Moonlight · Gecko Moria

"Captain, what are you doing?" The oppressive air multiplied Robin’s pressure, instantly severing her control over Darkness Maru.

"Thriller Bark is Gecko Moria’s lair. I’m greeting the owner of this place." Duke calmly withdrew his Conqueror’s Haki.

"Another Shichibukai?" First Desert King, then Moria—Robin could only say that the sea was truly too small.

"I don’t want to waste time here, and I doubt Moria does either. His enemy is Kaido; we have no reason to fight." Duke frowned slightly and looked into the distance through the thick fog. "The Conqueror’s Haki was a greeting gift. If he knows what’s good for him, it would be best if he made way for us."

"Will he move aside?"

"He’d better! But if he really does move aside, that proves he’s nothing more than that." Duke suddenly laughed. "Sure enough, not a single man with dreams of One Piece is a coward!"

The dense fog began churning violently. The gloomy Thriller Bark was shrouded in ghostly air, and waves of wailing spirits sent chills down their spines. A massive island approached from afar, slowly sailing toward Darkness Maru. The eerie atmosphere made Robin instinctively move closer to Duke. As an archaeologist, she was an atheist by nature, but the bizarre situation before her still made her heart tighten.

"Playing tricks!" Duke snorted and unleashed his Conqueror’s Haki at full force. The terrifying aura suddenly condensed, making the air sticky and incomparably heavy. The entire sea was filled with a suffocating sense of oppression.

The air became so heavy it was hard to breathe!

A vast, majestic pressure swept out. The sounds of ghosts crying and wolves howling abruptly ceased, replaced by a series of startled screams. It was as though those pretending to be ghosts to scare others had instead been frightened themselves. It was rather comical, and the atmosphere instantly shifted from a horror movie to a comedy.

The Haki scattered the layers of thick mist, and the nearby island came clearly into view. It was not an island at all, but an absurdly enormous ship. Its hull was like a mobile landmass, and within the twisted forest stood the faint outline of a gloomy ancient castle.

The ship was enclosed by a circular wall. A huge mouth on the wall slowly opened, about to swallow Darkness Maru whole.

"Damn it, Blue Bird 2 has only just gone to sea. It’s still a child—how can it be defiled by that ugly mouth!" Duke’s anger flared. He drew Flower Continent and slashed twice through the air, sending out two enormous strikes that split the sky and sea.

Sword Qi surged forth. With two ringing clangs, it carved a breach into the wall. The mouth-shaped gate collapsed, and the turbulent sea current swept Duke’s ship into the enclosure.

"Captain!" Robin’s expression turned serious.

"What is it?"

"This ship is called Darkness Maru, not Blue Bird 2."

"…" Duke fell silent.

Damn it, it was just a slip of the tongue, okay?!

With no one controlling it, Darkness Maru slowly drifted toward the island ship—Moria’s Thriller Bark. Unexpectedly, Duke spotted Moria standing in the open space directly ahead, his face gloomy.

"Another boss who doesn’t play by the rules. What happened to clearing stages and leveling up?" Duke carefully examined Moria and inwardly sighed in regret. Moria’s race was naturally gifted: overwhelmingly huge, with long arms and long legs. It should have been a race with tremendous potential for physical combat. Yet because he had neglected training, everything below his neck had turned into a beer belly… his legs could no longer be found.

While Duke observed Moria, Moria was also scrutinizing Duke. The moment he saw Duke’s face clearly, his pupils shrank to pinpoints, and cold sweat ran down his temples. "It’s actually you, Duke the ‘Navy Traitor’…"

The two officers hiding behind Moria immediately shuddered. Absalom, the Clear-Clear Fruit user, and Perona, the Hollow-Hollow Fruit user, nearly cried out.

Duke had kept a low profile these past years and caused no great upheavals, but many still watched his reputation closely. In the battle of Drum Island, he defeated Admiral Candidate Aokiji, and the aftershocks of their fight nearly erased Drum Island from the map. His fame shocked the world. After Aokiji became an admiral, Duke’s reputation grew even louder, because he was the only known person to have defeated a current admiral.

