The Great Voyage: The Props Master on the Straw Hat Ship

Lola and the Squirrel Brothers: "..."

Nami, Usopp, Chopper, the cowardly trio: "..."

Luffy: "...So cool!!!"

He also longed to be like Link, easily defeating that huge, monstrous giant in no time.

So dashing and handsome!!

"Alright, let's go find Moria."

Link glanced at the Shadow Mage who had quickly burrowed into the ground and fled, but ignored him and walked back to the group.

From Oz's appearance to his defeat, the entire process took very little time.

This giant demon, who caused Luffy and his crew a great deal of trouble in the original story, was also easily defeated by Link with effortless grace.

Thus, their journey to the castle to see Moria was virtually unimpeded.

Even the group of sleeping general zombies were no longer being awakened.

Of course, if Moria were willing to let the Shadow Mage leave his side to awaken the zombie generals, it would still cause Link and his group some trouble.

Well, just a few~

But the premise is that, at such a critical juncture, would Moria, all alone, really be willing to let the Shadow Mage leave his side like this?

"Oz, he's been defeated?!"

On a vast platform in the center of the castle, Moria received the message from the Shadow Mage with a blank expression.

"That prop maker just casually hammered Oz a couple of times with a strange little hammer, and he was dismembered?!"

Moria first repeated the sentence in a low voice, then...?

"Are you kidding me!!"

He suddenly raised his head and exclaimed excitedly:

"That's Oars!! Oars the Demon, the most powerful zombie in my collection!!!"

"How could he be defeated so easily?! This can't be real!!!"

He couldn't believe that the zombie he had placed so much hope in had been taken down so easily!

Wouldn't that be a slap in his face, implying that everything he's done over the past few years has been meaningless and a waste of time?

You have no chance of achieving your dream with an army of zombies. Even these greenhorns can easily defeat your zombies. So what about Kaido? Would he even consider your zombies a threat?!

[Thank you, 18937..) for the generous donation of 588! Thank you!!!]

259 Shadow Gathering Ground! So weak?! They can't even use Haki?!

These questions, one by one, echoed in Moria's mind like a nightmare.

"Don't get too cocky!"

Suddenly, Moria let out a furious roar as he looked up to the sky.

"I am Moria, how could I possibly be cornered by a mere rookie pirate?!"

He stared with bloodshot eyes, panting heavily, stubbornly refusing to admit defeat:

"I'm a great pirate who fought Kaido!!"

"These mere brats, barely out of their teens, dare to threaten and coerce me to this extent! Unforgivable!!"

He let out a low growl like a wounded and provoked beast, while the shadow beneath his feet shot out streaks of black lines.

"Shadow Gathering Place!!!"

"Huh? What's going on?!"

As Luffy and his crew moved forward, they saw streaks of black lines sweeping past them, occasionally carrying away a dark shadow.

"Those must be shadows attached to the zombies!!"

Lola recognized some of them; they had secretly collected some shadows before and were quite familiar with them.

"The shadows all seem to be converging in the same direction?"

Luffy tilted his head.

They all converged on Moria's side.

Link chuckled, "It seems that guy is also planning to have a final, desperate battle with us in the last '743' round."

"Gathering around Moria's side?!"

Luffy and his crew didn't think anything of it, but Lola and the squirrel brothers beside her changed their expressions drastically.

"He might be trying to absorb the power of the shadows!!"

Lola said anxiously.

"Absorb the power of shadows? What does that mean?"

"It means that the more shadows he gathers on his body, the stronger he will be!!"

While collecting shadows, Lola and her team also discovered a use and rule for shadows.

The cut-off shadow can also be placed into a living person's body, thus transferring the shadow's power to the person into whom it was placed.

However, this requires the person who receives the shadow to have a mental strength that is stronger than that of an ordinary person.

Most people can only store two or three shadows at most, while those with strong mental power, such as Luffy, can store up to a hundred.

As a Devil Fruit user, Moria has the privilege of stuffing up to a thousand people into his arsenal, but this can also cause mental distress due to overstuffing.

In addition, after a shadow is inserted, the person's appearance, physique, skin color, strength, and attack power will change.

The more shadows you insert, the stronger the power becomes; it can even shatter an island with a single punch.

Moria's [Shadow Gathering Ground] is his strongest move.

By utilizing the power of a Devil Fruit, he absorbed all the shadows he controlled into his body.

