How can I become the Pirate King if you don’t work hard?.

Chapter 439 Shadow Gathering Place

"And his opponent is equally formidable!"

"Gekko Moria!"

"The Seven Warlords of the Sea before Knight Gawain!"

Before the projected image, some people knew about Moria's past and were now eagerly anticipating the upcoming battle.

"I remember the World Economic Journal reported back then that Kaido of the Beasts and Gecko Moria had fought a battle in Wano Country."

"The details of that battle are unknown to the outside world, but after that battle, Gecko Moria withdrew from Wano Country and soon became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea recognized by the World Government."

“He even lost all his companions.”

"Clearly, Gecko Moria suffered an unimaginable defeat in that battle."

"Now, twenty years later, these two meet again in the quarterfinals of the World Martial Arts Tournament..."

"This is the final battle to settle old scores and end our destiny!"

The crowd watching the projection immediately became excited.

The previous battles had already shown them that every strong fighter who appeared in the World Martial Arts Tournament was a top-tier monster.

Even though some of them, like Dazbonis and Kid, are far less powerful than the others, they are still big figures who can stir up trouble in the world and gain a foothold in the New World!

Other characters like Arkin, Redfield, and Zoro are even more ridiculously strong.

Even among these monsters, Kaido of the Beasts is the most dazzling, and is even considered a candidate for the world's number one.

call--!
A fierce wind howled, whipping up Kaido's cloak.

He stood calmly in the arena, holding the Eight Precepts.

With a massive body exceeding seven meters in height and immense strength, coupled with an invisible aura of dominance, Kaido's mere presence was enough to extinguish the fighting spirit of ordinary people.

Such beings are born to stand at the top of the food chain, taking whatever they want from the ocean.

It truly lives up to its name as a monster!

boom--!
As everyone was horrified by Kaido's figure, incredibly heavy footsteps came from the passage in the distance.

The passage, which is over ten meters high, is filled with the sounds of friction and compression, as if some kind of terrible monster is about to emerge from it.

"Um?!"

Kaido raised an eyebrow and looked up at the passage in the distance.

Then I saw a large hand—no, that thing could no longer be called a hand.

The bulging veins, bulging muscles, and ferocious claws made it look more like the claws of some monster than a hand!
At this moment, not only Kaido, but even Gawain, who was standing in the city hall in the distance watching the battle, was slightly stunned.

"So that's it! The guy who attacked the prison last night was Moria?!"

"No wonder those people only lost consciousness briefly and were fine after they woke up. The prison was dark and there was no light, so they naturally didn't notice that the shadow had disappeared."

Gao Wen suddenly became quite interested:

"However, I remember there were quite a few Gold-rank pirates inside. If Moria gets hold of their shadows..."

Gawain could naturally see that Moria had undergone tremendous changes compared to the original timeline.

Not only his physique, but also the aura he exudes is no weaker than that of the other Seven Warlords of the Sea. Although his combat strength is far from reaching the legendary level, it is still in the upper-middle tier of Gold Saints.

He is already very close to the fighting strength he should have had in his battle against Kaido twenty years ago.

With the amplification from the shadows of thousands of prisoners in the prison, its power will be amplified to an exaggerated level!

"This battle is actually quite interesting."

Wow!
Another hand reached out from the passage, grabbed the wall on one side, and tore the contestant's passage apart.

Then Moria's enormous body finally managed to squeeze out from inside.

At this moment, not only Kaido in the Round Table Arena, but everyone watching this battle was stunned!

"What the hell is this thing?!"

"Is this really a human size that can be achieved?!"

"giant?!"

"No, the giant's body isn't that deformed; it's more like a twisted monster!"

"This is a complete monster!"

……

As everyone gasped in surprise, Moria braced himself on the ground with his hands, squatted down, and looked down at Kaido of the Beasts.

His body was now completely contorted.

His body was fat and bloated, like a ball, and his legs were so thin that they looked like two toothpicks stuck in the ball. But the strangest thing was his arms, which were almost touching the ground even when he was standing.

It is Moria's special ability, the Shadow Gathering Place, developed based on the Shadow-Shadow Fruit.

This life.

The Straw Hat crew ventured into the Devil's Triangle again, fought Moria, and defeated him.

