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Chapter 120is out!!!! +40 advanced chapters monthly
"Huh?"
Waiting for the results inside his castle, Gecko Moria suddenly let out a sharp gasp, a flash of genuine surprise cutting through his usual arrogance.
Just a moment ago, his connection to all the General Zombies had been completely severed.
"Taking out all the General Zombies in an instant... this guy's got some real skill!"
Moria pushed himself to his feet and lumbered toward the exit. Since his zombie generals couldn't handle the intruder, he would just have to deal with the trash himself.
Let's see just how tough you really are. Capturing a wild beast like Laen proves you have some decent strength, but 'decent' is all it is!
Moria didn't think much of Laen. The guy's strength was middling at best. Compared to Moria himself, there was an insurmountable gap in power.
And rightfully so. Moria was, after all, a great pirate with a bounty of 320,000,000 Berries—a man who had once crossed blades with Kaido of the Beasts in the New World.
That statement might have held water in the past.
But now? Not a chance.
Having had his spirit utterly crushed by Kaido, Moria had completely lost the drive of a true powerhouse. Was he really that much stronger than Laen now?
Not at all!
At the very least, Baishui didn't think Moria had much of an edge. It made perfect sense why Jinbe would so easily dispatch him later during the Summit War at Marineford.
Who was Jinbe? A powerhouse who had fought for three days and three nights to a standstill against Portgas D. Ace—the man who would eventually earn a 550,000,000 Berry bounty and become the 2nd Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Even if Ace's bounty was slightly inflated due to his connection to Whitebeard, Jinbe easily possessed strength equivalent to a 500-million Berry bounty during the Paramount War. Beating a washed-up Moria was child's play.
Hawkeye, Doflamingo, Kuma—any of them could do it effortlessly.
"Finally coming out, are we? Would've saved us both a lot of trouble if you just showed up from the start," Baishui muttered. "Making me go through all this effort and wrecking so much architecture in the process."
Within the range of his Kenbunshoku Haki, a massive, oppressive presence was rapidly approaching. Baishui didn't even need to think to know who it was.
Who else could it be but Gecko Moria?
Still, the detour hadn't been without its perks. Securing the Black Blade, Shusui, was a massive haul. It would make a great gift for Momonga or Onigumo.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
A heavy, rhythmic pounding echoed from the distance, shaking the earth as a massive, indistinct silhouette loomed out of the shadows.
The figure moved fast. Soon, the sheer scale of the man came into clear focus.
Baishui had braced himself for Moria's height, but standing face-to-face with the Warlord, he realized he had drastically underestimated it. Baishui was a perfectly average 1.73 meters tall. He used to think Marine Vice Admirals like Momonga and Onigumo were towering figures, but compared to Moria? They weren't even in the same league.
Moria stood nearly seven meters tall—the height of a two-story building. Standing before him, Baishui felt as small as an infant. He was even taller than Bartholomew the "Tyrant" Kuma.
His most defining feature was his hair, styled like a massive, flaming wild onion. One look at that absurd haircut, and you knew exactly who you were dealing with.
With a demonic face, two horns protruding from the sides of his forehead, heavy stitches bisecting his brow, and a flat, bat-like nose, Moria looked every bit the monster. His ears and teeth were sharply pointed, and thick, cross-shaped surgical stitches ran from his head all the way down his elongated neck. His body was shaped like a massive bowling pin, comically disproportionate with its gargantuan upper half supported by stubby, tiny legs that scarcely looked capable of carrying his immense weight. He wore a gothic outfit, complete with a bat-winged collar shirt.
"Kishishishi! You've got a lot of nerve, Marine brat!"
Moria glared down at Baishui, who barely reached his shins، his voice dripping with ice.
"Heh, it wasn't exactly intentional. If you had just shown up a bit earlier, I wouldn't have had to tear the place apart." Baishui waved a hand dismissively, shrugging. "What can I say? You're the one who dragged this out."
"Tsuno-Tokage!"
Moria completely ignored Baishui's banter, launching an immediate, lethal assault.
A pitch-black shadow violently erupted from beneath Moria's feet, shaping into a jagged spear that shot toward Baishui in the blink of an eye. The strike was a brutal blindside.
"Busoshoku: Koka!"
Coating his right fist in Armament Haki, Baishui met the incoming shadow spear head-on, throwing a devastating punch right into its tip.
CLANG!
Though made of pure shadow, the Tsuno-Tokage carried terrifying physical force, producing a screeching, metallic ring as it clashed against Baishui's Haki.
