[93] Moria's Scheme
Inside Moria's castle—
"Lord Moria, the target ship has been captured."
Hilton, the bat-headed zombie with a "21" branded on his forehead, fluttered to Gecko Moria's side as the towering Warlord continued dining.
"Heeheeheehee…"
Nearly seven meters tall, horned and grotesque, Gecko Moria gave a low chuckle and ordered, "Bind everyone on the ship and bring them to the Grand Hall. Move all the supplies to the storage room. Proceed according to standard protocol."
Hilton respectfully replied, "Lord Absalom is already en route, and the rest of the zombie soldiers are on their way as well. It won't be long before they're all brought in."
"Mm." Moria stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth and nodded indifferently.
Whenever a new ship was captured, Absalom was always the most eager—naturally because he was hoping to find a beautiful woman to claim as a bride.
After sipping his wine, Moria asked, "Did you take photos of the crew?"
Even though the ship looked like a merchant vessel, Moria preferred to be cautious and had Hilton photograph everyone on board.
"Yes, Lord Moria."
Hilton then laid several photos on the table beside Moria's plate.
"Heeheeheehee…"
"Looks like Absalom's found his bride."
Moria picked up the top photo and chuckled as he looked at the image of Nami.
As he flipped through more photos of similarly beautiful women, his brow furrowed.
"Could they be from Amazon Lily?"
Seeing only women in the pictures, he immediately suspected they might be from the all-female Kuja Pirates.
But the Kuja ships were always pulled by giant snakes, and this ship had none, leaving Moria uncertain.
Then, finally, he came upon a photo of a man—and froze.
"Godslayer Sora!!!"
The name burst from Moria's mouth in shock.
Though he had long operated in the Florian Triangle, Moria had learned about Sora's reputation and exploits from newspapers gathered off other ships.
He had thought they'd caught a sheep—only to find themselves face-to-face with a tiger.
But rather than fear, Moria felt a spark of delight.
A 1.5 billion bounty was nothing that could intimidate a Warlord of the Sea.
And if the papers were to be believed, this so-called Godslayer had the strength of a top-tier swordsman.
If he could extract Sora's shadow and implant it into his custom-built zombie, the demon giant Oars—
With Sora's swordsmanship and Oars' monstrous body and stamina, he would finally have the power to get revenge on that old bastard Kaido!
"Heeheeheehee!!"
Moria couldn't help but laugh with glee.
With Perona's help, he was confident that he could subdue Sora and slice off his shadow.
Suddenly, Moria's expression turned serious. He whipped his head toward Hilton and barked:
"Call Absalom back—now!"
"That man is way beyond his league!"
"Yes, Lord Moria!"
Hilton immediately flew out of the castle to find Absalom.
...
Aboard the Divine Slave
『Ding! Killed Warlord of the Sea Gecko Moria's officer Absalom.』
『Ding! Acquired Paramecia-type: Clear-Clear Fruit…』
Thud!
Sora casually tossed Absalom's scorched body to the shore, then inspected the Clear-Clear Fruit in his hand and nodded in satisfaction.
If developed well, it could become unexpectedly powerful.
In the original timeline, Shiryu of the Blackbeard Pirates had used it to ambush and gravely injure the Marine Hero Garp.
Some said Rosinante's Calm-Calm Fruit countered Uta's singing ability.
Perhaps this Clear-Clear Fruit could serve as a counter to Observation Haki.
Whether that was true remained to be seen—it would all depend on how far Sora could develop its potential.
As for Absalom, coming aboard his ship and targeting Sora's women?
That was a death sentence.
He stored the fruit and turned to the women on deck.
"Reiju, Nami, Nojiko—you're with me."
"Hina, Robin, Mikita, Kalifa—you guard the ship."
"Yes!" the women replied together.
Sora nodded, then took off toward Moria's castle with the three selected women.
…
"Lord Absalom… is dead?"
Moments later, Hilton arrived at the Divine Slave and was horrified to find Absalom's charred remains on the shore.
He turned to fly back to report—
Snap!
Several arms suddenly sprouted from his body, binding him and slamming him straight down onto the ship.
BANG!
Splash!
Mikita, launching from above, drove her leg into Hilton and kicked him into the sea, instantly purifying him. She landed on the deck, arms folded and fuming.
Sora took Nami and Nojiko but left her behind?
That meant he didn't think she was even on par with Nojiko.
She could accept not being as strong as Reiju or Nami with her Logia power—but not even Nojiko?
Furious, Mikita vowed to train harder and catch up.
She wasn't alone—Vivi, Hina, and Kalifa felt the same. Even Robin, with the highest bounty, sensed the growing pressure.
Anna and Shalria, ever the devoted maids, were also determined to strengthen themselves and keep pace with their young master.
In truth, Sora chose Nojiko simply because her Explosive Fruit was perfect for clearing out zombie mobs—not because she was stronger than the others.
Sora and the three women landed inside Moria's castle grand hall, where the Warlord was already waiting.
Surrounding him were many elite zombies—
Including Ryuma, animated by Brook's shadow, and the notorious pirate Captain John.
Moria didn't fear Sora's bounty.
But he understood his power.
So he went with sheer numbers to overwhelm him.
And in the chaos, Perona's Negative Hollows would strike from the shadows—securing a clean victory.
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