ALL NOVEL Chapter 71: CHAPTER 71
"Terrible, terrible! That man is more terrifying than Moria!"
Brook trembled violently, the chill of fear coursing through his bones despite regaining his shadow. Though his long-lost soul fragment was back in his possession, joy eluded him.
"I heard those zombies calling those three the Beasts Pirates... Beasts?" Brook muttered, his hollow eyes wide. "I don't recognize the name, but I vaguely remember hearing about a rising pirate named Roger years ago."
His skeletal jaw clattered nervously. "The outside world is far scarier now than in my time. Yo ho ho… maybe I'll just stay dead after all."
With that, Brook lay flat on the ground, snapped a few of his own ribs for effect, and buried himself under a thin layer of dirt. "Yo ho ho… the perfect disguise for a cowardly skeleton."
Deep within the cavernous chambers of the Thriller Bark, where the enormous corpse of Oars lay waiting, Gecko Moria cackled maniacally. Beside him stood Dr. Hogback, his deranged smile mirroring his master's ambition.
"Hehehehe! Oars, my prized masterpiece! The continent-pulling demon of Wano, mightier than any giant! Once I awaken you as my ultimate zombie, I will ascend to the throne of Pirate King!"
Moria's grotesquely bloated form bounced with excitement. His long neck craned upward as he continued, "And with you, I'll finally take revenge on that wretched Kaido!"
The mention of Kaido sent a murderous glint through Moria's crazed eyes. Over twenty years ago, Kaido had annihilated Moria's entire crew, plunging the warlord into despair. From that day forward, Moria abandoned faith in living subordinates. He resolved to build an undead army that would never betray or die.
"All I need now," Moria said, his lips curling into a malicious grin, "is a truly powerful shadow to bring Oars to life!"
Hogback chimed in eagerly. "Yes, Master Moria! A shadow worthy of Oars' strength. Who shall we capture for this honor?"
Before Moria could answer, a frantic zombie messenger staggered into the room. "M-Master Moria! The Beasts… the Beasts Pirates have breached Thriller Bark!"
Moria's bulbous body froze. His sharp teeth ground together as he processed the words.
"Beasts?" he repeated. "What do you mean? Is it Kaido?"
The zombie shook its head fearfully. "No, Master. It's not Kaido himself, but one of his core subordinates—Alastor!"
The name struck a chord in Moria's memory. He recalled seeing it in the papers recently. Alastor, the "Flying Thunderstorm," a young and powerful lieutenant of Kaido, already boasting a bounty exceeding 600 million berries.
Moria's fist clenched. "Kaido... before I could strike at you, you dared to send one of your lapdogs into my domain!" His voice rose into a furious roar. "Very well, Alastor. I'll make you the first piece of my revenge! I'll rip your shadow from your body and give it to Oars!"
Moria lumbered toward the battlefield, his pace slow due to his enormous bulk and years of physical neglect. By the time he arrived, the battle had already ended.
There, amidst the ruins of his zombie horde, stood three figures. At the forefront was Alastor, arms crossed and expression calm. Behind him were Shimotsuki Onimaru, the fox spirit, and Sai, a boisterous warrior of Kaido's forces.
Moria's sharp-toothed grin spread across his face as his eyes locked onto Alastor. "You're Alastor, Kaido's Flying Six. Hehehe… perfect. Your shadow will bring my Oars to life, and Kaido will know the pain of losing an irreplaceable subordinate!"
Alastor's smirk didn't waver. Instead, his gaze turned pitying. "Kaido values his subordinates. But unlike you, he doesn't wallow in defeat when he loses them."
His voice dripped with scorn. "If you were still the man who challenged Kaido head-on, I might've respected you. But now? You're just a bloated shadow of your former self."
Moria's grin faltered as Alastor continued: "Oh, and your 'most loyal' subordinate? Absalom? He's dead. I broke him myself. His corpse is back there—do you want to make him a zombie, too?"
Moria's bloodshot eyes widened in disbelief. "You… you killed Absalom?"
Unable to contain his fury, Moria bellowed, "Shadow's Asgard!" His shadow expanded, splitting into countless small, bloodthirsty bats. The swarm surged toward Alastor, their fangs gleaming with malicious intent.
The bats swarmed Alastor, but their teeth met a body as unyielding as iron. The bats shattered on impact, falling to the ground in pieces.
Sai burst out laughing. "Ka ka ka! You think some little bats can hurt Master Alastor? His body's tougher than the old man's sword!"
Moria's rage burned hotter as he summoned his Doppelman shadow clone, directing it to retrieve Absalom's corpse. When the shadow returned with the lifeless body, Moria's eyes turned blood-red.
For all his cruelty and arrogance, Moria deeply valued his subordinates. Absalom's death stung like salt in an old, unhealed wound.
"I'll kill you," Moria growled, his voice trembling with grief and rage. "I'll tear you apart piece by piece and bury you with Absalom!"
