"Is this all the Revolutionary Army is capable of?" Hancock mocked, throwing Moria's earlier words back at him.
Moria's brow furrowed, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes. "Don't get too cocky, Pirate Empress!"
"Cocky? Are you misunderstanding something?" Hancock let out a soft laugh, tilting her head. "I was merely... asking a very ordinary question!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the Conqueror's Haki radiating from her body began to solidify, swirling and condensing around her legs.
Having once clashed with Kaido, Moria instantly recognized the technique.
"Impossible... Conqueror's Haki Infusion?!" Moria exclaimed in shock.
Possessing Conqueror's Haki was one thing, but being able to 'infuse' it was an entirely different level of mastery. Looking at Hancock's age, she appeared to be only in her twenties, such talent and potential were staggering.
"In my presence, nothing is impossible!" Hancock declared with supreme arrogance.
In the next heartbeat, her silhouette blurred. Using Soru, she closed the distance to Moria at an incredible speed.
"Shadow Shield!" Moria roared.
He thrust his hand forward, pulling a mass of shadows from the ground that instantly formed a spiked shield.
Hancock ignored the shield entirely, delivering a fierce kick. Before the spikes could even touch her, they began to petrify. An instant later, the shield was shattered into pieces by the powerful kick infused with Conqueror's Haki.
It was then that Moria swung a massive fist, coated in Armament Haki, taking advantage of his height to smash down at Hancock from above.
"Die!" Moria howled.
However, Hancock, a master of the Rokushiki, showed no sign of panic. Her initial kick transitioned into a series of mid-air steps; in a flash, she kicked the air dozens of times, using Geppo to adjust her body's position with fluid grace.
Spinning around, she launched a return kick aimed directly at Moria's fist.
Moria's heart jumped. Not daring to make direct contact with Hancock's petrifying kick, he forced his fist back and retreated a step.
But before he could even plant his foot, Hancock's finger was already pressed against his protruding belly!
"Kuja's Kiss!" Hancock uttered softly.
This technique, similar to the Rokushiki Shigan, combined the archery principles of Amazon Lily with her Conqueror's Haki and the powers of the Love-Love Fruit. The force exploded from her three slender fingers.
"Argh...!" Moria wailed in agony.
His massive frame was pierced by a concentrated blast of energy, causing blood to spray. Simultaneously, the area of his abdomen where she struck began to petrify. The pressure from her fingers then crushed the stone, turning flesh and blood into stone powder that crumbled away from his stomach.
Hancock had no intention of stopping there. Pausing for a fraction of a second, she stepped forward, closing the remaining gap between her and Moria.
She pulled her hands back and joined them together in a stance reminiscent of the Rokuogan, thrusting them violently toward Moria's wounded abdomen once more.
"Secret Technique: Fragrant Orchid!" Hancock cried out.
Upon impact, the muscles and skin of Moria's abdomen rippled like waves on the surface of a pond after a stone is thrown.
A moment later, the ripples began to petrify. Moria's eyes rolled back, his mouth hanging open as he involuntarily spat out a mouthful of blood.
Just as the petrifying ripples reached the second layer, Moria's eyes snapped back to focus. He forcibly swallowed the remaining blood, relaxed his stance, and used the momentum of the blow to throw himself backward. Simultaneously, his abdomen rapidly transformed into shadow.
It was Doppelman!
Moria was capable of using his Shadow-Shadow Fruit to achieve an effect similar to Logia transformation, essentially swapping parts of his body, or his entire self, with his shadow!
With a sharp crack, the shadow at his abdomen completely petrified and shattered, falling to the ground.
Once Moria caught his breath, the shadow disappeared and his physical abdomen reappeared. The injury remained, a basin-sized petrified area that had crumbled away, but at least he hadn't been critically incapacitated by Hancock's move.
At this stage, although Moria was still being suppressed by Hancock, it was clear he was beginning to find her rhythm and spot openings. Given Moria's current strength, if the fight continued, he might actually hold his own against her. The final outcome would be anyone's guess.
However, before Moria could make another move, a firework suddenly exploded in the sky. Moria looked up and gave a sinister grin. "This is where we part for now, Pirate Empress... Next time we meet, it won't be this simple!"
As he spoke, Moria slammed his palm onto the ground, causing the earth to crack.
His form suddenly dissolved into shadow, abruptly vanishing from the sight of Hancock and Doflamingo.
"This is...?" Hancock scanned the area with her Observation Haki but couldn't find a single trace.
"I don't know the specifics, but he's been cornered by CP agencies many times and still managed to escape Kaido years ago. It proves he's quite the expert when it comes to running away..." Doflamingo said, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
"He merely fled like a pathetic cur," Hancock snorted arrogantly.
Doflamingo remained silent, offering no rebuttal. Hancock had a point, and besides, how could he argue? He had almost been broken by Moria, whereas Hancock had overwhelmed him the moment she stepped in. It was best not to provoke this arrogant but undeniably powerful woman.
