Night had completely fallen, and the bright moonlight bathed the chaotic arena.
This was the moment when the Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability was at its absolute strongest!
In the center of the arena, the Revolutionary Army was fiercely battling dozens of pirate crews.
Sabo's steel pipe whistled through the air with every swing, while Belo Betty's flag flapped sharply in the moonlight.
The pirates charged forward wave after wave, yet they could never quite break through the Revolutionary Army's disciplined defensive line.
Gecko Moria moved like a fat spider, silently prowling the edges of the battlefield.
His gaze locked onto a pirate captain engaged in combat with the Revolutionary Army—"Venomfang" Victor.
The poor fellow was fully focused on dealing with the enemy before him, completely unaware that the shadow at his feet was writhing eerily, detaching itself from the ground.
"Shadow Revolution!"
SNIP!
Moria suddenly struck, his giant scissors snipping Victor's shadow with a sharp snap.
The pirate captain instantly froze in place, his eyes rolling back.
Overwhelmed by sudden, unnatural exhaustion, he collapsed into a coma, only to be knocked aside by a Revolutionary Army soldier.
"First one... Kishishishi..."
Moria greedily stuffed the wriggling shadow into his mouth. GULP.
His body immediately swelled up a size.
He could feel power surging through his veins, his muscle fibers strengthening under the nourishment of the shadow energy.
For the next half hour, Moria repeated the process.
He specifically targeted pirates who were dazed but not completely unconscious, seizing their shadows while their attention was divided.
"Bone-Crusher" Hank, "Iron Hook" William, "Bloodblade" Carlos... one after another, the shadows of New World captains were collected by him.
"Hehehe... just a little more..."
Moria felt the surging power within him—he had now absorbed the shadows of seventeen powerful individuals.
Each shadow burned like strong liquor in his veins, bringing an unprecedented sense of strength.
The situation on the battlefield was shifting.
Though the Revolutionary Army was formidable, they were beginning to show signs of fatigue under the relentless assault of hundreds of greedy pirates.
Sabo's breathing grew heavy, Belo Betty's flag no longer waved as powerfully, and while the number of pirates had dwindled, those remaining were the truly vicious veterans.
Moria knew the time was ripe.
He quietly retreated to the darkest corner of the arena and began his final preparations.
Seventeen shadows circled around him like loyal guards.
But it wasn't enough! He needed to grow stronger still!
He swiftly spread his darkness, gathering the shadows of the unconscious fodder scattered across the arena—one hundred, two hundred... one thousand shadows!
"Shadow's Asgard!"
WOOSH!
All the shadows instantly surged into his body like a black tornado.
Moria's body began to undergo a terrifying transformation.
His muscles inflated like balloons, his skin turned a sinister bluish-purple, and his mouth split open all the way to his ears, revealing sharp, pale fangs.
Even his neck elongated and thickened as he grew to titanic proportions.
When the final shadow merged, Gecko Moria had become a monstrous creature standing eighteen meters tall!
Feeling the explosive power within him, he couldn't help but laugh uproariously.
"KISHISHISHI! Now, it's MY turn!"
The sounds of battle in the arena abruptly ceased.
Everyone turned in unison to look at the sudden colossal presence blotting out the moon.
Sabo's pupils constricted sharply. "That's... Gecko Moria?!"
"Game over, kids~"
Moria's voice grated like sandpaper rubbing against stone.
He slowly raised his massive hand, a shadow coalescing into a pitch-black sphere in his palm.
"Black Box!"
CRUNCH!
The black shadows instantly boxed in three pirate captains, crushing them into paste!
This bloody harvest had only just begun.
Douglas Bullet crossed his arms, leaning against a broken stone pillar, watching Moria's transformed colossal figure with keen interest.
The towering bluish-purple monster appeared particularly ferocious under the moonlight, its body enveloped in a dark aura of shadows.
"Interesting..."
Bullet narrowed his crimson eyes, his fingers unconsciously stroking his chin.
He had never imagined the Shadow-Shadow Fruit possessed such a technique—it seemed Moria had been holding back all these years.
The Shadow-Shadow Fruit strengthened its user by devouring others' shadows, and the more shadows consumed, the more exaggerated the growth in size and power became.
This discovery sent a thrill through his entire body, and his mind began devising ways to incorporate this ability into his own combat system.
"If I devour enough shadows while in the giant armor created by the Fusion Fruit..." Bullet's lips curled into a dangerous smirk.
"Could I break through my current limits?"
However, he quickly noted Moria's sluggish movements.
"The increase in size comes with a significant drop in speed and agility.
A bulky target is just a sandbag against a fast Haki user."
After some thought, he dismissed the idea. Sacrificing an enchantment opportunity merely to boost raw attack power—something he already had in abundance—seemed too wasteful.
As he pondered, the battle on the field erupted.
Moria let out a piercing, eerie laugh, his massive palm slamming into the ground.
"Shadow Spears!"
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
Dozens of black shadow spears shot up from the ground like spikes, aimed directly at the Revolutionary Army members.
"Scatter!"
Sabo shouted, his figure darting away like a ghost.
His steel pipe, coated in Armament Haki, precisely deflected the incoming shadow spears, sparks flying in all directions.
Belo Betty raised her flag high, the power of the Pump-Pump Fruit unleashing extraordinary combat prowess in every Revolutionary Army soldier.
"Comrades, do not fear! Size is nothing before our will!" Her red hair fluttered in the night wind like a battle standard.
Lindbergh's small mechanical arm clicked as it transformed, firing several freezing laser beams.
"Try this! Cool Shooter!"
ZAP!
The beams pierced through Moria's shoulder but only released wisps of black smoke—the shadow body possessed strong resistance to physical attacks, and the sheer volume of shadows acted as armor.
"Kishishishi! Useless!"
Moria laughed maniacally, swinging his giant hand and swatting away five Revolutionary Army soldiers like flies.
Each strike carried immense force, cracking the ground beneath his feet.
Seizing an opportunity, Sabo leaped into the air.
"Dragon Claw Fist: Dragon's Talon!"
His fingers, coated in pitch-black Armament Haki, formed a three-fingered claw. He struck fiercely at the back of Moria's neck.
BOOM!
The blow landed solidly, the shockwave causing Moria's massive body to stagger forward.
But the Warlord quickly retaliated, the shadow behind him morphing into sharp spikes aimed at Sabo mid-air.
"Brick Bat!"
Countless shadow bats swarmed Sabo, biting and tearing.
At the critical moment, Koala flung a rope, pulling Sabo to safety just as a massive shadow spike pierced the space where he had been.
"Be careful, Sabo-kun!" she yelled. "His shadow can transform at will! Don't stay in the air!"
The battle reached a stalemate.
The Revolutionary Army relied on seamless coordination to maneuver, while Moria held the upper hand with his enormous size, area-of-effect attacks, and infinite stamina provided by the shadows.
Each of his attacks was overwhelmingly powerful, forcing the Revolutionaries into a defensive retreat.
In the spectator stands, Dragon quietly observed the battle.
His cloak fluttered slightly in the night breeze, his red geometric tattoo faintly visible under the moonlight.
He did not move to help.
As the leader of the Revolutionary Army, he trusted his subordinates to handle the situation.
If they couldn't take down a Warlord, they weren't ready for the World Government.
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