Moria's Ambition

"Where am I?" Moria scrambled to his feet, looking around at the dark woods in confusion.

"Have no idea."

Ochoku walked over, panting. He was in good condition; his powerful Haki, combined with the armor he wore—a special piece made by the top master craftsman of the Flower Country —had protected him from the icy storm.

"But no matter where this is, it's much better than before!"

"Yes, that's a close call getting rid of that Sengoku without any real danger." Moria nodded in agreement.

Just then, 'Silver Axe' walked over silently, but he was missing a knight's shield and only had a long-handled axe in his hand.

Next, the other crew members gradually gathered around, and Moria secretly counted them and found that forty-one people had survived.

"I wonder what happened to Captain John?" Moria asked with a worried expression.

"I'm fine."

Suddenly, John emerged from the dark woods, but he looked much more miserable.

His clothes were tattered and torn, and he was covered in frostbite and scratches, the most serious injuries being to his chest and right arm.

He had been struck in the chest by a Warring Sengoku 'Buddha's Wrath Shockwave', although his own slash had absorbed most of its power.

But he ate the rest of the food, so now he's having trouble breathing, which is clearly a sign of internal organ damage.

As for his arm, it was accidentally touched by that wretched woman during the storm.

His entire right arm went limp on the spot, and was then frozen by a large amount of cold air and snowflakes. Although he immediately shattered all the ice and frost with his Haki, the frostbite was already left behind.

Although such a 'minor injury' can be healed by eating the flesh of a Sea Kings and resting for three or four days, it seems that such conditions are not available now.

However, it's already quite remarkable that they were able to escape from Sengoku and Tsuru and survive.

This air of freedom was enough to make John feel gratified and fortunate; in this mood, the jungle, which was like a ghost town, seemed much more endearing.

"Captain, I think I know where we are, but I'm not entirely sure," Moria said hesitantly.

As soon as he said that, everyone's eyes were on him.

"Could this be the island you mentioned, the one deepest in the Misty Sea?" John asked excitedly.

"Possibly, but we'll need to look around. If that big castle is here, then it should be it." Moria nodded.

"But everyone must be careful. If this is really the place, there should be a lot of terrifying zombies." Moria looked shaken.

"I was driven out by a bunch of zombies that crawled out of the ground, but that was eight years ago."

"Zombies? Hah!"

John was amused by this, and not only him, but Ochoku and the others also found it very funny, while curiously glancing around.

It wasn't that they didn't believe in zombies; after all, they'd traveled all over the country for years—what hadn't they seen?

Winged Skypieans, Fish-Men from the bottom of the ocean, giants tens of meters tall, and the Mink Tribe that looks like animals, and so on.

Zombies only pique their interest; it would be better to catch one and play with it!

"Hey, don't laugh. I was only ten years old back then, of course I was terrified of those zombies," Moria shouted in shame and indignation.

"Let's go take a look. Hopefully, this is the island you were talking about!" John, with his left hand on his chest and his right arm hanging limply, took the lead and walked into the depths of the jungle.

Ochoku, Silver Axe, and the others exchanged glances and followed closely behind the captain. Moria's gaze turned sinister in the crowd.

It was a complex look in his eyes, a mixture of tension, excitement, stimulation, fear, and other emotions.

The moment the John Pirates, having suffered more than half their losses, finally emerged from the dense forest, everyone immediately noticed the blurry shadow of a castle in the far distance.

"It really is here! Captain, it really is here!" Moria shouted excitedly, pointing at the castle.

"I saw it, you did a great job!" John was very pleased that Moria hadn't lied to him.

A few months ago, they met Moria, who wanted to join them, in a bar on a small island.

At that time, Moria, this young man, made no secret of his admiration for this legendary figure, and even demonstrated his Shadow-Shadow Fruit abilities.

But John rejected him outright, because he wanted to preserve the pirate crew's style, which was to only have non-Devil Fruit users who were swordsmen as crew members.

The term "sword master" here doesn't just refer to Swordsman, but to a warrior at the level of a sword master. It doesn't matter if you use a sword, a spear, or an axe, as long as you can unleash Flying Slash!

Disappointed but unwilling to give up, Moria turned around and said to them just as he was about to leave the bar that he knew of an uninhabited island deep in the Misty Sea, where an ancient castle existed.

This appealed to John, as he did need a sufficiently secluded base, preferably one where he could feel safe moving the Rocks' Treasure there.

He immediately approved Moria's application to join the crew, but warned him that if he didn't find him within a year, he shouldn't blame him for feeding him to the Sea Kings!

What Moria didn't know was that if he hadn't successfully joined, there would have been absolutely no way he would have left that island alive.

Because John and his men would slaughter all the inhabitants of the island before leaving, to ensure their whereabouts would not be discovered.

Even if they were just chatting and laughing with the bartender and the waiters, they would never hesitate to strike.

Later, after Moria participated in an island massacre, his entire back was soaked in cold sweat, and he realized the enormous risk he had taken.

But now it seems that the risks and rewards are truly equal, and the time to reap the rewards is just around the corner!

Although a snowstorm nearly cost him his life, he managed to arrive here safely.

On their way to the castle, they did encounter dozens of zombies crawling out of the ground, but the curious swordsmen had a lot of fun with them.

"This isn't just one castle, it's a complex of castles!" John exclaimed in astonishment as he looked at the magnificent and enormous structure before him.

This is truly an excellent base camp, it's just too dark. He pondered to himself.

If I move all the treasure here, and then go out and hire some servants, wouldn't I be able to retire here in peace and comfort?

Once this thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed. The solemn oath he had made earlier was actually his heartfelt wish.

He was genuinely tired of the unsettled life at sea, and he was also fed up with killing. Plus, he was getting old, so it was time to prepare for the future.

However, John glanced at Ochoku, Silver Axe, and the others beside him, seemingly unintentionally; he had never considered sharing the treasure with them.

The most crucial point is that, besides him, only Ochoku and Silver Axe know the location of Rocks' treasure.

As for the others, they all joined later.

Therefore, if you want to completely monopolize all the treasure, you must get rid of these two guys.

What John didn't notice was that when he glanced at Ochoku and the Silver Axe, Moria in the crowd was also watching him.

"Hehehe, it'll be soon, it'll be soon! Your body will soon be mine!"

Moria desperately wanted John's shadow, but he dared not take such a great risk. It was a pity, but only John's death could put his mind at ease.

And then there's the legendary Rocks Treasure. If he could get his hands on it, he'd have the resources to build the strongest and largest pirate crew!

At that time, as long as I find a group of reliable and powerful partners, I might be able to become the second Rocks to rule the New World.

I'm desperately asking for your votes! This book is currently ranked 20th on the new fanfiction chart, please help me get back into the top ten! I beg you all!