Such a formidable record inspired fear. Countless pirates wanted to join his crew, but unfortunately, they had not even found a single trace of him.

"Master Moria, how about… how about we forget it?" Perona clutched Moria’s coat hem and cried, "That guy is a monster who defeated an admiral. Perona is so scared!"

Absalom nodded frantically. "That’s right, Master Moria! He’s a major figure with a bounty of 800 million Berry. We’d better not provoke him."

Before becoming a Shichibukai, Moria’s bounty had only been 320 million Berry. Even doubled, it would not reach 800 million. Absalom had very little confidence in his own boss. Although Moria’s ability was terrifying, the man before them was a genuine monster. Even the Navy’s Supreme Combat Power had suffered defeat at his hands. There was no shame in backing down a little.

"Idiots, what nonsense are you talking about?" Moria stomped about in fury, making the ground tremble.

Perona and Absalom fell to the ground. Looking at their furious boss, their faces turned pale with fright.

"If I retreat whenever I encounter a strong enemy, how can I realize my ambitions? What right would I have to reach the top?" Moria raged, though there was another sentence he did not say aloud.

How could I avenge myself against Kaido…

"So it really is you, Moonlight Gecko Moria of the Shichibukai." With Shadow Eater’s tip pointed at the ground, Duke praised, "I sent out a Conqueror’s Haki warning, yet you came straight at me. You’ve truly made me see you in a new light."

"It was a warning, not a provocation, Master Moria. This seems to be a misunder—" Perona was halfway through her sentence when Moria shot her a vicious glare. There was no such thing as a misunderstanding between pirates. Even if it really was one, they had to fight first.

"Forgive my earlier contempt. Before this, I always thought Kaido had scared the courage out of you. Now it seems you still have the right to stand at the peak of One Piece."

Duke’s words sounded admiring, but to Moria they were especially grating, particularly when Duke mentioned that taboo-like name.

"Don’t mention that guy’s name in front of me!!!" Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Moria’s eyes filled with bloodshot veins. He gritted his teeth and roared, "I’ll kill him someday, but now… I’ll kill you first."

"Shadow Spear!"

The pitch-black shadow beneath Moria’s feet writhed wildly, shooting toward Darkness Maru’s bow like a venomous snake. In the blink of an eye, the shadow reached midway, then leaped into the air and transformed into a bizarrely shaped spear.

Though he was clearly a Paramecia user, Moria had somehow pushed it to new heights like a Logia Type.

In the dimly lit Thriller Bark, shadows were difficult to notice. But it was different for someone with Observation Haki. Whether day or night, that distorted shadow could be seen with perfect clarity.

"One-Sword Style: Steel Cut!"

Armament Haki coated Shadow Eater as Duke raised his sword and viciously slashed at the tip of the enormous shadow spear. The instant they collided, Shadow Spear was split in two without any resistance. The remaining force of the slash tore a long trail through the air before crashing down near the shore and carving out a huge crater.

Shattered cracks spread in every direction. Following the direction of the sword tip, the Sword Qi plowed out a long trench, cutting a straight ravine nearly a hundred meters long from the shore.

"Ahhhhh! A monster—!"

Perona immediately jumped up and turned to flee. But before she could take two steps, Moria stopped her. "Idiot, hurry up and use your ability."

"Eh? My ability…" Perona sniffled, looked at Moria’s enormous face right in front of her, then glanced at Duke standing on the distant bow. With a scream, she flung out her hand. "Go, Negative Hollow!"

Transparent ghostly creatures emerged from Perona’s palm. Dozens of ghosts circled through the air before swiftly charging toward Darkness Maru’s bow.

As its name suggested, Negative Hollow could make anyone struck by it become negative, causing them to lose the will to resist. For someone without Haki, it was practically an unsolvable technique.

Duke did not want such a dangerous technique getting close to him. He slashed at the incoming ghosts, only to discover that his sharp Sword Qi could not inflict any tangible damage on them. The ghosts passed through the Sword Qi and continued rushing toward him.