaidou, your shadow will also become a part of my power!"
He naturally recognized Kaidou's identity. As one of the Great Pirates of The Sea now, Moriah who entered the New World couldn't possibly be uninformed.
However, from Paradise to here, the Moonlight Pirates have always had smooth sailing; he hasn't experienced major failures, so he's very confident.
He thinks he simply set sail later; had he set sail earlier, his bounty would be much higher now.
"Want my shadow? You're not qualified enough, Thundering Hakken!"
"Shadow Warrior!" The body and shadow switch again, and Moriah changes the knife in his hand to a thrusting position, stabbing towards Kaidou's abdomen from the side.
However, although he switches the positions of body and shadow quickly, Kaidou reacts even faster. The Wolf Fang Club drew a bigger arc and smashed towards Moriah's chest, while his shadow's attack was directly blocked by Kaidou's Haki.
The battle between Moriah and Kaidou temporarily seems to be evenly matched, but the battles of others are entirely different. In the snowfield fight, the Moonlight Pirates gradually fall into disadvantage.
Besides having a disparity in combat power, the skills used by the leading few brought them great trouble. On the snowfield at this moment, there's a large snowball rolling.
But that isn't a snowball; it's a pirate using Rollout, breaking open a breach in the Moonlight Pirates' line.
"Paradise rookies, witness the power of the New World!"
"This is a reward from Lord Arceus. Feel it well, the meaning of power!"
A flame spews from another pirate's mouth. The enemy before him had been fighting him for a while, completely unexpected that he would breathe fire.
The fierce flame swept out, and the piled snow of Ringo gradually melted under the flame's roasting, along with a burnt smell emerging; it's not a singular case.
Beside him, a pirate pinched a sizzling yellow electric ball, which, once thrown into the crowd, cleared another blank area in the snowfield.
The last one's attack range isn't that large, but her arms are wrapped in a green energy, two blade-like things appearing at her elbows, turning her into a killing machine.
The four types of abilities completely broke the opponent's line; this is now what the Hundred Beasts Pirates call Divine Favorer, gaining one or more skills from Arceus.
Those like Babanuki and Mandfeish who gained complete abilities are referred to as Divine Favorers, and they are the targets because, within the Hundred Beasts Pirates, Divine Favorers are almost synonymous with cadres.
The screams of the crew caught Moriah's attention and made him notice the casualties of his companions. Throughout the voyage, he has also lost some comrades, but such large-scale casualties are the first time.
"Damn! Kaidou, what have you done to my companions?!"
"Ha? They were too weak, so they were killed by my subordinates. Moriah, I'll break the rules and give you one last chance, join me."
This is the third time he's said this. Being interrupted by Moriah makes him very upset, but he appreciates Moriah's power somewhat, which is why he repeatedly invites him.
But if he refuses this time, Kaidou won't be interested anymore. Although he's always interested in powerful subordinates, it's not a must to have Moriah, especially when he's not in a good mood.
"What a joke! You killed my companions and want me to join you? Kaidou, I will kill you to avenge them!"
"Shadow Box!"
Moriah's own shadow transforms into a huge block, enveloping Kaidou inside, but Moriah doesn't take the chance to attack; instead, he charges in another direction.
"Hold on! I'm coming to rescue you!"
He used Shadow Box to trap Kaidou, wanting to seize the opportunity to rescue his companions. However, before he could reach there, his Shadow Box was shattered.
"Vajra Linked Dart!"
The Wolf Fang Club shattered the shadow wrapping around him, then swung a club air at Moriah. Had he still focused on Kaidou, he had the ability to dodge this attack.
But the death and injury of his partners have already disturbed his mind, so Kaidou's attack hit the middle of his back.
"This is no fun anymore, just a few dead subordinates making you forget how to fight?"
"Subordinates? That's my most important partners! You would never understand!" Moriah, knocked to the ground, is incredibly angry, and then more vials appear in his hand.
One vial after another is crushed in his hands; whenever he crushes a vial, some shadows will rush out. As they are freed, they scatter towards different directions, wanting to return to their owners.
But Moriah isn't releasing those shadows for fun.
"Shadow Gathering Ground!"
The Shadow-Shadow Fruit is fully activated, and the shadows that had previously tried to run away are all absorbed back into Moriah's body.
"30..50..100...500!" These are all the shadows he carries with him, also the most suitable number for combat. This number of shadows not only greatly enhances power but also allows him to stay rational.
"Shadow Emperor."
At this moment, Moriah has transformed into a giant twenty meters tall. His original weapon was thrown somewhere, and a huge fist with anger swings towards Kaidou.
"Kaidou! You're going to pay the price!"