Upon hearing that dreadful voice, Moria's body immediately began trembling uncontrollably, like a leaf in a storm.
His three subordinates noticed the change, and unease spread among them. Slowly, they turned their necks toward the entrance of the grand hall.
There stood a tall man draped in a black cloak. His strange purple eyes gleamed with an amused expression as he gazed in their direction.
When Perona finally recognized the figure, her eyes widened in horror. She gasped and shrieked, both hands flying to cover her mouth.
"I-It's… it's Admiral Purple Kirin—the one Moria-sama fears the most!"
"You idiot, Perona! What nonsense are you shouting? He's Admiral Purple Kirin, the man I respect the most!"
Moria's round face turned crimson as he bellowed at her, his voice cracking with desperation.
Perona pouted in frustration and mumbled under her breath,
"You were just grumbling about him moments ago, and now you're shaking like a leaf. How embarrassing…"
"…"
Absalom and Hogback wisely kept their mouths shut. It wasn't to save face for their captain—they simply knew better. In the presence of that man, they were nothing more than insects.
Moria wanted to snap back at Perona, but there was no time for squabbling. Forcing his body to stop trembling, he quickly slapped a sycophantic smile on his face as he turned toward the approaching figure.
"Heh… heh heh… What an honor, Admiral Purple Kirin. What brings you here today?"
Chiga said nothing. He merely walked forward at a calm pace, ignoring Moria's question completely.
Though the admiral gave him no attention, Moria dared not show the slightest hint of irritation. His forced smile held firm as he watched him draw closer, step by step.
Each footfall echoed loudly in the vast, empty hall, like the ticking of a death clock. Not even Perona dared to breathe too loudly. Her usual sarcasm disappeared, and she stared at the admiral in silence, wide-eyed with curiosity and fear.
After what felt like an eternity, Chiga finally reached them.
But instead of stopping in front of Moria, he passed right by him and sat casually on the sofa, as if this entire place belonged to him.
Gulp.
Moria swallowed nervously. He had a terrible feeling about this visit. Perhaps Admiral Purple Kirin was unhappy with his performance this month, here to settle scores.
A flicker of panic crossed Moria's face as he slowly turned to face him and bowed at a full ninety degrees.
Given his rotund build, even keeping his belt in place was a challenge, so bending this far down was no easy feat.
Chiga glanced at him curiously. He had only meant to intimidate Moria a little—make him more obedient. Why was the guy groveling already?
Was he about to beg for help like Jinbe had?
Still hunched over, Moria dared not meet Chiga's gaze.
Since returning from Marine Headquarters, he hadn't been able to get that man's image out of his mind. Not because of admiration—but out of sheer fear.
Especially after reading in the newspaper that Chiga had defeated Kaido, his entire sense of self collapsed.
Once, Moria had been a vigorous, battle-hungry young man who stormed into Wano to take on Kaido.
Naturally, he was crushed. Most of his crew perished, and Kaido—whose "master buff" was useless to Moria—turned him into the hopeless wreck he was now.
That crushing defeat left him broken. Since then, he'd devoted himself to zombie research, hoping to use an army of the undead to exact revenge on Kaido.
But even now, years later, his zombie army wasn't even strong enough to get past Kaido's underlings.
And yet, Chiga had not only defeated Kaido head-on, he had also crippled Red-Haired Shanks, another Emperor.
That kind of power was completely beyond Moria's comprehension.
He even recalled the time he survived a Shinra Tensei from Chiga at Marine Headquarters.
That moment had become his personal badge of honor—surviving a direct strike from Admiral Purple Kirin and walking away alive.
But bragging aside, actually seeing him again in person… turned Moria back into a trembling wreck.
He remained bent over, his rear sticking out, pouring out confessions before Chiga could even speak.
"Admiral Purple Kirin! I admit it—I've spoken out of line behind your back. I've also used the shadows of Marines… I'm still two short for this month's quota, and—!"
Moria's panic kept building, and soon he was confessing things no one asked for. Even stories from his childhood—like the time he peed in someone's shoes.
Chiga stared blankly at him. Absalom and Hogback were dumbfounded. Their jaws hung slack.
Perona's face flushed with shame, and she covered her eyes with both hands.
This was beyond humiliating.
Then, Chiga's eyes shifted slightly as he glanced down at Moria's pants and said with a raised brow,
"I didn't know you were into… flicking your sniper."
"Flicking my… sniper?"
Moria blinked, confused.
Absalom and Hogback looked equally baffled. Their brains spun through every possible meaning of the phrase, trying to decode it.
After a few seconds, it was Perona who screamed,
"Disgusting!"
Ghostly dolls popped up around her as she shot into the air, circling the chandelier in panic as though she'd been traumatized.
Chiga looked up at her with mild surprise.
This girl actually understood the joke? Impressive.
Moria, meanwhile, turned toward Chiga with unease.
"Admiral Purple Kirin, that's Perona… one of my subordinates. She has a strange personality, please don't take offense."
Although Perona constantly talked back to him, Moria had always treated her like a daughter and was genuinely afraid she might upset the admiral and end up dead.
Chiga raised an eyebrow.
Do I really look that unreasonable?
But seeing Moria's anxious expression, Chiga decided to let it go.
As flawed as Moria was, he was undeniably a loyal captain. That kind of attachment to his crew wasn't something Chiga disliked.
His expression softened. He gestured with his hand, motioning for Moria to sit down beside him.
Moria instantly looked flustered and began stammering about how he could stand while they talked. But when Chiga's Rinnegan flared slightly, he immediately scrambled to the sofa and sat down stiffly.
Once seated, Moria looked like an obedient schoolboy—hands on his knees, posture rigid, face blank with tension.
---
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