Moses was being pursued by irregular crystalline fragments shimmering with a mysterious glow.
These Soul Crystals continuously merged into Moses' body from all directions.
Several minutes later,
Moses stood amidst a pile of corpses and turned to look at him.
"Hmm, I've stopped now. What's next?"
Ashimi's eyes widened as he gasped for breath—years of his accumulated wealth had just vanished.
"You're dead! I'll skin you alive, break your bones, and devour every inch of you!"
With that, his nearly three-meter-tall frame took massive strides, charging toward Moses like a moving wall.
"Moses, let me hit him with a Hollow Doll," Perona's furious voice rang out. Moses' heart stirred slightly. "Go ahead, Peipei. Use the Anger Spirit to pierce through him."
Though he didn't understand why Moses insisted on this approach—when either of the other two spirits, the Negative or Conqueror Spirit, could end the battle instantly—
Still,
A small hand emerged from Moses' chest, and a white, translucent Anger Spirit with glaring eyes surged from its palm.
If Moses wanted it this way, then so be it.
As the Hollow Doll passed through Ashimi's chest, he felt the fury in his heart erupt like a volcano, his eyes turning blood-red.
Roaring in uncontrollable rage, he charged at Moses, swinging a massive cleaver wildly yet with terrifying force.
Bam! Bam! Bam!!!
Moses dodged with uncanny agility as the nearly two-meter-long, heavy cleaver gouged deep trenches into the deck.
The wooden planks became riddled with holes, splinters flying everywhere.
Though Moses kept evading, his axe occasionally clashed with Ashimi's blade.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew with each collision, and notches began to appear along the cleaver's edge.
Moses watched coldly as his axe left bloody gashes across Ashimi's body.
Unable to land a single hit, Ashimi grew increasingly frenzied. "Aaargh! Die! Die! Just die already!"
In his overwhelming fury, his shouts grew louder, spraying saliva in all directions.
Seeing this, Moses began incorporating punches and kicks into his movements, each strike generating gusts of wind that blew away the foul spit.
Fists met flesh—
Ora! Ora! Ora!
The dull thuds of impacts echoed across Ashimi's body.
Before long, his expression began to show traces of fear.
Moses suddenly whispered, "Keep at it, Peipei. Use the Anger Spirit to stoke his rage."
"Got it."
One after another, white, translucent Hollow Dolls began floating around Moses, repeatedly piercing through Ashimi's body.
Five minutes later,
Ashimi's entire body had turned crimson. The tattered strips of clothing could no longer conceal the bulging veins across his form.
A thin layer of steam rose from his skin, and his body had swollen to an even larger size.
Swinging his cleaver wildly in all directions without any purpose, Ashimi let out eerie, bone-chilling howls.
Attacking anything within sight.
Perona's voice carried a hint of unease. "Moses, what's wrong with him? It's like he's lost all consciousness."
"Mm. He's been consumed by rage. Though his physical strength has increased significantly, he's lost all rationality. All that remains in his mind is the urge to destroy everything before him."
The Anger Spirits continued to pierce through his body. Ten minutes later, after swinging his blade one last time, Ashimi's knees buckled as he collapsed onto the deck.
Only the heavy rise and fall of his chest remained.
He lost consciousness.
Moses stepped forward, raising his axe and bringing it down in one swift motion—a head rolled across the deck.
A mysterious, irregular crystal shimmering with an ethereal glow emerged from his body.
[Obtained D+ Grade Soul Crystal ×1]
After storing the Soul Crystal, Moses tallied the total haul: 25 Soul Crystals—1 D+, 2 E+, and 22 F+.
Surveying the wreckage of the pirate ship, Moses took in the gruesome scene—limbs strewn about, the deck shattered into splinters by Ashimi's frenzied rampage.
He turned to Crow Dabao perched atop the mast and ordered:
"Gather the heads of the three wanted men and hand them over to Robin for preservation."
Crow Dabao let out a hoarse caw before swooping down to retrieve the severed heads.
In the leisure area of the Castle Space, Robin stood by the window. Hearing Moses' words, her eye twitched slightly.
Beside her, Kureha remarked coolly:
"Get used to it early. If you want to survive in this world, you'll be seeing plenty of scenes like this."
"...Understood, Dorell Big Sister." After a pause, Robin replied in a complicated tone, "Aren't you worried about Moses doing these things at such a young age?"
