At the same time, in another place, Moriah was gravely receiving an uninvited guest—Kuma.
Orochimaru's Shadow Clone was focused on studying the shadow in the bottle. He had specifically asked Moriah to prepare a rat's shadow as a test subject for him. Although Moriah was unwilling, seeing the glass bottle now, he knew the outcome.
Kuma stared intently at Orochimaru with a puzzled look, and Orochimaru's Shadow Clone also curiously looked back at Kuma. At this time, the Shadow Clone, not yet merged with the Main Body, had not received the latest memories. However, from Kuma's complex expression, the Shadow Clone could clearly sense that Kuma seemed to have revealed some important information to the Main Body.
Moriah, with a strange look, sized up the two, wondering to himself: Do they know each other? But soon, Moriah felt that this had little to do with him. So, he turned his gaze back to Kuma, just as he was about to speak... Suddenly, three zombie minions, who had always obeyed Moriah, came running over, loudly chattering. They were panic-stricken, shouting: "Lord Moriah, this is bad! This Thriller Bark is finally going to sail out of the Sea of Fog!! It's all Oars' fault!! Lord Moriah!!"
Hearing this news, Moriah frowned, an impatient look on his face, and glared at them fiercely. Then, Moriah walked straight to Kuma, standing face to face with him. In contrast, Orochimaru next to them appeared exceptionally short, like a delicate doll, exuding a unique sense of contrast in this tense atmosphere.
Moriah stared intently at Kuma and said in a calm tone: "So noisy! So what? We are pirates, and it makes no difference to us where we are on the sea."
Immediately after, the corners of his mouth curved slightly as he looked at Kuma: "More importantly, we have a rare guest among rare guests visiting. All of you, shut up. Right, Bartholomew Kuma, the only Shichibukai who obeys the World Government. It seems the Government values you quite a lot. So, what are your intentions? People like you are the most terrifying existence."
Kuma looked at Moriah expressionlessly, and after a moment of silence, calmly asked: "If it's a trip, where do you want to go?"
Moriah turned his head away, bored, "Hey, hey... don't try that. I know about your abilities. You're not here to fight me, are you? Tell me, why did you specifically come here?" Moriah picked up Orochimaru, who was still researching, and placed him in his palm, walking towards the balcony, intending to show Orochimaru how useless his Companions were.
Kuma's voice was very calm, "After the Seven Warlords of the Sea Crocodile resigned, his successor has been confirmed."
Moriah chuckled, "You should have said it was about this earlier. Who is it from which sea? There are countless pirates, but at least the vacancy is filled, isn't that good? This way, the world's balance and such can be maintained, right?"
Kuma continued, "The successor's name is Marshall D. Teach, the man known as Blackbeard, a man who escaped from the Whitebeard Crew. The whole world is already in an uproar over this, but it hasn't reached your Sea of Fog yet."
Upon hearing this, Moriah had no particular reaction yet, but Orochimaru's face instantly darkened, as if a storm was about to break. Seeing this, Moriah felt a little flustered and quickly asked, "Hey... my friend... what's wrong with you?"
Just then, a shrill scream suddenly came. Moriah trembled all over, startled by the scream. He quickly looked out to the balcony. Oars was currently tightly entwined by a giant python, his massive body appearing incredibly small under the python's constricting grip. As the python continued to tighten, Oars' bones made a grinding, cracking sound, sharp and piercing, as if announcing the arrival of a disaster. Moriah's eyes widened, and he shouted in shock, "What's going on!!! Where did this thing come from!!!"
Ah... Originally, Orochimaru's agitated clone suddenly seemed to be startled awake, snapping back to his senses. He thought to himself, "I'm not the Main Body, why am I getting angry here? The Main Body must have already been angry once, and it seems he's currently taking his anger out on Oars."
Orochimaru's Shadow Clone slowly raised his head and looked at the panicked and terrified Moriah again. For some reason, he suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, and an awkward feeling instantly welled up in his heart. So, he lightly coughed, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere, and then said, "My dear friend Moriah... actually... that snake is me, or to be precise, it's my Main Body."
Moriah looked at Orochimaru blankly, completely unable to comprehend his words. His eyes widened, and he asked in confusion, "What did you say? That's you???? Then what are you?"
The Shadow Clone was even more embarrassed now. He lowered his head slightly, thought for a moment, and then explained, "I am a Shadow Clone, you can understand me as a split body. Although we are the same person, during the split, memories are not shared. Only when I return to the Main Body will memories synchronize. Looking at Oars' current state, it's highly likely he provoked the Main Body. Alas, he's basically beyond saving... How about... after you're defeated by Luffy, I'll compensate you with a better one?"
Moriah's face alternated between green and pale. His gaze was fixed on Oars, who was controlled by Orochimaru and then ganged up on by the Straw Hat Crew. A sense of frustration welled up in his heart, feeling that his meticulously planned scheme had been ruined by his friend. However, what could he do when he was outmatched?
Moriah was indeed one of the earliest Shichibukai; even in such a chaotic and shocking situation, he could quickly adjust his emotions. He merely lifted his chin slightly, and the familiar curve returned to his lips, letting out his characteristic "Geh-geh-geh" laugh. A hint of playfulness and doubt appeared in his eyes as he stared directly at Orochimaru and slowly said, "Orochimaru... do you really believe in that useless Captain of yours? Just now, he chased me for so long but never managed to hit me. Didn't you see it clearly from the shadows too? I really don't understand what kind of person like him managed to earn your favor.
And also, when the Straw Hat boy arrived just now, you subconsciously dodged, didn't you? From your action, it's clear that you seem to care a lot about his opinion.
You don't seem to want him to know you're here with me. Actually, you know very well, don't you, that people like us won't be easily understood by those who are full of light.
After all, we walk in the darkness, and what we pursue and the principles we uphold are completely different from theirs. They have firm justice and beliefs in their hearts, while we, in this complex world, stop at nothing to achieve our goals.
Our existence, to them, might be a threat, or perhaps an incomprehensible anomaly. That's why you act with such caution and care when facing them."
Listening to Moriah's analysis, Orochimaru's expression became extremely complex. He really wanted to say, "You're overthinking it... Luffy doesn't have that kind of brain..." but the words caught in his throat, feeling that saying so would be disrespectful to Luffy.
In reality, he dodged Luffy simply because Luffy was too boisterous. Once Luffy got angry, he was really hard to appease. Imagining Luffy's stubbornness and relentless persistence when angry gave Orochimaru a headache.
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