An Unexpected Turn of Events, a Haki-Infused Slash!

"Moria..." the bear said, staring at Moria, "You woke up so quickly...?"

The other guy was knocked unconscious by the Straw Hat not long ago, but now he's back here, full of energy?

How did he do it?

"Ah, I have to thank you all for this," Moria grinned. "If it weren't for that lightning ability just now, I really wouldn't have been able to wake up so quickly."

"Lightning?"

Xi Yan was somewhat surprised; he shouldn't have released his Lightning Release elsewhere.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Xi Yan's mind.

'Could it be... the Lightning Water Dragon Bullet Technique?!'

Kuma frowned as well; he really hadn't expected that the Ninjutsu he had deflected would hit Moria.

His initial thought was simply to deflect the attack to other parts of the island, preventing it from flying out and hurting others.

The result... it hit Moria?

Thinking about this, Xiong's feelings became somewhat complicated.

Unexpectedly, this casual act actually woke up the unconscious guy. It's really... somewhat absurdly unexpected.

"Did you come here to get revenge on us?!"

"Don't think we'll just sit here and do nothing..."

"Alright, I'm not interested in you," Moria interrupted Ai Ke, "I'm here for other things."

As they spoke, Moria glanced at Xi Yan, who had rushed to his side, and watched as the other rescued Usopp.

Upon seeing Xi Yan return, Chopper quickly ran over and gave Usopp a quick check-up.

"Thankfully, he just lost consciousness."

The others breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this; it was good that nothing had happened.

Xi Yan stared intently at Moria, eager to know what Moria's true purpose was.

If they wanted to harm them, they wouldn't have let him rescue them. But... if it wasn't revenge, what was Moria's purpose in returning?

Could it be that he has a grudge against Bartholomew Xiong?

Thinking of this, Xi Yan turned his gaze to the bear, staring intently at it.

Moria ignored Xi Yan and turned to Xiong, saying, "Xiong... you saw a little girl earlier, didn't you?!"

"A little girl..."

Perona's image immediately flashed into the bear's mind.

"Looks like you know." Moria nodded, then his face darkened. "You bastard, where did you take her?!"

Moria knew Bear's abilities very well; this guy could easily slap people away and send them anywhere he wanted.

If the Perona, it might throw her into the sea... and Perona would be doomed!

In the past, Moria wouldn't have had such doubts, but this time Kuma said that he was inviting Xi Yan to become Shichibukai, which meant that his title of Shichibukai was being revoked.

Without the protection of that name, the bear is much more likely to kill, after all... his name is Bartholomew Kuma!

However, when faced with Moria's questioning, Kuma simply replied, "Who knows?"

"Click~"

Moria's veins bulged on his forehead, and his Anger Value surged.

"That calm tone..." Moria sneered, "Bear, you've angered me."

"So what?"

"How about it?"

"I'll make you tell me yourself!"

After saying that, Moria Luffy towards Luffy, startling everyone.

Zoro rushed over, picked up Luffy, and carried him back to his crew.

Moria didn't pay any attention, only glancing at it before looking away.

He walked to his weapon, bent down and picked up the broadsword, ignoring Ai Ke and the others not far away, and walked step by step towards the bear.

However, after he had only walked a few meters, Moria suddenly stopped, an action that immediately put everyone on edge.

"Ninja Kid, take your men and get out of here right now," Moria said without turning his head. "Don't disturb me."

What he needed to do next was to teach this bear a lesson and force him to reveal his daughter's whereabouts.

In the process, the islands could potentially be sunk!

If those guys were still here, they would definitely be killed because of their fight.

He still owed Xi Yan a favor, and at the same time, he greatly admired these guys and didn't want them to die here.

"Take people away..."

Xi Yan looked surprised; he never expected Moria to say such a thing.

This is really not right!

Their words sounded harsh, but they were really just telling them to leave quickly, lest they die there...

The problem is, is the other party really that good?

If he were truly a good person, such a brutal battle wouldn't have occurred.