"Kyahaha~ Not at all. That kid's willpower is far stronger than yours. He knows exactly what he's doing."
"Moses is strong." Bear Cub nodded in agreement before quickly adding, "And so am I."
Robin pressed her lips together in a faint smile.
Remembering that Moses had only been killing pirates, she pushed aside her unease and followed Crow Dabao downstairs.
Moses entered the ship's cabin, soon arriving at the largest room—the captain's quarters.
Inside was a chaotic mess—clothes and liquor bottles scattered everywhere, the air thick with the stench of sweat.
Perona emerged from Moses' chest, her tiny Spirit Body plopping onto his shoulder, her face slightly pale.
Moses glanced at her but remained silent. After a few seconds, Perona muttered dejectedly:
"Aren't you going to comfort me? This was my first time..."
Moses pursed his lips. "There's no way to comfort you. Anything I say would be wrong. You'll have to adjust on your own. If it's too much, I won't bring you along next time."
"Are you looking down on me?" Perona puffed her cheeks. "You're even younger than me—what right do you have to act so high and mighty?"
Moses chuckled before rummaging through the room. Soon, a pile of treasures and Belly lay scattered across the bed.
He called for Crow Dabao.
Moments later, the crow entered and transported the loot into a treasure vault within the Castle Space's Experimental Zone.
After stripping the ship of all usable supplies, Moses set the battered pirate vessel ablaze.
Standing on the deck of the Little Bear, he watched as the enemy ship burned fiercely in the distance, thick black smoke billowing into the sky.
Then he turned away without another glance.
Noon.
Noticing Perona and Robin's lack of appetite, Moses said nothing. The battle had indeed been excessively brutal—it was only natural they'd struggle to stomach it.
He offered no words of comfort.
Three days later, near an island close to Alabasta, there stood a Marine G-series base.
Several Marine warships were docked at the port near the base entrance.
At this moment, a small sailboat with a panda-shaped figurehead arrived.
Inside the ship's cabin bathroom.
Staring at his reflection in the mirror—short black slightly curly hair, round black ears, dark eye circles, black lips, a black nose, and a body covered in black-and-white fur—he was unmistakably a Panda Person.
He wore loose floral-print shorts and a pair of flip-flops. Standing about 1.8 meters tall.
Moses nodded in satisfaction, holding a leather suitcase in his left hand and a 1.2-meter-long metal baseball bat in his right. The bat's surface, aside from the grip, was covered in dense, rounded protrusions.
"Hahaha, Moses, you look so good. I really like it."
A half-spirit body emerged from Moses' chest, her face slightly flushed as she gazed at him. Perona giggled:
"Bear Cub looks good too."
"Of course, bears are naturally good-looking," Bear Cub replied through his mouth.
This was the merged state of Moses and Bear Cub. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Moses had decided to combine with Bear Cub this way. Perona found it amusing and joined in as well.
At this moment, Moses said:
"Alright, let's go cash in the bounty now."
TataTata!
The latest updates are first released on 69shu!
Footsteps echoed as he stepped out of the cabin.
After mooring the boat by the shore, lowering the sails, and dropping the anchor into the sea, Moses carried the suitcase and shouldered the baseball bat as he walked toward the entrance of the Marine base not far away.
Upon reaching the gate, two Marine sentries stared at Moses in astonishment. What on earth was this?
A Devil Fruit user?
One of them stopped Moses:
"Who are you? This is a Marine base. If you have no business here, move along."
Seeing this, Moses replied, "Me, A Bao, bounty hunter. Here to cash in a bounty."
He opened the suitcase, revealing three processed heads inside. "These are the bounties for three members of the Ogre Pirates. Their captain is Ogre Ashimi."
The two Marines froze for a moment. One of them said to Moses, "Wait here. I'll go fetch someone from the bounty exchange department."
Moses: "Go ahead, but make it quick. I'm in a hurry."
The Marine nodded and headed inside the base.
The remaining Marine looked at Moses curiously. "Are you a Devil Fruit user? A Panda Zoan?"
"No, I'm from the Mink Tribe. A Panda Person."
The Marine frowned. "Never heard of it. Does such a race exist on the seas?"
Moses nodded, engaging in idle chatter with him.
Before long—about twenty minutes later—the Marine who had gone inside returned with an officer, carrying a briefcase.
