Inside the castle, Gawain raised his hand and sheathed his long sword, holding the blade up in front of him for a moment to examine it.
The jet-black blade was like a black hole, seemingly swallowing all the light within it.
After a moment, Gawain nodded and said.
"A fine knife!"
"Indeed, Captain."
Beside him, Yixiao nodded in agreement and smiled.
"As you know, I am not a dedicated swordsman. I didn't practice swordsmanship at all in the beginning."
Even the reason I picked up the Cane Sword was because I was blind, so I just randomly chose any weapon to use as a walking stick.
However, after wielding this longsword for over a decade, I have not only learned how to use it, but have also developed several of my own gravity sword techniques.
But ultimately, my swordsmanship serves my abilities; I am unworthy of the title of Great Swordsman.
However, even I felt my swordsmanship improved by leaps and bounds when I got my hands on this sword.
"That was of course my misperception. It's just that this Shusui can indeed save you and me a lot of energy when using swordsmanship, and can also slightly amplify the effect and damage of swordsmanship."
As soon as he finished speaking, he smiled and drew his Cane Sword.
"Compared to this, I really do want to get a more suitable knife."
However, although this knife in my hand is not Great Grade Swords, it has been with me for more than ten years.
Forget it, at my age, as long as my strength can be improved slightly while remaining stable, that's enough. I no longer need to look for other paths as a breakthrough.
"I must face future enemies alongside my old friends. Famous Sword like Shusui is more suitable to be entrusted to a new generation of great swordsmen like you, sir—one whose strength is still improving and whose style is not yet fully formed."
As soon as he finished speaking, he smiled and tucked his Cane Sword back into his waistband, then nodded to Gawain.
"By the way, sir, the people on the Thriller Bark have been mostly cleared out."
"I'll bring Moria here now; I'm sure you have something to say to him."
"Good."
Gawain nodded, smiled, and turned to leave. A short while later, he returned to Gawain carrying Moria and Hogback.
He casually tossed the seemingly broken Moria to the ground, smiled, crossed his arms, and silently stood aside, pursing his lips.
Looking at Moria lay on the ground like a lump of mud, too lazy to even lift his head, Gawain pondered for a moment, then gently clapped his hands.
Slap slap
After two sounds, Gawain laughed.
"How interesting. Back then, the captain of the Thriller Bark Pirates, who dared to challenge even Kaido, and even fought Kaido's Kaido Onigashima, Onigashima, without being at a disadvantage."
"Ha, he's actually become a complete piece of trash who can't even be bothered to lift his head anymore?"
After speaking, Gawain looked at Moria with interest, waiting for Moria's response.
A moment later, Moria's enormous body moved slightly.
He barely managed to lift his head, looked at Gawain with utmost seriousness, and then lay down on the ground again.
Seeing Moria's reaction, Gawain knew that something from his words must have touched the guy.
So, which part exactly?
So Gawain continued tentatively.
"Tsk tsk, if Kaido saw you like this, he'd probably laugh his head off."
After all, everyone would be happy if their enemy was doing worse than themselves, wouldn't they?
After saying that, Gawain looked at Moria. Well, Moria wasn't interested in Kaido.
After all, Kaido had beaten him senseless.
If he still harbors resentment towards Kaido, then he should challenge Kaido again and again, even if he loses repeatedly, he should keep fighting.
After his failure, he simply stopped going to the New World altogether.
Like Crocodile, that guy was also beaten to Whitebeard, so he set his sights on Dark King.
Crocodile's opinion of Whitebeard...
Not only do I not hate them, I even admire them a little...
So, Moria probably felt the same way; to him, Kaido was probably just someone who had beaten him.
So, why did Moria look up?
After thinking for a moment, Gawain suddenly remembered the name of Moria's pirate crew.
Then he had an idea.
"Hehe!"
He suddenly continued.
"Okay, it seems you really are a piece of trash."
Since that's the case, I'll laugh it off. Later, you can take this good-for-nothing and find a suitable place to send him to his death.
As for his pirate ship, wow, such a nice ship, I really like it.
What should I do with this ship? If I use it as my escort ship, won't the other Celestial Dragon criticize me behind my back?
