"What do you mean you can't, Kuma?" Saturn said through a DenDenMushi.
The Tyrant Kuma stood aboard a ship in the distance. It was shrouded in fog, yet it seemed as though his eyes could still see through it.
His mission was to warn Gecko Moria about Allen Walker—not because the Government cared about Moria, but because with the upcoming war against Whitebeard, they couldn't afford to lose another Shichibukai.
Unfortunately, Kuma had arrived one step too late. Allen had reached Thriller Bark first, making it impossible to do anything. The moment Kuma got any closer, Allen would detect him with his Haki.
"Allen Walker has begun fighting Gecko Moria."
"What? That useless fool..." Saturn said, but Kuma didn't react.
"..."
"Just come back, Kuma. Gecko Moria can't survive this battle. The mission is over."
"I wouldn't say that..." Kuma replied.
"What do you mean?" Saturn frowned.
"Gecko Moria is fighting Allen Walker... and he seems to be matching him."
"What did you say?!"
The shockwaves reached Kuma's ship.
He didn't know why, but Gecko Moria was fighting at a level that should have been impossible for him. Kuma was recording everything and secretly transmitting it to the Revolutionary Army, the organization he secretly belonged to while simultaneously serving as an agent of the World Government.
....
One of the tower's walls exploded as two figures burst out, exchanging blows at a speed beyond the naked eye.
Allen tightened his grip on his sword as his body became enveloped in the Lightning Logia. The boost made him even faster. He vanished and slashed Gecko Moria, catching him by surprise, but it was a fake. His body soon dissolved into a shadow.
"A clone?"
"Correct... but also incorrect! Kishishishi!"
Ten copies of Gecko Moria appeared around him.
Every clone drew a sword coated in Armament Haki and attacked.
Allen dodged strike after strike, cutting several of them down, yet he always missed the real one.
He focused, pushing his advanced Observation Haki even further, and finally understood.
Moria was constantly switching places with his shadow clones, creating a form of teleportation. Originally, he could only do it with a single shadow, but now he could do it with ten.
"Then..."
Allen teleported away and crossed his arms as an intense light gathered between them.
"...!"
Moria's grin froze.
"Yasakani Sacred Jewel!"
Countless beams of light rained toward the shadow clones.
There were so many, and they were so fast, that every clone was destroyed.
Moria covered himself in Haki to withstand the barrage, but Allen's true goal was simply to prevent him from teleporting for an instant.
Allen appeared right in front of Moria the moment one of the light beams struck his real body.
"Tch!"
Moria blocked Allen's sword with his own, but it was only a feint.
A transparent aura enveloped Allen's fist as he slammed it into Moria's chest.
The air itself shattered.
It was the power of the Gura Gura Fruit.
Moria coughed up blood and was sent flying, crashing into Hogback's mansion.
Allen didn't stop there.
He raised a finger, and a flash of light gathered at its tip.
But that wasn't all.
Allen smiled.
"More, more..."
As he fired Kizaru's laser, it expanded massively, turning into a gigantic cannon of light thanks to Byrnndi World's Devil Fruit, capable of increasing anything it touched by a hundredfold.
The instant it struck, it pierced straight through the ground and created an enormous crater in Thriller Bark.
Only Allen could accomplish something like this.
He possessed the abilities of multiple Devil Fruits, allowing him to create combinations that had never existed before.
[More powerful than Enel's Thor, faster and more destructive than Kizaru's Ama no Murakumo... How terrifying. And that was just a casual attack.]
"..."
Allen watched as water began filling the crater; he teleported down and instantly froze it.
He did it to keep Thriller Bark from sinking. After all, there were still many living people trapped on this island—the original owners of the shadows Moria had stolen.
Allen disappeared once more and reappeared near the tower.
Moria was there.
One of his arms was gone, and blood poured from his mouth, but he was still alive.
"Damn you!"
"I'm surprised you're still alive," Allen smiled.
Even with all three types of Haki and a far greater mastery of his Devil Fruit, the gap between them was obvious.
It made sense.
No matter how much stronger Moria became, he still hadn't reached the level of a Yonko, and even if he had, Allen had already reached the Pirate King level.