At the same time, he saw his younger self reflected in the straw hat and mastered the ability to absorb the shadows of others to enhance his own power!
A gathering place for shadows!
The prisoner who attacked Britannias Prison was none other than Gecko Moria!
Among the thousands of shadows he absorbed were many gold-level powerhouses. At this moment, the excessive absorption of shadows was constantly impacting his body, like countless parasites wriggling beneath his skin.

Even shadows tried to escape from between his lips and teeth, but were locked in place by an invisible force and could not move an inch.

Moria's body had long since reached its limit, and now all that sustained him was his resentment towards Kaido.

For twenty years, day and night, all Moria saw before his eyes were scenes of his comrades being brutally killed by Kaido!

He'd been having the same nightmare for twenty years; he'd long since gone mad!

"really……"

"I want to kill you with my own hands no matter what!"

"Kaido!"

After a furious shout, Moria suddenly attacked.

His body was twisted and extremely obese, yet his movements were incredibly fast.

The spectators only saw a dark shadow flash past their eyes before the walls of the arena's first floor exploded.

Amidst flying debris and billowing dust, Moria's狰狞 and twisted smile could be vaguely seen!
"Hehehehe—!"

Laughter echoed through the arena.

Even those watching the battle through the video Den Den Mushi could feel the twisted and terrifying pressure emanating from Moria.

soon.

The dust and smoke dispersed.

The round arena, now missing a large section, reappeared before them, only to leave them feeling suffocated.

With such destructive power from a single punch, Moria, now empowered by thousands of shadows, undoubtedly has the qualifications to challenge the Emperor of the Sea.

"This is... the power of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit?!"

Gao Wen, standing by the window, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Paramecia-type Devil Fruits have the lowest potential among the three types, but they also have the highest probability of success.

With a little imagination, it's easy to come up with fruits like the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, which can almost infinitely increase combat power as long as the user can handle it.

Moria's combat prowess at this moment is undoubtedly legendary. However, his opponent is, after all…

It's Kaido of the Beasts!
Everyone was extremely surprised as Kaido, who had transformed into a human-beast form and whose face no longer showed any contempt, descended from the sky.

His eyes were arrogant, and he held a spiked club crackling with crimson lightning, his imposing presence like the collapse of the heavens!
"Thunder gossip!"

The light between heaven and earth seemed to be swallowed up by this attack, with only Kaido's incomparably arrogant and domineering aura dissipating, devouring, and running wild!

I want to dye everything my own color!
Kaido, one of the Four Emperors of the Beasts, displayed the majesty of a conqueror in his very first move.

"Kaido!"

Moria's eyes were bloodshot, and he was almost out of his mind.

Countless shadows assaulted his body, expressing their fear of the monster above, their desire to escape, to return to their master, or at least their unwillingness to confront the monster before them.

But the more this happened, the more Moria's resentment and unwillingness burned like a flame...

Burn, burn, burn!

Almost instinctively, Moria threw a powerful punch from below...

when--!
A visible sound wave rippled through the air, and an impact force spread outwards from the midpoint of the collision, extending to a range of hundreds of meters.

boom--!
The ground beneath Moria's feet sank, and cracks rippled outwards in concentric circles.

The immense pressure caused a metallic, sweet taste to rise in his throat, but ultimately…

blocked!
Moria, who had been fading into a blur and was only holding himself up by instinct, gradually regained consciousness because of this attack.

The crimson in his eyes gradually faded, but the resentment did not dissipate; instead, it grew even deeper, so deep that just one glance from him could make one feel suffocated.

"Kaido!"

"Only you! Only you! Only you! Only you must die!"

"Horned Blade Shadow - Piercing Prison!!"

Moria activated the Shadow-Shadow Fruit with all his might.

The shadows surged from his feet, spreading outwards and instantly enveloping the entire arena.

Immediately, countless spikes shot out from it, aiming straight at Kaido high in the sky!
With the support of thousands of prisoners' shadows, Moria's abilities were amplified to an exaggerated degree.

Even Kaido at this moment has to take it seriously!
Even so, there was not a trace of fear in Kaido's eyes!

"The only thing in this world that can hurt me is that monster Britannias. Who do you think you are?"

