Gecko Moria, the tallest man among the Shichibukai.
Although Moria's long neck and round, flask-shaped body made him look somewhat comical, his full seven-meter height still gave him an imposing presence.
Yet this mighty Shichibukai was currently in a truly miserable situation.
His Thriller Bark had been breached by enemies, his zombie army mowed down like grass, and his three monster subordinates all lay unconscious with foam at their mouths. Even Moria himself could only crawl beneath his enemy's Conqueror's Haki, unable to straighten up.
"Black Blade Shusui?"
His enemy, an old man with white hair and beard but still knotted muscles and vigorous spirits, could not even be bothered to look at him. Instead, he idly examined his spoils of war.
"I didn't expect a little exercise outing to bring such a reward."
Moria's body trembled constantly as he lay on the ground. His eyes were filled with suppressed resentment, yet he ultimately did not dare raise his head to look directly at the famed Dark King Rayleigh.
His courage had long since been spent in the New World. Now, he was merely a local tyrant hiding in the first half of the Grand Line, stealing the shadows of passersby.
But Moria had never imagined that even while quietly developing his zombie-making business in this backwater, he would attract someone like Dark King Rayleigh for a "visit."
And it was all because of a skeleton—a skeleton whose shadow Moria had once stolen.
The skeleton swordsman Brook's flesh had long decayed, leaving behind only old bones and a fluffy afro preserved because its dense keratin was not easily broken down by microorganisms.
From the leisurely conversation between his three enemies, Moria roughly figured out why he had been so unlucky.
Years ago, Brook had promised his pet whale that they