Absalom - Sig had forgotten his name, only remembering that among Moria's subordinates was a Transparent-Fruit user, a guy with a very long name.
This guy is still completely human in appearance; Sig does remember that setting...
In the original work, he was not Mink Tribe. The reason he had a leopard's face and beast-like limbs was because he underwent human modification to enhance his strength.
He hasn't been modified yet; he's just an ordinary human. And his strength... if we disregard the Clear-Clear Fruit, even a regular member of the Red-Hair Pirates could easily beat him up.
Sig sent him flying with a single, gentle punch...
The middle-aged man, who appeared to be of average build and even somewhat listless, quickly hid behind the equipment in fear, while the little girl next to him started crying.
"Waaaaah, big brother, save me! There's a weird uncle here..." The gloomy little girl squeezed out a few tears, pretending to be pitiful.
However, she's far from being able to fool the "Psychiatrist."
This little girl is clearly Perona —only thirteen years old, the girl Moria adopted in the West Blue, and a Devil Fruit ability.
Compared to Big Mom's Soul-Soul Fruit, Ghost Perona is far inferior in both the nature of the fruit itself and her personal development. However, given the special nature of soul abilities, it is still very troublesome for someone without a way to counter them.
Perona pretended to cry as she hugged Sig's leg, but as she got closer, Perona lowered her head and gave a mischievous smile.
At the same time, a "ghost" floated out from Perona's hand, and at this distance, Sig could no longer dodge it.
Although Perona is young, she is clearly smarter than Abu. She knows that the "Ghost Bomb" will definitely have no effect on such a master. However... she has absolute confidence in the "Negativity Ghost". As long as she makes contact with the opponent, she will definitely be able to make him lose his fighting spirit!
Perona then looked up, a smug, mischievous smile on her face, and then...
My face was shining with sunlight!
"Ah!" Perona exclaimed, clutching her head in Affliction, tears welling in her eyes.
Sig simply extended a finger, and as the ghost touched Sig's fingertip, a dazzling light burst forth.
Perona's ghost disintegrated under the light...
Unlike the Soul-Soul Fruit, which can extract the soul power of others, the Soul-Soul Fruit's abilities are all based on its own soul—the ghost just now was also a soul split off from Perona.
Sig's "light" is the purest Sun, the most powerful force to restrain a soul without physical protection...
"You brat... who do you think I am!" Moria was clearly experienced, as he could tell that Sig was very young in his Fish-Man form.
At the same time, Moria swung his massive, now swollen cross -Cross Shadow Sword at Sig.
At this point, Sig felt that Moria was about the same height as Jozu —around five meters—not quite reaching the point where he would be slightly taller than Whitebeard by a haircut ten years later.
Considering that Moria's physical abilities have declined rather than improved over the past decade, Sig estimates that his change in height is also due to human modification.
The Moria we see now doesn't have as many stitches as in the original work...
Faced with Moria's enraged attack, Sig immediately raised his foot and kicked—his left foot flew over his head, blocking Moria's slashing wrist.
A burst of energy from the collision of Armament Haki swept outwards.
Sig could sense that Moria was indeed furious, not only because the Red-Hair Pirates, as "newcomers," completely disregarded his authority as a senior, but also because... after ten years, his only three crew members had been injured again when he set sail once more!
The attack on Wano Country ten years ago had left Moria with psychological trauma. Most of his subordinates died on the spot, and the few officers who were captured with him also suffered heavy losses...
This was also a key factor that led Moria to psychologically shift to rely entirely on the "Zombie Army" in the fight.
Moria's "distrust of his companions" is not a distrust of "the bonds between companions," but rather a fear of losing them.
In the original work, two years later, after discovering clues that Absalom had been attacked by the Blackbeard Pirates, Moria stormed into Blackbeard's lair, who was now one of the Four Emperors, demanding an explanation from Teach (and was killed in the process).
Currently, Moria's physical skills and Haki haven't declined as severely as they would have ten years later. When he attacks in anger, the pressure he puts on Sig is only slightly less than that on Jozu!
Of course, Moria's physical strength and defense are far inferior to Jozu's, but he does possess the ability of the "Shadow-Shadow Fruit".
As the two locked in a stalemate, Moria glanced slightly downwards, then subtly shifted his left foot, seemingly about to step on Sig's shadow!
However, just as he was distracted, Sig realized his plan. Immediately, a flash of lightning appeared, and at the same time, a gust of wind surged from his body.
The lightning spread to Sig's raised left foot, transforming into a dragon's head that seemed ready to devour its prey. It extended along the left foot and was unexpectedly swept away by a gust of wind. Moria, who had raised his foot, was unable to lower it in time and was blown off balance.
The Thunder Dragon surged forth and lunged at Moria.
Moria, meanwhile, swung his greatsword upwards. As the blade touched the ground— Moria's shadow—it merged into it. With the upward swing, Moria's shadow instantly lengthened, meeting the lightning dragon head-on. Simultaneously, a series of thrusts rose from the shadow, piercing and obliterating the lightning dragon...
At the same time, Moria's shadow rose from behind Sig, as if it were a living creature, with slightly gleaming eyes and a split mouth on its face.
The next moment, Moria's true form swapped positions with his shadow and appeared behind Sig, simultaneously swinging his shadow greatsword at Sig.
However...
Before the Shadow Sword could even touch Sig, Sig's figure vanished like Inazuma before Moria's eyes. Moria's Observation Haki could only barely detect a trace—it seemed to be moving to the right?
Before Moria could react further, Sig at him from his right with a powerful shoulder bump!
With his power fully unleashed, his muscles swelled, and the stimulating lightning sent Moria flying. Moria couldn't help but cough up blood...
After rolling twice on the ground, just as he was about to crash into the wall, Moria tried to activate "Shadow Warrior" again, which was to use his shadow to "teleport".
But just then, Sig beckoned slightly to Moria's long shadow. Moria's shadow trembled, and Moria, who was halfway through the shadow's movement, suddenly stopped, revealing himself halfway through. As a result, Sig, who had appeared in front of him with a "Flash of Lightning," delivered a solid punch to his abdomen...
Moria coughed up another mouthful of blood and slammed into the wall!