"You say that as if I came looking for trouble first? What an ugly face."
Merlin sneered.
Moria's face turned beet red.
The next moment.
Clap! He slapped his hands together and roared: "Shadow Armor (Kage no Yoroi)!"
The shadow beneath his feet boiled up, spreading upwards like fluid, wrapping his body in the blink of an eye, solidifying into a black armor covered in barbs.
His right hand gripped a giant shadow blade gleaming with cold light.
With a stomp, accompanied by an explosive sound, as the ground flipped backward, his whole person charged out with heavy momentum like a wild elephant.
Merlin's eyes were calm. At this moment, Armament Haki rose from his body surface. In Moria's eyes, Merlin's body seemed to condense the shadow of a demon god with black flame horns.
On Merlin's shoulder blades and behind him, a pitch-black flame cloud ribbon evolved.
Boom! Super speed burst. Merlin's figure disappeared abruptly. That was extreme speed, too fast for human eyes to react.
Instantly, Moria's Observation Haki sensed a terrifying sense of crisis. Following his combat instinct accumulated in the past, he raised the shadow blade high and slashed down a black light from the sky.
Boom!
Violent wind erupted from the collision point of their blades.
Merlin grinned, muscles on his arms bulging. Bang! Moria's arms holding the shadow blade bounced upwards.
The ground beneath his feet exploded, and his figure shot up like a cannonball. Then he kicked Moria's chest. A cry of pain came from his mouth, and Moria's mountain-like body took heavy steps backward, thud thud.
Pa! Merlin stomped heavily on the atmosphere, borrowing force from thin air, and arrived in front of him in the blink of an eye. The pitch-black blade wrapped in black flames swung out a dark red beam. Crack! A crisp sound rang out abruptly. The shadow armor on Moria's chest was smoothly shattered by this slash.
A splash of blood flew out.
At this moment, the paralyzing calamity of electricity was released. Moria's eyes glared angrily. In an instant, Merlin stepped on the atmosphere again, slashing at his neck with the sword.
Moria used his consciousness to transfer the paralysis on his body to the shadow armor, leaning his upper body back with all his might. However, Merlin's speed was faster. In the blink of an eye, crack! A slash cut through his neck armor.
The blade pulled across, bringing out a splash of thick blood from his neck.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
A shrill scream resounded through the entire island shore. Moria's eyes were crimson. His huge body brought terrifying monstrous strength. The shadow blade in his hand turned into a gauntlet, and a fierce punch wrapped in Haki swung towards Merlin's body.
Clang— Merlin blocked with his sword in time, but was still sent flying towards the forest by this immense force.
Crack! He crashed into a coconut tree at the junction of the beach and the forest.
Merlin landed on the ground from the broken trunk at this moment, staring coldly at Moria a hundred meters away. At this moment, he was half-kneeling on the ground spitting blood, panting heavily.
However, the cut on that thick neck appeared on his chest again.
At this time, Merlin glanced at the four people on the shore. Pink was still kneeling on the ground confessing, while Monet and Baby 5 were chased around by several Negative Hollows.
His eye corner couldn't help twitching. The mechanism of the Holo-Holo Fruit ability was really disgusting enough.
And at this time, hearing Moria's scream, Perona looked over dumbfounded, fear flashing in her eyes. Immediately after, instinctively releasing her ability, two Negative Hollows rushed over.
"Merlin, be careful of the ghosts!!"
At this time, seeing this scene, Monet shouted hurriedly. Flame light flashed in Merlin's eyes, and then he shouted similarly: "Her main body is on the pirate ship. Baby 5, cover the pirate ship with artillery fire!"
Hearing Merlin's call, Baby 5's eyes lit up, she responded loudly, then jumped into mid-air, her whole person transforming into a rocket projectile. Amidst flames spurting from the tail.
Shoosh! She rushed straight to the deck of Moria's pirate ship. Boom! An explosion appeared suddenly. The impact and firelight of the explosion rose on the opposite ship.
At this time, Perona's spirit body let out a scream, then disappeared suddenly.
Merlin turned back to look at Moria whose eyes were splitting with anger, sneered, stomped the ground, and rushed over in an instant.
"Ahhh..."
Moria roared loudly. He already knew things couldn't end well today. Raising his Haki-wrapped fist, predicting, he swung at Merlin who sprinted close.
At this moment, Merlin kicked the air with both feet. Pa! He leaped over his punch.
