Clock Tower Village is located in the Hamururu Archipelago in West Blue, not far from Algaro Town. Victor had come here on a mission two years ago when he first joined 'Coral,' during which he forged a friendship with Sai, the next leader of Kano Country's Happo Navy.
The 'Cheese Pizza' docked at a stretch of coast. Victor and the two women disembarked after preparing themselves.
Victor was still in his refined black suit, his medium-length golden hair flowing freely behind his ears, with only a single strand falling over his forehead. His hands were in his pockets as he looked at Clock Tower Village in the distance.
Perona, in her black Gothic long dress, twirled her small parasol as she jumped off the ship after Victor. She turned to look around, pouting: "It's such a desolate place, onii-chan."
Mai Hime, wearing a red kimono embroidered with ukiyo-e patterns, its collar wide and tilted back, revealing her fair, slender neck, had her long black hair tied into a ponytail at the back of her head. Her famous sword 'Seimasun himw' hung at her waist. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear: "Victor, shall we go now?"
Victor nodded: "Let's go."
The three walked along the coastal path towards Clock Tower Village. Long reeds swayed in the night wind by the roadside, and the surroundings were so quiet that not even the chirping of insects could be heard.
Clock Tower Village itself wasn't very large. In the center of the village was a giant abandoned grandfather clock, from which the village's name was derived. At this moment, due to 'Coral's' preparations, all the villagers had already evacuated, leaving the entire village eerily silent.
A huge full moon hung over the village, its cold moonlight making the night visibility as clear as day. As Victor and his companions stepped into the village, they saw an extremely tall man sitting at the end of the road that stretched straight from the village entrance to the large clock in the village center.
This slightly bulky and obese man was at least 6.5 meters tall. Two devil horn-like protrusions grew from the sides of his forehead, and cross-shaped sutures, resembling surgical scars, ran from his forehead to his neck. The most striking feature was his brown onion-shaped head. At this moment, he was dressed in an elaborate Gothic black coat, his hands clasped behind his head, leaning against the grandfather clock on a stone slab platform.
When he saw Victor's group in the distance, a sinister grin spread across his face.
As the three walked a few steps forward, a metallic gleam suddenly appeared on Victor's fingertip. Then, with a sudden flick, a thin, humming chain blade sliced towards an empty spot to Mai Hime's right.
Clang!!
The chain blade was blocked by a shadow wall that appeared out of thin air, then the shadow wall instantly disintegrated.
"Hee hee hee hee... Victor, is it really wise to be so arrogant in someone else's territory?"
The tall man sitting in front of the large clock in the distance let out a sinister, eerie laugh.
"Then tell your dog to behave, Gecko Moria!" Victor showed a cold smile.
Not far from where the shadow wall dissipated, a figure slowly gained color. It was a muscular man in a top hat, but his face was that of a lion. At this moment, he looked terrified and quickly retreated to Gecko Moria's side.
"This is?" Perona and Mai Hime were a little surprised, then immediately realized that this must also be a Devil Fruit ability.
"The Clear-Clear Fruit, unfortunately eaten by a good-for-nothing." Victor casually stretched his shoulders, unconcerned.
At this moment, several figures gathered beside Gecko Moria—a red-haired strongman with a long sword on his back, a hunchbacked old scholar wearing thick-bottomed glasses, a strange fellow with a round body but legs as thin as chopsticks, and the top-hatted lion-faced man from before.
"You don't seem surprised to see me, 'Ferocious Chains' Victor." Gecko Moria revealed a mouth full of sharp teeth and grinned menacingly: "So, that useless Capone Bege failed, right?"
"It's obvious." Victor stopped less than 20 meters from Gecko Moria, directly facing this infamous and fearsome figure:
"You yourself didn't have any expectations for Bege either, did you, 'King of the Zombies'?"
"But you still came. You don't actually think you can defeat me with just these two girls, do you?" Gecko Moria showed a surprised, amused expression: "Then you're quite a comedian."
A large number of zippers appeared at Victor's feet, then formed a wide chair made entirely of zippers. He sat in the chair, crossing his legs, his fingers interlaced on his knees, as relaxed as if he were entertaining guests at home:
"If it were you from 10 years ago, I would naturally avoid a confrontation. But you've been terrified by Kaido. The current you..."
"Shu—T UP!!"
Bang!!!
Moria's fist created a huge crack in the ground in front of him, shaking the surrounding civilian houses and roads. His eyes were bloodshot, and he breathed heavily, veins bulging on his neck, as he gnashed his teeth word by word: "How... dare you mention that name in front of me... You death-seeking brat, you dare to bluster in front of me after stealing some scraps of information from who knows where!"
The red-haired giant beside Gecko Moria drew the long sword from his back with a gloomy face, and the top-hatted lion-faced man aimed his empty hands at Victor.
"Should we just get rid of this foul-mouthed brat, Lord Moria?" The red-haired giant's voice was, as expected, low and powerful.
"Hee hee hee hee hee..." Gecko Moria's face suddenly brightened a little, and he said with an evil grin: "No, no, no. Since he had the guts to come to the appointment, we must also abide by the rules of the game and give them a chance."
Gecko Moria slowly stood up. His enormous body, terrifying like a demon, brought an intensely strong oppressive presence: "Hey, Zipper Boy, I know why you're here. It's for this, isn't it?" With that, he snapped his fingers.
Wobbly! A zombie, dressed in a kimono with a katana at its waist, shambled out from behind Gecko Moria. It held a short sword with a dark red scabbard.
"Th-That's!" Mai Hime couldn't believe her eyes. Wano Country's national treasure, stolen for many years, now appeared before her! The remains of 'Sword God' Ryuma, the black blade 'Shusui,' and 'Kobuto'! She gripped the hilt of 'Seimasun Hime' at her waist, her beautiful face etched with frost:
"How dare you profane the 'Sword God's' remains like this..."
Gecko Moria looked up and laughed loudly: "Hee hee hee hee hee!! 'Sword God'? To me, he's just a rather useful 'faceless puppet'! How about it? If you want it, trade it for something equivalent! How about..."
Gecko Moria suddenly grabbed the zombie Ryuma's head and grinned menacingly: "How about trading it for your organization's new intelligence officer?"
Victor sighed: "Bege told you a lot... So you're also after Robin? Then we can't continue this discussion."
"Hee hee hee hee hee! There's no helping it, Capone Bege actually didn't know her true identity, but you've been too protective of her, which made Capone Bege suspicious of that girl's identity. When he told me, I immediately knew how great her use was! But you keep that girl in your headquarters all day, and that's too close to the Marine base. If things get out of hand and the Marines discover my intentions to seek the Poneglyphs, my 'Warlord of the Sea' position would be in jeopardy, hee hee hee hee."
Gecko Moria chuckled and paced, wagging his index finger: "So, I had that fool lead you to Clock Tower Village, so that we two could talk face-to-face..."
"Think carefully, Zipper Boy. Will you bring that girl named Robin to Clock Tower Village? Or will the lives of the three of you be completely buried here?"
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