The others exchanged bewildered glances, wondering what Moria's purpose was in doing this.

"I don't know what's going on, but let's get out of here quickly!" Nami said.

Having finally found a chance to survive, naturally they wanted to help their companions survive as well.

The others understood this as well, so they turned and left without hesitation.

"Quick, take the unconscious guy and get out of here!"

"Let's go, get back to the ship quickly!"

"Profound!"

One by one, Ai Ke and the others started running, heading off in the distance.

Xi Yan didn't move, but stood still, frowning as he watched Moria's back, his doubts still lingering.

What exactly is their reason for doing this?

Moreover... for some reason, he felt that Moria was like a completely different person at this moment, his spirit and energy were different.

Perhaps sensing Xi Yan's confusion, Moria spoke up, "Ninja Kid, you're the one who showed me those scenes, aren't you?"

"Thank you so much, consider it a favor I owe you!"

Hearing Moria's words, Xi Yan was stunned for a moment.

Are they referring to... Illusion?

Just as Moria was about to lose consciousness, he did indeed cast Illusion on Moria, an Illusion Hell Viewing Technique.

This Illusion can make people see their deepest fears, but it doesn't actually have much destructive power.

But Moria is now...

Suddenly, a thought popped into Xi Yan's mind.

'When I talked to Moria before, I found out that he had fought against someone named Kaido and was defeated by him... and his crew was most likely killed in that battle as well.'

This is why Moria became interested in studying zombies, something Moria himself admitted.

Because zombies can't die!

And now the other party says they are very grateful to him... Is it gratitude that he made them see their partner again?

What was originally Illusion meant to show terrifying images instead allowed Moria to see his beloved companion?

For a moment, Xi Yan didn't know what to say.

After a moment of silence, Xi Yan said, "So... you're saying this is because of this..."

"Don't be so arrogant, Ninja Kid." Moria snorted, interrupting Xi Yan, and said, "I took action because I have a score to settle with this guy, not because of you."

Xi Yan:...

For some reason, he seemed to sense a hint of... arrogance from the other person. Was it just his imagination?

"I never said they could leave," Xiong said calmly.

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished from his spot and reappeared right in front of Xi Yan!

Seeing this, Moria snorted coldly and raised his greatsword to slash at the bear!

"Clang!!"

The large sword, imbued with Armament Haki, slashed fiercely at the bear's arm, forcibly stopping him.

Without giving him a chance to retaliate, Moria quickly stepped forward and used his arm to block Kuma's arm, preventing him from using the Paw-Paw Fruit's power.

"Moria ..." the bear stared at Moria and said, "You should know what this means, shouldn't you?"

"Then the World Government will be..."

"I'm no longer Shichibukai!" Moria interrupted Kuma, "And those bastards have no right to tell me what to do!"

After saying that, Moria glanced at Xi Yan and said, "Kid, get out of here!"

"Don't blame me if you die!"

This time, Xi Yan didn't waste any more words. After giving Moria a deep look, he turned and left.

Now that we've figured out what happened, there's no need to stay here any longer.

'But... has Moria gotten stronger?' Xi Yan murmured to himself.

Furthermore, that strange energy was emanating from the other party. What exactly is it?

With a thoughtful expression, Xi Yan left.

After watching Xi Yan leave, Moria turned his gaze to Xiong, sneered, and said, "Now it's our turn to settle accounts!"

"Bear!"

Today, he must beat this bastard to a pulp and then get his daughter's location information!

At the very least... we need to know whether Perona is dead or alive.

"Haki..." Xiong narrowed his eyes and said, "I didn't expect you to actually regain your confidence... What exactly did you go through?"

As a top expert, Xiong knew very well what Haki truly meant.

If Moria hadn't regained his fighting spirit, he wouldn't have been able to master Armament Haki again.

"Ah... but so many people said so much to me," Moria said. "To not let them down, I had to pull myself together."