"Twenty years ago you were a loser, and twenty years later you are an even bigger loser!"

"Useless loser!"

brush--!
Kaido swung his spiked club, his fighting spirit burning brightly!

But there is no doubt that at this moment, his blood was boiling because of the opponent in front of him.

Twenty years ago, Moria couldn't do this, but twenty years later, having regained his confidence and used his abilities to push his combat power to the limit, Moria did it.

Kaido sensed a threat from this man for the first time, but threats are meant to be destroyed!

"Jundali·Long Shengjun!"

Eighth Retreat slightly retreated, and then, like a sharp sword, he was repeatedly stabbed by Kaido. In the blink of an eye, the sky was filled with afterimages of Kaido's swings.

The Shadow Blade and the Eight Precepts collided in mid-air!

Like countless raindrops heading in opposite directions, they collided and shattered in the air, unleashing an extremely powerful force in all directions!
boom! boom! boom!
Giant craters kept appearing in the ground around Moria, and continuous sonic booms echoed in the air in front of Kaido.

Kaido, who was completely unleashed, and Moria, who was almost insane, staged the most unrestrained and also the most brutal battle since the start of the quarterfinals!
The entire arena was affected, and within a few breaths, not a single seat in the original audience area remained intact.

Countless spectators who were initially disappointed that they couldn't attend the battle felt a chill run down their spines.

"If I were there right now, I probably wouldn't fare any better than these seats."

The obese nobleman couldn't help but swallow hard. He had initially been quite critical of Britannias's sudden announcement banning spectators from watching the match.

With his subordinates protecting him, he believed his safety was not an issue.

But now it seems that even a vice admiral would be unable to withstand the aftershocks of these two monsters' attacks, let alone his subordinates, and would be instantly killed!

This is no longer on the same level!

Some people were also shocked that Moria was able to do something like that!
Malinvando.

Akainu and several other high-ranking officers watched the battle from their office.

Sengoku, who had stepped down as Fleet Admiral and was temporarily serving as the Navy's Chief Inspector (also known as the Inspector), made a rare appearance in his office.

Sengoku held a bag of senbei in one hand, taking bites here and there.

Seeing Moria fighting Kaido, he couldn't help but stop what he was doing and let out a gasp of amazement.

"After that battle twenty years ago, Moria became depressed and his fighting strength declined all the way down. He even crashed into the Straw Hat Boy in the Devil's Triangle."

"I never imagined that in just a few months, he would have grown to the point where he could rival Kaido?!"

"This joke went a bit too far."

While talking.

Sengoku glanced at Akainu, seemingly unintentionally, and saw Akainu's face was almost as black as charcoal. Sengoku's mood improved considerably at that moment.

He now finally understood why Garp and Zeff were laughing so happily when he was in charge. After all, it's so much more enjoyable to watch the show when the burden isn't on your shoulders!

laugh--!
Akainu stubbed out his cigarette, his head lowered so that his head was obscured, only his jaw muscles bulging from straining were visible.

"Troublesome guy!"

The number of formidable figures appearing in this martial arts tournament has far exceeded the Navy's original expectations.

Even disregarding the sudden appearances of Gin, Sanji, and Roronoa Zoro, Moria's ability to achieve this level of skill truly caught the Navy off guard.

If you demonstrate this level of combat power sooner, even if the Seven Warlords are no longer needed, we will still create a position for you with real power no less than that of the Seven Warlords.

That being said, those present understood that with different life experiences, in a different environment or at a different time, Moriah's situation might not be the same.

However, the Navy now has one more troublesome figure to face.

"If Moria survives this battle, his bounty should be raised."

"Three hundred million..."

"Ah."

Akainu sneered:
"Three billion wouldn't be an exaggeration!"

……

Britannias.

The battles in the Round Table Arena continue.

Moria, who has absorbed too many shadows, and Kaido, who is at full power, continue to fight, even extending the battlefield beyond the Colosseum!
Gawain stood atop the government building, gazing calmly at the distant battlefield, a hint of interest piqued in Moria's abilities.

After pondering for a moment.

Gawain relayed the new orders to Crow:

"Don't let him die."

"I see."

(End of this chapter)