The spacious hall was brightly lit, and the gazes of the two clashed in the air like bolts of lightning.
The shadow behind Moriah quickly merged into his feet, the black shadow swaying like a fiery aura, accompanying his grim smile.
Jinbe clenched his fist and assumed a stance, emitting a deep blue flame, ready and vigilant.
The power of will manifested as Haki in both their eyes.
Shush!
In the supposedly windless hall, a strong wind suddenly arose, blowing the rubble and fragments at their feet, along with their garments.
Crack.
Jinbe stepped slightly forward, kicking a piece of rubble away, making a sound.
"Shadow Shuriken!"
Moriah brandished his twin blades to the sides, and the shadow at his feet rose and scattered, transforming into bat-shaped spinning shuriken, flying into the sky at a speed faster than bats, quickly surrounding Jinbe on all sides, shooting downward.
"Fishman Karate: Karakusagawara Seiken!"
Jinbe launched a straight punch, sending a full-angle shockwave through the air, dispersing the descending shadow shuriken.
"Shadow Warrior!"
But the shadows that scattered like ink dots did not fall to the ground; instead, they suddenly converged on the last shuriken in the air, transforming into Moriah's shadow, swapping places with him.
Moriah glared with bloodshot eyes, his grim smile never fading, as he thrust down with his two scissors-like blades, slashing through the shockwave, diving down.
"Die, Jinbe!"
"I still want to sail with Luffy, I don't want to die!"
Jinbe looked up, his robust body spun fiercely, kicking straight up.
"Fishman Karate: Seven Thousand Tile True Roundhouse Kick!"
Boom!!
When the Haki clashed with Haki, dispersing the shockwave, his leg foot struck the two scissor blades. In the instant of deadlock, several streaks of black light flashed like sudden thunder, causing a big depression at Jinbe's feet on the floor.
"Hmm!!"
Jinbe grunted, exerted more force in his legs and feet, and kicked the scissor blades away, sending Moriah flying upward.
"Fishman Jujutsu..."
After the kick, he swiftly stomped the ground, both webbed hands posed to throw back, as if grabbing the air.
Boom!!
The moisture in the air gathered into water droplets in his hands, creating a concentrated impact that pierced through Moriah's chest in an instant.
"Water Heart·Air Cannon Over the Shoulder!"
No water doesn't mean he can't fight. A Fishman of his level can still battle on land.
But Moriah, who was pierced through, still smiled, his body solidified and turned into ink, dripping to the ground, landing at the feet of Moriah, who had swapped places with the shadow earlier.
Whoosh!
Moriah raised his arms, throwing the two scissor blades sideways at Jinbe while clumsily sprinting forward.
Jinbe furrowed his brows, glancing at the scissor blades flying from both sides. He gathered Haki on his arms, about to dispel them, when he saw Moriah's gloved, clawed fingers splay wide as if commanding something.
"Shadow Revolution!"
The shadow at his feet stretched out two lines connecting with the shadows of the flying scissor blades, and under Moriah's sharp roar, also quickly deformed, stretching and elongating from the scissor blades' shadows.
Shadows connected to physical objects; if the physical object changes, the shadow must change. Based on this concept, the Shadow-Shadow Fruit allows shadows to reverse influence physical objects!
By altering the shape of shadows, the physical shape of objects can be forcibly changed!
The scissor blades quickly extended and curved, the tips curving around to Jinbe's back, aiming at his heart.
"Is this your plan? Simple ambushes won't work! Karakusagawara Seiken!"
To this, Jinbe punched out a shockwave, bouncing off the scissor blades now shaped like crescent moons, and quickly adjusted his stance, facing the charging Moriah.
Moriah's strength lay in his abilities; in terms of body techniques, he was no match for someone like Jinbe who mastered Fishman Karate.
If you rush in like this, it's just his chance, and he can strike...
Clap.
His thoughts were interrupted by a soft sound, and Jinbe, who was poised to attack, froze there as if time had stopped.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could just glimpse the two scissor blades on either side that had been sent flying. Their elongated and deformed blades just happened to fall around him, with the blade tips precisely piercing... into his shadow.
