Different Ways of Thinking in Battle!
Under the night sky, Vidal's avatar, 'Osiris', was basically being overwhelmed by Moria's shadow blades, but fortunately, 'Apis Divine Bull' was desperately supporting him from the side, so there was no complete crushing defeat.
But this is not the image Vidal wants to project to the world!
Since we can't win in a direct confrontation, we'll resort to tactics.
"Hehehe, weren't you very arrogant before?"
"I'll make you regret everything you've done!" Despite his large size, Moria was surprisingly agile. With a wild laugh, the massive shadow blade in his hand seemed invisible in the night, making its trajectory extremely indistinct.
But this was no problem for Vidal, who possessed Observation Haki.
Faced with the shadow blade slashing down from above, this time Vidal did not choose to block it with a punch. Instead, he transformed his left arm into a snake-like, curved wooden strip to meet it.
"Wood Killing Bind!"
To Moria's astonishment, it spun sideways around the edge of the shadow blade, coiled along the wrist gripping the hilt, and then tightened forcefully, instantly immobilizing the swinging motion.
Moria had seen those Wood Clones use it before, but he never expected that when Vidal's main body used it, both the attack speed and the restraining effect would be so strong. He only felt a slight pain in his entire right arm.
But Vidal's offensive was not over yet. His empty right fist swung out, and the darkness made the green light on his body shine even brighter.
[Bang!!]
Instead of attacking Moria's head, the emerald green gauntlets slammed into his abdomen. He remembered that the future Straw Hat Pilgrim had done the same thing, so since there was a successful example to follow, he would just do it.
"Ugh--"
Moria bent over in pain, his powerful strength pushing him backward, but the wooden strip wrapped around his right arm wouldn't allow him to do so. Vidal pulled Moria back with his left hand!
[Bang!]
Another heavy punch landed on Moria's abdomen, causing him excruciating pain and making him feel nauseous. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to vomit something at Vidal in front of him.
To be honest, this really gave Vidal a surprise.
Keep in mind that his current form is not much different from Enel's Thor form in the future.
Both involve releasing all the stored elements within the body at once, so whether you're hit or vomited, it's equivalent to experiencing it firsthand.
This approach is illogical; if you're facing someone with stronger Armament Haki, you're simply increasing your attack range.
However, growing to a gigantic size isn't without its advantages. With increased size comes greater attack power. Don't get hung up on density or science in this regard; it's meaningless. Just know that your raw power has increased.
Furthermore, Vidal's Haki level is now stronger than Moria's, so there's nothing wrong with this approach of enlarging his physical form.
"What's going on? He hasn't spat out the shadow yet?" Vidal asked, somewhat puzzled after throwing two punches.
The power of my two punches shouldn't be less than that of Luffy in the future, but this guy just keeps yelling in pain without saying anything.
"Hateful!"
"Let me go, you bastard!!" Moria screamed, and the next moment, the shadow blade in his hand detached on its own and stabbed viciously toward 'Osiris's' neck.
The Shadow Blade was originally the domain of the Doppelman, and therefore was completely under the control of its master's will, making it extremely flexible.
That was a brilliant move. If Vidal hadn't possessed Observation Haki, he might have actually been injured.
In the live stream watched by countless people, two thick arms grew from 'Osiris's' shoulders. The green armor and Haki that had just been formed instantly appeared on them. The two palms clashed forcefully against the incoming shadow blade, catching it tightly with bare hands!
"Good!"
"Well done!"
Exclamations and exclamations of surprise erupted throughout the various districts of Sabaody.
As more and more people came to understand the identities of the two sides in the battle, basically 80% of them were praying that Vidal would be able to defeat Moria.
They didn't want a terrifying pirate like Moria wreaking havoc on the island; compared to that, Vidal's Justice Coat was more reassuring.
[Bang! Bang! Bang!]
Ignoring the shadow blade that was only meters away from his neck, Vidal relentlessly pounded Moria's abdomen again and again.
If one or two punches don't work, then three or ten punches will do. Even if you don't spit out your shadow, I'll beat you to death sooner or later if I keep hitting you!
I may not be as strong as you, but I won't try to outmuscle you. Instead, I'll use my skills to entangle your right arm and seal your shadow blade, making it impossible for you to attack or defend, or even to easily create distance!
This is the difference between Vidal and Moria, or rather, most people in this world—the difference in their fighting philosophies.
In the world of Pirate King, the higher the level, the less skill is required in the competition.
Regardless of the Devil Fruit's power, and whether one specializes in swordsmanship or physical combat, in the end it all comes down to a contest of pure strength and speed, with strength often being more important than speed.
Even Enel with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and Borsalino with the Glint-Glint Fruit, when faced with a strong opponent of equal strength or in the end, had to roll up their sleeves and fight in close combat.
In this respect, battles between Swordsmen are relatively better, and skills can play a significant role, but there are really not many true Swordsmen outside of Wano Country.
Just because someone carries a sword doesn't make Swordsman!
Although Vidal now adapted to local customs by growing to gigantic size and engaging in close combat, his combat mindset dictates that his fighting style is not simply about reckless charging!
Just like now, he fused his fighting skills with his tree-transformation ability, binding Moria's right arm while his left arm, transformed into a wooden plank, continued to spread up his arm.
This startled Moria, who was being repeatedly struck in the abdomen; these disgusting wooden splinters were clearly aimed at his neck.
"Doppelman!"
"Disperse!"
The shadow blade held between his two palms instantly split, transforming into black bats that scattered and fled before quickly coalescing in mid-air.
"Shadow Warrior!"
Just as the wooden stick was about to strangle his neck, Moria instantly switched between Shadow Warrior and Doppelman.
"Trouble."
Seeing that he had only 'strangled' the Doppelman by the neck, Vidal looked angrily at Moria had appeared in another location.
That's what makes the Shadow-Shadow Fruit so troublesome!
It must be admitted that Moria developed the power of this fruit extremely well.
"We must restrict his movement, otherwise, if this guy wants to escape, we really won't be able to catch him." Vidal, in his guise as 'Osiris,' vividly frowned.
"This, this guy is terrifying!" Moria was also terrified by what happened to the Doppelman, and looked at Vidal with lingering fear.
Even though I have the advantage in strength, why is it so difficult to win the fight?
That fighting style, where they turn your arms into wooden strips Coating around you, is absolutely disgusting. You can easily get your joints immobilized if you're not careful.
"Create distance! We must create distance and hit him with slashing attacks!"
The Doppelman acted on his whim, transforming once more into a swarm of bats that moved away from Vidal, before coalescing again into a massive shadow blade in his hand.
Although this power gave him the upper hand, the situation of having to use Flying Slashes to counter it was frustrating, but Moria really couldn't think of any other way.
But just as he was about to swing his knife, he was surprised to see a strange smile on Vidal's face.
"Got it."
Vidal seems to have come up with a solution!
Can anyone guess what plan Vidal has come up with? If nothing unexpected happens, this battle should end in the next chapter or two.