Shockwaves ripped through the air. The ground beneath Baishui splintered and caved in, forming a massive, fifty-meter crater lined with jagged rubble.
"Interesting!" Moria smirked, finally acknowledging the Marine's strength after seeing him block the surprise attack.
"Brick Bat!"
A swarm of shadowy, jagged bats suddenly detached from Moria's massive body. Baring their razor-sharp fangs, the swarm aggressively dove toward Baishui to rip him apart.
"Light Particle Volley!"
Reacting instantly، Baishui materialized a pistol in his left hand. Pulling the trigger، he unleashed a torrential barrage of blinding light blasts، moving as fast as lightning.
Before the shadowy bats could even get close، the light blasts annihilated them، the remaining beams continuing their trajectory straight for Moria.
"Kagemusha!"
Facing the impossibly fast barrage، Moria muttered the technique's name just as the light beams pierced right through his body.
"He got him!" A nearby Marine Lieutenant Commander pumped his fist، his face lighting up with excitement.
"It's never that easy. This is a Royal Warlord of the Sea we're talking about. He's not going down like a chump،" Baishui sighed، rolling his eyes. He flared his Kenbunshoku Haki to its maximum، sweeping the area for Moria's true presence.
In the next second، the "Moria" that had been pierced by the light shattered into a flock of bats and scattered into the air.
The real Moria materialized directly behind Baishui. Where there was a shadow، Moria could swap places with it.
"Kage Giri!"
Wielding half of a gargantuan pair of scissors، Moria cleaved downward with immense، overwhelming force. The sheer sharpness of the attack made the hairs on the back of Baishui's neck stand on end.
No wonder he's a Shichibukai. He's far from a pushover.
"Light Particle Kick!"
Having experienced Admiral Kizaru's kicks firsthand، Baishui had gained a much deeper understanding of this technique.
He swung his leg up، intercepting the massive scissor blade. The explosive force of the kick actually caught Moria off guard، causing the giant's frame to shudder and forcing him several steps back.
It was the perfect opening.
Whoosh!
Baishui wasn't about to waste it. He vanished from his spot، instantly reappearing right in front of Moria. Pointing his right-hand pistol squarely at the Warlord، he pulled the trigger.
"Light Particle Energy Cannon!" Baishui roared.
Hiss!
Faced with the point-blank strike، Moria felt a surge of unprecedented danger. His pupils shrank to pinpricks، and without a second's hesitation، he commanded، "Doppelman!"
BOOM!
A deafening explosion of fiery light erupted. Searing shockwaves ripped across the courtyard، tearing the earth asunder and cracking the surrounding buildings so violently they threatened to collapse.
Did that hit? Baishui wondered.
"Tsuno-Tokage!"
Just as the thought crossed his mind، another lethal strike assaulted him from behind، the suddenness of it sending a jolt through his body.
"Tekkai!"
Baishui executed the Rokushiki technique with every ounce of speed he could muster.
SMASH!
Baishui was sent hurtling through the air، crashing violently into a heavily damaged building. The impact cratered the structure، leaving a massive ten-meter depression spider-webbed with deep fissures.
"Brick Bat!"
Moria emerged from the smoke، sweeping his hand toward the rubble where Baishui had landed. Another massive، dark cloud of shadow bats swarmed forward. With their jagged fangs، they threatened to tear chunks of flesh directly from Baishui's bones.
But this time، Baishui genuinely couldn't react fast enough.
Moria's ambush from behind had been too sudden؛ even he hadn't anticipated it.
What Baishui expected even less، however، was that the Brick Bats weren't meant to attack him—they were meant to trap him.
As the swarm closed in، Baishui immediately hardened his body with Tekkai.
But Moria suddenly clenched his fist. The bats instantly liquefied into pure shadow، fusing together into a massive، pitch-black cube that sealed Baishui completely inside.
"Black Box!"
Without missing a beat، Moria waved his arm again. "Tsuno-Tokage!"
A colossal، pitch-black shadow spear shot straight toward the dark box. Trapped inside، Baishui had absolutely no room to dodge the fatal blow. Countless pirates had met their grisly end to this exact combo.
SQUELCH!
The sickening sound of flesh being pierced echoed across the battlefield. Seconds later، fresh blood began to seep from the cracks in the shadow box، dripping steadily onto the ground. The sight left the Marine Lieutenant Commander paralyzed with fear.
Even someone as strong as Captain Baishui... isn't a match for Gecko Moria?!
"Kishishishi! Is this all the famous Marine prodigy amounts to?" Moria laughed triumphantly. He tightened his fist، and the dark shadow box immediately began to shrink and crush inward.
