Moria's Swelling Confidence

The Den Den Mushi was still howling, static mingling with the sound of wind.

Moria's voice came in fits and starts, as though it were traveling from a collapsing world.

A red glint flashed through Rock's eyes. His thoughts abruptly narrowed, forcibly piecing together the fragments of information.

A complete trail of clues formed in his mind.

"You're in Wano Country."

Moria jolted on the other end of the call. His breathing stopped for a moment, but he did not deny it.

Rock slowly straightened, his gaze turning slightly cold.

The problem had never been complicated. Things had simply gone too smoothly.

After becoming one of the Shichibukai, Moria's path had gone so smoothly that it hardly resembled a pirate's journey.

His reputation went before him, intimidation stood at his side, and the Shadow-Shadow Fruit was in his grasp.

On top of that, Rock had personally guided him. His development of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit progressed at lightning speed. Tactics such as shadow splitting, shadow doubles, and the Shadow Army were nearly unbeatable in the current New World.

Because his "opponents" had changed. The existence of the "Thunder God" had suppressed the spirit of pirates throughout the era.

Pirates no longer dared to go mad, risk everything, or gamble with their lives.

They restrained themselves, tested the waters, and retreated.

And so, Moria crushed his way forward.

When his enemies retreated, he advanced. When they scattered, he absorbed them.

Combined with his status as a Shichibukai, most people lacked even the will to fight him.

Victory began piling up, one battle after another.

There was no struggle for life and death, no desperate corner, no genuine confrontation.

There was only victory.

And that kind of victory was the most dangerous. It would not make someone stronger; it would only make them