Coating bullets with Armament Haki before firing—
Even in the New World, only a select few could achieve such a feat.
Not because it was excessively difficult, but rather because most formidable combatants at sea preferred close-quarters weapons and martial techniques over firearms.
Moria understood this well and remained somewhat cautious of Maude's gunfire.
However, he never imagined Maude would be so insidious—concealing a single Haki-infused bullet within a barrage of normal shots.
Such a tactic was practically impossible to guard against and completely shattered Moria's understanding of gunfighting.
He had seen gunners capable of imbuing bullets with Armament Haki, but none who had ever used it in this manner.
"Cough… cough…"
Clutching his bleeding abdomen, Moria glared at Maude from a distance, his bloodshot eyes burning with fury.
The bullet had pierced his stomach, but the wound was relatively small.
This suggested that Maude had deliberately controlled the power of his shot.
Had he not done so, the Armament Haki-infused bullet would never have remained so inconspicuous within the barrage.
It was a calculated trade-off—sacrificing raw power to increase the likelihood of landing a hit.
"That damned weasel…"
Gritting his teeth, Moria forced himself to stand.
Blood trickled through his fingers, dripping onto the ground.
"Did that weasel eat the Arms-Arms Fruit…?"
Only after getting shot and experiencing Maude's seemingly limitless ammunition did Moria finally take notice of Bailey.
The thought of the Arms-Arms Fruit suddenly flashed through his mind.
His thoughts immediately shifted to Donquixote Doflamingo, a fellow Warlord of the Sea, and then to a certain female officer under Doflamingo's command who had eaten the same Devil Fruit.
If that skunk had truly eaten the Arms-Arms Fruit, then…
Moria's expression changed.
He recalled how Maude had eliminated three of Doflamingo's officers just a few months prior.
One of them… had been the woman who possessed the Arms-Arms Fruit.
Was it merely coincidence, or…?
A shiver ran down Moria's spine as his thoughts deepened.
No… that was impossible.
Shaking his head violently, he dispelled those meaningless speculations.
The priority now was winning this fight and stuffing Maude's shadow into the corpse of Oars.
Ignoring the countless eyes watching from the shadows, Moria activated his Shadow-Shadow Fruit's ability, slicing off a portion of his own shadow and using it to seal his wound.
As he finished his makeshift treatment, Maude approached, firing his gun with every step.
The gunfire rang through the misty, eerie forest like firecrackers.
Once again, a precise barrage of bullets came straight at Moria, forcing him into an embarrassing retreat.
This time, he wised up.
He no longer dared to underestimate Maude's tactics.
Regardless of whether another hidden strike was buried within the barrage, his next move was clear—evade everything.
While suppressing Moria with gunfire, Maude gradually closed the distance between them.
Then, in a seamless motion, he holstered his gun, pivoted on his foot, and vanished from sight.
In the next instant, Maude reappeared before Moria.
The flintlock pistol in his hand had already transformed into a long blade.
As long as Moria hadn't deployed his shadow clone, Maude could unleash a relentless melee assault.
His twin swords met in midair, their edges gleaming as they aimed straight for Moria's arm.
His goal remained unchanged—to capture Moria alive.
First the arms, then the legs—Maude was systematically disabling his opponent.
Despite the ferocity of Maude's offense, Moria remained composed, swiftly manipulating his shadow to flow along the ground and retreat a short distance.
A veteran who had long relied on his Devil Fruit, Moria had no confidence in fending off Maude's melee strikes. Left with no choice, he activated his shadow swap ability.
Swish!
In an instant, his retreating shadow swapped places with him.
As expected, Maude's attack sliced through empty air once more.
"…"
Maude had now witnessed firsthand how adept Moria was at using the Shadow-Shadow Fruit for evasion.
But…
By now, Maude's strategy was set.
As soon as Moria swapped places with his shadow, Maude flipped his wrist and stabbed his blade into the stationary shadow left behind.
Moria, having just escaped, attempted to withdraw his shadow to safety—but it was too late.
Maude's sword pinned it down, tearing a long gash as the shadow struggled to retract.
"Damn you!"
Moria's pupils trembled.
At last, he realized the severity of his predicament.
If he couldn't match Maude in close combat, the chances of successfully cutting away Maude's shadow were close to zero.
"Where's Perona…?"
For years, Moria had relied on his subordinates to steal shadows for him.
And they had never failed him.
Especially Perona's Hollow-Hollow Fruit, which was practically tailor-made for harvesting shadows.
All he had to do was sit back and enjoy the show while his minions delivered one shadow after another to him.
But now, faced with Maude's overwhelming pressure, Moria found himself at a loss.
Instinctively, he wanted to call on Perona for support.
Yet, within seconds of having this thought, an unwelcome memory flashed through his mind.
"He's just a rookie… I'm a Warlord of the Sea!!!"
Fueled by a sudden surge of pride, Moria shook his head violently, his eyes burning red with defiance. He ignored the pain from his shadow's wounds.
He still had one final trump card—the ultimate ability of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit… Shadow's Asgard.
His strongest technique, allowing him to absorb all the shadows aboard the Thriller Bark, drastically increasing his power.
With that in mind, he abandoned the idea of retreating and calling for reinforcements.
"Shadow's Asgard!!!"
Moria's eyes bulged as he spread his arms wide. "Come forth! Every shadow aboard Thriller Bark, become my strength!!!"
At his command, tendrils of darkness slithered along the ground, spreading in all directions.
Deep within the forest, the nearest batch of weak zombies noticed the approaching shadows.
"What is this?"
The zombies watched in confusion as the black tendrils reached them.
"!?"
Before they could react, their bodies suddenly convulsed.
The tendrils forcibly extracted their shadows.
Deprived of their shadows, the zombies instantly collapsed, reverting to lifeless corpses.
A group of pirates watching from afar took in the scene.
"That monster… is he absorbing all the shadows!?"
The onlookers, well aware of Shadow's Asgard's risks, exchanged uneasy glances.
They, too, had experimented with absorbing shadows in the past.
Yet, even after taking in less than ten shadows, their minds had nearly shattered.
"That boy is doomed… I was planning to propose to him…" muttered a towering, twin-tailed woman at the front of the group.
Meanwhile, in the battlefield—
Moria's expression suddenly turned grim as he whipped his head toward Maude.
"W-Where did all the shadows go!?!? Why are there so few!?!? Was this your doing, Bacardi Maude!?!"
"You tell me."
Maude chuckled softly before swinging his blade.
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