His whole person landed on his arm, then kicked off his arm with both feet, his figure rushing rapidly in front of him. His left knee wrapped in black flames boomed onto his face.
Amidst the crack! sound of the nose bridge breaking, amidst Moria's cry of pain and head tilting back, the blade held by Merlin pierced with a splurt. The blade completely penetrated the shadow armor, sinking into his eye socket, and a section of bloodstained sword tip emerged from the back of his head.
At this moment.
Calamity: Mottled Platinum Lead.
The terrifying Platinum Lead calamity spread in his brain. In an instant, Moria's consciousness became chaotic.
Merlin's eyes flashed, pitch-black flames expanded. In an instant, a diameter of one hundred meters was enveloped by black flames.
At this time, with a thought, the unconscious Moria disappeared. Merlin landed on the ground, and the equipment slot appeared before his eyes.
Azure brilliance penetrated into Moria's body in the equipment slot. Immediately after, a stream of dense black shadow mist energy precipitated. After a while, when energy no longer precipitated, with a thought, Moria's figure appeared outside.
Merlin raised his hand and dropped the sword. After a cold flash, Moria's head was separated from his body.
At this moment, looking at the Shadow-Shadow Fruit origin power in the second frame, Merlin's gaze was calm, "This shadow ability is not inferior to my calamity ability!"
"Displacement, area attack, defense, and, equipping the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, can I already go into the sea?"
The last point remained to be tested.
[Name: Paramecia - Shadow-Shadow Fruit]
[Effect: Equipping this equipment grants you the ability to manipulate and control all shadows.
However, at the same time, you will also possess a restriction from nature (PS: This restriction is integral to this origin power; it can be "weakened" but cannot be erased).]
[Synchronization Rate: 1%]
[Evaluation: A supernatural creation ingeniously combined by pure power of will and the world's origin.]
Putting away the equipment slot, Merlin looked at Moria's pirate ship emitting flames on the deck. There were four auras there. The recovered Pink, Monet, and the others were all there.
There was also Perona's aura, although weak, it hadn't reached the point of near death.
Then, looking at Absalom lying unconscious on the beach, Merlin walked over, arrived in front of him, and with a flash in his eyes, Merlin carried him by the collar and jumped onto his own ship.
Inside the cabin.
There was a plate of fruit on the tea table.
Merlin picked up a dragon fruit, put it into the equipment slot to equip, and synthesized.
Soon, the Shadow-Shadow Fruit origin fused with the dragon fruit, and a black Shadow-Shadow Fruit wrapped in petal-like green leaves appeared.
Looking at the dragon fruit turning into the same appearance as in the encyclopedia, curiosity flashed in Merlin's eyes.
Then he took out the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, put Absalom into the equipment slot, and stripped the fruit origin power.
After a while, looking at the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, and another Clear-Clear Fruit with a melon shape but a transparent luster covered with arabesque patterns.
Merlin moved in his heart, put the two fruits into the equipment slot to equip, and then looked at Absalom who had been stripped of the fruit and entered a near-death state.
Zanye unsheathed in his hand. Then the shadow under his feet expanded into a shadow monster claw grabbing his body, and came to the deck with Merlin.
It was around 2:00 PM now.
The sun was directly overhead. Merlin controlled the shadow monster claw to lift Absalom up, sensing his own ability to control shadows. An instinct appeared, the instinct that his body could grab shadows.
At the same time, his own shadow could also grasp shadows. With a thought...
The shadow under his feet split out a small black hand again, grabbing Absalom's shadow on the ground. A rip sound like tearing leather rang out.
As the shadow hand pulled back, Absalom's figure was pulled at the same time. Soon, when his shadow was pulled until only a connection point with the sole of his foot remained, Merlin swung his sword to cut off the shadow. Rip, the end of his shadow broke off from his body.
At this moment, the pitch-black shadow identical to Absalom struggled in Merlin's shadow hand. But at this time, Merlin had an instinctive sense of dominance over this shadow detached from the main body, so following the instinct, he said lightly: "Quiet!"
Instantly, the shadow stopped moving.
One of the ability effects brought by the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, Shadow Contract.
However, at this time, spontaneous combustion appeared on Absalom exposed to the sun. Within a few breaths, his figure turned into fly ash, then dissipated completely.
Merlin sensed his aura disappear. At this time, the opponent's shadow in the shadow hand also dissipated into nothing.
