Under the faint moonlight, the blue flame-patterned armor flew silently toward Moria.
This arm was B.I.B.’s left arm, which possessed the special ability to extract the Devil Fruit “chip” from an Ability user.
As long as it could hit with one blow! Liam was confident he could snatch Moria’s Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
Without the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, Moria wouldn’t be able to create a Zombie Army.
In that case, the layout of the terrifying Thriller Bark would be quite different. At the very least, the scum with the Clear-Clear Fruit wouldn’t be the commander of the Zombie Legion…
Also, without the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, Moria wouldn’t be able to steal Brook’s shadow and trap him in the mist of the Florian Triangle…
In short, even if Liam wasn’t interested in the Shadow Shadow Fruit, since he was here anyway, and with Red-Haired Shanks backing him up, Moria wouldn’t kill him even if he failed… If he could use this chance to take Moria’s ability, it would be a win-win situation!
The blue flame-patterned left armor quickly approached the towering figure of Moria, aiming straight for his back!
Got him!
Liam watched from behind a tree.
But then…
Moria, who had been leading several zombies in a line like school children, suddenly twisted his long, sinister neck and opened his sharp-toothed mouth, biting down on the armor aimed at his back!
“Where did that little bug come from?”
Crunch!
In the silent graveyard, the clear sound of sharp teeth clashing could be heard.
The blue, flame-patterned armor wrapped in dark Stand energy interlocked with Moria’s tightly clenched teeth as if the opponent was nothing.
The armor’s hand opened, aiming directly at Moria’s twisted chest!
Moria’s eyes, cold and filled with bloodshot lines, narrowed in fury as he quickly focused downward.
The blue flame-patterned fingertips of the armor, touching Moria’s chest… soon felt like they were stuck in mud, and stopped.
“WTH!” Liam muttered from behind the tree. Who said Moria didn’t know Haki?!
A layer of black Busoshoku Haki covered Moria’s chest, blocking ‘B.I.B.’s’ attempt to pull the Devil Fruit Chip from his body.
“What the hell is that thing…”
Moria said coldly, raising his hand with the ink-like Busoshoku Haki and grabbing the sneaky ‘shadow’ on his chest.
“Is that a Devil Fruit ability? Hee hee hee… You really underestimate me!”
Moria grabbed the struggling armor and opened his mouth wide, the tips of his sharp teeth quickly coated with Busoshoku Haki.
In just a short exchange, he quickly identified the key point: the thing attacking him had no physical form and could only be captured with Busoshoku Haki.
Moria’s haki-coated sharp teeth bit into the armor in his hand.
“Please wait.”
At that moment, another hand, also coated in Busoshoku Haki, intervened, blocking Moria’s teeth and the struggling armor.
Moria bit into the hand and arm, and the haki-covered teeth sank in slightly but didn’t pierce the skin.
Moria stared coldly at the owner of the arm – belonging to a red-haired man wearing a straw hat.
Compared to the nearly seven-meter-tall Moria, Shanks’ height was inadequate. He was suspended in mid-air by Moria’s grip on one hand.
“Calm your toys…”
As Shanks spoke, the zombies surrounding and attacking him instantly froze, trembling and unable to move.
Without hesitation, Shanks pulled the famous blade Griffin from his waist with his other hand.
Clang!
A flash of the blade illuminated Moria’s figure.
…
“Spit!” Moria spat, pulling out a handkerchief to elegantly wipe his mouth, and looked down at the red-haired man. “I seem to have seen you somewhere before…”
True experts can sense the other’s strength even in a simple exchange.
This red-haired man was no ordinary person.
Moria couldn’t be wrong; the aura this guy had just emitted was Haoshoku Haki!
Even though this red-haired man looked frail like a monkey compared to the mountain-like Kaido… he still had a similar awe-inspiring presence.
“Perhaps! If you had been at the place of beginning and end two years ago…”
Shanks smiled slightly.
He toyed with the blue flame-patterned armor he wore like a glove, examining it carefully.
“So that’s it! Hee hee hee hee… You saw it too, didn’t you? The Pirate King’s last moments!” Moria laughed. “It’s unimaginable, isn’t it? A man who conquered the Grand Line, captured by the Marines… Such a pitiful man, the captain of the greatest pirate crew, dying all alone!”
He spread his arms wide and shouted, “If his former comrades had been with him, he wouldn’t have met such an end, would he?”
“Was he alone?” Shanks flexed the hand that held his left armor and spoke to himself, “I seem to recall seeing people across the sea following in his footsteps.”
“Is that so? I see, you’re one of those fools, too!”
Moria looked at the red-haired man and laughed, “But give up. One day you’ll lose everything, just like me! It’s like rushing into the sea to die… How ridiculous!”
Shanks chuckled, “I didn’t expect a Shichibukai to say such discouraging things! Or is that why you became a Shichibukai?”
The tension in the air was palpable.
Then it dissipated just as quickly…
“Is he just leaving like that?”
Liam stepped out from behind the tree and reluctantly watched as Moria led a few zombies away, his small, giant-like figure fading into the night.
The blue flame-patterned armor detached from Shanks’ left arm, flew back to the waiting ‘B.I.B.’, and reattached itself with a click.
“Let’s go back! I’m so sleepy…”
Shanks just yawned, adjusted the hilt of his sword, swung his hairy legs, and walked back to the inn in his flip-flops.
Liam exhaled deeply.
If only Shanks had tried a little harder… Just a little feint to distract Moria and Liam would have had a good chance to successfully steal the Shadow Shadow Fruit with the armor’s sneak attack!
After all, Moria might sense that the unknown “Shadow” attack was dangerous, but he would never know the exact nature of the danger. He certainly wouldn’t know that a single hit could rob him of his Devil Fruit ability…
What a shame! Such a shame!
Missing this opportunity means that it will be a long time before such an opportunity arises again.
The next morning at dawn.
Liam opened his eyes in his bed at the inn.
Shanks was already sitting on the edge of the bed, the morning sunlight streaming through the window behind him, casting a shadow over his form.
“If I had helped just a little, you might have been able to steal that guy’s Devil Fruit ability… Don’t you feel frustrated? Turn that frustration into a drive to become stronger! One day, you won’t have to rely on anyone…” In the backlight, the red-haired man with the straw hat smiled, “I was going to say that. But I guess you don’t need me to nag you, right?”
“Tch!”
Liam sat up in bed and pointed at Shanks without hesitation, “You! One day I’m going to find the most useless Devil Fruit ability and force it on you! Turn you into a landlubber!”
“You cocky kid!” Shanks laughed heartily, “If you can do it, try it!”
“Are you leaving?” Liam asked.
“Yeah.” Shanks adjusted his straw hat and got up from the bed.
……
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