The Journey of Freedom After the Awakening of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit

tread!

tread!

tread!

After a few months of airborne cushioning, Moria landed steadily on the ground in front of a house.

thump!

As soon as she landed, Hera quickly broke free from Moria's body, her huge tail splayed out as she scurried towards the house like a penguin.

That gesture made Moria silently turn away.

"Sidorro, Gamiel, are you there?" Hera pushed open the door and went in.

Outside!

Moria looked around; it was a remote coastline.

Moria thought to himself, "Hera's house behind me is half on the shore and half in the water. It must have been built this way so that Hera could easily go into the water."

Looking at both sides, the sharp-topped rocky hills extend outwards in a trapezoidal shape, effectively isolating this part of the shoreline.

Ahead was a small forest, with a path leading outwards, which should be the road to the center of Kelin Village.

"Hmm! A ferocious beast? Or something else?"

Moria's brow furrowed as he looked down into the forest path, where a violent aura was rapidly approaching.

shhhhh!

A dark figure darted out of the forest, quickly leaping a hundred meters and pouncing on Moria from the air.

"This is..." Moria looked up, his expression strange.

The half-orc form was about five meters tall and was indeed a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user. However, his flat-topped head and the neat white tuft of hair on his head looked somewhat familiar to Moria.

"I go!"

"Isn't this the number one African king, the honey badger who doesn't care about life or death and will fight anyone who disagrees with him?!"

"I never imagined that the One Piece world had Zoan-type Devil Fruits!"

With a sigh in his heart, Moria slightly turned his body to dodge the sharp claws that slid down from the air, and then punched the honey badger in the stomach.

boom!

call out!

With a burst of immense power, Moria punched the honey badger, sending it flying far away like a bowling ball, crashing through five or six trees with a series of "cracks".

"Armament Haki???"

Moria withdrew his fist, looking surprised. If he wasn't mistaken, the honey badger's stomach had just been covered in Armament Haki.

Despite not using Armament Haki, the honey badger's Haki defense was still broken by his pure physical strength due to the huge difference in power.

But

"In a place like the East Blue, the only person who can hone Armament Haki is a boy who is not even twenty years old!"

"He's not even a pirate, just an ordinary person!"

Moria was curious about how this honey badger had managed to unleash his Armament Haki.

shhhhh!

The honey badger that Moria had knocked away in the forest leaped through the air again at an extremely fast speed and charged towards Moria. It was the same action as before, and even the direction of its claws was the same, only the speed was a little faster than before.

"Although he didn't use his full strength in the previous attack, the huge difference in power should have made him realize the vast gap between himself and me."

"But judging from this, he really has the spirit of a honey badger, daring to do anything!"

Thinking to himself, Moria smiled, clenched his right fist, and gathered Armament Haki. This time, he was going to show the honey badger just how terrifying a powerful Armament Haki attack could be.

"stop!!!"

Just as the honey badger's attack was about to land and Moria was about to make his move, Hera, who had come out of the house upon hearing the commotion, changed her expression and quickly called out to the honey badger.

call out!

A cold light flashed past Moria, but Moria remained calm, relaxed his clenched fist, and withdrew his Armament Haki.

The honey badger retracted its sharp claws and flipped over Moria's head.

But how could Moria possibly allow someone to flip over his head head-on?

With a swift movement, he grabbed the honey badger's ankle in mid-air and slammed it down.

Bang!

Moria didn't exert any force; he merely stirred up a cloud of dust.

"Stop, Grimmel!!"

Hera came in front of Moria and stopped the honey badger from getting up to attack again.

"Hera, don't be afraid, I'm here!" The honey badger, also known as Steelmir, came up to Hera and looked at Moria with a provocative expression.

Before Moria could speak, Hera quickly said to Grimr, "This is Lord Mopa; he rescued me from the human traffickers."

"Isn't that an enemy?" Grimil asked hesitantly.

"Not the enemy!"

"Never mind then!" Steelmir reverted to his three-meter-tall human form, giving Moria a look that said, "I'll let you off the hook," leaving Moria somewhat amused and exasperated.

"Where is Sidor?" Hera asked anxiously.

"Brother Sidoro, I'm going to find you, Sister. I'll wait for you at home."

At this point, Steelmir was a little embarrassed and said weakly, "I just went into the woods to take care of my urgent needs. I didn't expect you to come back."

Three urgent matters?

Moria instinctively took a few steps back. The forest wasn't that big; if he had to relieve himself there every time, it would smell terrible over the years.

"No wonder the forest is so tall and lush, it must have been nourished by honey badger!" Moria thought to himself helplessly.

"How long have you been gone?"

Did he say when he would be back?

Hera frowned, ignoring Steelmir's words, and asked two more questions.

"He didn't say!"

Steelmir shook his head and honestly said, "Brother Sidorro just told me to wait here for you to come back."

Hera was completely bewildered and didn't know what to do.

Should we go find Sidoro, or wait here for him to return?

If we look for him, we might get separated again; if we don't look for him, we might cause some trouble for Sidoro.

"Wait here for two days. If you still haven't seen your brother Sidoro, then leave. After all, this place has been exposed."

Moria explained, "What happened on the merchant ship will definitely be discovered by the American Merchant Guild or the navy within two days at the latest, and then someone will definitely come to search this place."

"it is good!"

Hera agreed immediately, thinking Moria was right. Grimm had no objections; he would listen to Hera.

"kindness"

Hera suddenly realized what was happening, looked at Moria, and asked, "Lord Moria, aren't you coming with us?"

Hera looked apologetic as soon as she finished speaking, and said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that to you. After all, this has nothing to do with you, so you should leave as soon as possible."

Mopa's identity is none other than the actor Moria, Hera realized at this moment; Moria didn't want to reveal his identity.

Being with them is obviously not a good idea; it's too conspicuous.

"I'm taking Perona out for a bit now. I'll come back to you once she's settled." Moria said to Hera with a smile.

“Okay!” Hera nodded.

Moria then took the delighted Perona and used Moonwalk to leave through the air, flying towards the other side of Fantawild Island.

Watching Moria's departing figure, Hera's eyes flickered, and she suddenly remembered Moria's last words.

"Wait! Did he say he was coming back to find me??"

“Yes!” Steelmir glanced at him sideways.

"Huh? What does he mean???" Hera suddenly exclaimed, her face flushed, as Moria's gaze towards her began to flash through her mind.

Does he have feelings for me? He's a good person; he probably likes me.

"What should I do? How can I reject him?" Hera was conflicted and lost in her own thoughts.

She didn't want to hurt Moria; she knew Moria was a good person. But she also didn't want to be with humans; she still had dreams to fulfill.

In short, Moria is destined to accept this "friend zone" card.

Chapter 41 Future Plans: Many Desires

"do not want!"

"do not want!"

"I do not want!"

"Waaaaah!"

On a round rock on the southwest coast of Fantawild Island, Perona flew to Moria and burst into tears, refusing to accept Moria's offer of accommodation.

"Don't leave me, Lord Moria!"

"Waaaaah!"

Perona cried and sobbed as she apologized, "I will never urge you to eat again. I will eat on time from now on and I will never ask for food before mealtimes."

Moria was speechless and had a headache. "Begging for food? Forget about food."

"It's dangerous for me to be with you. Wouldn't it be better to give you a stable life?"

Moriah couldn't understand it. Shouldn't one yearn for a peaceful and stable life after experiencing hardship?