Moving past the topic, Doflamingo added, "But that Commander... there's something wrong with him."
Hancock was about to speak, but she suddenly paused and looked toward the shadows of the ruins. From beneath the rubble, a gnarled arm thrust out, pushing aside a heavy stone to reveal a hideous, distorted face.
"What is this?" Hancock asked, sounding genuinely puzzled.
Doflamingo, far more world-weary, frowned. "There were rumors for a while about a zombie outbreak in the first half of the Grand Line... I suppose this is it."
As if they had been lying in ambush, zombies began crawling out from the earth, mindlessly attacking any 'living' thing in sight.
However, by this time, most of the Revolutionary Army and the Royal Army had already retreated into the Royal Palace. Consequently, the primary victims were the rebel forces who had just breached the city walls.
Meanwhile, at the Oasis Hotel, Diarmuid stood by the window watching the scene unfold. Is this a sudden Resident Evil spin-off? he wondered.
He soon realized the truth and whispered, "Dragon and the others are making their move to escape. Heh, did they fail in the end?"
After a short pause, Diarmuid murmured, "Though, perhaps it wasn't a total failure..."
Diarmuid turned back to look at Spandine, who was sitting on the sofa with a long face. He smiled. "Still agonizing over it?"
"The orders from above were to bring back both of them. Now, Who's-Who has only captured Cobra and is transporting him to the port, but Princess Vivi slipped away. Admiral, how am I supposed to explain this to the Gorosei?" Spandine said helplessly.
He didn't dare complain to Diarmuid directly; he knew how things had played out, but he was deeply worried about the fallout.
"Just find a suitable person to take the blame," Diarmuid said casually.
"Where am I going to find a 'suitable' person? Am I supposed to sell out my subordinates? That wouldn't be right..." Spandine said, feigning hesitation, though he looked genuinely tempted by the idea.
As expected, the man had no morals. Diarmuid didn't bother correcting him; such a character flaw was irrelevant to the bigger picture.
Before Diarmuid could speak again, a violent explosion rocked the city center. A thick, purple mist began to billow out from the epicenter.
"This is...?" Diarmuid watched with surprise, finding the scene oddly familiar.
Before he could place the feeling of déjà vu, more of these strange explosions went off in sequence across Alubarna. Massive clouds of purple gas began to blanket the city.
After observing for a moment, Diarmuid's brow furrowed. "It's Crocodile. Your scapegoat has arrived. That fellow truly never had good intentions; he plans to bury everyone in Alubarna in one go."
Spandine scurried to Diarmuid's side, asking anxiously, "Admiral, what is that?"
"Toxins. It was a weapon of mass destruction that the Marine Special Science Group banned and ceased researching. Now that I've said that, you should know whose story I'm telling, right?" Diarmuid smirked.
"Caesar Clown?" Spandine gulped.
"Exactly. See? I told you that man's threat level is no less than that of a Great Pirate. Look, with just one weapon, he can potentially wipe Alubarna off the map..." Diarmuid pointed toward the scenes where the toxic mist had passed.
It looked as though the world had been frozen. Walls, ruins, and people alike were covered in a white, shell-like coating, rendered motionless as if they were already dead.
The eerie gas continued to erupt, with explosions popping off in various corners of Alubarna, releasing more of the toxic clouds.
Meanwhile, in Rainbase, Caesar Clown was cornered by Vice Admiral Dalmatian and his men. Marine soldiers surrounded him on all sides, with X Drake present as well.
"Did you think Crocodile could protect you, 'Doctor' Caesar?" Dalmatian sneered.
"I am a subordinate of a Warlord of the Sea! According to the treaty, I have the right to pardon! You can't do this to me!" Caesar squealed in fear.
"A Warlord? Sorry, but he has no authority over me!" Dalmatian barked.
As a 'Hawk' faction Marine, he had no intention of honoring the Warlord system, especially since Crocodile wasn't even there to intervene.
"I've planted massive amounts of toxic gas in Alubarna! You should know what that gas does—its power was proven at Punk Hazard! Without my confirmation, they will detonate in three hours! If you arrest me now, you're sentencing everyone in Alubarna to death!" Caesar shrieked in terror.
This gave Dalmatian pause. He frowned, realizing the situation was becoming thorny. Because he had accepted the mission to capture Caesar, he understood the horrors of what happened at Punk Hazard better than most. If those toxins were unleashed in Alubarna...
Just then, the Den Den Mushi on Drake's person began to ring. He stepped back, answered a few questions, and his expression turned grim. Hanging up, he walked over to Dalmatian and whispered, "Vice Admiral, the toxic gas has already been triggered in Alubarna... If I'm not mistaken, Crocodile did it!"
"Damn it!" Dalmatian cursed. He stepped forward and kicked Caesar squarely in the face, sending blood spraying from the scientist's nose.
Dalmatian then grabbed Caesar by the throat and hoisted him up. "You were played for a fool by Crocodile, you idiot! Now, tell me you have an antidote, or I'll kill you right here and now, mission failure be damned!"