THE STRONGEST CREATURE OF THE BEAST PIRATES

"As expected of the old man's grandson, even a Shichibukai can be defeated by him, wahahaha!" Garp laughed heartily.

Sengoku, on the other hand, was fuming, his face turning red as he nearly had a myocardial infarction from the frustration. He was about to explode when—

Just then, Aokiji opened the door and entered, casually mentioning, "Well... it looks like there may be more than one vacancy in the Shichibukai."

Sengoku swallowed his anger, took a deep breath, and finally managed to clear his throat. He frowned, turning to Aokiji, "Aokiji, what do you mean by that? What happened?"

Aokiji found a chair, sat back comfortably, and stretched his legs out.

At this moment, in the Marshal's office, besides Sengoku and Garp, there was also Bartholomew Kuma, the Tyrant. Kuma was a man of few words, sitting quietly in the corner, reading a book with his massive frame completely still.

Aokiji glanced at Kuma and then back to Sengoku. "Well... You know I was in Alabasta and brought back Smoker. On the way back, I happened to run into that Alastor, the one making a name for himself recently. He's already entered Moria's territory."

Hearing this, Sengoku's heart sank. It's that Alastor again. Whenever that guy shows up, things always go sideways. Is he starting a war again?

Sengoku, aware of the past conflict between Moria and Kaido, knew that this would spell trouble. With Kaido's forces entering Moria's territory, the two sides were bound to clash. The situation was deteriorating, and he feared that Aokiji's prediction about the Shichibukai might be right.

"Damn it, everyone is acting so recklessly!" Sengoku slammed his hand on the table, frustrated.

Garp, still chewing on a senbei, chuckled and said, "This is the era of the great pirates. Ambitious people like that kid won't sit around quietly."

Sengoku, though angry, couldn't argue with that truth. He was deep in thought. I need to set an example to curb the growing arrogance of pirates... But his immediate concern was Moria.

Sengoku turned to Kuma and said, "Kuma, this involves the Shichibukai. It's inconvenient for the Marines to intervene directly. I'm counting on you to handle it."

Kuma, also a Shichibukai, was a perfect candidate for this task, as his involvement wouldn't attract unnecessary attention. Moreover, Kuma's obedience to the World Government, despite his own internal conflict, made him reliable.

"Understood, Marshal," Kuma replied, standing up to leave.

Kuma, a man with the powers of the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi (Paw-Paw Fruit), was able to make intangible things tangible, such as pain or air, and deflect most attacks with ease. His strength was formidable, and his loyalty, though complex, was unquestionable.

As he left, Kuma removed his gloves and placed his palms to the ground. In an instant, he was launched into the air at high speed toward the Devil's Triangle, the Sea King's graveyard where Moria's territory lay.

Alastor wasn't bothered by Moria's pursuit. Moria's strength was no longer what it used to be, and his reliance on Oars might add some challenge, but Alastor wasn't concerned.

"Don't worry, Sai, your shadow will be fine," Alastor said as he casually followed Moria.

Moria entered the underground cave with Hobak, using his assistance to move the massive corpse of Oars into position. Hobak quickly helped Moria to stuff Sai's shadow into the giant zombie's body.

Soon after, Oars, who had been dormant for hundreds of years, stirred and let out a tremendous roar.

ROAR!

The sound waves reverberated throughout the cave, causing the air to vibrate with intensity. Moria grinned, his excitement palpable.

"Hehehehe! The Devil Oars is revived! This is my strongest zombie, and with him, I'll crush those pests outside and then take revenge on Kaido!"

Though Oars was still unstable, Moria had prepared for this moment. He had designed a cockpit inside Oars' body, and he climbed in, ready to control the zombie's actions.

"Hobak, stay back," Moria ordered.

"Yes, Lord Moria," Hobak replied, moving away from the chaos.

Inside the cockpit, Moria controlled Oars with precision, and soon the zombie began moving with purpose, roaring again as it leaped into action. The massive zombie crashed through a building and landed right in front of Alastor.

"Go to hell, you arrogant brat!" Moria shouted, controlling Oars' massive fist to come crashing down toward Alastor, causing a violent gust of wind.

Alastor smirked and raised his hands to meet the incoming fist. Though Alastor was tall, Oars' figure, towering at over 60 meters, made him look like a mere child in comparison. The sheer size and strength of Oars made the force of the punch overwhelming.

Alastor's hands, smaller than Oars' fingers, were crushed into the ground under the immense pressure.