Anyone caught in this technique was doomed. There was no escape؛ their only fate was to be crushed into a bloody pulp.
But then، the impossible happened—leaving Moria completely stunned.
BOOM!
The shadow box violently detonated like a roaring thunderclap. The explosive shockwave obliterated the building behind it and ripped outward in all directions، causing the earth to heave and quake uncontrollably.
A high-speed blur rapidly expanded in Moria's vision. Startled، he barked an immediate command: "Doppelman!"
Doppelman was an incredibly versatile and terrifying ability، capable of nullifying all physical attacks while fighting alongside Moria.
However—
The shadow avatar he placed so much faith in was mercilessly punted away by the incoming blur. The sheer kinetic force behind the strike was so immense it caused the very air to tremble.
Before Moria could even register his shock، the blur planted a devastating kick squarely into his chest. The overwhelming power sent the massive Warlord skidding back over ten meters. His chest audibly caved in، and he coughed up a heavy mouthful of blood.
The blur was، naturally، Baishui.
Though، he looked noticeably worse for wear. A patch of red stained his side، his uniform was ragged and torn، his hair was a mess، and minor burns marked various parts of his body.
As expected of Moria. I can't afford to underestimate him! Baishui thought، wiping his mouth as he turned to look at the towering pirate، who was now picking himself up off the ground، looking equally battered.
"You little brat!" Moria roared furiously.
He thrust his hand out، and the shadow beneath his feet surged toward Baishui once more، tearing through the air with a vicious hissing sound.
Whoosh!
Baishui vanished from his spot، reappearing directly on top of the rapidly extending Tsuno-Tokage. Using the shadow spear as a makeshift bridge، he sprinted along its length، closing the distance to Moria in the blink of an eye.
"Light Particle Volley!"
In less than two seconds، Baishui was right in Moria's face. He leveled his left-hand pistol and unloaded another dense barrage of blinding light blasts.
"Kagemusha!"
Moria's massive body wasn't built for speed، but Kagemusha made up for it.
His shadow، Doppelman، leaped forward toward Baishui، taking the brunt of the attack. Dozens of light beams punched holes through the shadow، passing right through and continuing toward Moria.
But that was all the Warlord needed.
The biggest weakness of Kagemusha was point-blank combat. Yet، as long as there was even a fraction of distance between them، Moria could manipulate space to his advantage.
In the exact fraction of a second that Doppelman was pierced—just before the light blasts could shred Moria's true body—he perfectly swapped places with his shadow، flawlessly evading the lethal barrage.
"Huh?"
Waiting for the results inside his castle, Gecko Moria suddenly let out a sharp gasp, a flash of genuine surprise cutting through his usual arrogance.
Just a moment ago, his connection to all the General Zombies had been completely severed.
"Taking out all the General Zombies in an instant... this guy's got some real skill!"
Moria pushed himself to his feet and lumbered toward the exit. Since his zombie generals couldn't handle the intruder, he would just have to deal with the trash himself.
Let's see just how tough you really are. Capturing a wild beast like Laen proves you have some decent strength, but 'decent' is all it is!
Moria didn't think much of Laen. The guy's strength was middling at best. Compared to Moria himself, there was an insurmountable gap in power.
And rightfully so. Moria was, after all, a great pirate with a bounty of 320,000,000 Berries—a man who had once crossed blades with Kaido of the Beasts in the New World.
That statement might have held water in the past.
But now? Not a chance.
Having had his spirit utterly crushed by Kaido, Moria had completely lost the drive of a true powerhouse. Was he really that much stronger than Laen now?
Not at all!
At the very least, Baishui didn't think Moria had much of an edge. It made perfect sense why Jinbe would so easily dispatch him later during the Summit War at Marineford.
Who was Jinbe? A powerhouse who had fought for three days and three nights to a standstill against Portgas D. Ace—the man who would eventually earn a 550,000,000 Berry bounty and become the 2nd Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Even if Ace's bounty was slightly inflated due to his connection to Whitebeard, Jinbe easily possessed strength equivalent to a 500-million Berry bounty during the Paramount War. Beating a washed-up Moria was child's play.
Hawkeye, Doflamingo, Kuma—any of them could do it effortlessly.
"Finally coming out, are we? Would've saved us both a lot of trouble if you just showed up from the start," Baishui muttered. "Making me go through all this effort and wrecking so much architecture in the process."
Within the range of his Kenbunshoku Haki, a massive, oppressive presence was rapidly approaching. Baishui didn't even need to think to know who it was.
Who else could it be but Gecko Moria?
