"No! You understood from the very beginning that there was no way you could ever possess the power to control the Celestial Dragons!"
"You also know very well that everything you have now was only achieved with the Celestial Dragons' permission."
"You're just... refusing to accept that truth!"
Moria, who had once sunk into self-deception himself, seemed to possess a pair of eyes that could see through everything. His gaze fell on Tesoro like sharp knives.
"Damn it!!! What... what the hell do you know!?"
Tesoro, beaten to the brink of death, collapsed weakly onto the ground. Under Moria's words, his already bloodshot eyes turned even redder.
Lies did not wound people. Truth was the sharpest blade.
Using the last shred of his strength, Tesoro still wanted to roar something back at Moria, to prove that he was not some clown.
But before he could make a sound, a patch of shadow suddenly shot out from his own shadow, transformed into a sharp spear, and pierced straight through his chest.
Puchi!!!
Scarlet blood sprayed out at once, flowing down along the jet-black spear of shadow.
An injury like this was not enough to kill a powerhouse of Tesoro's level on the spot, but it did officially place his life on a countdown.
"What do I know?" A sharp glint flashed in Moria's eyes. "I know your way of thinking better than anyone."
"Because of your own incompetence, you locked yourself inside a false reality, thinking that as long as you never stepped out of that tiny world, then your failure wouldn't count as complete."
"If it weren't for the Straw Hat crew, I might still be drowning in that illusion, unable to pull myself free."
"So... Tesoro..."
Moria bared his teeth in a grin, and the light in his eyes suddenly blazed.
"As one failure to another, how about considering a change of master!?"
"It may not sound nice, but being the Celestial Dragons' dog can't possibly be very enjoyable, right?!"
"On Straw Hat's side, as long as you're willing to offer your loyalty, they'll give you everything you want."
"Just like they did for me."
"So, Tesoro..."
The pitch-black shadow spear split into two branches, lifting Tesoro's completely subdued body into the air so that he could meet Moria's gaze at eye level.
Moria continued:
"I'm giving you a chance. Offer everything you have to the Straw Hat Pirates!"
"When the time comes, not only will you gain the power you need for revenge, you may even personally storm Mary Geoise and slaughter those lofty Celestial Dragons with your own hands!"
"You should know very well that everything I'm saying is true, because I've already experienced that wonderful feeling once myself!"
Under Tesoro's gradually dimming eyes, Moria slowly extended an arm, his pupils tightening as though he were seeing the scene of Celestial Dragon blood staining his hands once more.
Looking at Tesoro's eyes as they slowly closed, Moria knew he would not be giving an answer immediately.
After confirming that he had completely lost the ability to fight, the spear formed from his shadow double swung violently and hurled him back to the ground.
"Perona, lock him up. Once he wakes up, I believe he'll make the right decision."
"Yes, Lord Moria!"
Perona, who had been watching the battle for a long time, nodded obediently.
With the support of Pokémon power, she too had grown considerably.
Though she was still far from Moria, who had always been a genius among the strong, she was now already capable of dealing with elite Marine Vice Admirals with ease.
If one ignored Perona's almost nonexistent physical skills, she could already be considered a minor powerhouse at the level of a Warlord of the Sea.
At the command of her ghosts, a group of standby zombies immediately came running from afar, carrying a thick length of Seastone material.
As zombies, their bodies would instinctively reject anything related to seawater, but their body surfaces were somehow not afraid of Seastone at all.
It could only be said that Devil Fruit powers were just that unreasonable, full of all kinds of bug-like loopholes.
With the zombies' efforts, the severely wounded Tesoro was quickly bound tightly, while fresh blood continued to pour from the wound in his chest.
But Moria had no intention of wasting any Super Potion on him.
An injury of this level could be patched up later with a few casual stitches from Hogback.
He had no time to "convert" Tesoro the way Red "converted" people.
Only when someone was on the verge of death would they quickly come to recognize themselves and reality, and thus make the correct decision.
"Lord Moria."
