Moria swallowed more than a dozen shadows into his stomach. His body swelled slightly, and his arms expanded by a large margin.
To be honest, swallowing shadows to enhance his physical strength was useful back in the days when Moria could still clash blades with Kaido.
But after switching classes and becoming more of a mage, this move gradually became somewhat unpresentable.
The first time he used it, he was beaten up by Luffy. The second time, during the Paramount War, he faced fellow Shichibukai, Jinbe, and was taken down in a single move.
"Geh heh heh heh!"
Moria and his Doppelman each held a blade as they closed in on Vane.
One man and one shadow moved in perfect sync. As their machetes slashed down, two "flying slashes" shot out… no, not flying slashes. It was merely the shadow being cut out by his blade.
Just like the Wind-Wind Fruit—without being a swordsman, one could still create attacks resembling a swordsman's slash.
"Now this is getting interesting!"
Vane unleashed two flying slashes that collided with the shadow's attack.
The power of the shadow slash was not to be underestimated.
Vane took the initiative to land and engaged Moria in close combat.
With a single Cursed Sword, Vane handled the two machetes of man and shadow with ease, striking left and right effortlessly.
Several times he seized opportunities to wound Moria, but each time Moria used his ability to swap positions with the Doppelman to evade the damage.
Having lost his ambition, Moria's fighting style resembled some kind of troublesome creature.
Against weaker opponents, he could crush them directly and snip away their shadows.
Against the strong, he could stall—you would find it very difficult to injure him.
And Moria's strength was far from small. Don't be fooled by his fat otaku appearance—his power was astonishing.
The shadow beneath Moria's feet once again released a small swarm of bats. Whenever they found an opening, they would attempt to bite at Vane.
"Blizzard!"
The blizzard that had blanketed a wide area rapidly contracted, forming a spiraling storm around Vane. The bat swarm was scattered in all directions.
"Stronger than I expected… but without Haki, you're destined to bully only nameless pirates!"
"White Frostfall!"
Clang!
A massive frost-white sword aura appeared. Moria once again activated Shadow's Asgard and swapped positions with his Doppelman.
Slash!
The Doppelman was cleaved in two. Before Moria could even feel relieved, Vane had already used Geppo to close in on his true body.
With the Doppelman cut in half, he could no longer use Shadow's Asgard.
This kind of opponent… this kind of opponent—if it were the old me! I would never have been reduced to such a sorry state!
The old me… and those former companions!
"Ahhh!!"
A power that felt somewhat familiar to Moria burst forth.
His movements became much faster. The machete was wrapped in shadow, and over the shadow was layered Busoshoku Haki!
At that moment, Vane's blade arrived.
Clang!
A terrifying force erupted from their weapons.
Boom! Boom!
The ground within more than ten meters exploded apart.
The clash did not last long. The two quickly separated.
Vane stared at Moria's machete—wrapped in shadow and then coated in Busoshoku Haki—and inwardly cried out in alarm: It's bad! I've become Kaido!
Moria's attack had reignited his Haki. The skills he originally possessed were returning!
In a few more years, he might have forgotten Haki forever. But at this point in time, the pressure Vane provided was just right, allowing him to reclaim part of his strength.
"Looks like I've got the potential to become a great teacher too."
From now on, I should beat up my subordinates once in a while—who knows, one slash might even awaken their Devil Fruits.
"Moria! Now this is more like it. It's time to show your true strength and fight me properly!"
If Moria had remained in his previous state, Vane wouldn't have felt much pressure dealing with him. Now… it was enough to serve as a proper trial.
…
On the sea.
The crew of the Thunder Fortress was hauling aboard the pirates who had jumped ship to escape from the Succubus Lady's vessel. Among them were some low-level World Government agents.
Being led on missions by veteran agents meant their mortality rate was always at two extremes.
Either nothing happened—or once something did, the death rate was extremely high.
Clearly, these rookie newcomers had run into serious trouble.
They couldn't even hide their identities, because the people from Mock Town could identify one another. The agents' identities were quickly exposed due to how out of place they seemed.
"Tie these agents together with that fool who has the bloodline of a Celestial Dragon. They'll be useful… as for the idiots from Mock Town… throw them onto Crescent Island after the battle ends."
Quite a few of them had performed acrobatics in front of the Rocket Team's gates before. Back then, Perona and Sugar had even offered bounties, so let these survivors have a chance to live.
Tant patted his chest. "That sudden battle was terrifying. I didn't react at all."
Bonez said calmly, "The captain's orders… the captain is never wrong."
"Huh? The captain told you? Why didn't we know?"
"Because you three are too reckless. You can't keep secrets."
Tant, Burgess, and Dice all looked confused.
The other officers on the ship knew—only the three reckless ones didn't.
Burgess and Dice didn't care. As long as there was a fight to join and ships to destroy, they were happy.
"Damn it, I'm not some reckless brute… I'll make the boss change his opinion of me."
Tant cared a lot and decided to read more books in the future, so he wouldn't be treated like a brainless lion.
"The captain has run into a rather decent opponent."
Atop the mast, Lena held Dog-Gun Lassoo. Lassoo was fitted with a brand-new Meowth-brand telescope that could see extremely far.
She could see Vane fighting Moria. That was a great pirate who had been worth 320 million Belly several years ago.
At first, he was completely suppressed by the captain. Later, it gradually turned into an even exchange.
But judging from the situation, her captain looked very pleased and had no intention of asking for help.
"Hm?"
Lena spotted Rasya. That woman had hidden herself quite far away.
She raised Lassoo and calculated the distance, then pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Lassoo's tremendous power "sent" the specially made bullet toward the island.
On Crescent Island, Rasya, who was observing the battle, suddenly felt her heartbeat skip!
Instinctively, she leapt aside. Her body moved away, but her lifted hair was completely torn apart.
Boom!
Boom!
The special bullet shredded her hair and finally struck a tree, blasting it apart and knocking it down!