Still, the detour hadn't been without its perks. Securing the Black Blade, Shusui, was a massive haul. It would make a great gift for Momonga or Onigumo.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
A heavy, rhythmic pounding echoed from the distance, shaking the earth as a massive, indistinct silhouette loomed out of the shadows.
The figure moved fast. Soon, the sheer scale of the man came into clear focus.
Baishui had braced himself for Moria's height, but standing face-to-face with the Warlord, he realized he had drastically underestimated it. Baishui was a perfectly average 1.73 meters tall. He used to think Marine Vice Admirals like Momonga and Onigumo were towering figures, but compared to Moria? They weren't even in the same league.
Moria stood nearly seven meters tall—the height of a two-story building. Standing before him, Baishui felt as small as an infant. He was even taller than Bartholomew the "Tyrant" Kuma.
His most defining feature was his hair, styled like a massive, flaming wild onion. One look at that absurd haircut, and you knew exactly who you were dealing with.
With a demonic face, two horns protruding from the sides of his forehead, heavy stitches bisecting his brow, and a flat, bat-like nose, Moria looked every bit the monster. His ears and teeth were sharply pointed, and thick, cross-shaped surgical stitches ran from his head all the way down his elongated neck. His body was shaped like a massive bowling pin, comically disproportionate with its gargantuan upper half supported by stubby, tiny legs that scarcely looked capable of carrying his immense weight. He wore a gothic outfit, complete with a bat-winged collar shirt.
"Kishishishi! You've got a lot of nerve, Marine brat!"
Moria glared down at Baishui, who barely reached his shins، his voice dripping with ice.
"Heh, it wasn't exactly intentional. If you had just shown up a bit earlier, I wouldn't have had to tear the place apart." Baishui waved a hand dismissively, shrugging. "What can I say? You're the one who dragged this out."
"Tsuno-Tokage!"
Moria completely ignored Baishui's banter, launching an immediate, lethal assault.
A pitch-black shadow violently erupted from beneath Moria's feet, shaping into a jagged spear that shot toward Baishui in the blink of an eye. The strike was a brutal blindside.
"Busoshoku: Koka!"
Coating his right fist in Armament Haki, Baishui met the incoming shadow spear head-on, throwing a devastating punch right into its tip.
CLANG!
Though made of pure shadow, the Tsuno-Tokage carried terrifying physical force, producing a screeching, metallic ring as it clashed against Baishui's Haki.
Shockwaves ripped through the air. The ground beneath Baishui splintered and caved in, forming a massive, fifty-meter crater lined with jagged rubble.
"Interesting!" Moria smirked, finally acknowledging the Marine's strength after seeing him block the surprise attack.
"Brick Bat!"
A swarm of shadowy, jagged bats suddenly detached from Moria's massive body. Baring their razor-sharp fangs, the swarm aggressively dove toward Baishui to rip him apart.
"Light Particle Volley!"
Reacting instantly، Baishui materialized a pistol in his left hand. Pulling the trigger، he unleashed a torrential barrage of blinding light blasts، moving as fast as lightning.
Before the shadowy bats could even get close، the light blasts annihilated them، the remaining beams continuing their trajectory straight for Moria.
"Kagemusha!"
Facing the impossibly fast barrage، Moria muttered the technique's name just as the light beams pierced right through his body.
"He got him!" A nearby Marine Lieutenant Commander pumped his fist، his face lighting up with excitement.
"It's never that easy. This is a Royal Warlord of the Sea we're talking about. He's not going down like a chump،" Baishui sighed، rolling his eyes. He flared his Kenbunshoku Haki to its maximum، sweeping the area for Moria's true presence.
In the next second، the "Moria" that had been pierced by the light shattered into a flock of bats and scattered into the air.
The real Moria materialized directly behind Baishui. Where there was a shadow، Moria could swap places with it.
"Kage Giri!"
Wielding half of a gargantuan pair of scissors، Moria cleaved downward with immense، overwhelming force. The sheer sharpness of the attack made the hairs on the back of Baishui's neck stand on end.
No wonder he's a Shichibukai. He's far from a pushover.
"Light Particle Kick!"
Having experienced Admiral Kizaru's kicks firsthand، Baishui had gained a much deeper understanding of this technique.
He swung his leg up، intercepting the massive scissor blade. The explosive force of the kick actually caught Moria off guard، causing the giant's frame to shudder and forcing him several steps back.
It was the perfect opening.
Whoosh!
Baishui wasn't about to waste it. He vanished from his spot، instantly reappearing right in front of Moria. Pointing h