After the unconscious Tesoro was dragged away by the zombies, Perona, floating in the air nearby, suddenly spoke and waved for two zombies to bring over an unconscious girl who had been tied up.
Bang!
Through the zombies' cold and violent handling, the girl was tossed straight onto the ground.
Yet even after such rough treatment, the girl's exquisite beauty and elegant bearing remained unchanged.
Long, shapely legs, snowy twin peaks, and a head of purple hair, paired with a dress that looked simple at first glance but was clearly tailored from luxurious fabrics...
If Sanji had appeared here, he would definitely have kicked every one of those zombies for how rudely they had handled such a peerless beauty.
At this moment, Perona explained:
"Lord Moria, while you were fighting Tesoro just now, this woman sneaked into the control room of the Entertainment City. The searching zombies discovered her, and since she didn't have much strength, they subdued her with ease."
By now, Moria had long since stopped obsessing over the zombie army he once pursued.
The zombies he still kept were almost all equipped with bodies at the level of his former zombie generals.
As for the shadows he used, they all came from enemies captured by the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, or from experimental subjects left behind on Tech Island for the Scientific Research Corps to extract Lineage Factors from.
Their strength could not be called overwhelming, but it was still enough to rival an average Marine Rear Admiral.
Dealing with a sneaky girl was naturally effortless.
Perona continued, "From the way she was acting, it didn't seem like she was one of Tesoro's subordinates, so I went to investigate her identity."
"So who exactly is she?"
Seeing Perona's hesitant expression, Moria asked curiously at once.
After choking up slightly, Perona opened her mouth with a trembling voice:
"According to my investigation, this woman seems to be a performer Tesoro recently invited to the Entertainment City... the one known as the Mysterious Songstress—Carina!"
"Mysterious Songstress? Never heard of that title..."
Moria frowned slightly.
But right then, it was as if a beam of light had shot straight through his mind.
His pupils abruptly contracted, and he immediately turned a solemn gaze toward the incomparably beautiful girl lying on the ground.
As a true powerhouse, although Moria was not particularly lustful, he could still tell that this girl's looks ranked among the finest in the entire world.
"Wait! You said this woman's name is... Carina!?"
Moria suddenly recalled that there seemed to be a note in the intelligence Red had provided them.
Carina—the peerless phantom thief who might exist within Gran Tesoro, possibly hiding in the Entertainment City under the identity of a songstress or something similar.
Because of the butterfly effect brought about by Red, Carina at this point had not yet made a name for herself under Tesoro.
And under Carina's deliberate control, any photographs showing her appearance rarely spread outside.
So when Red provided the information, he had only written a vague note based on the original storyline.
Of course, none of that was the key point!
Because Moria clearly remembered...
At the very end of Carina's information, there had been a remark:
Nami's former companion, someone who could be considered a friend. If encountered, do your best not to harm her.
"Quick! Quick... quick, go get a chair over here!!!"
Thinking of this, Moria's expression changed drastically, and he immediately ordered Perona.
Perona, who had also read Carina's intelligence, nodded at once and led the zombies to search through the area where Tesoro usually stayed.
Very soon, they brought out a large, lavishly decorated golden sofa.
Then Moria ordered the zombies to carefully place Carina onto the sofa and remove the ropes binding her.
Finally, he poured a bottle of Super Potion down the unconscious Carina's throat to help her recover.
Although, as a member of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, they would receive batches of Pokémon supplies every so often, including healing items like Super Potion...
They were not, after all, direct members of the Straw Hat Pirates. So a miracle medicine capable of recovering all injuries was naturally precious.
The reason Moria was willing to use it on a woman with no direct connection to them was not because his heart had softened.
It was because he truly feared that if he hurt Nami's friend, Nami would quietly make things difficult for him later.
After all, the entire economic lifeline of the Straw Hat Pirates and their supply of high-grade items were all in Nami's hands.
One could say that however many Super Potions they received each month was entirely up to a single sentence from Nami.
And that had made Nami, in private, the Straw Hat member whom the many captains of the Grand Fleet believed was most worthy of respect.