After all, no matter how good the ship is, it's still a pirate ship at heart. What Celestial Dragon would ride on a pirate's ship? It would be too rude.
Or, hehe, how about we trade this nice ship for something suitable?
I heard that Kaido has a very serious conflict with his daughter, to the point that he wants to lock her in Seastone shackles and keep her under 24-hour surveillance.
But his daughter is a prodigy who has eaten the fruit of Mythical Zoan.
"Kaido agree if I offered him the biggest pirate ship on the ocean in exchange for his complicated daughter?"
If this reminds him that it's Moria's ship, then this ship might actually be a plus in Kaido's eyes, making him an enemy!
As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain looked calmly at Moria.
In his eyes, Moria did indeed raise his head again.
Why would Gawain fire at a pirate ship? Who would have thought that Moria cared less about his own defeat and more about the lives of his men and himself?
He only cares about a pirate ship?
First of all, Moria's ship is indeed exceptional; it is indeed the largest pirate ship in the world!
Indeed, this ship is comparable in size to an island. Although it is not as long as the Dark Bird Ship, it is round, and if you take into account its area, the Dark Bird Ship is actually not as big as it!
Even if we only consider the area, the ship of the Gild Tesoro might not be bigger than this ship. In the entire ocean, only the sunken Noah's Ark is larger than the Thriller Bark!
Perhaps it was because Moria loved this ship so much that Moria named his pirate crew the Thriller Bark Pirates!
Of course, the ship is actually called Dread Roar, and the Moria Pirates are actually called the Thriller Bark Pirates.
In any case, it's rare to find many people on the entire ocean who would use their Moria's name as their team's name.
Most pirates use their captain's name as the name of their pirate crew, such as the Whitebeard Pirates and the Red-Haired Pirates.
Many people also name their things after things they like.
For example, the Straw Hat Pirates Heart Pirates.
At the same time, many pirate crews use distinctive features drawn on their pirate flags as their symbols.
The Straw Hat Pirates' flag is also named in a unique way because Luffy drew his favorite thing on it.
As for Moria...
He drew the three masts of his ship on the pirate flag.
Isn't this true love?
This was a test to see what Moria would do with it, and he took the bait. What, then, was the meaning of Dread Roar in Moria's heart?
They can all be drawn on flags. For Dread Roar Moria, it's like Luffy's Straw Hat, Shanks' hair, and Whitebeard's beard!
So what is Gawain's current statement?
Gawain isn't planning to sell a ship.
He's going to steal Luffy's Straw Hat, shave Red-Haired Shanks' head, and even singe off Whitebeard's beard with a lighter!!!
At that moment, Moria's gaze towards Gawain was filled with one sentence.
Are you a devil?!
While still in a daze, Moria instinctively spoke.
"Don't want!
Whoever it is, just don't let it be Kaido!
If you like my ship, take it. Let it continue its glory with you. I can't give it the fame it wants, but someone like you can!
With such powerful subordinates, everything I've longed for my whole life is here with you!
Take it all, take everything I have. You didn't harm my current subordinates, you're not trash like Kaido, so take whatever you want!
But under no circumstances should I hand my ship over to Kaido!
That bastard will never be worthy of controlling the Dread Roar!!!
As soon as he finished speaking, Moria struggled to his feet.
Looking at Gawain, he was panting heavily, and his hands were trembling with nervousness.
In other words, the Terrifying Roar didn't have the key to start it, otherwise it would have wanted to eat the key right now.
As for Gawain...
He met Moria's utterly dejected gaze, which still seemed to regard him as the devil.
Gawain smiled and shook his head.
"You bastard, you've finally looked me in the eye. Good for you."
The way you were before, you looked like a pile of shit. Maybe I'd be willing to chat with shit for a bit when I'm bored.
But when I came here, I wanted an excellent subordinate who had fought Kaido for three days and three nights. I came with expectations.
I'm not bored at all, but I still prefer you the way you are now, haha!
Gawain smiled and shook his head, then gently pulled out the Shusui from his hand.
Gawain couldn't help but glance at Shusui's blade again, and continued.
"Ah, this is a fine knife; the more I look at it, the more satisfied I become."
