Two Big Slaps for You

Seeing this, Moke raised his leg and kicked Miss Bakkin flying.

He then shouted, "Ata, Perona, Brook, Mr. 2, proceed according to plan."

Ata, Perona, Brook, and Mr. 2 understood at once and immediately charged toward the kicked-away Miss Bakkin.

"Negative Hollows!"

Perona was the first to attack...

As for Moke, once they had all moved away, he waved his hand and dispersed the mist. He wanted to face Weevil head-on and see exactly what level his strength had reached.

Gecko Moria had been far too weak before. Moke had barely done anything before that guy went down.

Weevil, on the other hand, was a decent opponent.

Weevil first turned his head and looked around. "Where's Mama?! Where's Mama..."

At last, his gaze fell on Moke. "Where's Mama?!"

"Whoosh..."

He raised the enormous greatsword in his hand and slashed directly at Moke. Moke narrowed his eyes, sheathed Shusui, and tucked it at his waist. Then his entire body transformed into the Dice-Dice Fruit state.

He wanted to test exactly how strong his body was now. Then he crossed his arms above his head!

Clang!

Weevil's greatsword slammed fiercely into his crossed arms. Moke immediately felt Weevil's terrifying strength. His legs were forced to bend, while the ground beneath his feet shattered under the unbearable force.

When Kizaru had pursued Weevil, he had once remarked that Weevil possessed combat power no weaker than Whitebeard in his youth.

Later, Weevil had been captured by Ryokugyu.

Because of that, Moke had always believed that Weevil was powerful, but definitely not as powerful as Kizaru claimed—not strong enough to rival Whitebeard in his youth.

It was an exaggeration, absolutely an exaggeration.

Otherwise, how could Ryokugyu have captured him? Ryokugyu might have been an Admiral, but Red-Hair had scared him off from far away with a burst of Conqueror's Haki. It was truly a disgrace.

Only now, after personally experiencing Weevil's terrifying strength, did Moke truly understand that Kizaru might have meant Whitebeard before he ate the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, when he fought solely with his heaven-defying physical power!

Clang...

Weevil's blade continued pressing down. At last, even Moke's arms were forced down, and the blade came down heavily onto Moke's shoulder!

Yet it did not injure Moke in the slightest.

In his Dice-Dice Fruit state, his body was at the level of a Meito. To break through his defense, one first needed the strength to sever a Meito with a single slash.

Weevil was strong, but he was still far from that level.

"Hm?"

The "simple-minded" Weevil watched this scene with confusion in his eyes. Then he grew even angrier, withdrew his blade... and raised the greatsword high once more.

Finally, he slashed at Moke again.

This time, Armament Haki had already coated his greatsword.

Moke's pupils contracted slightly at the sight.

"Armament Coating!"

Moke did not dare let his guard down. In an instant, he coated his entire body in Armament Haki. At that moment, he seemed to have transformed into a Black Blade. Even the aura around him became entirely different!

Originally, he had gone to Gecko Moria to obtain Shusui, and he had wanted Shusui in order to gain Armament Haki.

How could he possibly not absorb it?

Thus, he had awakened Armament Haki as he wished. And turning Shusui into a Black Blade required an enormous amount of Armament Haki. All of that vast amount of Armament Haki had benefited Moke.

Setting aside technique, purely in terms of the quantity of Armament Haki—

In the entire world of One Piece, there were only a handful of people who surpassed him. Probably only Hawkeye, who had turned his own Meito into a Black Blade, and Garp, who had fought across the world with a pair of Iron Fists.

They were stronger than him in Armament Haki.

Clang...

Weevil's blade came down once more, still carrying that same terrifying force.

But with his top-tier Armament Haki, Moke successfully blocked it. That was right—his Armament Haki was far stronger than Weevil's, making up for much of the gap in their physical strength.

"Haah..."

Moke shouted as all the strength in his body erupted at once, forcibly pushing Weevil's blade away.

Weevil staggered back four or five steps before finally stopping.

Weevil might have been dull, but once he fought, he was not dull at all. After steadying himself, he immediately swung his blade again!

Moke did not yield either. This time, however, he chose to draw Shusui.

He met the attack head-on.

Clang...

The metallic clash of blades rang out again as terrifying power continuously collided between the two weapons.

Gales of force swept outward in waves, making their clothes flap loudly. This strike ended in a draw.

"Hahaha..."

Weevil became completely excited, his fighting spirit soaring.

At the same time, Moke understood just how great a role Armament Haki played in battle. It was enough to reverse the tide of a fight!~

He now desperately wanted to learn the techniques of Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki. He believed that once he mastered those two types of Haki, his strength would advance another step.

"One Sword Style—Dragon-Rising Slash!"

There were many towering people in the pirate world. In that regard, Moke, who had transmigrated here in a body only 1.85 meters tall, was at a considerable disadvantage.

So he had specifically developed this move.

Ghost Aura erupted from his entire body, transforming into a dragon-shaped slash that shot toward the sky.

Under that powerful blow, Weevil's greatsword was directly knocked back. The greatsword in his hand was jolted high into the air. At that moment, Weevil's chest was left wide open.

"Whoosh..."

Moke leaped into the air and swung both swords at once, slashing fiercely across Weevil's chest.

Bang!

Under the tremendous force, Weevil was sent flying and smashed down more than ten meters away. However, Moke had used the backs of his blades this time.

From the moment Sengoku had informed him, Moke had already regarded Weevil as one of his capable subordinates. How could he truly injure him?

"Roar..."

Weevil, who had been sent flying, flew into a rage. After rolling to his feet, he immediately charged at Moke, raising his greatsword high before bringing it down in a powerful overhead chop.

"Stop!"

At that moment, a tiny old woman walked over and sternly stopped him.

Weevil forcibly halted his greatsword and looked at the newcomer in surprise. Then he exclaimed in delight, "Mama?"

Moke looked over as well and saw that the newcomer was none other than "Miss Bakkin."

Miss Bakkin shot Moke a meaningful look before turning to Weevil. "Weevil, that was a misunderstanding. This is your big brother, Moke... From now on, you must listen to your big brother just as you listen to Mama, understand?"

"Big brother?"

Weevil turned to look at Moke. Already dull-witted, he looked even more confused.

Moke's face twitched. That form of address... was truly something else. Weevil was quite a bit older than him... She was only taking advantage of Weevil being "simple-minded." Otherwise, anyone would give her two big slaps!