A body infused with a shadow knew no pain, no fatigue, and no fear; it was an army of the immortal. The more resilient the body, the more troublesome it became, and the more skilled the original owner of the shadow, the more it became a fearsome weapon, capable of fully utilizing the body's potential.
Therefore, it was no exaggeration to say that the current strength of Oars—possessing the extremely resilient body of an Ancient Giant and infused with the shadow of Luffy, a man with a bounty exceeding three hundred million—was unmatched in the first half of the Grand Line.
…Or so it should have been.
At this moment, Oars was being physically flipped over by the Straw Hat Pirates, tossed about at their mercy, his body battered and broken.
"Turns out, we can handle this after all."
Even Nami and Usopp, who were usually prone to pessimism, nodded in agreement with Franky's words.
A giant's body with Luffy's shadow. It was certainly a powerful combination, and they were indeed having a hard time, but… perhaps because he couldn't shake the feeling of being a rubber man, he would occasionally try to stretch his un-stretchable arms and miss, or fall for Usopp's simple lies and expose an opening. There were plenty of weaknesses to exploit.
The problem was that no matter how much damage they inflicted, he moved about without even a hint of pain.
"Is he really immortal? Zoro and Sanji seem dead set on taking him down…"
"There's no such thing as an immortal human. He just doesn't feel pain; it's not that he's not taking damage."
Chopper replied to Usopp's question with conviction.
Having faced Hogback, one of the world's greatest doctors and a key figure in the creation of these zombies, Chopper had come to understand them. Hogback's genius skill had perfectly stitched up their wounds, but since they weren't alive, they could not heal. Oars's original cause of death was likely still present.
Even so, the ability to feel no pain was a threat. Combined with the simple difference in size, and the fact that it was difficult to accumulate damage on Oars, a tough fight was unavoidable.
"But if we keep pushing like this, we might just be able to do it, right?"
"Depends on the surrounding zombies… Brook! Are you alright over there!?"
"Yohohohoho!! Somehow!! But we might be running out of salt!!"
The other zombies, not even caring if they were caught in Oars's rampage, were surging forward like a torrent. They were only managing because Brook, carrying the salt, was using his agility to purify the zombies one after another, but their salt supply was already dwindling.
It would have been a quick resolution if they could have purified Oars, but he moved so nimbly, and a small amount of salt had no effect. With a limited supply, they had to weigh their options: purify Oars alone, or purify the many other zombies.
"If we can just take down Oars, the rest should be manageable… right?"
"I don't know! But at this rate, we'll be overwhelmed by their numbers! And we don't know when that ghost girl will wake up!"
There was still the invisible man who had seen Nami naked in the bath, and the ghost girl Usopp had knocked out. The former, for some reason, hadn't made a move, but being invisible, he could strike at the worst possible moment. As for the latter, if she woke up, they would be crushed.
Usopp was also frantically throwing salt at the zombies, and it was clear that no one had any room to spare.
Amidst this, Robin, who had been listening nearby, pondered for a moment.
(…The zombies' nature changed, most likely because Moria ordered it. But if they even killed their supposed ally, Hogback, then the invisible man and the ghost girl wouldn't be safe either if the zombies found them.)
An invisible man could hide easily, but a ghost girl could not. It was possible she had been killed by the zombies while she was unconscious.
In the first place, why had Moria started to slaughter his own allies along with his enemies?
She was overlooking something.
A crucial oversight.
"—Robin!! Run!!!"
Startled, Robin's gaze snapped up at the call, and she saw Oars's fist descending from above.
The nimbly moving Oars's arm did not stretch. But even so, for a giant over sixty meters tall, his arm was proportionally long, and even without stretching, his reach was more than sufficient.
She couldn't dodge.
She regretted getting lost in thought. She couldn't evade it now, and even if she tried to defend, she couldn't possibly support the weight of a fist coming down from above.
Before Robin could act, the fist came crashing down.
"Robin!!"
"Not good, a direct hit from that and she's done for!"
Chopper rushed to treat Robin—and then stopped short at the sight of someone who had appeared before him. He could only see the man's back, but he was a large man he didn't recognize. However, his scent was certainly familiar. And he was holding Robin in one hand, having saved her from Oars's attack.
At the very least, he was not an enemy.
"W-Who are you!?"
"Robin! Thank goodness, you're safe!!"
"I-I don't know who you are, but thank you for saving her!!"
Chopper, Nami, and Usopp spoke in rapid succession.
The blue-skinned man, a sword on his back, stared intently at Oars.
Oars, too, tilted his head at the sight of the unfamiliar man.
"Who are you?"
"Monkey!! D!! Luffy!!!"
Having taken the shadows Moria had stolen and absorbed one hundred of them into himself, Luffy had obtained a superhuman strength. A strength that far surpassed even Oars, who possessed Luffy's own shadow.
…
It was overwhelming.
Luffy with one hundred shadows inside him—a state they would tentatively call Nightmare Luffy—was so strong that even after battering Oars, he still had plenty of power to spare.
