The place Carl arrived at was the territory of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Gecko Moria, aboard the massive ship known as Thriller Bark.
At this point, Moria could be considered the shame of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. After losing to Luffy, his continued status as a warlord only served to tarnish their reputation.
This time, Carl's purpose here was to clean house. In the original timeline, it was Kuma who came to "clean up" for Moria, but Carl's objective was to erase Moria entirely.
Of course, Moria wasn't important enough to warrant Carl taking action personally. Carl's true goal was Moria's Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
The original power of the Blood-Blood Fruit in Carl's right arm had already been fully assimilated by his Mythical Zoan-type Vampire Fruit. This meant he could acquire another Devil Fruit ability.
He had set his sights on the Shadow-Shadow Fruit because, in Carl's view, shadows and darkness shared an intrinsic connection. Shadows and darkness were two sides of the same coin, and it was likely that the Shadow-Shadow Fruit contained an essence missing from the Dark-Dark Fruit.
Storing his speedboat inside the Dark Bible, Carl leapt directly onto the massive pirate ship called Thriller Bark.
Though called a pirate ship, it was more like an island—a gloomy, fog-shrouded island cloaked in perpetual darkness.
Thanks to the earlier disruptions caused by the Straw Hat Crew, the number of zombies here had dwindled significantly. Carl casually strolled into the castle where Moria resided.
Inside the castle, Moria lay on a sofa with thick bandages wrapped around his neck. Sitting on the sofa next to him were his two subordinates, Absalom and Hogback, who were also bandaged up.
When the door was blasted open, all three leapt to their feet in shock.
Moria bellowed, "Who's there?!"
Tap... Tap... Tap...
Footsteps echoed—soft at first, but growing louder. A figure cloaked in a long cape stepped into their view.
When Moria saw the intruder's face, his expression changed drastically as he exclaimed, "Admiral Black Dragon?!"
Carl's eyes swept over Moria as he said calmly, "Gecko Moria, you've lost the qualifications to remain one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. I'm here to take your life."
"What?! You must be joking!" Moria stumbled back a few steps, nearly tripping over the sofa. Carl advanced toward him one step at a time, each step reverberating like the tolling of a great bell.
The sound echoed in the grand hall, carrying an oppressive weight that made Moria's heart tremble. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he swallowed hard, gritting his teeth.
"Black Dragon, don't push me too far!"
Moria's stubborn personality held firm—he had never begged for mercy, even in the original timeline.
Absalom, however, moved closer to Moria and whispered, "Master Moria, we should retreat..."
Hogback, already paralyzed with fear, collapsed on the sofa, trembling uncontrollably. From his perspective, Carl appeared like the embodiment of death itself.
The air in the hall felt stifling, as if frozen in place. Under this unbearable pressure, Moria could no longer hold back. His shadow suddenly extended, transforming into a gecko-shaped shadow blade that lunged straight at Carl.
"Shadow Spear!"
Clang!
Carl didn't even bother to dodge. The blade's tip struck his body with a metallic clang.
Moria's pupils contracted as he exclaimed, "Impossible! Are you using Haki?!"
In truth, Carl hadn't activated even a trace of Armament Haki to defend himself. Thanks to his Mythical Zoan abilities and the Lunarian lineage factors in his blood, he could shrug off such attacks without breaking a sweat.
Carl glanced at the black blade tip pressing against his chest and raised his right hand, shrouded in dark energy. Placing his hand on the blade, he began absorbing it.
In mere moments, Moria's shadow blade softened and was half-absorbed before he desperately managed to reclaim part of it. For the first time, he experienced the horrifying sensation of losing his own shadow.
Moria's face was filled with disbelief. As a Shadow-Shadow Fruit user, he had lost a battle over his shadow—to his own shadow, no less!
Carl examined his right hand, now tinged with black energy, and smiled. He was more certain than ever that the Shadow-Shadow Fruit was what he had been searching for.
As the master of darkness, shadows ought to fall under his domain. When developing the Dark-Dark Fruit, Carl had attempted to manipulate shadows but never succeeded. It wasn't until Moria materialized his shadow that Carl felt a connection—a bond he could control.
Just as this realization struck him, his eyes gleamed with a golden light.
Moria's instincts screamed danger. "Absalom!" he shouted.
Absalom understood immediately, using the Clear-Clear Fruit to render both himself and Moria invisible.
With the hall now empty save for Carl and Hogback, the latter's hopes of escape were crushed. Carl casually flicked his hand, releasing a bolt of black lightning that reduced the trembling Hogback to ashes.
In a flash, Carl appeared at the door. The air ahead shimmered unnaturally.
Slash!
Blood splattered as Moria and Absalom reappeared. Absalom's eyes widened in disbelief, blood pouring from his mouth.
Carl withdrew his arm from Absalom's chest, letting the man collapse lifelessly.
Moria roared in anger, "Black Dragon! You—"
Before he could finish, Carl placed his hand on Moria's large belly. A vortex of darkness swirled, crushing his internal organs into mush.
Moria's massive body crumpled with a loud thud. Carl calmly stood before the corpse as black energy coalesced in his palm, transforming into a black-covered Dark Bible. When it disappeared, a black fruit wrapped in leaf-like patterns emerged—the Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
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