Clown and Moonlight Clash
"Buggy, what are you trying to do?"
With a demonic face, a shrill voice, a tall and strong body, and a large sword in his hand, this is Gecko Moria, the powerful overlord of the New World.
Moria stood at the bow of the terrifying three-masted sailing ship, the flagship of the Moonlight Pirates.
His gaze was fixed on the pirate ship in front of him. The prow was adorned with a comical clown, and the hull was painted with sea charts and markings, like a treasure map. The pirate ship was not small, measuring a hundred meters in length.
This is the flagship of the Clown Pirates, the Joker Treasure.
The Moonlight Pirates and the Clown Pirates met in this area and clashed head-on.
"What do you think, Moria?" Buggy, arms crossed and wearing white gloves, stood on the bow of the Joker's ship. "I'm sorry, but this route is closed until everything is settled."
"Looks like we're in for a fight." Moria knew that with the Clown Pirates blocking his way, his operation could be considered a failure.
He accepted the invitation from the Demon Pirates to ambush the Red-Haired Pirates, but with Clown Buggy blocking his way, he was unable to pass.
In this way, the Red-Haired Pirates will have to be dealt with by the Demon Pirates.
The news of the Red-Haired Pirates' departure had a powerful deterrent effect, preventing other pirates from continuing to target the Red-Haired Pirates' affiliated forces.
In a very short time, the Red-Haired Pirates gathered the strength of their affiliated forces and led their fleet in a massive attack on the territory of the Demon Pirates.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the sea, the Demon Pirates, along with their newly formed Pirate Alliance, had already set out to ambush the Red- Red-Haired Pirates at sea. To this end, they specifically invited Gecko Moria to lead a group to attack from both sides, as it had all been planned in advance.
The plan was good, but things didn't go as planned.
The Clown Pirates' move has led to much speculation, given that Buggy and Shanks were once on the same ship and had a very close relationship.
As for the clandestine, underhanded dealings, no one else knows.
This outcome is not good for Moria. Shanks poses a greater threat than Caesar, and eliminating Shanks first is their shared goal.
Moria didn't know if the Demon Pirates could defeat the Red-Haired Pirates; it was highly unlikely they could.
The Red-Haired Pirates are incredibly powerful, and their influence is the largest among them. Even with their Pirate Alliance, the Demon Pirates don't have a significant numerical advantage.
The Demon Pirates 'Red-Haired Pirates in one battle, even with the addition of the Pirate Alliance.
"Inform Caesar about our situation," Moria said to his subordinate beside him.
Retreating without doing anything is not Moria's style, and it would also damage his reputation, giving people the false impression that he is afraid of Buggy.
"Fire!" At the command, the terrifying three-masted sailing ship unleashed its cannons, all aimed at the Clown Pirates' Clown Treasure.
Sparks burst forth, and a large number of shells were fired.
If no one were to stand in their way, even a warship would be destroyed in an instant under so many shells.
"Men, we can't let our precious Joker's Treasure be destroyed. Let them taste Buggy's specially made Buggy- made shells!" Buggy laughed loudly, completely unfazed by the shells.
Buggy slowly removed his white gloves, a sight that sent a chill down everyone's spines. They knew Buggy was about to make his move.
This battle for supremacy has attracted global attention from the very beginning, with the World Economic News dispatching a large number of Reporter Bird to monitor the situation.
The Moonlight Pirates' departure could not be kept secret from the Reporter Bird, and the current situation is being broadcast live and watched by most people on site.
Since the war between the Demon Pirates and the Red-Haired Pirates has not yet begun, the clash between the Clown Pirates and the Moonlight Pirates is generating the most buzz and attracting the most viewers.
After learning that his splitting power could be projected outwards, as his strength increased and his abilities were developed, Buggy often accidentally leaked his power, causing enormous destruction and considerable losses.
To this end, Buggy specially created a special glove to prevent his abilities from being leaked.
When Buggy takes off his gloves, it means Buggy's about to make his move.
With a flick of his wrist, a pair of gloves were tossed aside and caught by his subordinate.
Buggy made a fist out of thin air, and facing a barrage of bullets, he threw a punch in an instant, striking the air.
A terrifying force erupted, unlike the cracks caused by tremors.
In everyone's eyes, time seemed to stand still, and the air and the sea in front of them were divided into countless squares.
The power of the splitting force spread rapidly, heading towards the Thriller Bark, which caused Moria's expression to change.
