Thriller Bark had once again attacked a non-affiliated nation.
Moria, along with his crew members, thousands of zombie soldiers, and powerful Zombie Generals, had landed here and launched an attack.
The clashing of swords, the popping of flintlock pistols, and even the roar of cannons...
All manifested the resistance of this small country.
However, to their despair, no matter how many sword strikes they made, how many bullets they fired, or how many cannonballs they launched, these zombie soldiers would always crawl back up, snarling and roaring, bringing an endless nightmare of slaughter.
"Kishishishi! Cry, scream, shout! You're going to lose everything anyway, so why not just hand it all over to me!"
In the central church of the town, Moria, who was stationed there, brandished a pair of giant scissors.
One by one, the strong warriors of this nation were escorted in by zombie soldiers, and he would laugh wildly while cutting off their shadows. He stuffed them into pre-prepared corpses, turning them into one new zombie after another.
As for those who lost their shadows, he threw them into the basement.
Of course, these zombies converted from so-called 'strong' people were just slightly useful pawns to him.
The East Blue was too weak. In terms of quality, they weren't nearly as strong as the pirates of the Grand Line.
This made Moria a bit worried. If that guy named Hiroto turned out to be all show and no substance, wouldn't rushing over there be a waste of time?
What?
Forcing the Marines to dispatch a Headquarters Vice Admiral to Loguetown?
That was clearly an arrangement made to prevent him from running wild. What did it have to do with a mere small-time pirate with a 100 million berries bounty?
Still, Moria felt he should maintain some level of expectation. He just didn't know when he would catch this prey named Hiroto.
At that moment, Moria, who had just cut someone's shadow and had them thrown into the basement, was about to stuff the shadow into a corpse when a short, fat man suddenly ran in from outside.
It was Hogback, one of the three mysterious officers under Moria.
"Captain Moria! A ship just flew past in the sky outside, and then... then it landed at the port behind us!"
A ship?
Flying in the sky?
Moria was stunned for a moment, then immediately thought of a Devil Fruit Ability.
A flying ship... could it be the legendary Golden Lion Shiki—no!
After Shiki escaped from Impel Down, he had vanished for who knows how long. He might have died in some remote corner long ago.
So it's that bastard?
"Kishishishi! How perfect! I've found that bastard! Hogback, quickly have the zombies..."
Before Moria could finish his sentence, the dome at the top of the church suddenly shattered.
Intertwined wind and fire transformed into a tyrannical dragon, roaring as it poured into the towering church.
Boom!
Windows shattered and scorching flames erupted from the wide gates, as if a bomb had exploded inside.
The entire church shook violently.
Hogback's shrill voice rang out from the sea of fire, along with the zombie soldiers who were also trapped in the raging inferno.
Amidst the rampaging flames, a tall and upright figure emerged, his terrifying killing intent instantly washing over the scene.
"Are you... looking for me?"
The cold words echoed as the scorching flames dissipated, leaving behind a charred church where the air was so hot that breathing it would burn one's lungs.
Windows and doors were shattered, the main frame turned to charcoal, and even the surface of the sturdy stone bricks showed cracks.
Inside the church that bore the brunt of the impact, the zombie soldiers were annihilated, and Hogback was severely injured.
But Moria...
A bizarre-looking shadow stood beside Moria, blocking the recent flame impact.
In fact, even if it hadn't been blocked, Moria wouldn't necessarily have been injured in these iron-melting flames.
Even if he had lost his spirit, even if he relied on external things, even if his strength had declined severely, within the scope of the East Blue, he possessed an almost unbeatable, overwhelming power.
As the shadow stood on guard, Moria frantically grabbed Hogback and patted him down, extinguishing the flames on his body.
"Captain Moria..."
Hogback wore a pained expression.
The burning fire had left him on the verge of death.
"Leave it to me, Hogback. Shadow, take him away from here. I'll end this battle immediately."
As Hogback was carried away by the shadow, Moria looked at his enemy with immense rage. With just one glance, he recognized the newcomer's identity.
"Sea-Cleaving Swordsman Hiroto?"
He hadn't even gone to find Hiroto to cut off his shadow yet, but the man had come to him and even hurt Hogback.
"You actually dare to hurt my companion?! Unforgivable!"
Moria's roar was accompanied by the swinging of giant scissors, as intersecting cold glimmers whistled through the air.
Clang!
The sound of clashing metal rang out as the unsheathed Shigure parried, its blade wedged between the two giant scissor blades. With a grinding sound, the blades gnashed against each other, sending up blinding sparks.
Hiroto's elbows bent, his back arched slightly, and the ground beneath his feet shattered into a dense web of cracks like a spiderweb.
Correspondingly, Moria was exerting force from a superior height.
In terms of strength, he was actually weaker than Moria.
As expected of a powerhouse who once contended with Kaido. Even if his strength had declined severely, his basic power was still close to the C+ rank.
If his Devil Fruit abilities were added, his overall power would be even more troublesome.
"Kishishishi! You reckless fool, with only this level of strength, you dare—"
Moria broke into a wild smile, but before he could finish his sentence, a new force surged from the scissor blades.
[Fearless] activated!
All attributes were multiplied by 1.2. Strength, Agility, Constitution, and Perception all increased by twenty percent as the struggle intensified. And they were still rising rapidly, heading towards a multiplier of 2.
This strength!?
Moria's expression turned solemn as Hiroto exerted force with his arms, a boundless might erupting.
Shigure forcefully knocked back the two scissor blades.
In the next instant, the scissor blades and Shigure clashed repeatedly with a metallic clang. Scorching sparks flew into the air, and the ringing of metal was accompanied by stray slashes and shockwaves sweeping the surroundings.
Cracks appeared on the walls of the towering church, and then, with a boom, the entire structure collapsed.
Before the countless massive stone blocks could fall, they were swept away along with the dust by the following bursts of energy, leaving behind an open-air ruin.