The flames from the explosion slowly scattered into dancing embers.
"Did he… kill him?"
Dr. Hogback's lips curled upward in twisted delight.
"Kill him? Do you truly believe someone like him dies so easily?"
Moria let out a strange, distorted laugh.
"That explosion probably did not even warm him up."
He suddenly slammed his foot down.
"Horned Shadow!"
His black shadow, stretched by the firelight, instantly twisted and reshaped into a massive sharp spear. It shot straight into the thinning blaze.
Pfft.
The sound of penetration rang through the hall.
All four of them smiled in excitement.
"Gihahaha… ha… ha…"
Moria clearly felt resistance as his shadow spear pierced something.
"Did I succeed with a sneak attack because of his arrogance?"
Hope ignited in his heart.
"What?!"
Before he could savor that thought, Perona's shocked voice rang out.
She stared at the figure impaled by the shadow spear as the fire completely faded.
"How is this possible? What Moria sama stabbed… is a shadow!"
Dr. Hogback's eyes widened.
"This is the ability of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit!"
"Shirogai!!!"
Moria suddenly spun around.
At some point, without any of them noticing, Shirogai had already appeared behind them.
"Shadow Warrior is a decent substitution technique," Shirogai said calmly, a faint smile on his face.
"The Shadow-Shadow Fruit allows the user to detach and exchange positions with their shadow. It is quite flexible."
Seeing his own power being used so skillfully against him made Moria's face turn red with rage.
"You bastard…"
His pale features twisted as he roared upward.
"You are using my own power to toy with me? Do not think I will fear you just because you defeated Kaido!"
Swish. Swish. Swish.
As he roared, the shadows beneath his feet transformed into dozens of slender black spikes, all coated in Armament Haki. They stabbed repeatedly toward Shirogai like steel spears.
Pfft. Pfft. Pfft.
Shirogai's body was pierced again and again, only to reform instantly each time.
It was still the Shadow Warrior.
"Moria, you are far too weak."
Shirogai's calm voice sounded from behind him once more.
"No wonder Kaido crushed you so easily. Is this truly your full strength? How disappointing."
"I AM NOT A LOSER!!!"
Moria completely lost control.
"Even if you are the Fifth Emperor, you have no right to humiliate me! Die, you bastard!"
His shrill scream shook the entire hall. Perona, Hogback, and Absalom all covered their ears in pain.
Moria's body split in two, forming a second identical figure. Both rushed toward Shirogai at the same time.
One was his true body.
The other was his Shadow Warrior.
"Shadow Technique, Scattered Bats!"
"Shadow Technique, Ten Thousand Shadow Ropes!"
Moria's massive form burst apart into countless black bats that flooded the air, blocking Shirogai's vision.
At the same time, razor-thin shadow ropes, no thicker than strands of hair, shot forward and wrapped tightly around Shirogai's body.
"Is that really all?"
Shirogai glanced down at the bindings with mild confusion. He casually flexed his body. Every shadow rope shattered instantly.
"It is still not enough, Moria."
Moria's triangular eyes contracted violently.
Those ropes could restrain even a giant beast, yet they snapped as if they were made of smoke.
This man's body truly was on the same monstrous level as Kaido's.
Pain surged back into Moria's mind.
The deepest scar in his heart throbbed violently.
Once, long ago, he had challenged Kaido.
Kaido had not even bothered to dodge.
Every one of Moria's attacks had landed like harmless taps. They only made Kaido drowsy.
When Kaido finally woke up, he slaughtered Moria's crew in front of him, one by one.
Moria had attacked him in desperation, trying to force Kaido to kill him.
Kaido had only looked at him with disdain.
"You are too weak. You are not even worth killing. Get lost."
The memory crushed Moria's soul.
"You monsters… every one of you…"
Moria trembled violently as rage twisted his expression.
The swarm of shadow bats suddenly reassembled into a massive black curtain that engulfed Shirogai completely.
"Perona!" Moria roared.
"Understood, Moria sama!"
Perona extended her hand, summoning three Negative Hollows that drifted forward at high speed.
Boom.
The black curtain shattered into countless fragments.
Shirogai stood at the center, unharmed.
"Negative. Negative. Negative."
The three spirits passed straight through Shirogai's body.
"Ah…"
Shirogai suddenly dropped to one knee, supporting himself weakly.
"As a human being… I am truly sorry…"
"Horohoro… Horohoro…"
Perona's eyes lit up mischievously.
"It worked, Moria sama!"
The moment Shirogai collapsed, Dr. Hogback and Absalom charged forward without hesitation.
"We will restrain him! Hurry and take his shadow, Moria sama!"
Pfft.
They slammed into Shirogai's body, only to feel something soft and sticky beneath their hands.
Absalom instantly leapt backward, baring his fangs.
"What is this? Why is it so sticky?!"
Dr. Hogback sniffed the substance on his palm and froze.
"This is not him. It is a mochi clone created with Devil Fruit power!"
"What?!"
Perona stared at the dissolving mochi body in disbelief.
"Then where did Shirogai go?!"
Whoosh.
A ghost passed straight through Perona's body.
Thud.
She dropped to her knees instantly, eyes watering as she wailed.
"Wuwuwuwu… I am so useless… I am truly sorry…"
The three stared at her in stunned silence.
Her own Devil Fruit ability had been turned against her.
"Shirogai!!!"
Moria glared at Perona, furious like an enraged father.
"You have truly angered me! If you have the courage, come out and face me directly!"
Swish.
Moria transformed into a massive swarm of bats, carrying Hogback, Absalom, and the collapsed Perona as he burst through the shattered window.
He dropped the three into a shadowed corner of the island and reverted to human form.
"Take Perona and leave this place immediately," Moria said urgently.
"What about you, Moria sama?" Hogback asked in alarm.
"Do not worry about me. Go, now!"
Moria transformed once again into a sea of bats that scattered across the sky, deliberately drawing attention.
In the distance, Shirogai stood beneath the moonlight, watching everything with calm eyes.
Moria's heart tightened.
Sorry, monster.
I cannot defeat someone like you.
But this time, at the very least…
I will not let my companions die before me again.
This is my final dignity.
---