At sea, the Split Fruit and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit are equally terrifying. Their long-range, wide-area attacks are virtually impossible to withstand, especially on a pirate ship as large as this, which becomes a target.
Moria unleashed his Haki directly, forming a barrier in front of him.
"Shadow Defense." The shadow beneath his feet spread rapidly, rising like a black curtain to block the entire Thriller Bark.
If hit by this attack, the terrifying three-masted sailing ship would be completely destroyed in front, and it would be questionable whether the battle could continue. Not to mention that a large number of crew members were gathered in front, which would inevitably cause huge losses.
Having witnessed this move firsthand, Moria could clearly feel its terrifying destructive power, and it wasn't even Buggy's full strength.
Moria was unwilling to bear such a loss; he could hardly support such a large curtain on his own, not to mention the enormous energy expenditure involved.
But he had backup forces; a large number of shadows gathered at Moria's feet, transforming into the power to expand the curtain.
These are all shadows of the Zombie Army, and now most of these shadows have been recalled to provide power for Moria.
Moria's Zombie Army was reduced to more than half its size, but Moria didn't care. He could just replenish the numbers from behind the shadows. The important thing now was to get through the current crisis.
Buggy now possesses the power of Whitebeard using the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
In the past, many pirate crews had to face the terrifying impact of the Quake Punch when they faced the Whitebeard Pirates.
Now, they must be wary of this tactic when facing the Clown Pirates.
Although their manifestations differ, they share a terrifying destructive power.
Buggy's power of division touched Moria's black curtain, impacting it like a strong wind blowing on a sail, but it could not penetrate any further.
I don't know how this was done, but you can see the influence of the Dark Emperor's Dark-Dark Fruit ability, which utilizes the properties of shadows.
It looked simple, but Moria actually suffered considerable losses. As for the cannonballs, they were destroyed at the beginning.
Taking a slight breath, Moria successfully blocked Buggy's punch. He looked at Buggy with apprehension, but not fear, and a devilish smile appeared on his face.
"Tit for tat, you'll have to try this move of mine too." While defending against this attack, Moria had already used the Shadows Assembled, but it hadn't merged into his body.
Moria didn't have such a good temper. He had gathered a large number of shadows. The huge black shadow curtain rapidly contracted and condensed under Moria's control, forming a huge black horn, larger than the Clown Pirates' ship.
"Shadow Horn Spear!"
Moria looked somewhat disheveled because he was protecting the ship and his companions. If he were alone, blocking Buggy's punch would have been no problem at all; with his powerful Armament Haki, he wouldn't even have been seriously injured.
Shadow Horn Spear is one of Moria's most famous killing moves, possessing terrifying power and penetrating force.
This Shadow Horn Spear is even more terrifying. Its massive size alone makes it impossible to ignore, and the indestructible nature of its shadow is accompanied by Haki.
The Shadow Horn Spear thrust powerfully towards the Clown Pirates, with no doubt that it could easily pierce through the entire ship.
The crew of the Clown Pirates were somewhat panicked by Moria's move.
The shadows covered them.
But the main members of the Clown Pirates weren't worried at all.
"Cycle." A voice rang out, and Carlos, the vice-captain of the Clown Pirates, made his move.
He drew his flintlock pistol from his waist and fired a shot at the Shadow Horn Spear that was falling from the sky.
The bullet, imbued with a bluish light, shot out instantly and struck the Shadow Horn Spear.
No one thought Carlos would counter this move with a single bullet.
This is actually Carlos's Devil Fruit ability.
Carlos's abilities are shrouded in mystery for many; he rarely uses them, and there are vague rumors that they are related to time. Now, we can finally see them for ourselves.
Carlos's abilities are attached to the bullets.
A bluish light accompanied the bullet as it struck the Shadow Horn Spear.
The next moment, something astonishing happened: time seemed to flow backward, and the Shadow Horn Spear returned along the same route it had taken to get there.
Returning to the initial appearance of the Shadow Horn Spear, the entire Shadow Horn Spear began to change, quickly transforming back into a black curtain, then slowly shrinking, with numerous shadows returning to the bodies of the zombies whose shadows had been extracted by Moria.
Simultaneously returning to Moria's body, the terrifying Shadow Horn Spear vanished.
Even Moria was stunned, staring in shock at the scene. If it weren't for his own exhaustion, he would have thought it was all a dream.
After all, Carlos was using his ability on the Shadow Horn Spear, not on him.