Follow like a shadow.
Inseparable.
Without a trace.
At this time, Merlin looked at the pirate ship not far away. His figure moved, kicking several times in the air. Amidst the sound of air explosions, he landed on the opponent's ship deck in a few breaths.
Entering the cabin, Merlin saw that Monet, Baby 5, and Pink had already moved Moria's treasures and valuables here.
At the same time, seeing Perona on a sofa on one side, her body tied with an iron-gray chain, limp, tearful, and terrified.
At this moment, seeing Merlin come in, Baby 5 came over with a brilliant smile holding a katana with a purple-black scabbard with circular patterns, chuckling like offering a treasure: "Big Brother Merlin, look what this is. I found a treasure sword, it's the Great Grade sword Shusui (Autumn Water).
"I guess you must like it very much!"
Merlin took it with a smile, then Clang! unsheathed the sword, sizing up this famous sword. The blade was a disorderly temper line (midare-ba) with great reverse clove (O-gyaku-choji), the blade body black-purple, with red serrated peculiar patterns.
The blade spine was thick and heavy, not light in weight.
Black Blade Shusui.
Merlin held it very comfortably. Sheathing the sword, he couldn't help rubbing Baby 5's head with his right hand, smiling: "Thanks! I like it very much. By the way, you recognize Shusui?"
"Hehe!" Baby 5 giggled: "I knew you would like it. As for Shusui, I've seen it in the famous sword catalog, so I remember this famous sword."
At this time, envy flashed in Pink's eyes. Treasure sword matches hero. At this time, he couldn't help asking: "Moria is dead?"
Saying this, a trace of hesitation flashed in his eyes. Seeing this, Merlin nodded and said: "Yeah. Finished off by me."
"Woo woo!" At this time, Perona, limp on the sofa with blood on her forehead, some external injuries on her body, and a bruised and swollen face, burst into tears upon hearing this, terrified of the unknown ending she was about to face.
"Merlin, we collected a lot of treasure from Moria. Excluding the Great Grade Shusui in your hand, there is also 130 million Berries in cash, and a batch of gold products worth 500 million Berries, finally plus a small batch of Seastone products.
"Seastone products include shackles, chains, stone nails, and a few bullets.
"Besides these, there are several dried mummies in the basement."
After listening to her, Merlin nodded with a smile and said to them: "Thanks for your hard work."
At this time, Merlin said to Pink: "You put in effort this time. You can take a total value of 10 million Berries from the Berries and treasures here as a bonus."
Hearing this, Pink's eyes under the sunglasses widened suddenly, looking at Merlin somewhat incredulously, saying in a deep voice: "I barely put in much effort, you actually want to give me so much?"
Merlin glanced at him, a smile rising on the corner of his mouth, "Am I generous?
"Want to follow me in the future?
"I think highly of you!"
Pink's eye corner twitched, refusing without hesitation, "Forget it, I can't accept this money. My loyalty doesn't allow me to betray Doffy."
Seeing this, regret flashed in Merlin's eyes. This guy was stubborn!
Doflamingo's methods were good.
Probably except for Baby 5, other people's corners were hard to pry.
However, it wasn't completely without chance.
At this time, Merlin looked at the heavily injured Perona, chuckling lightly: "Who beat this little guy? Beaten with such standard."
"Me me me!" Baby 5 raised her head proudly, then looked at Perona with dissatisfied eyes. Just now, she was teased and mocked by her ability quite a bit: "This guy has a foul mouth, was fixed by me. Big Brother Merlin, how do you want to deal with her? Kill her?"
"Wahhh! Spare my life, I don't want to die yet! I haven't agreed to join the Moria Pirates yet!
"I am still innocent. I can do anything, laundry, cooking, cleaning.
"Please don't kill me!"
"Woo woo woo! I don't want to die!"
"Spare me! I won't dare to provoke you again! Waah!!!"
At this time, watching Perona crying with snot and tears flowing, looking so miserable, a flash of unbearableness passed through Pink's eyes, but he didn't speak.
Just remained silent.
Here, he couldn't call the shots.
Merlin was too strong.
Besides, he had no standing to speak. Just now he was instantly killed by this brat.
Even thinking about it now, his scalp felt numb.
Monet on the side didn't speak, just looking at Perona who was not much older than Sugar, feeling a bit unbearable.
But, only unbearable.