Moria laughed from the cockpit, "Hehehe! Now you know the power of Oars, the strongest zombie in my collection!"

Meanwhile, Hobak, watching from a distance, breathed a sigh of relief. However, his thoughts turned to Perona. With Absalom dead, and only he and Perona remaining of the original trio, he wondered where she was.

"Is that stupid girl still sleeping?" Hobak muttered to himself.

As he spoke, in the dark castle on the other side of Moria's ship, Perona, the princess of ghosts, was indeed deep in slumber, completely unaware of the chaos going on.

Perona lay peacefully on a pink, round bed, holding her sad-faced little bear, Kumasi, in her arms. Her two white and slender legs rested lazily atop the bear, and in her sleep, she mumbled with a grin, "Kneel down before Miss Ben and become Miss Ben's servants, hahahahaha..."

Suddenly, a loud bang echoed through the air, shaking the entire castle.

The noise was enough to stir Perona from her dream, but she was still groggy, unwilling to get up. She lazily rolled over, sprawled out on the bed, and muttered in a daze, "Kumasi, go see what's going on."

Kumasi, the zombie bear Perona had created, was standing by. The little bear wore a mask and had a body stitched together with bandages. Despite its eerie appearance, Perona found it utterly cute. To anyone else, it might be terrifying, but to Perona, it was just another one of her odd companions.

Kumasi hurried outside, where it saw the chaos unfolding in the distance. It froze as it saw Oars, Moria's giant zombie, clashing with an opponent. The ground shook violently, and buildings around them crumbled. A sharp stone, launched from the wreckage, flew straight toward Kumasi.

"Master Perona! Master Perona!" Kumasi tried to call, but its voice was muffled beneath the mask, barely audible.

Panicking, Kumasi broke into a cold sweat and fled, trying to escape the oncoming danger.

Boom!

The stone crashed nearby, finally waking Perona completely from her nap. She screamed in confusion, "What's going on? Is there an earthquake?"

Looking around, she noticed Kumasi was nowhere to be found.

"Kumasi!" Perona shouted in anger. "My lovely little bear servant, how can you just run away? Are you leaving me?"

Kumasi, still fleeing, could not hear her. Its small, stitched body was filled with terror from the overwhelming battle taking place nearby. The destruction was unlike anything it had ever experienced.

"No, that's not it..." Kumasi wanted to protest, but it couldn't. The voice barely escaped its mask. It just kept running, unable to stop, feeling the overwhelming power of the battle.

Meanwhile, Perona, now furious, slipped on her red high heels and stomped off, determined to chase down her errant zombie bear.

"Stop, Kumasi!" she yelled.

Alastor, standing tall and calm, faced off against Moria, who was now inside Oars's gigantic zombie body. Moria, once confident, was now visibly frustrated as he saw that Oars's size and power weren't enough to win against Alastor.

Alastor, hands behind his back, smirked. "Is something wrong? You've fought Kaido, haven't you? His body is a lot harder than mine. Your zombie can't even use Haki, so how do you expect it to beat me? Let alone Kaido."

Moria stood frozen for a moment, the truth hitting him hard. Why did I think a zombie could surpass Kaido's strength? Even with the greatest body, it's nothing without real power...

Alastor's words seemed to shatter Moria's delusions. "Zombies are strong, you say? They don't fear death, they don't fear pain... But they can't compare to a living being with real strength."

Moria's rage erupted. "Shut up!" he screamed. "Zombies are the strongest! No fear, no pain, no loss!"

With wild eyes, Moria manipulated Oars to launch an attack, sending the massive zombie charging toward Alastor.

But Alastor, unfazed, raised his fists. "Time to end this."

His muscles swelled as he unleashed a technique, "Semei Kikan!" His arms grew thicker than his legs, rippling with power. In a flash, he teleported into the cockpit inside Oars's chest and struck with a massive punch wrapped in black flames.

"Magic Flame Deliberate Double Boom Fist!"

The punch collided with Oars's chest, and the impact was devastating. Despite the demon-like resilience of Oars's body, the force of the blow crushed his ribs and caved in his chest. Moria, still inside the cockpit, was thrown out, crashing violently onto the ground.

Oars knelt, trying to rise again, but it was too late. The flames from Alastor's attack began to spread across Oars's body. The flames burned fiercely, yet strangely, no visible flame could be seen.

Moria watched helplessly as his greatest creation—Oars—was reduced to ash.

"No... Oarszy... my Oarszy..." Moria gritted his teeth, his fists clenched in anguish as the flames consumed his zombie.

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