My swordsmanship has not yet reached its peak. Before I am qualified to forge my own Supreme Grade Sword, I will use this excellent Black Blade for now.
Although it is only about thirteen centimeters longer than the Rokumei Kotetsu, it is enough; at least the sword energy it unleashes is longer and more powerful.
As for you, Moria...
"Now I think the only benefit you can bring me is this Famous Sword, Shusui!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain, carrying the disemboweled Shusui, walked toward Moria with a cold smile.
He raised his right hand, and the Shusui in his hand immediately pointed at Moria's enormous body.
Armament Haki swirled around Shusui, making Shusui appear as if it were burning with black flames.
Gawain continued.
"Come, give me a reason not to kill you, otherwise, death is the inevitable fate of the loser."
Now, try to persuade me, Moria!
"I..."
Upon hearing Gawain's words, Moria remained silent for a moment, then turned around blankly.
He glanced out the window, and there it was—his favorite view of the sea and sky, the view he had seen from the Dread Roar.
The clouds in the sky are moving, moving slowly.
It's not a dream...
If this were a dream, I would probably wake up in a panic right now, and the clouds in the sky wouldn't be moving slowly and indifferently, but would be rushing by as fast as my mood is falling!
In fact, if this were a nightmare, it should be Kaido who would say he wants to kill me at this moment!
If it's not a dream, then...
Am I really going to die?
Thinking this, Moria looked at Gawain again and said with a bitter face.
"I don't even know your name, how can I... how can I advise you?"
Hmph, whoever you are, just kill me!
Those trashy subordinates aren't qualified to help me in battle. So even if we fail, it's not a big deal. It's not just my fault at all!
I had anticipated this scene long ago, and I should have accepted my fate long ago.
Bring it on!"
Moria raised his head without arrogance, exposing his long neck completely to Gawain.
Looking at the neck in front of him, Gawain narrowed his eyes with amusement.
He wanted to rouse Moria's will to survive, but it seems he doesn't even have much of that left?
The idea of me and Yixiao teaming up to deal with Moria was indeed like using a cannon to kill a mosquito; it's true that mosquitoes have no will to survive.
Even if he only wanted a quick death, it wouldn't be unreasonable...
However, Gawain knew that Moria was actually quite useful. It would take at least a few years, or even a decade or two, to cultivate a subordinate of Moria's strength again.
Moreover, Moria's Shadow-Shadow Fruit is truly remarkable; it could even be considered a powerful weapon on the battlefield.
In particular, while Moria's development of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit did not enhance his personal strength, it actually provided an unparalleled boost to his large army!
Imagine Moria appearing in the midst of a legionary battle.
The corpses of the enemy can be immediately controlled by the shadows of friendly personnel and turned into combat power.
The first half of this legion that died in the same battle were still able to maintain a considerable or even higher level of combat effectiveness, even after death.
All you need to do is let the shadows of the remaining members of your team control the corpses.
As for those whose shadows are cut off, they can't appear in the sunlight?
Haha, why not just have Moria's legion only participate in battles that take place at night?
After all, moonlight and lamplight can both cast shadows, so those things can't harm someone who doesn't have a shadow!
What should be done if his legion is forced to engage in daytime combat?
Haha, he could just cut off the shadows of the France legion members!
In short, the Shadow-Shadow Fruit is very useful, Moria's personal strength is actually quite good, and his ambition to dominate has long been destroyed by Kaido, making him more suitable to be recruited as a subordinate.
Gawain didn't really want to kill him at first.
This is where the role of treacherous officials becomes apparent; if Crocodile, Doflamingo, or even Spandam were present...
Those guys can all find a way to get Gawain to put down his knife.
As for a smile...
Yi Xiao should be able to understand Gawain's thoughts.
But he himself...
He himself doesn't really like pirates.
Secondly, he deeply abhorred Moria's ability to manipulate corpses and insult the dead!
In short, Yixiao stood to the side with her eyes closed, pretending that she couldn't see anything.
Wait, he does seem to be blind?
That's alright!
Even if one could sense Gawain's micro-expressions using Observation Haki.
He couldn't possibly use Observation Haki to see Gawain's expression right now, could he?