The sight of him beating Oars to a pulp, taking the surrounding zombies and the building with him, seemed to release all their pent-up frustration, and it was a truly satisfying spectacle.
But just watching would not end things.
"We have to find Moria," Robin said.
The ultimate control of the shadows still lay with Moria. If they didn't defeat him, even if they defeated Oars, they would only be able to free Luffy's shadow. It could hardly be called a complete victory. Zoro and Sanji's stolen shadows had not yet returned. They had to get them back, and everyone nodded in agreement with Robin's words.
"But where are we supposed to look?"
"Isn't he hiding somewhere in the mansion?"
"Searching this huge mansion will take time. And we don't have much time until dawn."
Due to Oars randomly turning the rudder, the ship had already left the misty sea. In the thick fog, the morning sun wouldn't have reached them, but in this situation, it was too dangerous to be out and about with dawn so close.
That said, they couldn't afford to be picky.
Though Oars had taken out a good number, and Brook had thinned their ranks considerably, there were still many zombies. They were only able to have this discussion because Zoro, Franky, and Brook were dealing with the sporadic zombie attacks, but if they were to be swarmed all at once, they wouldn't stand a chance.
"We have no choice but to search every nook and cranny."
"We don't have time for that!? It's almost dawn!!"
"If me and Moss-head leave now, the zombies will get you. There are too many of them."
They could probably handle the Soldier Zombies, but the remaining General Zombies were quite troublesome. If it were just a matter of having their shadows taken, their lives wouldn't be in danger, but now they were even resorting to what was essentially friendly fire to kill them.
If they split up, they would be surrounded by zombies. They had to somehow break through the encirclement and find Moria—and as they were thinking this, a section of the mansion exploded.
No, to say it exploded was not quite right. To be precise, something had burst inside the mansion, blowing it out from within.
"What was that!?"
"Someone's coming out…"
There were two figures. One was Moria, but Sanji and the others didn't recognize the other. However, Robin, who seemed to know the figure, widened her eyes.
"Tyrant Bartholomew Kuma!? Why is he here!?"
"You know him, Robin-chan?"
"Yes. He's a man who holds a position in the Seven Warlords, just like Moria. They should be allies…"
But from the looks of it, they were fighting.
Moria accelerated in mid-air, targeting Kuma who had just landed nearby, and slammed his blackened fist into him. A loud sound and a shockwave were sent flying. Kuma, too, had dyed his arms black to defend… but in his other arm, he was holding someone.
When Kuma recognized the Straw Hat Pirates, he stopped his clash with Moria and instantly teleported to Usopp's group.
"You are the Straw Hat Pirates, are you not? I apologize, but I would like you to take care of this child."
"W-What's going on!?"
"There is no time to explain. That is Moria, but it seems it is not Moria."
Before they could question Kuma's cryptic words, he set down the person he was holding and teleported again to stop the pursuing Moria. Even after taking the Pad Ho, which fired a blast of air from the paw pad on his hand, Moria was physically thrown back but showed no signs of pain.
His appearance was, in a way, bizarre.
"What in the world is happening…"
"Ugh!? This woman, isn't she the ghost girl I defeated!!?"
"She has a bad bruise. I think she's just been knocked unconscious by a blow."
Chopper said this as he checked her pulse and for any bleeding, diagnosing her condition. As he was doing so, Zoro shouted a warning.
"Watch out! Oars is coming!!"
Just as Zoro had said, the thrown Oars came crashing down nearby, shattering the mansion.
The number of zombies still able to move seemed to have decreased considerably, and they lay scattered about, groaning but physically unable to move their limbs.
Nightmare Luffy was overwhelming Oars, beating him to a pulp.
Both Kuma and Moria were wide-eyed at his strength, unable to hide their surprise.
For some reason, Kuma raised his voice.
"You are Straw Hat Luffy, are you not!? If you wish to reclaim your shadows, defeat Moria!! I will take on that giant!!"
"Who are you? But I get it!"
Defeating Moria to get their shadows back had been their goal from the start. Oars was merely an obstacle and did not necessarily need to be defeated.
Seeing Luffy's strength, Kuma had thought that things would go more smoothly if they switched opponents.
The two, having switched combat partners, immediately unleashed their ultimate techniques.
"Ursus Shock."
"Gomu Gomu no—Bazooka!!!"
The Ursus Shock, which compressed the air to an extreme degree and then released it, creating an explosion-like shockwave, enveloped Oars's giant body and continued to expand, battering his entire body with the shockwave.
Luffy's arms were blocked by Moria, but the power of one hundred shadows was too much to be completely blocked, and he was sent flying unceremoniously.
"W-We did it!!"
Though Oars felt no pain, his body was unable to move from the shock that had battered him, and Moria, whose arms had been broken while blocking, had been hit with a powerful blow and was now down. Kuma looked fine, but Luffy's shadows had all left him, and he had collapsed from exhaustion.
