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"Logan?!"
The moment Hogback heard that name, he shot up from his chair, nearly choking on his soup. "You mean the guy with a three-billion-berry bounty?!"
Perona didn't even bother looking back. "Yep. Now hurry."
Hogback didn't dare waste another second. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and rushed out of the dining hall.
So Lord Moria's big mouth really worked this time. The guy actually came.
Deep inside the castle's underground prison.
This was where they kept the corpse of the ancient giant, Oars the Devil.
He was also Moria's most anticipated masterpiece.
As long as he implanted a powerful warrior's shadow into Oars, he'd have the fiercest, strongest zombie in the world.
Moria had been waiting for this day. The day Oars revived would be the day he took revenge on Kaido.
And he'd make that bastard scream.
He came here every day to fantasize about that glorious future.
"Lord Moria! Lord Moria!"
Perona's anxious voice rushed in from outside.
Moria wasn't annoyed at all; he only frowned. "Perona, what's got you so worked up? Another pirate crew barging in?"
But before he finished, he realized that didn't make sense. Absalom and the zombie army could handle small fry without a problem. No way that alone would scare Perona pale.
Perona drifted inside with her little umbrella, panic all over her face. "Lord Moria, Logan is here. And he's definitely not here to chat."
"I… I didn't dare attack him."
She mumbled the last part. She admitted it—Logan scared the life out of her.
Mostly because she was worried he'd smack her butt raw.
Moria blinked, then suddenly broke into a sharp-toothed laugh. "Heeheehee… and here I thought it was something serious. Perfect!"
"My Oars has been sleeping here all this time, and I finally get the shadow of 'Nine-Three-Three' himself."
If Logan had earned that three-billion bounty by beating a Yonko or an admiral, Moria honestly wouldn't dare touch him.
But he only destroyed Enies Lobby… so today, Moria would gladly take his shadow.
"Perona, where is he now?" Moria asked urgently.
"At their pace, they'll reach the castle in under ten minutes. I already told Hogback to gather the zombie army."
"Good!"
"Once I take Logan down and make the strongest zombie ever, everyone out there will finally understand that I'm the real strongest Warlord!"
Moria was thrilled, already imagining himself stomping Kaido under his feet.
—
By the time Logan and the girls reached the castle gates, the entire zombie army was present.
Front and center stood Moonlight Moria, with his huge belly and bloated frame.
To his left: Hogback, one of the Three Weirdos.
To his right: Perona, another one of the Weirdos.
"Hm? Where's Absalom?" Moria frowned and scanned the area.
On an occasion like this, how could Absalom not show up?
"Absalom! Stop using your invisibility and get out here!" Moria bellowed.
Silence.
"Moria," Logan said calmly, "don't bother. Absalom's dead."
"...What?!" Moria's face twisted. "You killed Absalom?!"
He turned desperately to Hogback and Perona. "Did either of you see him?!"
They exchanged looks and shook their heads.
Moria's stomach dropped. Rage exploded through him.
The Three Weirdos were like his family.
And Logan killed one of them?
Unforgivable.
He bared his fangs. "Zombie army… attack!"
The zombies roared one after another and charged straight at Logan and the women behind him.
"Robin, Kalifa, Doru—take them out."
"Got it."
"Yes, Captain."
"..."
The three of them blurred forward like ghosts, cutting into the zombie horde as if strolling through an empty field.
Every punch and kick landed like a killing blow. The zombies had zero chance.
"Sound Soul Blast!"
"Floral Bloom: Colossal Tree!"
"Tempest Kick!"
With their techniques unleashed, the zombies dropped in waves, helpless to resist.
Moria's face twitched uncontrollably. Years of work, and a tenth of his zombie army vanished in moments.
Seething, he turned toward Ryuma.
The former dragon-slaying samurai.
Aside from Oars, he was Moria's strongest zombie—far above Brook's original strength despite carrying Brook's shadow.
"Ryuma, kill them."
Shing!
The black blade Shusui leapt from its sheath as Ryuma dashed toward the three women.
Brook's eyes sparkled. He had tried countless times to reclaim his shadow, but he never once beat Ryuma. This might be his big chance.
Ryuma was incredibly fast, and he was about to enter the battlefield—
Until a long blade suddenly blocked his path.
Tashigi stood firm, gripping Wado Ichimonji, her gaze burning as she locked onto Shusui in Ryuma's hand.
A Great Grade blade. A black blade. Better than her own.
A sword like that deserved to shine in her hands.
"Your sword is mine," she declared, pointing her blade at Ryuma as her aura shifted completely.
Ryuma didn't bother replying. He struck. Tashigi charged in to meet him.
Their duel erupted instantly.
—
"Heehee… Logan, I checked your bounty poster. Let me see if your three billion actually means anything," Moria sneered, utterly unimpressed.
Logan shook his head and glanced at Nami. "Your opponent isn't me. It's her."
"On it," Nami said, lifting her chin proudly.
Thunder cracked through the air.
"Moria, watch how I deal with you!" she shouted.
"Lightning Drop!"
She thrust her hand down. A bolt as thick as a bowl slammed toward Moria.
