Nowadays, the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates have become more closely connected. When Charlotte Linlin had free time, she would talk to her children about events from the past.
Since they were both known as Emperor of the Sea, certain topics were unavoidable. As a result, Lola occasionally heard Charlotte Linlin mention those matters.
The Shichibukai were also well-known pirates across the seas. Even though some of them had fallen into decline, they had once basked in their own glory.
At that time, Charlotte Linlin spoke about some of the past events involving the Shichibukai.
Hawk Eyes, known as the Marine Hunter, who set his sights on the Marines, and the Pirate Empress, who rose to fame after a single battle—these were among the Shichibukai with more impressive titles. Others, however, proved their strength through their defeats.
For instance, Moria, who lost to Kaido—even though all his companions were slaughtered, he himself survived. Among the pirates who had invaded Kaido’s headquarters, this was an extremely rare example.
However, when mentioning this, Lola remembered that Charlotte Linlin seemed to be gritting her teeth, as many of her pastry chefs couldn’t resist the temptation of Alcremie and had actually defected from her territory to Kaido’s.
“Killed… killed all his companions?”
“I don’t know the exact details, but in any case, he once fought against Kaido, and it was because of that battle that he became a Shichibukai. Kaido might be a painful memory for him…”
Lola, hiding behind a pillar, was telling Luffy about what she knew.
“That Kaido—is he really such a ruthless person? His subordinates actually seemed pretty nice…”
Back on Skypiea, Bat-Man hadn’t really given them a hard time. After all, beetles had some status too, and Bat-Man thought that these guys might end up as colleagues in the future. Aside from making them work, he didn’t do much else.
“Nice? That’s one of the Four Emperors of the New World, the most ruthless great pirate in the world! How could you think that guy is nice?!”
The current Four Emperors could be divided into two categories. The three male emperors were at least somewhat fair to the people within their territories, but to outsiders—whether it was Whitebeard or Red-Hair—they all had fearsome reputations.
As for Charlotte Linlin, her behavior largely depended on her mental state. When her mental state was unstable, she was even more dangerous to those within her own territory—even her own sons couldn’t stop her.
Regarding Luffy’s assessment, Lola didn’t even know where to start reprimanding him.
“Kaido? Never heard of that guy. But I have heard of Charlotte Linlin—seems like she’s some little girl with tremendous destructive power.”
A skeleton was also contemplating that statement, though his logic was rather unique.
That skeleton was none other than Brook, who, like the others, was trapped on Thriller Bark after having his shadow stolen.
A swordsman and musician of the Rumbar Pirates—when the crew sailed into the Florian Triangle, they suffered a great calamity. The entire crew was wiped out, with only Brook surviving thanks to the effects of the Revive-Revive Fruit.
However, when his soul left the land of the dead and attempted to return to his body, it got lost in the thick fog of the Florian Triangle for an entire year. By the time he found his body, it had already become a skeleton.
Compared to others, Brook was quite old and experienced. To him, Roger was just a rookie, Charlotte Linlin had yet to make a name for herself, and as for Kaido—back then, Kaido was merely a soldier in a kingdom’s army and had yet to set sail.
Boom!
A massive boulder crashed down, abruptly interrupting the untimely conversation.
“Enough with the chatter! You know nothing, absolutely nothing. It’s because you’re alive that you lose! Shadow’s Asgard!”
At Moria’s command, shadows from across the island began to gather in his body. His body began to expand, gradually transforming into a giant of exaggerated physique.
“You may be strong, but to protect my companions, I have sworn never to be defeated again!”
This was the vow he made upon leaving Skypiea, a promise to grow strong enough to protect his companions. But fulfilling that vow was no easy task.
“Saying something like that proves how inexperienced you are! You haven’t endured the brutality of the New World—you have no idea how terrifying this world truly is!”
Ridiculous. That was the only thought in Moria’s mind. Staring at this spirited rookie, a burning rage swelled within him. He didn’t know why, but looking at that hopeful face made him feel as if he had lost something.
Enraged, Moria launched a ferocious assault against Luffy and his crew. Compared to his former self, the current Moria had lost his sharpest fangs. Yet, with the power of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit and his gigantic body, he still made Luffy and his group suffer immensely.
They were growing stronger, but compared to the original timeline, they lacked the experience of life-or-death battles.
Zoro and Sanji had fought Crocodile’s officers in Alabasta, but Luffy had not. Bat-Man had taken Enel’s place, giving Luffy a tough opponent to deal with, but he had lost the chance for a life-or-death battle against CP9.
Even though he had still developed both Gear 2 and Gear 3, he was still weaker than his counterpart in the original timeline.
Moria was once again triggered by the mention of Kaido, as if a hidden trigger had been flipped. Enraged, he unleashed even greater power.
His stamina was rapidly depleting. With each clash, Luffy was also gradually approaching his limit.
“Looks like your vow is about to be broken!”
Moria wasn’t in great condition either. If he had been his past self from over twenty years ago, he would never have lost to these people before him. But now, just maintaining the Shadow’s Asgard was an enormous drain on him, and his willpower was constantly being tormented.
Luffy could still hold on, but his companions were struggling to fend off Moria’s indiscriminate attacks in his fit of rage.
“Experience the pain of loss!”
Seizing an opportunity, Moria prepared to strike at the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates—when suddenly, an unexpected change occurred. The entire island was engulfed by an unknown attack.
From above, a massive paw-shaped imprint appeared abruptly on the island. Whether it was Moria, Luffy, or anyone else nearby, they all lost consciousness in an instant from the impact.
The moment Moria lost consciousness, countless shadows began returning to their original owners. His massive body also rapidly shrank back to normal—and then, in what seemed like an instant, he vanished, whisked away to another location.
…
“Bartholomew Kuma! What is the meaning of this?!”
Moria woke up quickly, and to his surprise, he felt no injuries at all. Looking at the person in front of him, he immediately understood what had just happened.
“Even if you kill them, you still won’t win. You will still be defeated. It’s meaningless. Your body can no longer endure his next attack.”
A massive, red bubble shaped like a bear’s paw floated in the sky—a manifestation of the pain Moria had endured. After Kuma separated a portion of it and forced it back into Moria’s body, Moria finally understood the meaning behind Kuma’s words.
“What exactly did you come here for?”
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