Half a month later, in the waters off Alabasta.
A pirate ship flying the bat skull flag of the Moria Pirates was slowly sailing toward Alabasta.
This ship was now Moria's flagship, but rather than possessing the grandeur of his former Thriller Bark, it was riddled with holes and in a state of ruin, as though it had just endured a battle as fierce as a storm.
And that was indeed the case.
"That madman."
Absalom, currently moonlighting as the shipwright, looked at the large hole that had recently been blasted into the deck and said gloomily:
"Didn't we just 'borrow' a ship from him?"
"He actually chased us all the way to Alabasta!"
This time, Perona did not echo her companion's rather shameless words, because she knew that Moria had done far more than simply borrow the other party's ship.
That unfortunate pirate crew had kindly rescued the shipwrecked Moria and his group from the sea, only to immediately suffer Moria's betrayal.
Other than the captain, who escaped alone, every crew member had their shadow stripped away by Moria and became prisoners who could only hide below deck, unable to see the light. Their pirate ship had also been seized by Moria and turned into his flagship.
It could truly be said that the entire crew had been wiped out.
Yet unexpectedly, that pretty-boy captain who had escaped alone had not fled in disgrace to live out the rest of his life in cowardice. Instead, he had latched onto Moria's group like a mad dog and refused to let go.
"He probably can't let go of the companions he treasures, right?"
Perona muttered sentimentally to herself, then reached out to gently stroke the pet horse standing at her side.
"Right, Faruru?"
The pure white horse, without a single speck