Here Isn't Home!

Shadow's Body Technique seemed evenly matched with Moria's.

But he still couldn't compete with the Great Scissors.

The Great Scissors had been specially made to cut shadows, so they were their natural enemy.

Even Moria's own shadow was no exception.

"Heh heh heh." His great bat-like face finally twisted into a sly grin.

That had been terrifying.

Moria losing to a Pacifista was one thing. After all, that thing had used Kizaru's laser. But if his own shadow beat him, what would that make him?

Could a former Shichibukai afford to lose face like that?

With a metallic snip, the gleaming Great Scissors cut the pair of scissors formed by the shadow in half.

The shadow didn't seem surprised by this turn of events.

It was part of Moria, after all, so it had naturally anticipated this outcome.

"Heh heh heh—"

The shadow's grin didn't fade at all. That signature laugh grated on Moria's ears now.

He had a very bad feeling.

The shadow stood still.

Then it raised a hand and punched itself.

Damn it!

Moria's eyes flew wide open.

This time, it was the real Shadow Revolution.

A move Moria had developed himself and taken pride in.

A shadow was connected to its physical body, so when the body changed, the shadow changed too.

And conversely, if the shadow changed, then in theory, the body should change as well.

He had once used this move to make Oars stretch his arms and legs.

Now it was his turn.

The shadow punched itself hard, and the same change took effect on Moria's physical body.

Moria grunted as pain stabbed through his cheek.

He really did know best how to hit himself where it hurt!

But the shadow couldn't feel pain.

"Why does it listen to you?"

Moria hung his head. That was the part he couldn't understand.

Even if it had been split off, it was still his shadow.

So why was it siding with an outsider?

"Listen?"

"No, no. We're just partners."

Buggy gently closed the coffin lid. This was the first time he'd slept in a place like this.

But he had to admit, the coffin's excellent soundproofing had improved the quality of his sleep.

"You're the one who's unhappy with you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the shadow slapped itself hard twice.

Smack! Smack!

Moria's pale skin turned bright red from the blows.

Still, he managed to lift his head and stare at his shadow, bewildered.

He was unhappy with himself?

He was unhappy with himself?

The shadow was just as huge as Moria, its grinning mouth seeming to mock him.

Then it slapped itself twice more.

"Because you're alive, you lose things."

"On that, I know I'm right!"

Moria stubbornly raised his head and stared straight at his shadow.

"Hogback and the others will build a Zombie Army capable of conquering the world!"

He didn't say a word about what he himself planned to do.

The shadow slapped itself twice more.

Moria's cheeks had turned as red as if he'd just been pulled out of a pot.

Tears of pain streamed down his face.

"I'm not wrong!"

He was Moria, former Shichibukai! How could he possibly admit he was wrong?!

"..."

"..."

"I was wrong."

Black and blue all over, Moria lowered his head in front of Buggy.

After a drawn-out struggle against his shadow, he gave in.

Moria had once scoffed at the idea that Devil Fruits could counter one another. Now he believed it.

The Four-Way Split-Split Fruit was the greatest counter to his Shadow-Shadow Fruit!

A sorrowful feeling, like the world had no room for both him and his rival, welled up inside him.

How could this world have an ability that could directly attack Devil Fruit Users?!

At least he'd only surrendered to his own shadow.

It was no big deal.

He told himself that, trying to salvage a little of his dignity as a great pirate.

"Wrong?"

Buggy turned his head. He'd been watching the dense fog in the sky the whole time.

A Black Shadow in the fog seemed to be inching closer.

It seemed intrigued by Moria's plight, by his pain and fear.

It even wanted to take a bite.

But instinctive caution kept it at a certain distance.

That meant the pain and fear still weren't enough.

"Who said you were wrong?"

There was no pretense in his confusion.

"Didn't you say someone was unhappy with me?"

Moria automatically assumed the one who was unhappy was the slightly ridiculous clown in front of him.

Though he had no idea why the man was treating him this way.

"No, no."

"Your shadow is your own reflection, a collection of your fears and desires."

"The one you have to overcome is yourself."

Buggy waved his hand and pointed at the shadow, which had somehow climbed to the top of the castle.

The shadow spread its arms on the tower, poised to free-fall.

Gulp.

Moria's already pallid skin took on a fearful, ghostly whiteness. His lips trembled.

He finally understood.

The shadow wanted Moria to keep fighting it.

The moment he stopped, or used the scissors to "bully" it, the shadow would start hurting itself.

"Don't—don't jump!"

Moria's voice quivered.

The shadow turned its head. Its grin, stretched to its ears, never changed.

It leaped.

With a bang, it hit the ground headfirst, like a spring onion dropping from above, and smashed a huge crater into the earth.

"Ugh—"

Moria, who hadn't done a thing, was wracked with pain and tears.

But before the pain could even fade, he saw the shadow climb out of the crater and resolutely make its way toward the top of the castle again.

Moria's mind was a mess.

To keep the shadow from hurting itself, he had no choice but to fight it.

But every punch he landed on the shadow also hit him.

So, to stop the shadow from hurting him, he chose to hurt the shadow—and himself at the same time.

Damn it!

Why was it so convoluted?!

But the pain was real.

And the agony his body's cries inflicted on his mind was just as real.

Deep down, he was also being interrogated—relentlessly questioned about all the years he'd spent doing nothing.

The humiliation of a great pirate being effortlessly defeated by the younger generation again and again.

It was as if the self who'd once stood beneath the Execution Platform, full of ambition—the self who'd dared to face the Strongest Creature head-on—was now interrogating who he'd become.

Moria saw the clown's grinning face again, slowly merging with the shadow's grin.

Doctor Hogback's greeting echoed over and over in his mind.

"Welcome home, Master."

"Welcome home—"

"No, this isn't home. This is a nightmare!"

Tears filled Moria's eyes.

"Heh heh heh. My fish finally took the bait."

Buggy had no time to care about Moria's wailing.

He looked up at the sky, swallowed by a Black Shadow.

Pain and fear seemed to be this shadow's delicacies.

It quietly descended over the top of Terror Thriller Bark.

In the Black Shadow's world, aboard that lively Pirate Ship,

Buggy, who had once again killed all his companions, lifted his head too.

He had been here the whole time.

The ship's lantern, fallen onto the deck, had set off a blazing blue fire.

Yet the slightly gaunt figure showed no fear in the flames. He simply looked up.

Their gazes met, piercing through the Black Shadow's body.

"Caught you for the 489th time."