Subsequently, the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit enveloped Absalom, who immediately let out a pained shriek, his body convulsing violently, as if something important was being forcibly ripped away!
A moment later,
a uniquely shaped Devil Fruit, adorned with spiral patterns and emanating a subtle transparent sheen, re-materialized on the apple in Sanji's hand!
It was precisely the Clear-Clear Fruit!
Absalom, as if all his strength had been drained, completely passed out, and his body entirely lost its ability to turn transparent.
Sanji gazed at the long-sought-after fruit, his breathing quickening.
"Even if I don't eat it myself, I should keep it and eat it later when needed? Not a bad idea."
With that, Sanji flipped his wrist, and the Clear-Clear Fruit vanished, clearly having been stored away by him.
At the same time,
on the other side, Zoro had already used the blunt side of his sword to knock down all the zombies entangled with him; these monsters, impervious to ordinary blades, were no match for attacks imbued with Haki.
Usopp and Chopper also cooperated to deal with the remaining few stragglers.
Soon,
all the zombies within the Hogback Estate were thoroughly cleared out, lying scattered on the ground, completely incapacitated.
The intense sounds of fighting, the roars of the zombies, and the final screams within the estate had long since alerted Doctor Hogback, who was hiding deep within the building. He cautiously pushed open a crack in a door and peered out.
When he saw his carefully modified zombie soldiers lying scattered across the courtyard, and even Absalom and Perona, two of the Three Terrors, lying on the ground, their fates unknown, while the group of unfamiliar invaders stood there completely unharmed,
his face instantly turned ashen white!
"W-What kind of joke is this?! What kind of monsters are these?!"
Hogback was scared out of his wits, no longer daring to entertain any thoughts of resistance or negotiation.
He abruptly pulled his head back, not even bothering to gather any belongings, and like a frightened mouse, he scurried out the back door of the estate, dashing at top speed towards Moriah's castle, only wanting to report this terrifying news to Moriah-sama as quickly as possible!
...In the eerie and terrifying castle hall,
Gekko Moriah was impatiently waiting for the good news of the treasures brought back by the Three Terrors. However, what he received was a scrambling, panic-stricken Hogback.
"Mo... Moriah-sama! This is bad! Something terrible has happened!"
Hogback practically tumbled in, collapsing to the ground, his voice trembling as he shrieked, "Perona! Absalom! And... and all the zombie soldiers they took with them... they're all... completely annihilated! Wiped out by those outsiders!"
"What?!"
Moriah's massive body abruptly rose from his throne, and a terrifying killing intent instantly permeated the entire hall! "What did you say?! Completely annihilated?! Perona and Absalom too?! Hihahahahaha!!!"
He let out an extremely enraged, shrill laugh, and with a violent slam of his massive hand, he shattered the armrest of his throne!
"A bunch of useless trash! Can't even handle such a small matter!"
Hogback shivered in fear, quickly adding, "A-And... Moriah-sama... according to the original plan, we need the shadow of a true powerhouse to perfectly activate Oars the Devil and unleash his strongest power... But now... now we don't have a suitable shadow to complete the final step!"
"I don't care about all that!!!" Moriah, in a furious rage, couldn't listen to any plans. His crimson eyes were filled with madness and a desire for destruction.
"If there's no shadow of a powerhouse, then we'll use quantity! If quality isn't enough, make up for it with quantity!"
He violently waved his hand, roaring towards the depths of the castle, "Bring me those zombies immediately! Strip them of their shadows!"
Soon, a group of somewhat fearful zombies were brought in.
Moriah completely disregarded their wails, directly using his Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability to brutally tear the shadows from beneath the feet of these zombies!
The moment their shadows were stripped, the zombies collapsed to the ground as if all support had been lost, completely turning into true inanimate objects.
Moriah manipulated the hundreds of distorted, struggling, and not-so-powerful shadows, forcefully injecting them all into the colossal, mountain-like corpse of Oars the Devil in the center, like stuffing garbage!
"Come alive for me!!! Oars!!!"
Accompanied by Moriah's frantic roar and the forceful injection of a large number of shadows, Oars the Devil's tightly shut giant eyes suddenly opened!
His eyes gleamed with chaotic and violent light!
Rumble—!
This colossal Devil from ancient times let out its first roar since awakening, shaking the entire castle!
A chaotic and powerful monster, forcibly driven by hundreds of shadows, had arrived!
A tremendous rumbling sound approached from a distance, as if a mountain was moving.
Gekko Moriah's massive figure appeared at the end of their sight, and even more astonishing was the mountain-like, majestic Devil behind him, radiating a wild aura—Oars!
"Waaahhh!!! What a huge giant!!!"
Luffy's eyes instantly turned into stars, his rubber jaw comically dropping to his chest. He excitedly waved his arms and legs, "That's amazing! He's much bigger than those giants! Hey! Big guy! Come be my nakama!"
However,
Luffy's enthusiasm was met by Oars' giant fist, like a battering ram, smashing down with the force to crush everything!
"Gum-Gum—Giant Pistol!" Luffy met the attack fearlessly, his massive rubber fist colliding fiercely with Oars' fleshy fist!
Boom!
With a dull thud, Luffy was directly sent flying by the sheer force, tumbling several times on the ground before stopping!
"Hmph! Not bad strength!" Zoro's eyes narrowed, his three swords drawn, "Three-Sword Style: Black Rope Dragon Twister!"
The sharp storm of slashes struck Oars' leg, but only sparked a shower of flames, leaving a few white marks, unable to cause effective damage!
Oars swept back with a punch, and the resulting wind pressure swatted Zoro away like a fly!
"Diable Jambe: Souris!" Sanji attacked from the air, his burning kick striking Oars' nape, but it also had little effect.
Oars' other large hand swung like he was swatting a mosquito, forcing Sanji to quickly retreat.
"Hihahahahaha!!!"
Moriah watched his strongest warrior effortlessly crush his opponents like mere minions, letting out a sharp, triumphant laugh,
"Do you see?! This is my Oars the Devil! The invincible strongest warrior! You ants aren't even worthy of tickling him!"
....
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