"Put a smile on your face."
Moria stared blankly at the grinning man before him.
The man reached out and pulled at his swollen face, forcing it into a smile uglier than a grimace.
His old neighbor, Dream Tapir, obediently lay across Joker's back. Its half-real, half-illusory body seemed to have no weight at all.
It was an extremely well-behaved little accessory.
A far cry from the particularly awful personality Moria remembered.
And just as far from the terrifying figure that would soon blot out the sky.
"What do you want?" Moria asked, his voice trembling.
He didn't understand why this man before him, with a white skull painted on his face and bright red lips that always curled upward...
showed not the slightest hint of fear in his eyes.
As for the anger he ought to feel at being deceived and having his resistance crushed—
in Moria's heart, it was all overwhelmed by fear of this man.
It wasn't the fear of being overpowered, like with Kaido. His fear of Joker was inexplicable—a fear of his bizarre methods.
Even worse, it felt as if the man could see straight through every weakness in his heart.
"Hmm... Just a little preliminary work."
Buggy answered seriously, propping his chin on his hand.
"Although I haven't figured out how to use this Little Cutie yet." He gently stroked Dream Tapir's head. It felt like a plush toy. "But whatever."
Making plans with a specific goal in mind?
No, no...
That was far too easy to predict for certain schemers who always lurked in the shadows.
He usually liked to tell those self-righteous people a plan terrifying enough to scare them—like sending some adorable mayor to visit his grandma—then carry it out in a way they would never see coming.
One crucial part of that was...
having no plan.
More precisely, making it unclear whether the plan existed at all.
Who knew?
Buggy himself didn't.
That way, he could watch the panic and fear on their faces and enjoy the thrill of seeing the plan come to fruition.
How wonderful.
Buggy couldn't help licking his lips.
One of his detached hands rested on Moria's shoulder.
His upper body was floating, too.
After all, at only 1.9 meters tall, it wasn't easy for Buggy to reach the shoulder of Moria, who was nearly seven meters tall.
But Moria couldn't put up much of a fight now.
He'd given up.
Whatever.
He couldn't win anyway.
Moria had suffered more than enough blows lately.
First, he'd been beaten into the ground by a rising youngster.
Then, after being summoned to take part in the war, he'd been beaten by those pirates from the New World.
At long last, the war had ended.
And then the World Government had turned on him!
He'd nearly been beaten to death.
He'd fled home, thinking he could finally enjoy some peace, only to be beaten by his own shadow!
Most importantly...
Even the Devil Fruit ability he took the most pride in had been toyed with in the palm of someone else's hand.
What was the point anymore?
Moria felt as if he'd returned to Wano Country.
He was alone, collapsed on that snowy plain, clinging to life.
All around him were the corpses of his companions.
Their blood had stained the snow red, only to be covered by fresh, heavy flakes.
As if they had never existed.
Buggy continued experimenting with his ability on the former Shichibukai, who had given up.
Splitting a person's perceptions, ideas, and thoughts.
Compared to splitting matter, this kind of split was far more abstract and dangerous.
It was like performing brain surgery on a patient in a rural clinic.
A mistake wasn't even necessary. The act itself could cause irreversible consequences.
Fortunately, Buggy didn't care about consequences.
Through the touch of his ability, he sensed a cluster of light in Moria's Mental World, mostly gray, mixed with various dark shades and black.
It symbolized his emotions and feelings.
There was also a long strip, like a reel of film, symbolizing his perceptions.
Splitting emotions and perceptions was about as difficult as splitting gold four times.
Of course, finding the exact clusters of light and strips of film he wanted to separate was the more troublesome part.
After all, these things didn't come with titles.
Buggy's judgment was much simpler.
He first split off a piece of gray light.
Splitting the Mental World didn't work like splitting matter; it didn't divide neatly in two.
Once separated from the whole, the smaller, weaker part vanished in the blink of an eye.
Just like some thought that had once crossed your mind but that you could never remember later.
Hmm, splitting the Mental World was exclusive.
Buggy nodded to himself, then watched Moria's reaction.
"Geh-heh-heh—"
Moria, who had been ready to lie there and do nothing, suddenly lowered his head and chuckled. A vicious glint shone in his eyes, surrounded by pale skin.
He struggled to his feet and began thinking about revenge.
Revenge on the Straw Hat Kid, the World Government, Kaido, and Jo—
Moria noticed the man in front of him and paused.
He'd leave that one out.
In his Mental World, the gray region had been filled with a dense crimson.
A direct expression?
Buggy considered it inwardly. The crimson area wasn't large—not nearly as large as the gray—but Moria had instantly become consumed by thoughts of revenge.
Did that mean emotions became more directly expressed when an empty space was filled?
Like how a person might be mild by nature, yet suddenly feel like doing something bad at a certain moment.
He decided to conduct a few more experiments.
He split off the entire crimson cluster, leaving the largest gray area to take over completely.
Thump.
Moria, who had just been standing with a fierce expression, forcing himself upright, naturally lay back down.
His expression relaxed.
He even began snoring softly almost at once.
Laziness.
Buggy felt another hint of understanding. His bloodshot eyes were full of excitement.
Other than splitting his own body, which barely cost him anything, splitting anything else consumed his mental energy.
What was more, from the moment he encountered Black Shadow until now, he'd kept his Devil Fruit awakened.
The Four-Way Split-Split Fruit's Awakening seemed rather ordinary.
But its potential was enormous, and it could be maintained constantly.
The pressure and tension, instead, made him feel fulfilled.
This time, he directly split the entire gray cluster into small pieces, separating them one after another.
Moria, who had been lying down, suddenly opened his eyes.
He couldn't sleep.
It was as if a fire were burning in his mind.
After a very, very long time, Moria remembered his dream once more.
Find Roger's treasure!
And then!
Conquer the world!
He was fired up!
"Yahehe! The Pirate King's position, here I come!"
Fatty Moria sprang upright like a carp.
Most of his wounds tore open at once.
"Wah, it hurts, it hurts!"
Moria grimaced and rolled around.
But before long, he forced himself to strike a punching pose.
He began practicing, following each move to the letter.
Was it determination?
Or a dream?
Buggy didn't know what to call this emotion.
But it was black.
Gulp—
Nearby,
Abrosam and Hogback were shackled in Seastone Handcuffs.
They watched Lord Moria, who had once been so full of spirit,
alternately lie down and throw punches under the control of that Terrifying Clown.
They swallowed hard.
Before you continue