Moria wasn't in a good mood.
Not only because his meal was interrupted and the tableware shattered, but also because of the commotion coming from the island's main gate.
"Seriously... when will I ever collect enough shadows?"
"By then, dealing with this kind of riffraff won't require me to personally step in."
Moria grumbled, glancing sideways behind him.
The lion-faced Absalom and the Ghost Princess Perona followed closely behind him.
"Absalom, go call the Zombie Generals."
"Looks like we've caught some decent prey this time. Let me see the strength of the current zombie army."
Moria ordered.
Before long, a zombie army of several hundred had gathered before Moria.
Yes, currently only several hundred.
This year, Moria had just obtained Thriller Bark and had only established himself in the Florian Triangle sea area half a month ago.
He hadn't had time yet to build the powerful zombie army he envisioned.
The current zombie army was not only small in number but also lacked strength.
For example, in the Zombie General ranks at this moment, there was a male zombie standing lazily with one hand in his pocket, gulping down alcohol.
"Hey, Captain John, stop drinking."
Absalom noticed Moria's somewhat unfriendly gaze and immediately reminded him.
However, Captain John continued to gulp down alcohol, but the wine he drank constantly flowed out from a hole in his chest.
"The great pirate Captain John from the Rocks Pirates back then, now reduced to this state..."
Moria snorted coldly and shook his head.
Since being defeated by Kaido, over the past ten-plus years, he had collected the bodies of many powerful figures from around the world and, using the power of the Kage Kage no Mi, inserted shadows into these bodies, manipulating them into zombies.
But these zombies were not the great pirates they were in life; their strength couldn't compare to when they were alive.
To create a powerful zombie, one needed not only the body of a strong person but also a matching strong shadow.
For example, the current Captain John zombie only had the shadow of an ordinary pirate inserted, making his strength不算很強 (bú suàn hěn qiáng - not considered very strong).
"After staying in this Florian Triangle sea area for ten, twenty years, collecting enough shadows of great pirates, I'll fight my way back to the New World and kill Kaido!"
Moria said hatefully.
"Hopefully, this prey is strong enough, so I can harvest a strong shadow."
"Preferably a very strong swordsman!"
Moria muttered.
Speaking of the strongest bodies he had collected over the past decade, they were the great pirate Captain John, the dragon-slaying samurai Ryuma from Wano Country, and the giant Oars.
However, he didn't have any suitable strong shadows for them.
Among these, the samurai Ryuma from Wano Country was the most special. This body came from the battlefield of the world-renowned great war between Kaido and Moria back then.
That is, Wano Country!
According to legend, Ryuma was the strongest samurai who had slain a dragon and was revered as the Sword God of Wano Country.
Therefore, Moria placed high hopes on Ryuma, viewing Ryuma's body as the hope for defeating Kaido!
While Moria was looking down at the zombie army before him.
In the distance, a dried corpse ran over with a panicked expression.
"Lord Moria, at the island gate, there's a very large whale, and that one-billion-bounty Sig!"
"Sig?"
Upon hearing this, Moria's eyes widened, his massive body trembling slightly with excitement for a moment.
Moria had entered the Florian Triangle sea area half a month ago; he was certainly no stranger to the recent major news!
Sig had two most shocking achievements.
The duel with the world's strongest swordsman, Mihawk, and the feat of splitting the sandstorm in Rainbase City with a single sword strike!
"Kishishishi, isn't this the great swordsman I've dreamed of?"
"Ryuma! The great swordsman worthy of your body has finally arrived!"
Moria's spirits lifted instantly. He grinned widely, revealing a row of sharp teeth.
"If I can get his shadow, plus Ryuma's body, the combination of the two strong forces will make me invincible!"
However, despite his excitement, with Moria's current resources, seizing Sig's shadow still required careful consideration of countermeasures.
After all, Sig had a great reputation and couldn't be underestimated by Moria.
Finally, Moria's gaze landed behind him, on Absalom and the Ghost Princess Perona.
These two, one the user of the Suke Suke no Mi (Clear-Clear Fruit) and the other the user of the Horo Horo no Mi (Hollow-Hollow Fruit), weren't very strong in terms of raw power, but were often surprisingly effective when used for surprise attacks.
........
A moment later, at the island gate.
Sig and the others disembarked one after another, standing somewhat troubled at the edge of the island.
"Gecko Moria... another Shichibukai. How the hell am I supposed to fight him?"
Sig's mood was somewhat low, his heartbeat already starting to accelerate slightly.
Finally, his gaze fell on Croco-Delle beside him.
As fellow Shichibukai, if Croco-Delle wasn't restricted by Seastone, it was hard to say who would win against Moria.
With the Jiang Ziya card in hand, Sig felt he could handle Croco-Delle, but facing Moria....
"Too dangerous!"
While Sig weighed his options, he saw movement coming from the depths of the island.
A large wave of zombies was approaching!
Several hundred zombies and dried corpses of various shapes gradually emerged from the faint mist.
Behind Sig, the bandits subconsciously drew their swords, their faces slightly pale.
Only upon seeing Sig's back did they subconsciously straighten their spines, courage rising in their hearts.
However, these hundreds of zombies made no other unusual movements, instead neatly lining up, forming several rows on both sides of the road in a welcoming posture.
From the faint mist, strange laughter suddenly sounded.
"Kishishishi...."
A man nearly seven meters tall, resembling a demon, strode forward with strange laughter.
"What a rare guest, Sea Bandit King Sig."
Moria grinned widely:
"I didn't expect such a distinguished guest to arrive just after I entered this Foggy Triangle area."
Moria seemed to have no intention of attacking, which surprised Sig somewhat.
However, he didn't let down his guard.
Sig glanced back at Croco-Delle.
Last time, he thought he had secured Fujitora's support and was completely unafraid of Croco-Delle, only to nearly fail...
Gecko Moria, in Sig's memory, wasn't exactly a good-tempered fellow!
"Gecko Moria?"
Sig nodded faintly, turning his head to look at the pirate ship trapped by the web near the coast.
"I just accidentally entered this sea area. Since this is your territory, Moria, I won't disturb you further."
"Please release this spiderweb; we will leave immediately."
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