But Alastor remained unmoved, his arms still crossed. "Is that all you've got, Moria?" he said with a mocking chuckle. "No wonder Kaido crushed you so easily."
Moria lunged at Alastor, his bloated body moving with surprising speed for its size. But the outcome was already decided.
Alastor didn't even need to move. Onimaru, still lost in thought over his battle with Ryuma, muttered absently, "Even Ryuma would be disappointed in such weakness."
Sai, meanwhile, prepared to join the fray. "Master Alastor, want me to take care of this joke?"
But Alastor shook his head. "No need. He's already defeated."
Moria's attacks, driven by rage and despair, fell short. His once-formidable presence was now only a shadow of his prime.
Alastor stepped forward, his voice calm but merciless. "Moria, your time as a warlord is over. The new world has no place for the weak—or the dead."
As Moria's shadow bats disintegrated, he sank to his knees, his spirit broken once more.
With such an arrogant tone, even Kaido never spoke to Moria like that. The corner of Moria's mouth twitched, and he shouted angrily:
"Shadow Horn Gun!"
The countless bats that had passed by Alastor's side instantly reversed direction and coalesced into a massive black spear, hurtling toward Alastor's chest.
Alastor remained motionless.
The spear struck Alastor, piercing his skin, but it was only the outer layer of defense. Beneath it, Alastor's tough Tekkai (hardening) defense withstood the blow, rendering the attack ineffective.
[The host receives moderate damage, defense +15]
While Moria was once a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, his strength had waned after years of decadence. Nonetheless, even in his weakened state, his abilities still posed a threat. However, for Alastor, it was still far from enough.
"Is that really all?" Alastor asked indifferently, not even flinching from the wound on his chest.
Moria's face contorted with rage. This was the first time someone had made him so furious—his tone, his expression, the utter disregard Alastor had for him. It was as though he wasn't even worth acknowledging, and it burned Moria's pride.
Moria's hatred for Alastor now surpassed even his animosity toward Kaido.
"I don't believe your shadow is tougher than your body!" Moria roared, his mind quickly switching tactics. His earlier attempt failed because Alastor's physical defense was astounding, and even the full force of his Shadow Horn Gun couldn't inflict serious damage.
Determined, Moria aimed for the next logical target: Alastor's shadow.
"Shadow Cut!"
Moria drew his oversized scissors and swung them toward Alastor's shadow, intending to sever it from his body.
Alastor furrowed his brow. While his overall defense was formidable, his shadow was a different matter entirely.
He stepped back, avoiding the scissors with ease. "So, you think shadows are my weakness?" he remarked nonchalantly. "With your current bloated body, can you even keep up with my speed?"
Moria's once lean figure had become excessively fat over the years, a result of his stagnation. He was nowhere near as quick as the agile man he once was when he faced Kaido.
Moria was seething with anger. He recalled the giant zombie, Oars, and thought to himself: If I could revive Oars, this little pest would be crushed into oblivion!
However, Oars' shadow was still missing.
Alastor's shadow couldn't be cut, so Moria had no choice but to turn to the only other potential options: Onimaru or Sai. He chose Sai—strong and sturdy, clearly a better target than the thin boy.
"Shadow Warrior!"
In an instant, Moria switched places with his own shadow and appeared in front of Sai.
Sai, still watching the fight, had no time to react. Stunned by Moria's sudden appearance, he was slow to defend due to the injuries he had sustained fighting zombies. In that moment of hesitation, Moria severed Sai's shadow.
Without pausing, Moria rushed off, heading toward Oars to complete his plan.
Aokiji, freshly returned to Marineford, met with Fleet Admiral Sengoku. His first words were cryptic yet alarming:
"Ah la la, Marshal Sengoku, it looks like there may be more than one vacant seat in the Shichibukai."
Sengoku, already feeling the pressure of recent events, sighed deeply.
The New World had been rife with chaos. The Four Emperors were becoming increasingly restless, and their movements suggested they were preparing something big.
Meanwhile, the first half of the Grand Line was flooded with dangerous super rookies committing heinous crimes. Eustass Kid, a Magnet-Magnet Fruit user, had slaughtered civilians, racking up the highest bounty among the rookies. Trafalgar Law, the "Death Surgeon," was rumored to possess the Surgery-Surgery Fruit, which the World Government had once valued at 5 billion berries.
But nothing had caused Sengoku more frustration than Luffy, the straw-hatted pirate. Luffy, a rookie, had defeated the fearsome Crocodile—one of the Shichibukai—and Sengoku had hoped to use Luffy's success to attack Garp. Instead, it only backfired, giving Luffy even more notoriety.
Garp, unsurprisingly, took the situation in stride, but the damage was done.
Sengoku cursed, "This is all because of that damn Garp bloodline!"
The older Garp, unfazed, continued munching on his senbei, giving a thumbs-up and grinning. "Heh, that kid's got spirit, Sengoku."
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