In the original version, during the final battle, he absorbed the shadows of 1000 people, causing himself to grow larger and thus increase his power.

Its destructive power is indeed capable; it can crack an island with a single punch.

However, this requires immense mental control; if mental strength is insufficient, one may lose consciousness or go berserk.

Moria, who had already neglected his training and whose strength had been greatly diminished, lost control on the spot after absorbing the shadows of a thousand people.

It wasn't until Luffy's Gear 2 repeatedly hit Moria's body with Gum-Gum Rockets, forcing half of the shadow inside to come out, that Moria regained consciousness.

Later, during the Marineford War, Moria used the Shadow Gathering Grounds to fight Jinbe again, but Jinbe easily defeated him with a few moves, causing Moria to spit out the shadows of the people he had absorbed.

In Jinbe's words, Moria relied too much on the power of others and failed to control his own techniques.

His spiritual cultivation is still far from complete.

"No wonder this aura is getting stronger and stronger!!"

As Moria absorbed more and more shadows, his size and aura surged to unprecedented levels.

Even those who were quite a distance away from Moria could faintly sense that powerful aura.

But?

This aura also seems to reveal a state of fragility?

Boom! !

Before everyone could fully comprehend what was happening, they suddenly felt the earth shaking violently.

"What's wrong now?!"

Nami and Usopp were practically going crazy.

First, it was Oz the Demon who caused the commotion, and now this~

Why does this island ship feel so unstable? It hasn't been long before this wave of shaking happened.

and??

"This tremor seems to be even stronger than the last one, hooray?!"

Franky, the shipwright, stared intently at the structural beams and pillars supporting the ceiling, then...

"Get out of here quickly! The building is collapsing!!"

As a professional, he immediately and decisively gave advice.

Then he immediately called to his companions and ran outside.

other people:"……"

Such a huge castle, and it just collapsed like that?!

Sure enough, this place is full of shoddy construction projects. It looks vast and expansive, but it's actually all bark and no bite, isn't it?!

A group of people, suppressing their pent-up complaints, quickened their pace and ran outside.

Once they got outside, they discovered why this was happening.

Then they saw Moria, whose size had become enormous, pushing his way out from the top of the castle's ruins.

"Wow, it's huge! Is that Moria?!"

Luffy's eyes widened instantly.

"It looks like a giant onion!!"

Yes, even though Moria became gigantic due to absorbing too many shadows, Luffy still gave him that nickname.

"While it certainly has a strong visual impact and a powerful presence..."

Sanji frowned slightly. "But why do I feel like he's weak inside? It's like he's all bark and no bite."

"Could this be a trap where he feigns weakness? Even if the Seven Warlords of the Sea are weak, they shouldn't be this weak, right?" he asked uncertainly.

Although Link had told them before that Moria was the most incompetent and bottom-ranked of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

But to be at the bottom like this...

It seems like he doesn't know how to use any domineering aura at all, and it looks like I could kick him down if I went up to him.

Sanji didn't think he was getting cocky; rather, he genuinely felt that Moria was nothing special.

Even though he absorbed so many shadows.

Or rather, it is precisely because he absorbed so many shadows that Sanji has this feeling.

"It seems the power gained from absorbing so many shadows has exceeded my control?"

Zoro also took one look at Moria and immediately shook his head, saying:

"Either they are blinded by the overwhelming power, or they act impulsively out of anger and recklessness."

"Regardless of which one, this Shichibukai's level is indeed only this level."

He gave a rather blunt evaluation.

What did you say?!

Moria, who had painstakingly emerged from the castle, overheard Sanji and Zoro's conversation and flew into a rage.

"What right does a mere pirate who's only been at sea for a few months have to criticize me?!"

As his size increased, even his high-pitched voice became somewhat deeper.

"When I first set sail and made a name for myself in the New World, you guys were probably still in your mothers' bellies!!"

"Besides, I'm a man who's fought Kaido. What are you guys compared to me..."

Having absorbed too many shadows, Moria's mind became somewhat disordered due to the lack of impact, and he started acting a bit crazy.

"Yes, yes, yes??"

Link, on the other hand, was tapping his ears.

When Moria used his Observation Haki and radio waves to perceive the entire island, he said that sentence seven or eight times.

This is practically his signature phrase; even Link can recite it by heart.

But I can understand it though.