As if in response to Usopp's cheers, voices came from all around.
"You did it, our hope!!"
"That's right, Captain Lola!! If we just take care of the surrounding zombies, this is our win!!"
It was the members of the Rolling Pirates, who had given their shadows to Luffy.
They readied their weapons as if to assist the fighting Zoro and the others, and began to disable the zombies one after another. Franky and the others were wide-eyed at the sudden development, but judging them not to be enemies for the time being, they decided to deal with the zombies as well.
In the meantime, Chopper ran to the collapsed Luffy and quickly began to examine him.
"What was that power-up of Luffy's…?"
"Just as I thought the shadows were leaving him, he turned back into the usual Luffy. It's probably like how a dead body becomes a zombie when a shadow is put into it; if you put a shadow into a living person, that's what happens."
Hearing Robin's theory, Chopper nodded in admiration. "Oh, is that so!"
From what he could see, it was extreme fatigue. He couldn't find any major injuries.
Next to the relieved Chopper, Kuma now appeared.
"What do you want? I'm sorry, but we're a little busy right now."
"Do not say that, Nico Robin. We are still in the middle of a battle. Shall we not form a temporary alliance?"
Kuma quietly pointed, and there, they saw the figure of Moria, who, despite having taken massive damage, was standing up with a calm expression. Both his arms were broken and useless. Several of his ribs were also crushed. It was possible that even his internal organs had been damaged.
At the sight of him standing up, Chopper and Robin felt a chill—he was like a zombie, they thought.
Moria looked down at his broken arms and sighed with a look of annoyance.
"This is as far as I can go. Honestly, you've all caused me so much trouble…"
He couldn't fight properly in this state. Moria looked at the fallen zombies, at the opposing Rolling Pirates, the Straw Hat Pirates, and Kuma, and let out another sigh. This would interfere with his work.
"It can't be helped. This was supposed to be an easy assassination job."
"…What in the world is Moria saying?"
"That is not Moria."
Kuma stated it with certainty.
Robin frowned at his words and looked at Moria again. At the very least, his appearance was that of Moria. But there was certainly something strange about his way of speaking.
"When I found him in the mansion, his body already had a fatal wound. The moment I saw him, I judged him to be a corpse. But he pushed aside that weeping girl, and as I approached him unguarded, he launched a surprise attack."
If his body hadn't been modified, if it hadn't been the sturdy, Vegapunk-made body it was, he could have been fatally wounded. It had been such a convincing performance—no, it had not been an act at all. The dried blood, the fatal wound hidden beneath his clothes—none of it had been prepared for an act.
If that was the case, then.
"That is Moria's corpse."
Of that, there was no doubt.
Then why was a corpse moving?
On this island, the answer was simple.
"Because a shadow was put into it…?"
Then, by whom had the shadow been put in?
The only user of the Kage Kage no Mi, which controlled shadows, was Moria. The same ability user could not appear in the same era.
From the mouth of Moria's corpse, someone's shadow slipped out. As if it had no more attachment to the shattered body, it shed its shell.
"The user of the Kage Kage no Mi was undoubtedly Moria. But when a Devil Fruit user dies, the fruit is reborn somewhere else."
At Kuma's words, Robin recalled a certain woman.
To kill an ability user, steal the Devil Fruit, and collect it. Was that not the modus operandi of the Witch, whom Robin knew so well? Of course, that technique was likely not hers alone. If the method were known, it would have to be possible for others to do it, otherwise, she could not have collected so many Devil Fruits.
Then—the number of people who could have killed Moria, stolen the Kage Kage no Mi, and become its user was extremely limited.
"The one who killed Moria and became the new user of the Kage Kage no Mi is—someone from Twilight?"
There had been another ship in the port of Thriller Bark besides the Sunny. She had known from the beginning that someone else was here.
The shadow that had emerged from Moria's mouth was that of a woman, about the same size as Robin.
The shadow showed no signs of flying off somewhere, and instead landed on the ground.
"…I thought I had sent you to another island. How did you return?"
"We undergo special training, you see. Training to nullify or mitigate the effects of Devil Fruit abilities, in preparation for facing ability users."
The flat shadow became three-dimensional, transforming from the head down. Long, lustrous white hair framed a well-defined face that, Robin thought, bore a striking resemblance to Lycoris from Alabasta.
At the very least, it was not someone Robin was acquainted with. If it had been a familiar face, this situation would never have occurred. The reason why Moria had suddenly turned on his own and tried to slaughter everyone on the island was now clear. She had become the new ruler, and had used the shadows to issue her commands to the zombies.
"Honestly, you're all causing so much trouble. I am under strict orders not to let anyone know that Moria is dead. Would you mind dying quietly here?"
A member of Kanata's direct subordinates, the Valkyries, of the Twilight Pirates. A woman who had passed numerous selection tests and defeated countless skilled warriors to be considered, despite her youth, a candidate for the next generation of commanders.
Iris had finally revealed herself.