Perhaps the difference between a Yonko and the Pirate King wasn't enormous, but it was still a higher level.
"I guess this is the limit of a false future," Allen said with a smile.
Moria's body slowly returned to normal.
Knowing his borrowed time had run out, Moria showed no frustration. In the end, he had only been fighting with power obtained from Allen. The victory had been impossible from the very beginning.
Yet something inside Moria had changed; the man felt regretful and pathetic. He felt jealous of the man he could have become. He had made a mistake when he ran away...
When he abandoned his dreams...
When he feared Kaido.
"I won't thank you," Moria said.
Everything that had happened was thanks to Allen, but Allen had also destroyed his ship, and probably his crew as well.
"Just kill me!" Moria said as he sat down on the ground.
"..."
Allen smiled as the edge of Ace gleamed.
....
The girls had finally regrouped after finishing their battles.
Among them, Uta looked dissatisfied.
"What? Weren't a hundred zombie generals enough?" Mikita teased.
"That's not it," Uta huffed. "Just when I was finally starting to have fun, all their shadows left their bodies, and they all stopped moving."
"Horo horo horo!" Perona laughed mockingly, her eyes full of hostility. "That's Shadow Asgard, Moria-sama's ultimate technique! No matter who the enemy is, it's unbeatable! Horo horo horo!~"
The girls ignored Perona, who was tied up from neck to toe with rope, looking like a giant caterpillar.
"I had fun at least~," Mikita said.
"You just enjoy hurting people. At this rate, Allen's going to send you back to the underworld," Nami teased.
"That's not true! I enjoyed it because it was a mission from my beloved Captain!❤️~" Mikita protested indignantly.
Vivi sighed and looked toward Robin, who was probably the most sensible one in the group.
"How did it go with your spider, Robin-san?"
Robin blinked before smiling.
"It was a creepily cute yet vulgar creature, so I got rid of it quickly."
The girls fell silent after hearing that.
Then they all turned toward Vivi.
"What about you, Vivi?" Uta asked with a mischievous smile. "Is there something we should know?"
Vivi's face instantly turned bright red.
That alone was enough for everyone to realize something had happened.
Mikita puffed out one cheek in jealousy.
Uta grinned.
Nami sighed.
Robin simply shook her head, thinking her little brother had absolutely no self-control.
Meanwhile, Perona was in complete shock.
From their conversation, she'd realized that everyone—including Absalom, Hogback, and even the zombie generals—had already been defeated.
Which meant...
Only Gecko Moria was still standing.
'Impossible! We were defeated in just half an hour?! No... that can't be! It's fine! Moria-sama will defeat their captain! No matter how strong a rookie pirate is, he's still just a rookie pirate! There's no way he can win—'
Allen appeared not far away and walked toward the girls.
"Seeing all of you here means you've all finished your battles, right?" Allen smiled.
"Captain!~" Mikita exclaimed as she ran toward him.
But Uta stepped on her foot, making her trip and fall.
"Kyah!"
"You should be more careful~," Uta said with a smile before walking up to Allen and doing what Mikita couldn't.
She buried herself against his chest and wrapped her arms around him.
"Tch..." Mikita muttered.
"Allen, are you okay?" Robin asked worriedly as she walked over and inspected a cut on his shoulder.
"I'm fine. It's just my clothes."
"A Shichibukai actually managed to do that?" Uta asked.
She wasn't the only one wondering.
After all, they'd seen what Crocodile was capable of.
Compared to back then, however, Allen was dozens of times stronger than the man who had completely wiped the floor with Crocodile.
"Don't underestimate them," Allen laughed. "Even now, I wouldn't say I could defeat Mihawk easily."
The strength of the Seven Warlords was incredibly unbalanced.
While they had Dracule Mihawk, a pirate on the level of a Yonko, others like Crocodile and Moria could be defeated by rookie pirates who didn't even know Haki.
"You used that, didn't you?" Uta sighed.
"..."
Allen didn't answer, but every girl could already guess the truth.
Flashback
A/N: This happened after leaving the Sky Island, but before arriving at Water 7.
