But just as the two-thousandth shadow Moria had devoured began to settle...
"What's going on...?"
He suddenly felt dizzy.
His stomach churned violently as the shadows inside him began repelling each other.
It turned out that consuming too many shadows from New World veterans—whose wills were far stronger than the victims in the Paradise half of the Grand Line—had made it impossible for him to suppress them!
He had reached his limit!
"Now's the time!" Sabo keenly noticed Moria's abnormality, seeing the stitches on his neck straining.
"His control is becoming unstable!"
Belo Betty immediately raised her flag with her good arm. "Everyone, concentrate your attacks! Aim for the stomach!"
The Revolutionary Army seized this opportunity to launch an all-out assault.
"Dragon Claw Fist: Breath of the Dragon!"
Sabo struck directly at Moria's distended abdomen with a Haki-infused palm thrust.
Simultaneously, Lindbergh's cryo-laser aimed at his knees to buckle him, while Koala led other soldiers to cut off his escape routes.
"No... impossible!"
Moria panicked as he discovered his massive body beginning to sway uncontrollably.
BAM!
With Sabo's heavy blow hitting his stomach, Moria's eyes bulged.
"URGH!"
Hundreds of shadows gushed out from his mouth like a black geyser!
With each shadow expelled, Moria's size shrank rapidly.
Then came successive attacks from the Revolutionaries, forcing more and more shadows to flee his body to escape the pain.
When the final shadow departed, he had returned to his original, onion-shaped form, weakly kneeling on the ground, gasping for air.
"My... my power..."
He looked despairingly at the scattering shadows returning to their owners, then raised his head to see the approaching Revolutionary Army.
He finally realized his defeat was certain.
Bullet, watching from the spectator stands, shook his head in disappointment.
"As expected, that ability is flawed. Reliance on the strength of others is weakness."
His gaze shifted away from Moria, having lost interest in the battle.
"Tie him up!"
Moria was subdued by the Revolutionary Army amidst unwilling roars, bound in Seastone chains they had brought for such an occasion.
Dragon glanced at the fallen Warlord and sighed softly. "Those who rely too much on external forces will ultimately be defeated by their own greed."
With Moria's defeat, the situation on the battlefield suddenly became clear.
The members of the Tobi Roppo had already quietly withdrawn.
Though the remaining independent pirates were fierce, they were at their last gasp.
However, cornered beasts fight the hardest.
These pirates truly demonstrated their desperate nature.
Having come to the Eternal Divine Kingdom without money just to try their luck, and now facing total defeat, they chose to launch desperate counterattacks.
"Die, Revolutionary Army dogs!"
A scar-faced pirate suddenly tore open his shirt, revealing high-grade explosives strapped all over his body. His eyes flashed with madness as his finger hovered over the detonator.
"If I can't have the fruit, no one leaves!"
Sabo's pupils constricted sharply. "Not good! Everyone retreat!"
But it was too late.
CLICK.
"BOOM——!!!"
A deafening explosion resounded through the sky, with blazing flames instantly engulfing the area within dozens of meters.
"Barrier Shield!"
Though Lindbergh promptly deployed a protective barrier from his backpack, he was still sent flying by the shockwave, sparks crackling from his jetpack.
"Cough... cough..."
Belo Betty climbed up from the dust, her vibrant red hair already grayed by ash. Her left arm hung unnaturally, clearly broken by the blast impact.
"These maniacs..."
The ensuing battle turned into a brutal cleanup operation.
Every corner hid pirates ready to die together; every shadow concealed a poisoned dagger.
The Revolutionary Army had to advance carefully, making the cleanup operation exceptionally difficult.
"Three o'clock direction!"
Sabo suddenly shouted, his steel pipe flying like lightning.
It accurately pierced through the hand of a pirate preparing to throw another explosive device.
Koala's team was specifically responsible for detecting traps.
Her slender fingers deftly disassembled one simple explosive device after another, sweat droplets continuously falling from her forehead.
"These people... are simply insane."
By the time the last stubborn pirate was subdued, dawn had quietly arrived.
...
In the morning light, the arena was in complete disarray, filled with charred explosion marks and dried bloodstains everywhere.
Sabo leaned wearily against a broken wall, the wound on his right leg still oozing blood.
Belo Betty was using a torn flagpole to brace her fractured arm, yet a stubborn smile remained on her face.
"We... won," Lindbergh gasped for breath, two-thirds of his equipment already destroyed.
Dragon's figure appeared before them, his gaze sweeping over each battle-scarred warrior as he gave a slight nod.
"Well done."
Three simple words, yet they made everyone straighten their backs.
This brutal struggle had ultimately ended in a victory for the Revolutionary Army.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Douglas Bullet's massive frame slowly emerged from the shadows, each step causing the ground to tremble slightly.
A playful smile hung at the corner of his mouth.
CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.
Slow, powerful applause echoed peculiarly through the silent arena as Bullet walked toward the Revolutionary Army members, his heavy military boots crunching crisply on the rubble.
"Brilliant. Truly brilliant."
His voice was as coarse as sandpaper, carrying undeniable authority. "I never expected you little Revolutionary Army brats to actually be the last ones standing."
As he spoke, he suddenly reached into his coat.
He pulled out a crimson Devil Fruit covered in swirling patterns, seemingly glowing with inner heat.
He casually tossed it toward Sabo.
WHOOSH.
The fruit traced a graceful arc through the air before being caught steadily by Sabo.
The moment it touched his hand, Sabo felt its scorching temperature, as if holding a red-hot branding iron.
"According to the rules..." Bullet suddenly dropped his smile, and the temperature in the entire arena seemed to plummet.
"This Admiral-level Magma-Magma Fruit belongs to you."
He deliberately emphasized the words "Admiral-level."
Then, his tone shifted as Conqueror's Haki surged through the arena like a tidal wave, pressing down on the exhausted revolutionaries.
"But there's one condition—you must eat it right here, in front of me."
He bared his teeth in a savage grimace.
"Otherwise... none of you will leave the Eternal Divine Kingdom alive. I don't give prizes to people who sell them for cash."
This blatant threat instantly froze the air.
The Revolutionary Army members' expressions changed drastically.
Belo Betty's flag stirred without wind, Lindbergh looked guarded and ready for battle despite his broken gear, and Sabo's hand holding the fruit trembled slightly.
He wasn't trembling from fear, but from the weight of the choice.
This was the power of Akainu—the Marine's most destructive force.
Dragon's cloak swayed gently, his green tattoo faintly visible in the morning light.
All Revolutionary Army soldiers unanimously turned their gaze toward their Leader, awaiting his decision.
The silence lasted for ten long seconds.
Finally, Dragon gave an almost imperceptible nod.
"Sabo. Eat it."
The others also nodded, all raising their hands in agreement.
Aside from Sabo, the Chief of Staff and Dragon's right hand, no one present was more suitable to wield this power.
The Logia-type Magma ability, once mastered, would grant him combat power rivaling an Admiral.
Sabo looked at the fruit, then at Dragon, and finally at Bullet.
"Understood."
He lifted the burning red fruit to his lips.
"Then I... I'll eat it."