Target: Edward Weevil

"Two-Sword Style—Avici Hell..."

All the Ghost Aura in Moke's body instantly surged out, forming the phantom of an Avici Hell around him. Moke himself seemed like a demon god standing within Avici Hell—majestic, vicious, and contemptuous of all things.

"Boom..."

Purple Ghost Flame ignited over the twin blades.

Moke slowly crossed Shusui and Sandai Kitetsu before him, then suddenly swung them backward.

A massive X-shaped special slash, blazing with Ghost Flame, burst forth.

It was so fast that Gecko Moria had not even reacted before the special attack viciously struck his chest.

An enormous X-shaped wound instantly appeared.

Yet strangely, despite the wound being deep enough to expose bone, not a drop of blood flowed out. The purple flames seemed alive, desperately burrowing into the wound.

"Ah..."

Gecko Moria let out an incomparably miserable howl.

The shadows he had just absorbed surged madly out through the wound... Gecko Moria's body rapidly shrank until it returned to its original size.

Gecko Moria dropped to his knees, continuously coughing up blood.

He understood.

He had lost—a complete and utter defeat—because Moke had even waited for him to reach his limit!

Otherwise, Moke would have acted long ago.

"A loser has no right to speak. That is the rule of this world... Cough, cough, cough... But I want to ask one thing of you. If possible... spare... spare... spare Hogback and Perona... Cough!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gecko Moria broke into a violent coughing fit. Blood gushed from his mouth before he collapsed to the ground with a crash.

Thus, another Shichibukai was gone.

Moke looked at Gecko Moria with some emotion. He truly had not expected that, before dying, the man would be concerned about Hogback and Perona.

Sigh!

He could not help sighing and muttered softly, "Since you value your companions so much, I'll give you this much face. I can keep Perona. But that perverted doctor Hogback can go with you! If he keeps living, who knows what kind of madness he'll create for the sake of his wife, Cindry!"

As Moke walked toward Ata and Brook, the Den Den Mushi in his arms began to ring.

"Buru buru..."

Moke paused for a moment, then smiled.

This Den Den Mushi belonged exclusively to Baroque Works. The only people who could reach it were Robin, Mr. 1, Mr. 2, and Mr. 3.

And the caller now was either Robin or Mr. 2. Either way, it was good news.

Thinking of that, Moke's mood improved further. He answered, "This is Mr. 0!"

Mr. 2's voice came from the Den Den Mushi. "Mr. 0, this is Mr. 2. I've arrived at Xiya Island and locked onto the target."

Moke nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. You arrived two or three days earlier than I expected. Hide yourself well. Do not let anyone see your true identity."

Mr. 2 said, "Don't worry, Mr. 0. I changed faces before I came, and I changed more than once. Right now, I'm wearing the face of an island resident. I'm not even wearing my ballet outfit. No one will recognize me."

Moke was even more satisfied. "Good... Wait there, then. I'm finished on my end too. We'll reach Xiya Island within three or four days!"

It had to be said that Mr. 2's ability was simply perfect for intelligence work.

"On the ship..."

Just as Moke hung up the Den Den Mushi, Ata and Brook escorted Perona over.

When Perona saw Gecko Moria's corpse in the distance, her pupils shrank to pinpoints, and she began trembling as though caught in an earthquake.

In her heart, Gecko Moria had been invincible. Yet now, he was nothing more than a cold corpse.

Moke revealed a surprised expression. "You finished that quickly?"

Ata said, "That pervy skeleton sparred with Ryuma and Captain John. I handled the rest."

Moke nodded at that.

That made sense... With Ata's strength as a Swordmaster who had awakened Armament Haki, dealing with those people was as easy as playing around.

Then his gaze fell on Brook. Cracks had appeared in his skull, leg bones, and hand bones. He was obviously seriously injured.

"Tsk, tsk... Looks like you got tossed around pretty badly!"

Still, that would benefit him.

Ata said excitedly, "Captain, are we going after that target now?"

Moke nodded. "Perfect timing. Mr. 2 just called. It's time for us to go."

As he spoke, he looked at Perona.

Ata immediately understood. "Captain, this little girl isn't very strong herself, but her Devil Fruit ability is genuinely useful. Why not... take her in like Brook and the others? When we deal with Doflamingo, she'll be decent combat power too."

Moke looked at Perona, then at Ata, somewhat surprised. "She agreed to join?"

Ata turned toward Perona. Perona immediately nodded repeatedly as if she had been traumatized. "I'll join, I'll join..."

Moke's eyes immediately turned playful. It seemed Perona had suffered quite a bit at Ata's hands. She was practically traumatized.

He went along with it. "Then we'll do as you say. From now on, she is our companion."

Finally, his gaze settled on Perona as he said meaningfully, "However, if you want to become my companion, your current strength isn't enough... You need to improve yourself properly."

Perona said, "Yes, Captain!"

Brook gave Perona a sympathetic look. He had personally experienced it and understood very well what kind of days awaited her.

How miserable!

Four days passed in the blink of an eye. Moke and the others sailed their pirate ship into the harbor of Xiya Island.

"We're finally here..."

Brook and Perona: 〒▽〒...

Over the past four days, Moke and Ata had practically taken turns "beating them up." It was simply a human tragedy!

That was why they were even more eager than Moke and Ata to arrive at Xiya Island.

Still, they were also very curious. Who exactly had their captain come here for?

At that moment, Moke took out two bounty posters.

Whitebeard Jr., Edward Weevil, bounty: 480 million Beli.

Miss Bakkin, bounty: 230 million Beli.

"What?"

Brook's and Perona's eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

One of them had a bounty of 33 million Beli, while the other had a bounty of 41 million Beli. To them, whether it was 480 million Beli or 230 million Beli, both were opponents they could not possibly fight.

"Gulp..."

The two subconsciously swallowed. At that moment, they understood something: having joined the pirate crew of a powerhouse like Moke...

Perhaps the enemies they would face in the future would all be figures of this level.

The two could not help looking at each other, determination immediately rising in their hearts. They also gained the desire to become stronger... because in battles like these, those without strength would die.

And they did not want to die... So they could only keep striving to become stronger and keep pace with Moke and Ata.