After saying that, Moria paused for a moment, then grinned and said, "It's been decades since I've had a proper battle. Today, I'll have to enjoy myself to the fullest."

"You really want to fight me?" the bear said. "You should know what it means for the two of us to fight. Don't you want your Thriller Bark anymore?"

"Let it sink!" Moria said coldly. "Isn't this a kind of rebirth?"

The bear said nothing more, but instead raised its foot and kicked Moria hard.

"Clang!"

"Boom!!"

"Quickly, let's set sail immediately and get the ship out!" Nami said.

A fight between two Shichibukai- level individuals could have a very large impact, so it's best to leave as soon as possible.

"But Xi Yan hasn't returned yet..."

"Don't worry about Xi Yan," Nami said. "Have you forgotten Merry's abilities?!"

Chopper paused for a moment, then realized, "That's true."

Merry possesses the power to summon Xi Yan, and even if they leave, she can still summon Xi Yan back.

Just then, Xi Yan jumped down from the height and landed precisely on his own pirate ship.

After glancing around, Xi Yan asked in confusion, "Where are Lola and the others?"

Why did I only see my own teammates? Why didn't I see those other people?

Could they still be on the island?

That shouldn't be the case; they left with Nami and the others.

"They have their own boat," Nico Robin explained.

Just then, a pirate ship drifted over from afar, and Lola's voice came from it.

"Hey, Xi Yan, Nami!"

"Oh, Lola!"

Upon seeing the people on the ship, Xi Yan immediately smiled and said, "Your ship looks quite nice too."

"Of course, our ship is..."

Before Lola could finish speaking, a terrifying roar came from the island, startling everyone.

"Boom!!"

"Boom!!"

"Boom!!"

"As expected of Shichibukai..." Ai Ke said, swallowing hard.

Two Shichibukai- level figures fighting here—couldn't they sink this island?

"Quick, Merry, let's get out of here."

"Profound!"

Soon, under Merry's control, the Thousand Sunny began to move rapidly, heading towards the entrance of the Thriller Bark.

"Quickly, Great Gate for..."

Before Nami could finish speaking, she noticed that the Great Gate, which should have been closed, was now inexplicably open.

Despite her doubts, she still instructed Merry to steer the boat away from there quickly.

And so, the two enormous pirate ships safely left the Thriller Bark.

After glancing at the rising sun in the distance, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"We survived!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Everyone burst into laughter. After going through so many hardships, they had finally survived!

Of course, they also knew this wasn't a place to linger; otherwise, who knew if these two would hunt them down after their fight?

Thinking of this, Lola said, "Everyone, let's get out of here quickly."

"Nobody knows what will happen after their battle is over."

"Where are you going?" Nami called out. "If it's on the way, we can come along..."

We are not planning to go to the New World right now.

"Aren't we going now...?"

Nami paused for a moment, clearly realizing that the two wouldn't be leaving together.

It's regrettable, but there's nothing we can do about it; Luffy is currently unconscious.

Therefore, they could only proceed towards Fish-Man Island according to their previously set goal and could not change their sailing objective.

Thinking of this, Nami sighed silently and put her hands in her pockets.

There was something Lola had given her, something called Vivre Card.

According to Lola, they might find this useful.

Although I don't know what this thing is for, I'll accept it since it's a gift from a friend.

"Then let's meet again in the New World if we have the chance!" Xi Yan said.

"Profound!!"

"Goodbye, Brother Xi Yan!"

"Ha ha ha ha."

Watching the pirate ship gradually disappear into the distance, Xi Yan felt a mix of emotions; he hadn't expected to face parting so soon.

However, he wasn't the type to Big Mom nothing. Friends can't stay together forever, can they?

Furthermore, a brief separation is for a better reunion next time.

He believed that one day, they would meet again on the high seas.

"Everyone, it's time for us to go."

"Yes, yes, let's go to Fish-Man Island!" Sanji wiggled his body, becoming incredibly excited.

"Destination: Fish-Man Island, let's go!"