As the Super Potion slowly took effect, the unconscious Carina gradually opened her eyes.
The first thing that entered her vision was Moria's vicious face, all pointed mouth and jagged fangs.
"Eek!!!"
Carina was scared out of her wits. Her body trembled violently, and the pair of weapons on her chest rippled dramatically.
"Y-you... what are you trying to do!?"
Before acting, Carina had secretly watched Moria and Tesoro's battle for a while, so she knew very clearly just how terrifying the monster-like man before her was.
So once she recognized the situation, she had planned to use the chaos to grab a share from Tesoro's treasure vault.
But just as her operation began, she was swarmed by a group of ugly zombies, struck on the head, and knocked unconscious.
Even now, her awareness was still lingering in the terror of being surrounded by those zombies.
Thinking of those monsters' horrifying bodies, Carina immediately cried out in fear:
"Don't hurt me! I know where Tesoro's treasury is, and I also know how to control this island!"
"Keeping me alive will only benefit you. There's absolutely no downside!"
Though the wealth she had been about to obtain was about to slip away, she understood very well how to weigh things when compared to her own life.
What Carina did not expect, however, was that after her panicked outburst, the response she got was a sharp voice.
"Miss Carina."
Well-traveled and knowledgeable as she was, Carina could tell that the man in front of her was trying very hard to suppress his usual way of speaking in order to sound slightly gentler.
Even though it had absolutely no effect.
"There is no need for alarm. We never intended to do anything to you," Moria said, controlling the corners of his mouth into what he believed was a smile.
"Y-you... who are you people?"
Quickly realizing that she might not actually be in danger, curiosity flashed in Carina's eyes, and she boldly asked the question.
As someone who had already squeezed into the orbit of the world's top powers, she naturally recognized the man before her as Gecko Moria, one of the former Seven Warlords of the Sea.
But without understanding his objective, she chose to disguise herself as a weak and ignorant ordinary girl.
What Carina did not expect again was that her disguise was instantly seen through.
"Miss Carina, with your intelligence, there is no way you don't know who we are."
"But since you asked, I suppose I'll introduce myself."
"I am Gecko Moria, one of the former Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"And now, I am the captain of the Moonlight Pirates under the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, as well as the mastermind behind this raid."
"Tesoro and all the powerful figures on this island have already been subdued by us, so Miss Carina, it would be best if we spoke openly."
"I believe that if Lady Nami were here, she would also hope that you acknowledge our identity as soon as possible."
"Wait! Who did you just say!?"
Carina, who had still been analyzing Moria's motives just moments ago, suddenly froze and blurted out the question.
Moria replied with a smile, "Lady Nami. One of the Straw Hat Pirates' senior officers, and also one of my superiors."
"I believe you should be quite familiar with Lady Nami's name."
"..."
Carina fell silent for a moment before softly saying:
"Of course."
"The Storm Witch, the Weather Witch, the Child of Calamity..."
"For the past two years, I've been hearing Nami's name everywhere."
"It's just that I never imagined that after so many years, Nami would still remember a nobody like me."
"Geh heh heh heh... For someone who managed to infiltrate the Entertainment City and disguise herself as one of Tesoro's subordinates, Miss Carina is hardly a nobody."
"Of course, compared to the great figures of the Straw Hat Pirates, everyone in this world is a nobody!"
"So... was it Nami who had you come find me?" Hope appeared on Carina's face. Perhaps she too wanted to hear that her companion, who had soared into the heavens, still remembered someone as insignificant as her.
But what she got in return was Moria gently shaking his head.
"Sorry. The thoughts of the great figures of the Straw Hat Pirates are not something I can guess."
"All I know is that in the intelligence Lord Red gave me, there was a note specifically stating that you must not be harmed."
"As for the rest, let's wait until after you meet the great figures in person."
"But before that, Miss Carina, you mentioned that you know how to operate this island-built city ship, correct?"
"In that case, would you be willing to sail it to the Pokémon Sea?"
"When that time comes, you may also have the chance to meet Lady Nami."
"What do you say, Miss Carina?"
(End of Chapter)