"Heeheehee… deal with me? You think you qualify?"
"Shadow Lance!"
His shadow morphed into a spear and shot toward Nami with incredible speed.
Nami sighed. "I thought you'd be tougher."
She snapped her fingers.
Boom!
A massive bolt crashed down and shattered the Shadow Lance instantly.
"What?! That's impossible!" Moria stared in disbelief.
He'd been rotting away in the Florian Triangle for ten years and still thought he was the same man from back then.
"I don't believe it! Shadow Bats!"
He roared as the shattered shadows turned into countless black bats that lunged at Nami with gnashing fangs.
"Cheap tricks."
"Cloud Spike!"
Nami clenched her fist. Compressed triangular spears shot upward, coated in hardening Haki.
They ripped through the air and skewered every bat cleanly, wiping them out.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Moria screamed hysterically.
Logan was one thing, but a navigator? She was blocking all his attacks?
He once challenged Kaido! How could he lose to some unknown woman?!
He refused to accept it.
"Unforgivable! Unforgivable!"
His rage boiled over. A huge shadow clone tore out of his body and lunged at Nami.
"Shadow Mage! Kill her!"
Nami didn't even look impressed as she prepared to counter.
Logan watched for a moment, then lost interest.
Moria still hadn't realized reality. He truly thought he was still the man from ten years ago.
He'd been rotting in denial too long. He couldn't even use Haki anymore. Just daydreaming about revenge.
Revenge against Kaido? Sure. Maybe after he joined the Beast Pirates as their fifth "Bat-Man."
"Lord Moria, you can do it! Beat her!"
"Hit her, Lord Moria!"
"Go Shadow Mage!"
Floating above, Perona puffed her cheeks, cheering with all her might.
In her eyes, Lord Moria was the strongest. He would beat every enemy and claim victory.
"Do you think Moria will win?"
"Of course! Lord Moria is amazing," she answered without thinking.
Then her eyes widened. She turned and locked eyes with Logan.
"AAAAH!!!" She panicked, dropping her umbrella.
She tried to flee—but couldn't.
She glanced back and saw Logan holding her twin ponytails like handles.
He smirked and gently tugged backward.
"Ahhh! Stop! Don't pull my hair!"
Her eyes welled with tears from the pain.
"Still planning to run?" Logan asked casually.
Honestly, Oda really was a genius. Every female character gave him a new sense of novelty. Even a simple hairstyle looked completely different depending on who wore it. Maybe it was just the power of first impressions.
"You—you jerk! Once Lord Moria beats that woman, he'll come for you! You just wait!" Perona yelled fiercely… though it didn't sound threatening at all.
Logan sighed. She clearly didn't understand the situation.
Doru, Robin, and Kalifa were mowing down zombies like harvesting wheat.
Tashigi was already overpowering Ryuma; winning was only a matter of time.
As for Nami and Moria…
Logan glanced at Perona and lifted his chin upward.
She followed his gaze.
Moria was charred black, smoking from all the lightning.
"Lord Moria!!" Perona cried, horrified.
She tried to rush to him, but Logan held her ponytails firmly. She couldn't move an inch.
"Let go of me! I have to save Lord Moria!"
"You monsters, stop hurting him!" she wailed, completely breaking down.
Moria coughed and wiped the blood from his mouth. A determined glint appeared in his eyes.
He couldn't lose. Absolutely not.
Absalom was already dead. Perona and Hogback could not die.
Even if it cost him his life, he had to help them escape.
"Logan! I'm not done yet!" he roared, eyes bloodshot. "Shadow Asgard!"
His shadow shot outward in every direction like countless black threads.
Every zombie's shadow was ripped free and sucked straight into Moria.
This was his strongest move—the peak of his Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
The more shadows he absorbed, the stronger he became.
In the original story, he took in a thousand at once… but without mental fortitude and after rotting for ten years, he'd been overwhelmed by the backlash.
Now, as the shadows poured into him, his body swelled and his aura skyrocketed.
Even Vivi and Kaya in the distance could feel the power.
But—
Logan only glanced over and let out a cold, mocking smile.
Shadow Asgard had a fatal flaw. The charge time was way too long.
"Moria, did you really think I'd let you finish?"
Nami clicked her tongue and moved instantly.
Logan had taught her well: never give an enemy even a second to breathe.
"Ten Thousand Thunders!"
Thunderclouds roared as lightning crashed from the sky like divine punishment.
Booming explosions ripped through the castle grounds.
The blinding silver storm swallowed Moria whole.
"AAAH!!"
Shadow Asgard was interrupted. Moria coughed up all the shadows he just absorbed.
Electric arcs wriggled around him like venomous snakes, tearing through his body from the inside out.
He writhed on the ground, screaming in agony.
Lightning kept striking, scorching the earth black.
His screams grew weaker and weaker until the last bolt faded.
What remained was a barely recognizable, charred, bleeding mess.
Moria lay spread-eagle on the ground, twitching uncontrollably.
He wasn't dead, but he was utterly ruined. Even breathing hurt.
"Lord Moria!"
Perona burst into tears, still trapped in Logan's grip.
"You jerk! Let me go! I have to save him!"
"....."