Captain John False would exchange his Yunlai for his own appearance—this was the only way to change someone's appearance, and not only could he only transform one person into his own, but once he granted it to the other person, he himself would be unable to change back.
The reason he felt so guilty was because "Captain John" worried that if he regained his memories, he would take revenge on him...
Now that I'm in my weak body, I figure even if the other party wanted to take revenge, they wouldn't be able to!
After Yunlai disappeared on Angel Island, Captain John was initially worried, but after discovering that he was still alive, he didn't search for him too much.
Anyway, he's just a weakling with amnesia...
The original intention was simply to find a relatively peaceful place to abandon him.
Several months later, someone ate a new Time-Time Fruit. At this time, Yunlai completely lost the Devil Fruit ability and could even swim again— Sig secretly noted this down, the reason for which would be analyzed later.
About a year ago, a new ability user began time travel, and Yunlai regained his abilities and memories. He then began searching for information about "Captain John" and the Flower Country incident in the newspapers!
Over the past year, Yunlai gradually recovered his strength, although he is still far from his peak. However... the guy who became his own has "recovered" even less.
After all, he was just a weakling who copied Captain John's body...
"However, over the years, he has even abandoned his own identity, completely using my body to cultivate. His will has also merged with the body that is copied from me to generate Haki, and he has reached the level of a top swordsman." Yunlai said with a gloomy face.
For a pirate overlord, not even being a great swordsman seems a bit undeserving of the title, but on the high seas, he is certainly worthy of praise.
Moreover, because Yunlai's body was altered, he also did not regain the strength of a great swordsman.
"So, Kaido didn't leave Wano Country because 'Captain John' wanted to break with him, but rather... because you put too much pressure on that fake, so he took the initiative to ask Kaido for help? All that attack on the Beasts Pirates' ships before was just a smokescreen?" Sig realized this at this moment.
"That should be it... Eight years ago Kaido might not have known it was an imposter, but he definitely does now!" Yunlai said angrily.
Kaido did indeed speak as if he had known Yunlai for a long time.
"What... are you planning to do? That's Kaido."
Sig finished asking, Yunlai became even more indignant. "Kaido? He has indeed improved a lot over the years, but... I..."
He was somewhat guilty as he said this— Kaido's strength had indeed increased considerably!
Kaido is probably the only overlord whose strength has been steadily increasing since the Rocks Pirates disbanded, which is why he will eventually become one of the "Four Emperors" alongside Whitebeard and Big Mom.
While he certainly didn't rise as quickly as Shanks, considering his age... a steady improvement is already quite remarkable.
"Is that person outside Moonlight Moria? Allow me to ask one more question, besides my daughter's request..." Yunlai looked at Sig at this moment, clearly not believing that his purpose was so simple.
Firstly, Captain John was already portrayed as "somewhat cunning" eighteen years ago. This wasn't because the imposter from the Kurozumi Family ruined his reputation; rather, cunning people are naturally less trustworthy. Secondly, it's not a matter of trustworthiness. If Sig was just looking for him, he wouldn't have gone so far as to directly confront "Captain John."
"That's right. Moria is cooperating with CP0 to eliminate Captain John and seize a researcher under his control. As for me... my primary goal is to hold Kaido back from Wano Country, so I'm temporarily joining forces with Moria."
"The first objective? What about the second objective?" Yunlai asked curiously.
"The second objective is to prevent CP0 from achieving its goal," Sig stated frankly.
Yunlai:...
Good heavens, you've really made a good ally... Just like I was back in the day!
"I'm only cooperating with Moria for the time being," Sig emphasized without any embarrassment.
"Then... we can join forces. I want to take out that imposter. As for the researchers and such, I'm not interested. Afterwards, whether you want to kidnap them or silence them, I can cooperate with you as much as possible." Yunlai, extending his hand.
Veteran pirates all valued the handshake greeting; it was probably a "fashion" back then.
Seeing Sig shook hands with him as well—under the scrutiny of his Observation Haki, Yunlai seemed quite sincere, even somewhat unlike the "cunning" Captain John.
However, Sig noticed another dilemma in his mind and pointed it out. "You'd better make a decision soon, whether to kill that imposter directly or force him to turn you back, otherwise this state... will cause problems at crucial moments!"
Killing "Captain John" directly is easy, but if Yunlai wants "Captain John" to turn back, it's not only difficult, but also requires a completely new plan—many abilities of ability users cannot be canceled simply by the user's death.
The worst thing you can do is to waver at the last minute. If you suddenly show mercy when you're about to kill Captain John, you might miss the opportunity and suffer the consequences!
Therefore, Sig advised him to think it through beforehand...
After all, according to the original timeline, both Captain John and Yunlai should have died in this incident.
Although he didn't know the specifics of the Mayo Island battle, Sig knew that ten years later in the original work, Moria was already Shichibukai, and... he had also obtained Captain John's body, while Yunlai obviously hadn't returned to Angel Island.
Otherwise, let alone helping the Shandorian reclaim their homeland from Gan Fall and the God Team, even if Enel came, he wouldn't be a match for a top-tier swordsman!
Furthermore, Moria's "Captain John" zombie is rather pathetic, being mocked by Abu and the other zombies for "disgracing Captain John's reputation in life"... Sig suspects that the two never switched identities before their deaths, and that the "Captain John" Moria thought he was was actually the imposter's corpse.
After hearing Sig's words, Yunlai's face also showed a conflicted expression. Sig could tell that he was really conflicted.
His expression shifted between gloom, malice, tenderness, and reminiscence, before he finally sighed and said, "It doesn't matter whether I get it back or not. After I kill that imposter, I'll go back to Sky Island, and there will be no more Captain John on the high seas!"
It would be best if Yunlai could make up his mind.
Just then, Sig glanced outside and said, "It seems our other 'ally' has also woken up."
Ten years have passed, and the gap between Moria and Kaido has widened even further. After all, one is improving while the other is regressing. Moria was knocked unconscious with a single blow, and his record is comparable to Luffy's when he first arrived in Wano Country in the original work...