The shadows of the blades, along with his shadow, were drawn into two straight lines, and then merged into one in front, blending into the shadow beneath Moriah's feet.
"Hehehehehe! Shadow Stepping Technique!"
Moriah's mouth curled to his ears, making his already terrifying face look even more sinister, "My scheme? Did you forget, Jinbe..."
He quickly approached Jinbe, with one hand gathering layers of black shadows, forming a giant claw.
"I never became infamous relying on brute force! Shadow Claw!!"
Though force is important on the sea, so is strategy. Besides power, Moriah's terrifying planning ability and strategy were crucial to his fame back then.
Although he wasted several years, once he regained confidence, Moriah naturally embraced the strategy he once despised.
Heroes of the West Sea, Shadow Mage... not just boasting!
Shhh!!
Moriah's claw brushed past Jinbe, bringing forth a thick group of fresh blood dripping to the ground.
"Don't underestimate me either! Rough Shark!"
As he brushed past, a webbed hand pressed down on Moriah's shoulder. Before Moriah could react, the shoulder had been gripped firmly, issuing a crisp sound of cracking bones, and that bloated body flew backward under that hand's motion.
"Fishman Jujutsu: Koryu Ipponzeoi!!"
Jinbe pressed down on the large gap at his waist with one hand, gritting his teeth, while the other hand fiercely went forward, a single over-the-shoulder throw brought forth a steam impact, brutally slamming Moriah's head into the ground.
Boom!!
With one blow, it sent out a tremendous impact, shattering the surrounding walls, including several key structural walls.
Jinbe still wanted to attack, but Moriah on the ground immediately turned into a shadow, blending into the ground.
Crash...
The ceiling above suddenly lowered, dropping large chunks of building debris, creating a cloud of dust, obscuring Jinbe's view.
When the dust cleared, Moriah's figure appeared ahead. At this moment, he was clutching his bleeding head, with one hand hanging limply down, his teeth gritted tightly, glaring with bloodshot eyes.
Jinbe, on the other hand, panted heavily, the position under his webbed hand at his waist was stained with a large amount of blood, soaking his entire palm, dripping down continuously.
Though he relied on Haki to forcefully break free from the shadow restraint at a critical moment, doing his best to dodge, it was still too late.
A momentary flaw was completely enough for them.
The power of that Shadow Claw dug out a large chunk of flesh from his waist and ribs, creating several large gaps.
But after the attack, relying on his exquisite body techniques, he found an opening and counterattacked Moriah.
"Hehehehehe! Very good, Jinbe! Following the Straw Hat is too wasteful, why not consider joining Sage."
After glaring at Jinbe for a while, Moriah suddenly laughed sharply: "What can Straw Hat offer you? Freedom? Human rights? You won't get those. I read the newspapers, Dragon Palace City participated in this World Conference, but I bet things weren't so smooth."
"Shirahoshi's beauty is on par with Boa Hancock, and she's a princess among mermaids. With the Heavenly Celestial Dragon's style of conduct, once they see her, they'll definitely take action. The World Conference can't stop their tyranny."
"But Sage is different. We're about to unify the first half of the New World. If mermaids and fishmen yearn for the land, they need not rush to 'Paradise', they can reach the New World. Under Sage's rule, you can also receive absolute respect, just like the Fur Race."
"Fishman Island is under Luffy's protection, but I'm willing to introduce King Neptune to Sage, though that's your business. I'm a pirate, already out of the kingdom, now merely the Straw Hat Pirates' helmsman."
Jinbe exhaled, shouted: "Luffy will definitely become the Pirate King! Mere Four Emperors can't coerce the Pirate King's crew!"
"Mere? Pirate King? Hehehehehe, you do have the qualification to say that, but that position is reserved for my captain!"
Moriah's eyes widened, snarling: "Can a mere helmsman compare to me, one of the three main strategists of the Disaster Pirates! If you're not willing to surrender and continue to stop me, I'll kill you!"
Even if...
He were to die here like this!
Now Moriah, for the success of Sage's plan in Wano Country, fears nothing!