Avici Hell

This shadow ability... it seemed like it might not be useless after all!

He would find a chance to try it.

"Scattered Bats..."

Gecko Moria split his shadow apart once more, forming a swarm of bat-shaped shadows. They all flew toward Moke.

"???"

Moke looked utterly confused. There was no need to use such a similar move again, was there?

It was far too beneath him.

It was completely useless against him. He turned into mist again, successfully evading every attack. The mist then gathered into a human form to Gecko Moria's left.

"Horn Blade Shadow..."

Yet Gecko Moria seemed to have anticipated this long ago and launched his attack instantly.

He transformed his shadow into a spear and thrust it at Moke.

In the original story, this move possessed tremendous destructive power, capable of piercing through even the descendants of Oars, who were larger than giants.

This was also one of Gecko Moria's strongest attacks.

However, the one he faced now was not Little Oars of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Shusui instantly left Moke's sheath, and he steadily blocked the blow with the blade.

Gecko Moria's pupils shrank. He knew Moke would not be defeated so easily, but he had never expected his strongest strike to be blocked so effortlessly in Moke's hands.

It had to be said that Moke's strength far exceeded his expectations.

"Slash..."

Moke was not the type to take a beating without fighting back. Sandai Kitetsu, another Meito, came out of its sheath, flashing with cold light. A horizontal slash shot forth, heading straight for Gecko Moria.

Moke was determined to land this strike.

Honestly, if it had been the Gecko Moria of the past, dodging it would not have been a problem at all. But now Gecko Moria was so fat that even walking was difficult. How could he possibly evade it?

Just as Moke had expected, Gecko Moria's expression changed drastically as he watched the slash rapidly approach.

"Shadow Warrior..."

The part of Gecko Moria about to be hit suddenly turned into a black shadow. When Moke's slash struck it, it was as though it had struck an illusory, insubstantial existence and passed straight through.

It slammed into the wall of a nearby castle, immediately carving a slash mark straight through it.

Moke's pupils narrowed slightly at the sight.

He remembered Gecko Moria's Shadow Warrior. It allowed his shadow to switch places with his body, and it could also swap parts of his body with the shadow.

That was what Gecko Moria had done just now, directly switching his abdomen with his shadow.

It had to be said that this move was extremely useful for evading an opponent's attacks.

"Fine! I underestimated you a little..." Moke finally became serious.

As he spoke, a large amount of mist spread from his body. In the blink of an eye, the entire hall was filled with dense fog, severely impairing Gecko Moria's vision.

Gecko Moria's expression immediately turned grave, because Moke's move had essentially blinded him. The current situation was extremely unfavorable for him.

"Heh heh..."

Then Moke's strange laugh rang out from within the thick fog.

Gecko Moria's ears twitched, and he immediately shouted, "Horn Blade Shadow!"

He transformed his shadow into a spear once again and thrust it toward where the sound had come from.

"Slash..."

At that moment, a slash burst through layers of fog from the other side and viciously struck Gecko Moria's bloated body.

"Agh!"

Gecko Moria could not help crying out in pain.

"Slash, slash, slash..."

Moke constantly shifted positions within the mist. Every time he changed positions, he swung out another slash, cutting at Gecko Moria from different directions and angles.

"Agh... agh..."

Gecko Moria kept crying out in pain as he roared furiously, "Kid, if you have the guts, come out and face me head-on..."

"Heh heh... Gecko Moria, my Mist Concealment Technique is pretty good, isn't it?"

Moke laughed smugly. He had learned this move from Momochi Zabuza in Naruto. That guy loved using this technique, but it had to be said, tormenting people with it felt absolutely amazing!

Still, it was only Gecko Moria. Even if he gave up this advantageous situation, what was there to fear in a head-on fight?

Moke swung his blade, and all the mist dispersed.

Shusui returned to its sheath, while he held Sandai Kitetsu. "One Sword Style—Demon Flash!"

Moke instantly entered high-speed movement and charged toward Gecko Moria.

"Slash..."

Moke brushed past Gecko Moria, leaving a bloody mark across his body with Sandai Kitetsu.

But it was not over yet.

Moke made a sharp turn, and Sandai Kitetsu carved another bloody mark across Gecko Moria's body.

One strike, two strikes, three strikes... Moke circled around Gecko Moria, delivering thirteen consecutive slashes. Every blade left a massive wound on Gecko Moria's body.

When Moke finished Demon Flash and reappeared, Gecko Moria was already covered in wounds, his entire body stained red with blood.

Gecko Moria could no longer hold on and dropped to one knee.

His face was filled with terror.

Other than when he had faced Kaido twenty-three years ago, he had never felt so powerless.

Gecko Moria knew that he had no way out now. He could either fight to the death or resign himself to his fate and close his eyes to await death.

Resigning himself was impossible. Waiting to die was even more impossible.

So he could only fight.

Go all out!

Go all out immediately!

"Shadow's Asgard!"

This was Gecko Moria's strongest move. Using his Devil Fruit ability, he absorbed every shadow under his control into his own body.

In the original story, he absorbed the shadows of a thousand people in the final battle, continuously enlarging himself to increase his strength. Its destructive power was terrifying. However, it required immense mental strength to control, and if his mental strength was insufficient, he would lose consciousness or go berserk.

Honestly, Gecko Moria's move was truly powerful.

It was just that his mental strength was lacking, and so was his willpower.

In the original story, he lost control after absorbing the shadows of a thousand people. Only after Luffy, in Gear Second, struck Moria's body several times in a row with Gum-Gum Jet Bazooka, forcing half the shadows inside him to be expelled, did he regain consciousness.

If this guy had not given up honing his own strength and training his mental fortitude, then perhaps he really could have fought Kaido with this move.

Although this move did somewhat rely on external power.

It was genuinely powerful.

Yet Moke had no intention of stopping him whatsoever.

Watching Gecko Moria continuously absorb shadows and grow stronger, Moke could not help growing excited.

He murmured, "Now that's more like it. You're a Seven Warlord of the Sea, after all..."

As Gecko Moria continued absorbing shadows, his body rapidly expanded. In the end, he had grown as tall as a giant.

Even the castle could no longer contain him, and one corner was directly burst apart.

Moke had already retreated from the castle.

His hands tightly gripped both swords. When Gecko Moria reached his limit, the twin blades left their sheaths. "Two-Sword Style—Avici Hell..."