Gecko Moria!!
This was the target he had to deal with this time.
Among the recent intelligence reports of the Marines, there was one piece of information about Moria, that traces of the Thriller Bark had been spotted near the Florian Triangle.
According to the Vivre Card of Hogback in the original story, twelve years ago Moria found Hogback, and at that time he already had Absalom and Perona following him. Afterward, the group stationed themselves on the Thriller Bark, continuing to build their zombie army.
Here, twelve years ago refers to twelve years before the time reference point in the original story, which is after Luffy and the others enter the New World.
Based on the timeline, it happens to be exactly this year.
That is to say, Moria and his group should have just retreated into the Florian Triangle not long ago.
Moria has not become a Warlord of the Sea yet, so there are no restrictions on taking action against him.
The reason for choosing Moria as the mission target is also simple. Among the more famous pirates during this period, he is the easiest to deal with.
No choice, after all, it's the first battle after setting sail. Must be a bit more cautious, pick the soft persimmon to pinch!
Another reason is to go to Moria's place to find some treasure!
Eleven years ago, Moria fought against Kaido, was utterly defeated in the end, and lost all his companions.
This battle made him firmly believe, 'Only the living can lose!'
Afterward, he retreated to the West Blue, and on the Thriller Bark, using the power of his Shadow-Shadow Fruit, by injecting shadows into corpses, he began building a zombie army.
Recruiting Hogback was because his medical skills could provide great help to Moria in building the zombie army, such as better processing and modification of corpses, etc., further enhancing the strength of the zombie army.
Over the years, the tombs Moria has robbed and the corpses he has stolen are countless. Although not as many as in later times, they already form a considerable scale.
Feels like Moria could actually mix in and become a king too. Tomb Raider King would be quite good!
And when stealing these corpses, Moria naturally did not let go of their burial goods either.
There is quite a lot of gold, silver, treasures, and many rare items.
For example, the national treasure of Wano Country, the sword of Shimotsuki Ryuma, the famous sword Shusui!
Even among the 21 Great Grade Swords, it belongs to the top-tier series.
This sword is a bit redundant for him. He is not a multiple-sword style user. Having one Purple Lightning is enough!
But for Zoro, it's quite useful. Among his three swords currently, only one, White Snow, is a Great Grade Sword. The other two are both Skillful Grade Swords that Kyle bought for him with Berries from the Marine headquarters' inventory.
This is not to say there are no Great Grade Swords in the Marine headquarters' treasury. It's just that to buy a Great Grade Sword, you not only need Berries but also military merit, and the required military merit is not a small amount.
Kyle hasn't carried out a single mission, so naturally, he has no military merit.
So he could only settle for the next best thing, temporarily using two Skillful Grade Swords.
But compared to Zoro in the original story when he first met Luffy, this is already much better. At that time, Zoro only had one Great Grade Sword, Wado Ichimonji. The other two swords were junk obtained from who knows where.
They would shatter after a few random cuts.
When in Loguetown, going to buy a sword, he was also poor, only buying the cheapest 50,000 Berry swords.
Of course, precisely because of this, Zoro was able to obtain the cursed sword Sandai Kitetsu.
Although Sandai Kitetsu is only a Grade Sword, it lasted from Loguetown all the way to the final version, becoming the sword that accompanied Zoro for the second longest time.
Also, because of the plot of subduing Sandai Kitetsu, he got a free Skillful Grade Sword, Yubashiri. The key point is he didn't spend a single Berry! This is the most important part!!
Speaking of this, Sandai Kitetsu is in Loguetown, Nidai Kitetsu is in Wano Country, and Shodai Kitetsu is in the hands of Elder Saint Jaygarcia Saturn.
Shodai Kitetsu is out of the question for now, but Nidai Kitetsu can be planned for.
Sigh!
As the captain of the squad, he is doing his utmost for his team members!
Generally speaking, useful things he gives to his team members first. Only gold, silver, treasures, such vulgar things, does he take into his own care.
Treasures and Berries, these kinds of things, are safer stored in his system space!
Boom!!
Suddenly, an object collision sound came from the side of the warship, immediately attracting everyone's attention.
Looking at the fishing rod placed on the gunwale, as if thinking of a possibility, Ace's eyes lit up, and he shouted excitedly,
"I caught a fish!!"
Before his words fell, he ran excitedly towards it, grabbed his fishing rod, and pulled it up sharply.
But the next moment, he did not feel any weight. Due to excessive force, Ace's body swayed backward several steps.
"Eh!!"
A confused expression appeared on Ace's face.
Where's the fish?!!
If there's no fish, why was there that sound?
With confusion, Ace came to the edge of the gunwale, looked down, and the next second his eyes widened slightly as he shouted,
"Come over here quickly and look, what is this?!"
As soon as he said this, everyone gathered around, their gazes all looking downward.
"That is? A barrel!!"
Zoro's voice carried a trace of excitement.
A person who is already an old drunkard at nineteen must have been a little drunkard when he was a child.
So just hearing the word 'alcohol' makes Zoro's throat move inexplicably.
"Look, there's even a flag stuck on it. Why would there be a flag on a barrel?"
Luffy pointed at the barrel and asked curiously.
"Whatever the situation is, we'll know once we fish it up!"
Sabo spoke up.
Immediately afterward, he flipped over the gunwale and jumped down. Just as he was about to hit the sea surface, he suddenly pulled out the Supreme Grade Steel Pipe from his back and slammed it hard onto the sea surface.
Boom!!
The sea surface was smashed into a depression, then suddenly exploded with a splash. The reaction force pushed Sabo upward while also sending that barrel up.
Thud! Thud!
Two landing sounds sounded almost simultaneously. Sabo landed stylishly in a half-squat, and beside him was the barrel standing quietly.
An aura of showing off instantly spread out!!
(☆▽☆)!!
Luffy's eyes instantly turned into starry eyes as he looked at Sabo excitedly and shouted,
"Sabo, that's amazing!!"
A faint smile hung on Sabo's face as he slowly stood up. He strongly suppressed the smugness from the flattery on his face and said lightly,
"Basic operation! Don't praise!!"
The aura of showing off became even stronger.
"Tch!!"
Ace snorted disdainfully beside him, muttering quietly,
"Showing off what? It's just getting the barrel up. I could do that too!!"
At the same time, he secretly resolved in his heart that next time he encounters a similar situation, he must seize the opportunity. He, too, wants to show off!!
"By the way, what exactly is this?!"
"Doesn't feel much like a barrel for alcohol!"
"Look quickly, the flag stuck on it has writing!!"
...
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