Chapter 26

Before long, the Mini Hollows sent an image of the distant scene back into his mind.

It was a massive three-masted ship, who knew how many times larger than Adrian's little boat. Its sails and prominent flag bore an abstract, moonlike skull surrounded by scattered blood-red bats.

"That flag looks familiar. I think I saw it when I first came to the West Blue... I remember! It's the Moonlight Pirates' flag!"

Adrian's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Let's see how much Moria's bounty is now... Hmm, fifty-seven million Beli! When I first reached the West Blue, wasn't it just over ten million? It's nearly quadrupled in three or four months. That's a frightening rate of growth..."

"Gecko Moria, huh? He seems like a worthy opponent..."

On the deck, a burly man with a head of red hair raised a brass spyglass toward the lone boat in the distance. "Tch, what a pitiful little boat. It can't compare to our Cruel Moonlight! It doesn't even have a flag. A lost fisherman's boat? Why isn't anyone aboard? Did a storm blow them all to their deaths? Hahaha..."

"What are you muttering about over here, Red-Haired Jacks?"

A strong, pale arm settled on Red-Haired Jacks's shoulder. It belonged to an extraordinarily tall man, at least six meters by the look of him and perhaps close to seven.

Dark purple hair thrust upward from his head, with two small, hornlike bumps on either side of his forehead. Crossed stitches ran between his brows like a sewn-up wound, giving him a vicious appearance.

More unusually, a leather collar circled his neck. Whether that was simply a personal preference was anyone's guess...

This was Gecko Moria, the rookie pirate who had recently made the biggest splash in the West Blue.

"Moria, it's just a little boat."

"Give me that!"

Moria snatched the spyglass from Jacks, took a casual look, then tossed it back in boredom. "That's it? A boat like that caught your interest? Just tell the gunners to blow it apart."

"You've got a poi—"

"Ah, I'm afraid that wouldn't be reasonable or possible. After all, that little boat is one of the rare things I built with my own hands!"

Moria instantly looked up at his ship's mast and reached for the long blade at his waist.

The other pirates reacted too. At the top of the mast stood a handsome black-haired man, light as a feather. He was tall and lean, with a faint smile on his fair face. His black coat, white shirt, and black trousers gave him an air of easy confidence.

"Brat! Get down from that mast!"

Red-Haired Jacks gripped his sword in his left hand and roared up at Adrian. "This is the Moonlight—"

"I hear you're called Red-Haired Jacks?"

Adrian's eyes flickered. Lately, he seemed to keep meeting pirates with strangely familiar names.

First there had been Beast Kaido.

Now there was Red-Haired Jacks.

It was enough to make the Four Emperors weep...

Just then, Adrian pushed off with his left foot and shifted to the right, dodging a tendril of shadow that struck from below.

"Hey, Gecko Moria, don't you have any pride as a pirate? Sneaking up on someone is a bad habit."

"Hee hee hee..." Moria let out his eerie laugh. Narrowing his eyes, he pointed his blade at Adrian atop the mast. "You come onto someone else's ship and act this arrogant? Give me your name, brat!"

Looking at Moria's powerful build and well-developed muscles, Adrian couldn't shake a peculiar sense of discomfort. He had always thought the chubby, chinless version of Moria was cuter...

Adrian looked down at him. "My name? When I worked as a bounty hunter, I went by Tao Ya. But plenty of people prefer to call me White Ghost."

A name carried its own weight.

The moment Adrian revealed himself as White Ghost, a stir swept the deck.

After three months of spreading through the West Blue, the name White Ghost was known far and wide. At the very least, not one member of the Moonlight Pirates, who spent their days making a living at sea, had failed to hear it!

Red-Haired Jacks tightened his grip, his face darkening. He stared up at Adrian and said gravely, "Moria, he won't be easy to deal with. Don't let your guard down."

Moria grinned viciously, unconcerned. "White Ghost, Black Ghost, whatever. I'll turn him into a dead ghost! My Zombie Army could use a leader."

"Don't underestimate me, Gecko Moria." Adrian folded his arms. "As it happens, I plan to use you as a stepping stone for my next advancement."

[You have triggered a random B-rank quest: Moonlight Pirates!]

[Quest overview: On the vast waters of the West Blue, the Cruel Moonlight is a taboo no one dares violate, just like the notorious old-school gangs. Now another newcomer has come to challenge that taboo.

Will the legendary Zombie King uphold his fearsome reputation, or will White Ghost continue his legend?]

[Quest hint: Hold nothing back!]

[Quest requirements: Defeat/kill Gecko Moria and rout/destroy the Moonlight Pirates.]

[Quest reward: Randomly acquire two skills or specialties from the enemy.]

No sooner had Adrian spoken than he vanished from the top of the mast.

"So fast!"

Moria had no time to react. He raised his right hand on instinct.

Clang!

The next instant, a solid force slammed through the hilt of Moria's blade. The impact made his arm tremble.

But that was all.

"That's all the strength you've got, brat?" Moria swung his blade like a bat and sent Adrian flying. His vicious voice rang across the Cruel Moonlight's deck. "You're barely scratching me!"

—

[Based on your level and attributes, you have obtained the following information.]

[Gecko Moria] (Hostile)

[Level: LV58]

[Attributes: Strength 163, Agility 149, Stamina 187, Intelligence 9, Charm 34, Luck ?]

[Abilities: Shadow-Shadow Fruit, ?]

