This kind of training method is so arduous that only Vic can endure it. He can only accumulate experience slowly as usual. At this moment, Vic really wants to have a gravity chamber.
A week later, Vic was sitting on Gecko Moria's Thriller Bark. He was sitting cross-legged on the ground, with the heavily injured Gecko Moria lying on his back in front of him.
Even while sitting on the ground, Vic wasn't idle. He held the Blood Wither, which was wrapped in Armament Haki, with the blade parallel to the ground, like fishing with a rod. Below the blade was Moria's thick, long neck. If Vic wanted, he could cut off Moria's head at any time.
This is the scene after the battle. After arriving at Thriller Bark, Vic still sent Rebecca first. Moria is not a Logia user, so he doesn't have Crocodile's old-fashioned fighting style.
However, Moria hasn't degenerated that much yet and still retains some of the demeanor of Kaido rival. But Rebecca is no longer the same Rebecca who fought Crocodile before; her Haki has improved significantly during this period.
The two fought to a standstill, but the battle ended with Rebecca being injured due to her lack of combat experience. Then, Vic took action and instantly defeated Moria, leading to the scene described earlier.
Vic didn't find Thriller Bark in the Florian Triangle this time; he originally thought that Moria had retreated to the Florian Triangle after his crushing defeat at Kaido's hands.
However, Moria didn't. Vic searched the foggy area at top speed for a whole day but couldn't find it. In the end, he got Moria's information from headquarters, which made it take him more than a week to find the big ship.
At that time, Moria was stealing corpses from a cemetery on an island to stockpile supplies for a future Zombie Army. Vic waited until Moria returned to the Three-Masted Sail before taking action against him.
Even Viktor Moria, a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, acknowledges this. Ever since his defeat by Kaido seven years ago, Moria has become somewhat depressed and has lost interest in everything, so he can be considered no major threat.
He also lost his ambition to compete for the One Piece, and all he wanted to do was lead an army of zombies to seek revenge on Kaido. The next ten years passed in the same way, and among the original Shichibukai, he was like a hermit.
But Vic followed the same procedure: beat up anyone who agreed or disagreed, spare their life if they agreed, and kill anyone who disagreed.
Moria had already reviewed the terms and agreed to become Shichibukai. He had also spoken with Saturn on the phone. Saturn then called Vic over, but didn't say much to him, only asking him to go to the Sabaody Archipelago.
After hanging up the phone, Vic sat cross-legged next to Moria and drew his sword, holding it to Moria's neck. After Saturn finished speaking, Vic still had something to say.
"Two requests: try not to leave the Florian Triangle in the future, and try not to use your right to legally plunder as one of the Shichibukai. However, I don't care if you rob or kill other pirates."
If I find out you've attacked civilians, I'll still come and kill you. Don't think that becoming Shichibukai means you're safe and sound. There are plenty of pirates; you can always find another one. Agree and you'll live; disagree and you'll die now. I'll tell the Five Elders you died from your injuries."
Vic looked at Moria lying on the ground, panting heavily, and said calmly, "Although Moria did become a couch potato later on, who knows if he often went out to rob people? The original work didn't describe it in such detail."
I promise!
Moria turned his head and glanced at Perona, who was hiding halfway in the distance with fear in her eyes, and smiled.
His movement caused his neck, which was still some distance from the Blood Wither, to come into contact with the blade. A wound immediately appeared on his thick, long neck, and blood quickly flowed down his snow-white neck, but Moria seemed completely unaware.
Moria had already lost his will to live, and now all he wanted was to collect more corpses and then lie low in the Florian Triangle. This was something he had planned for a long time, so the Thriller Bark had been wandering around the islands surrounding the Florian Triangle.
Vic's request was exactly what he wanted. Another reason was that he didn't trust Perona. If she didn't agree, Vic would kill her immediately. His indifferent gaze meant he meant what he said, so he had to compromise for that reason.
He had particularly mixed feelings about this young marine who had also been defeated by Kaido. All of his subordinates had been killed by Kaido, but this young marine had managed to save all his comrades. That was the difference between them.
Now that the young marine is even more powerful, Moria sees hope in him to kill Kaido, so he has no intention of targeting Inui.
Seeing that Moria was so easy to talk to, Vic stood up and withdrew his Blood Wither, glancing at the pink-haired little girl trembling and watching him from a distance.
Vic had no intention of taking her away. Perona was already seven years old and had spent several years with Moria, developing a deep bond between them. Considering Moria's behavior earlier, Vic didn't want to disrupt things. In the original story, Moria treated Perona very well, like a father, and Vic could see that!
Vic didn't linger. He took Rebecca and the others back to the warship and set sail. Saturn had asked him to go to the Sabaody Archipelago, which he still didn't understand. The navy hadn't given him any specific orders, so he could only go to Sabaody to see what was going on and what kind of trouble that old Saturn was planning.
After another week of sailing, Vic and his crew arrived at the Marine Base in the Sabaody Archipelago. The warship was docked there, and Vic greeted the garrison Vice Admiral, asking him to help arrange supplies before leading Rebecca and the others toward the central area of Sabaody.
Saturn only told him to come to the Sabaody Archipelago, without saying who he was looking for or what the matter was. Vic asked the Vice Admiral at the base but got a blank look in his eyes, so he decided to go inside and take a look.
"Go and explore on your own. Buy whatever you want. With your strength, you can basically do whatever you want on this island. But don't go to the lawless zone; there are still people there you can't afford to mess with!"
After crossing the bridge connecting Zone 0 and Zone 10, Vic told the group that he had come with a purpose and there was no need to bring everyone with him. Everyone had their own private space, and he didn't want to control their lives.
On the warship, he only used the daytime to help them cultivate. He never interfered with the arrangements for landing on the island, but he still had to give them some advice. For example, they should never act arrogantly in the Shakky's Rip-off Bar in the lawless zone. However, given Barnett's character, he would never do anything as arrogant as the second-generation Celestial Dragons.
"I'll be with you!"
"I want to follow you!"
Two voices rang out at the same time. It was Rebecca and Ain. One was a little tail, and the other was a little follower. They seemed to have nothing to do of their own, and lived their lives with Vic at the center.
Barnett and the other two exchanged a smile and then went their separate ways. Everyone on the warship could see through Rebecca's thoughts, except for Vic. It was unclear whether he genuinely couldn't see them or was deliberately trying not to.
"Then you should carry Ain! There are plenty of human traffickers on this island. Even tigers have their moments of weakness; don't let anyone take advantage of you."
Rebecca insisted on following Vic, so there was nothing that could be done. Saturn's plan shouldn't be canceled just because of two more people, right? That would be too confidential, and Vic didn't want to take on such a mission; it was probably not a good thing!