Moria was determined to claim Maude's shadow, knowing full well that its quality was anything but ordinary.
Conversely, Maude had no intention of letting Moria's Shadow-Shadow Fruit—one of the more formidable Paramecia-type Devil Fruits—go to waste.
Both sides had a clear objective: to capture the other alive.
"Heh heh heh…"
Moria's eerie gaze locked onto Maude as his Doppelman, identical in form to himself, advanced soundlessly toward him.
Maude responded by unleashing two slashes of sword energy.
The razor-sharp attacks carved through the ground like shockwaves, reaching Doppelman in an instant.
Just as the slashes were about to hit, Doppelman's body abruptly dissolved into a swarm of bats that scattered in all directions, effortlessly dodging the attack.
The twin slashes continued beyond the bats, slicing through the forest a hundred meters away, toppling more than a dozen trees and causing a significant disturbance.
As quickly as they had scattered, the bats reassembled, reforming into Doppelman.
In that brief moment when its form was reconstituting, Maude activated Stealth Walk, appearing before Doppelman in the blink of an eye.
Hidden Blade Style: Shadow Windmill!
With a smooth, seamless motion, Maude swung his twin blades in opposing arcs, generating two sharp, crescent-shaped slashes aimed directly at Moria's arm.
Chidori led the attack, with White Weasel following right behind.
The two strikes were tightly synchronized, leaving Moria with mere milliseconds to react.
Observing Maude's move from an outside perspective, Moria made a split-second decision.
Instead of trying to block or counter, he commanded Doppelman to sink into the ground, transforming into a flat, amorphous shadow that evaded the slashes entirely.
Had he not been wary of Maude's formidable combat abilities, Moria might have risked taking the attack to create an opening for a counterstrike.
But because Maude had already demonstrated overwhelming offensive power, Moria chose to play it safe, having Doppelman completely avoid the threat.
"Shadow Lance!"
The shadow on the ground abruptly sprung to life, reshaping itself into a massive, pitch-black spear that shot toward Maude's abdomen with blinding speed.
Maude's eyes reflected the approaching Shadow Lance, but he showed no sign of retreat.
Cross Slash!
Chidori and Weasel, both coated in Armament Haki, crossed over one another in a downward slicing motion, meeting the Shadow Lance head-on.
Moria's expression shifted subtly.
To fully avoid Maude's earlier attack, he had transformed Doppelman into a two-dimensional form.
This also meant that transitioning from shadow to solid required a slight delay—however brief, it was enough for Maude to counter and reset the battle flow.
As the Cross Slash bore down on the Shadow Lance, the weapon snapped back into the ground, dissolving into a harmless puddle of darkness once more.
Maude's blades struck nothing but air.
Shadow Lance was Moria's strongest single-target attack, boasting incredible piercing power.
Yet, against Armament Haki, its effectiveness was greatly diminished.
From the way the lance recoiled, Maude reached a conclusion.
"So it seems… Even if you can use Armament Haki, you can't enhance your shadows with it."
"..."
Moria's cold eyes locked onto Maude as he silently commanded the shadow to reform into Doppelman once more.
He had ventured into the New World long ago and had clashed with many powerful foes, allowing him to grasp the basics of Haki.
However…
For various reasons, Moria had never truly mastered Haki, choosing instead to focus on his Zombie Army Project.
Just as Maude had suspected, Moria did possess Armament Haki—but at a rudimentary level. He had never trained to integrate it with his Devil Fruit abilities.
After exchanging several rounds, Maude had a clear understanding of Moria's limits.
He recalled that when Moria fought the Straw Hat Pirates, he had never explicitly demonstrated the use of Armament or Observation Haki.
Considering that Moria had been to the New World and even secured a seat among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, it would be absurd if he didn't know Haki at all.
Now, it was clear: Moria did know Haki.
However, his Armament Haki was weak, and only his Observation Haki was passable.
With a casual flourish, Maude twirled his blades and remarked coolly, "Moria, Haki is the true capital for surviving in the New World—not those worthless zombies you've spent so much effort creating."
"Heh heh heh…"
Moria sneered, his eyes gleaming with menace. "A brat like you has no right to lecture me on what I should or shouldn't do."
The Zombie Army was nothing more than his expendable battle force.
The true core of his power lay in the shadows within the zombies—they could fight on his behalf, or he could recall them at any time to increase his own strength.
That was the ultimate trump card of his Zombie Army project.
Had he already obtained a fitting shadow to resurrect Oars, he wouldn't even need to personally deal with Maude.
"Once I claim your shadow, you'll understand the true meaning of 'a fate worse than death!' Heh heh heh!!"
Moria spread his arms wide, bloodshot veins visible in his eyes.
As his laughter echoed through the forest, Doppelman launched another attack.
Each strike served only one purpose: to create an opportunity to use Shadow Swap.
If that moment arrived, Moria would immediately switch places with Doppelman and sever Maude's shadow.
Until then, he was willing to let Doppelman remain defensive rather than risk exposing Shadow Swap prematurely.
However…
Moria would never have expected that Maude already knew everything about his abilities.
Fully aware that Moria could swap places with Doppelman at any moment, Maude deliberately let him stay outside the battle zone, watching him manipulate the shadow from a safe distance.
As Doppelman rushed forward, Maude raised White Weasel.
"Lone Pistol."
The moment the words left his lips, White Weasel shifted from a longblade into a sleek, white flintlock pistol.
"Bang! Bang! Bang…!"
Maude rapidly pulled the trigger.
Muzzle flashes lit up the battlefield as bullets rained down on Doppelman.
"Heh… Bullets won't hurt my shadows."
Moria sneered as Doppelman ignored the incoming barrage, charging ahead unhindered.
Regular bullets couldn't harm Doppelman. As long as they weren't Haki-infused, they were meaningless.
But Maude kept firing.
"Bang! Bang! Bang…!"
Then, one bullet gleamed subtly.
Without warning, Armament Haki flowed into the flintlock.
"Bang!"
A single Haki-coated bullet blended seamlessly into the barrage, striking Doppelman's abdomen.
Moria's smirk vanished instantly.
Moria had never expected Maude to conceal a Haki-coated bullet within the relentless rain of gunfire.
By the time the bullet struck the Doppelman's body, it was already too late.
In an instant, a perfectly round hole was blasted through the Doppelmans torso.
Moria's expression shifted drastically.
The sheer shock of the moment shattered his concentration—his Observation Haki wavered, and even the heavily damaged Doppelman was forced to return to his body at blinding speed.
The moment the Doppelman reentered Moria, an explosive force erupted out of nowhere, sending Moria hurtling through the air.
"Boom! Boom...!"
His massive frame crashed through tree after tree, each one snapping apart on impact. He plowed a trench into the earth before finally coming to a stop after breaking through the eighth tree, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.
All around the forest, figures cautiously emerged from their hiding spots.
They were the pirates whose shadows had been stolen by Moria—now stranded on Thriller Bark, clinging to a fragile existence.
They had arrived in secret, only to witness Moria being sent flying. Shock spread across their faces.
"Was it him?"
Their eyes turned toward Maude, who stood calmly in the garden, his expression unwavering.
"Who is this kid?"
These pirates, long isolated aboard Thriller Bark and cut off from the outside world, couldn't help but wonder about Maude's identity.
The same disbelief was shared by the few zombies stationed in the forest.
"This... this can't be happening...!"
They stared in stunned silence, unable to comprehend how their mighty master had just been sent flying.
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