[Threat level: High]

—

Adrian narrowed his eyes as he flew through the air. Since setting out to sea, virtually every enemy he had faced had been a higher level than him.

Gecko Moria was no exception. More than that, he had the highest level and attributes of anyone Adrian had encountered!

At level 58, Moria stood above the vast majority of pirates in Paradise.

He was only two steps away from the threshold of the New World.

No wonder that, after witnessing Roger's execution in Sea Circle Calendar year 1498, Moria had led his crew deep into the New World within a few short years, reaching Wano Country and clashing head-on with Kaido's Beasts Pirates!

Kaido might have beaten the ambition out of him, but escaping Kaido's Spiked Club with his life already said plenty about Moria's strength!

"Let's see what you've got, fellow legend of the West Blue, White Ghost!"

"Shadow Horn Spear!"

Blade in his right hand, Moria crouched slightly and pressed his left hand to the deck. He pulled a huge, strangely shaped spear from the shadow before him and hurled it skyward, straight at Adrian.

By Moria's reckoning, White Ghost had been thrown into the air with nothing to push off from. The brutal Shadow Horn Spear would pierce him clean through and bring this boring fight to an end.

But to Moria's utter surprise, Adrian simply turned and glided aside. Like a bee darting among flowers, he effortlessly dodged the spear Moria had been certain would hit.

"He can fly?!"

Moria's expression shifted as he reluctantly voiced his guess.

The rarity of flight went without saying.

On the boundless sea, anyone who could fly controlled the sky—and, more dangerously, when and how to attack!

"Don't think flying makes you special!" Moria roared up at him. "Scattering Bats! Attack!"

The Shadow Horn Spear, still hurtling forward, instantly broke apart at its wielder's command into hundreds of black fragments.

In the space of a breath, the fragments became shadow bats. They spread their mouths, bared sharp shadow fangs, and swarmed toward Adrian in a dark cloud.

Mini Hollow: Nova Fire!

With a thought, Adrian summoned specks of white light around him. In an instant, they became hundreds of Mini Hollows.

The Mini Hollows flew into the swarm, nearly one for every shadow bat.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Black and white collided, bursting into brilliant sparks across the sky. The deafening explosions seemed to shake the clouds.

Adrian looked down, his gaze cold.

Mini Hollow: Fireworks Festival!

The remaining Mini Hollows gathered with newly created ones into a vast mass of light. They fell like fireworks and bombarded the Cruel Moonlight below with the force of a raging storm.

"Damn it, I hate people who can fly!"

Moria grumbled, but he did not dare underestimate the Mini Hollows' explosive power.

"Shadow Summoning!"

The darkness beneath Moria churned, then erupted from the deck like a spring. It formed an enormous protective dome around him and every other pirate aboard the Cruel Moonlight.

The Mini Hollows struck the dome, raising only faint ripples across its surface.

After a dozen seconds, the Mini Hollows were spent. Moria slowly withdrew his shadow shield and shouted at the sky, "Hey, White Ghost! Got any other moves? That wasn't nearly enough fun!"

Moria had no intention of conceding ground, especially when he did not consider himself weaker. The trouble was that his shadow abilities posed little threat to someone who could fly...

Adrian frowned slightly in midair. He sensed something unusual about Moria's shadow abilities, but he needed to test it.

He extended a finger and released the finishing move that had never failed him before—Mini Hollow: Withering Heart-Piercer.

Moria merely gave a lazy yawn. He summoned a Shadow Screen and easily blocked the Mini Hollow.

"That whole barrage of bombs did nothing to me. What's one tiny thing going to do?" Moria scoffed, utterly unaware that this Mini Hollow differed from the earlier ones.

But Adrian had confirmed his suspicion.

Just as I thought!

The Shadow-Shadow Fruit really is different from other Devil Fruits!

As supernatural creations, the shadows could shift between tangible and intangible forms at their wielder's will.

Moria himself had not noticed, but Adrian had.

And as the fruit's wielder, Moria could channel his will into every part of the shadows, shaping and reshaping them however he pleased.

Lord of Shadows—that was probably the title a true wielder of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit deserved!

On the pirate ship below, the Moonlight Pirates saw that their captain was holding his own against White Ghost. Delighted, they grew carried away and began jeering at the sky.

"So this is the terrifying bringer of death from the stories? How scary~"

"Captain Moria's that strong! How could he lose to some brat?"

"He's all alone! Let's all attack together!"

The raucous laughter stopped. Everyone turned to stare at the last pirate who had spoken as though he were an idiot.

Their looks all said the same thing: He can fly. If you can reach him, go ahead. The pirate flushed with embarrassment.

In the sky, Adrian shook his head. The lackeys had best leave the stage. They were spoiling the fun!

He opened his palm toward the Cruel Moonlight below and said coldly:

"White Ghost: Heartwreck Maze!"

White Hollows poured from Adrian's palm in a dense cloud.

Creating White Hollows was the most basic of the Hollow-Hollow Fruit's many abilities. For Adrian, it took no more effort than breathing.

Countless White Hollows descended and surrounded the Cruel Moonlight like a thick fog.

Moria frowned and swept out a great mass of shadows.

The black shadows surged upward to meet the White Hollows, but this time they achieved nothing. The dense swarm of White Hollows spread evenly across the shadows on contact, covering them like a sheet of cloth. They neither exploded as before nor tried to pass through.