The officer approached and nodded at Moses. "A Mink? Quite rare. Let me see the heads."
Moses handed over the suitcase. After inspection, the officer confirmed their authenticity and said, "I've never heard of you before. Are you new to bounty hunting? Well, give me your details for registration. Once that's done, you'll get your reward."
He pulled out a small notebook. "Name?"
Moses was somewhat surprised that there was still a procedure to follow, but he didn't object:
"A Bao."
"Age?"
"20."
"Which sea were you born in?"
"North Blue."
"Alright, that's enough. By the way, would you be interested in becoming a proud Marine?"
The officer handed the briefcase to Moses and said casually:
"30% of the total bounty for dead pirates is confiscated. After deducting the handling fees, the three heads amount to 54.1 million Belly. If there's no issue, we can proceed with the handover."
Moses nodded. "We can proceed, but I'll pass on joining the Marines. Also, I wanted to ask—this registration feels a bit rushed, doesn't it?"
The officer looked puzzled. "It's just a simple record for documentation. What else? If I asked for more details, would you answer?"
"No." Moses smiled as he took the briefcase from him, opened it on the spot, and began inspecting the contents.
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
The crisp sound of counting bills was music to the ears. The two Marines standing guard at the front couldn't help but gulp.
A few minutes later, Moses closed the briefcase and grinned at him. "The Belly checks out. See you next time."
With that, Moses turned and left.
The officer watched Moses' retreating figure, his brows gradually furrowing as he muttered to himself:
"A Mink? That's quite rare. Could he be a Zoan-Type user in disguise? Ah, whatever. As long as he's not a pirate."
The three pirate heads he'd brought in belonged to the Cannibal Pirates—a notorious crew known for their heinous crimes.
Good riddance.
Moses boarded his ship.
He raised the sails and pulled up the anchor.
Adjusting the course, the ship soon left the area.
Inside the cabin,
Since they were riding the current, Moses didn't need to steer. He stared at the briefcase before him, filled with stacks of crisp, freshly printed Belly bills. The scent of ink lingered in the air—each note bore the image of a skull wearing a hat, with a face value of 10,000 Belly.
"Didn't expect claiming a bounty to be this easy. I thought it'd be more complicated."
Perona, currently in her Spirit Body form, watched with equal fascination, seemingly wanting to touch the money—though her intangible state made that impossible.
"Moses, I think earning Belly isn't too hard. Maybe we could become bounty hunters or something."
"Tch, what gave you that illusion? The only reason this worked out is—"
Perona cut him off, puffing her cheeks in annoyance. "—'Because of strength,' right? You're about to lecture me again."
"You're just a little brother, yet you act like you're the older one all the time. I'm not an idiot, you know."
Moses glanced at her, his hands crackling with dark-red arcs of energy. He grabbed both sides of her face, squishing and kneading it like dough.
"Gotta say, Peipei, your Spirit Body feels way better to squeeze than your real one."
Perona's eyes seemed to ignite with flames. "Eek!" she shrieked, unleashing a barrage of Hollow Dolls that shot toward Moses like machine-gun fire.
Recognizing her tell, Moses' eyes lit up in anticipation.
He swiftly retreated, his hands moving like paddles, leaving afterimages as he swatted away the Hollow Dolls one by one with his Conqueror's Haki-infused strikes.
Thud, thud, thud!
After a while,
Perona's Spirit Body was bent over, panting heavily. She glared up at Moses, pointing an accusing finger as she shouted in frustration:
"You jerk, can't you just let me win for once? Even if my Spirit Body passes through you, my Devil Fruit powers won't affect you."
"Tch, no way. Even though it doesn't do anything, it still feels uncomfortable having something foreign pass through me."
He wasn't lying about this. After achieving Spirit-Flesh Convergence through the Effortless Breathing Technique, the connection between his physical body and Spirit Body had become much tighter.
Over the past year of adaptation, Moses' control over his body had improved dramatically, reaching a level comparable to Life Return. But at the same time, he'd also become more sensitive to the sensation of Perona's Spirit Body passing through him.
After all, Spirit Bodies could physically interact with each other.
Perona took a moment to recover, then glared at Moses with a huff before storming out of the cabin without looking back.
Moses called over Crow Dabao and had him take the Belly back for safekeeping.
Two days later,
A port town painted in earthy yellows with splashes of colorful decorations came into view.