The Shadow Horn Spear's ability to rewind time and return to its shadow form is truly terrifying.
If time could truly be reversed, Carlos might even be able to resurrect the dead.
This is the power of the Cycle Fruit; Carlos can make someone repeatedly do the same thing for a certain period of time.
The simple reversal is one application of Carlos's development of the Cycle Fruit's power.
How can we fight like this?
Moria knew from Carlos's overpowered abilities that this battle was doomed.
If fighting Buggy, with Carlos assisting from the sidelines, any move he makes will be easily neutralized by Carlos's abilities, combined with Buggy's power.
Moria could already imagine himself being completely passively beaten.
Continuing to fight will only hurt yourself.
"Retreat." Although somewhat unwilling, he had no choice but to leave. With Carlos around, this battle was unwinnable; even his Super Shadow Horn Spear couldn't withstand Carlos's abilities.
The Moonlight Pirates withdrew. The beginning of the conflict was grand, but the end was unusually quick, yet the effect it produced shocked the world.
It's not just the terrifying power of Clown Buggy- Split Fruit.
Moria's terrifying strength, revealed after years of concealing his abilities.
More importantly, the Clown Pirates' Carlos, Buggy's right-hand man, possesses the Cycle Fruit ability. This kind of power cannot be resisted simply by being strong.
It's important to know that Moria's Armament Haki was already quite strong. Under the tutelage of three veteran overlords, he had reached the level of external projection, equivalent to the highest level of Armament Haki.
While it can't achieve the same luxurious, all-encompassing Haki as the Bullet, covering specific areas with the spearhead is perfectly feasible.
This overpowered ability alone is enough to make people wary; even the Sea Emperor cannot ignore it.
Moreover, Carlos himself is quite strong, and as Buggy's second-in-command, he relies on more than just intelligence and ability.
"This ability, with its short duration, could it heal someone who has suffered a fatal injury?" This is what some people are speculating about, even suggesting it could bring someone back from the dead. If so, Carlos's ability would be incredibly powerful, even strategic, and its impact extends beyond combat.
Seeing the Moonlight Pirates retreat, Buggy breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't actually want to fight; this situation was very advantageous to him. He easily completed his deal with Shanks, avoiding any damage to himself.
Although we didn't get the key that held the secret to Captain John's treasure, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.
"We still need to be careful. If Moria secretly goes to help the Demon Pirates, our deal with the Red-Haired Pirates won't be valid," Carlos reminded him, seeing his captain's happy expression.
"That's true, so what do we do?" Buggy frowned. With Moria's abilities, avoiding the Reporter Bird would be a piece of cake. One of his top-tier combatants alone could change the course of the battle between the Red-Haired Pirates and the Demon Pirates.
Ultimately, the outcome will depend on the battle between Shanks and Caesar. Other powerful figures joining in will only deplete their energy, but Moria is different.
"Let's find an island close to the Moonlight Pirates' territory to set up camp. That way, Moria won't dare to act, and we can attack their territory at any time." Carlos already had a plan.
"That works too. The two of us are enough here. Let Zak and Gru go back." Buggy was still concerned about his territory and worried that someone might attack it during this time.
Buggy's territory has developed quite well in recent years, and people are living a very comfortable life.
Zak possesses formidable combat power, being Mythical Zoan Weasel-Weasel Devil Fruit User, and with Gru as their strongest shield, they have sufficient deterrent power to guard their territory.
Although the Night Pirates also possess a Kamaitachi Fruit, it is Paramecia fruit, also known as the Wind Blade Fruit, and the difference is significant.
"That Buggy guy." Moria gritted his teeth. His face turned green upon receiving the news from his subordinate. Just as Carlos had guessed, he planned to secretly help Caesar deal with Shanks.
But to his surprise, the Clown Pirates set their sights on him and established a base on an island near their territory.
In this way, he really couldn't move.
"This is outrageous!" Moria's eyes were practically red. What did the Clown Pirates take him for?
He immediately picked up his large sword, ready to charge at the Clown Pirates.
Now that he has no subordinates to hold him back, he doesn't need to worry as much. If he doesn't fight a battle, his prestige will plummet.
Even though Carlos's abilities are disgusting, he's confident in his speed; he just needs to dodge them.
Years ago, Moria dared to venture alone into the Babarossa Kingdom to challenge Kaido and escape successfully. Now, what is there for him not to dare to face a Clown Pirates?