Moriah's figure was dragged out as Oars fell. At this moment, Moriah had fallen into despair. He had no Haki and couldn't compete with Hera; his trump card, Oars, had been easily smashed, his partners were all pinned down, and the zombie army he had built was utterly useless. Everything seemed to have returned to that afternoon when he challenged Kaido.
"No, I won't accept this! Shadow Asgard!" The shadows scattered from Oars were swallowed by Moriah. The City of Devouring Time managed to snatch some, but the shadows Moriah had collected were simply too many. During the swallowing process, Moriah's body gradually grew larger. He absorbed 1,000 shadows, becoming as massive as Oars, and charged toward Hera.
Hera complained, "Gigantification again? This move is practically a target." The minute hand lit up as she prepared to repeat her old trick.
Zafkiel's 'Second Bullet' hit Moriah precisely, but it didn't slow down Moriah's time. Hera was somewhat surprised. She dodged Moriah's fist and fired several more 'Second Bullets,' but none achieved the desired effect.
Hera looked closely and realized that Moriah was letting a portion of the shadows flow over his body. The black shadows hit by the Second Bullet slowed down, absorbing the damage on Moriah's behalf.
"So that's how it is. It seems I'll have to rely on a heavy blow to make you spit the shadows out. But before that, let's give you a debuff: 'Capricorn Sword'." A special light gathered on saikū. The hit Moriah completely lost control of himself and began to attack wildly.
Hera stood behind the gigantified Moriah and raised her fist. Black Armament Haki, white space power, and red time power surged, flowing into Hera's fist. 'Fist Bone: Triforce.' The influx of three types of energy made Hera's punch even more powerful. Her glowing fist struck Moriah's back.
Already in chaos, Moriah couldn't withstand Hera's strongest strike. With his mouth wide open, the swallowed shadows, along with traces of blood, were spat out from Moriah's mouth. This startled Hera so much that she quickly followed up with a Water Bottle Bullet for Moriah, praying in her heart, "Please don't die! Why did I get so carried away and forget to hold back?"
Moriah truly lived up to being someone who once stood against Kaido; although he fainted, he didn't die. In the moment of life-and-death crisis, Moriah's body involuntarily used Armament Haki. It was this sliver of Armament Haki that saved Moriah's life. As Moriah lost consciousness, the Shadow-Shadow Fruit lost its control, and the severed shadows returned to their original owners one after another.
Hera also released her control over the shadows within the City of Devouring Time, letting them all return to their owners.
Inside the castle, Nami was curiously watching the zombie Cindry, who was throwing plates at her. With a flash of thunder, she found Hogback hiding underground. Suddenly, Cindry seemed to realize something and smiled at Hogback. A black shadow emerged from her body, and Cindry collapsed.
Hogback tearfully hugged Cindry's corpse. Driven to madness by grief, he ran toward Nami, wanting to strike her down. Nami had no choice but to knock him unconscious with electricity before running out herself.
In another part of the battlefield, the corpse of Ryuma, who was in the middle of a brilliant fight with Kuina, suddenly collapsed. The shadow left Ryuma's body and moved to a skeleton on the other side. Kuina picked up Shusui, one of the 21 Great Grade Swords, and was about to leave when she suddenly heard a voice from behind. A skeleton was facing her: "Yohohoho, beautiful lady, would you mind letting me appreciate your panties?"
Kuina was caught off guard by this bizarre scene. She raised her wado ichimonji to strike, but the skeleton quickly dodged. "Beautiful lady, I mean no harm. I am Brook, the musician of the Rumbar Pirates. I became like this because of an accident. It must have been Moriah's defeat that allowed my shadow to return just now."
Hearing Brook mention the Rumbar Pirates, Kuina seemed to have some memory of the name. She tapped her head and remembered. "I know your Pirate Crew. I've seen Laboon."
Brook was incredibly excited to hear news of Laboon and hurriedly asked, "Where did you see him? Is he doing well?"
"Not very well. He hits his head against the Red Line every day. However, he's much better after the Captain comforted him. The Captain healed his injuries and also made an agreement that he would no longer strike the Red Line."
Brook burst into tears. Kuina found it a bit strange how a skeleton could have tears, but she still said to Brook, "If you're willing, you can come with me to find the Captain. She has seen a lot; maybe she knows the reason why you turned out like this."
Brook nodded and followed her.
In the area where Absalom and Ain were fighting, Absalom was stunned for a moment when Oars fell. Ain seized the opportunity to use the power of the Rewind-Rewind Fruit to rewind Absalom by twelve years. After being struck by Ain, the traces of modification on Absalom's body had vanished, and the strength and speed he took pride in disappeared as well. He was easily subdued by Ain.
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