On an ordinary day, Allen stood in front of an exhausted Tashigi, Hina, Uta, and Nami. They had all just finished sparring with him on the deck, because Allen firmly believed that true strength wasn't just about gaining power.
"Maybe I should try getting some Gold-rank Skills," Allen said as he crossed his arms.
"What?!" Nami exclaimed.
"Hey, what happened to all that nonsense about powers not making you stronger?" Tashigi grumbled.
"Well, girls, that doesn't apply to me. I'm an absolute genius, so I can improve both aspects at the same time," Allen said arrogantly.
The girls rolled their eyes, already used to his ego. Even so, they were curious. It wasn't common for Allen to add more Skills. After all, he only had a couple dozen despite being able to have thousands if he wanted, and Gold-rank abilities cost one hundred million each and were incredibly powerful, like Garp's Galaxy Impact.
[Oh, I'm curious too. Go ahead and try.]
"Alright." Allen smiled, then summoned the scroll and checked his balance. He still had more than five billion left after spending around six billion on himself and another two billion on the girls.
Watching another billion disappear was painful, but necessary. Once it was done, Allen waited while Lenalee worked her magic. When she finished, ten top-quality Skills appeared on the scroll.
Soul Manipulation
Skill: Soul Manipulation
Effect: Grants the ability to interfere with the souls of others and even steal part of their lifespan.
Current User: Big Mom
Origin: Soul Paramecia.
Skill: Kamusari (Divine Departure)
Effect: Gol D. Roger's most powerful attack using Advanced Conqueror's Haki.
Current User: Red-Haired Shanks
Origin: Gol D. Roger.
Skill: Shima Yurashi
Effect: Allows the user to "grab" space like a tangible object, tilt entire islands, and create massive tsunamis.
Current User: Whitebeard
Origin: Tremor Paramecia.
Skill: Distorted Future
Effect: Imagination alone is enough to bring an alternate version of a person into reality.
Current User: Jewelry Bonney
Origin: Age Paramecia.
"What?!"
Allen's eyes widened. Every previous Skill was disgustingly powerful, just as expected, but this one in particular was practically cheating.
He couldn't even begin to imagine all the possibilities a Devil Fruit like that could offer.
'If I can picture it in enough detail, I could become a version of myself that's an Admiral... or a Yonko... or even someone else entirely, like Gol D. Roger, Monkey D. Garp, or Whitebeard.'
'...No, come to think of it, I'm already just as much of a cheat as this fruit.'
Lenalee rolled her eyes.
[At least you're aware of it.]
When he told the girls what Skills he had obtained, they all fell silent. Allen had already been terrifying before, but now that he possessed these Skills, was there anyone left who could defeat him?
Mikita laughed at the idea, but unexpectedly, Allen remained silent. Despite all the power he had gained, deep down he felt something strange, as if the veil covering the world were slowly being lifted, whispering to him that his strength still wasn't enough.
To test the Skill, Allen turned Nami into her Admiral Aokiji version, and thanks to that, she nearly froze the entire ship.
End of Flashback
....
"No way..." Perona said, unable to believe what she had heard. Moria had lost, which meant it was a complete defeat.
In the pirate world, mercy toward the defeated was as rare as finding a needle in a haystack, so she knew that whatever happened to her, she had no right to complain. Even so, she broke down into pitiful sobs.
"I-I'm s-sorry! D-don't kill me!!"
Perona's crying made everyone turn toward her.
"And who is she?" Allen asked as he looked at the girl crying with tears and snot running down her face.
"She's... a hostage?" Nami said awkwardly. The more she looked at Perona, the more pathetic she seemed, to the point where everyone doubted she was even a pirate.
"We should let her go. I feel like some cruel villain or something," Vivi said.
"What are you talking about?" Allen interrupted. When everyone looked at him, they saw him wiping away an imaginary tear. "We can't free Nami's first hostage. Just look at how fast she's growing. I'm so proud."
"Are you my dad?!" Nami shouted in embarrassment.
Allen ignored Nami's outburst and walked over to Perona. Once he stood in front of her, the girl's face had already turned pale.
"I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"
"Neither!" Perona exclaimed.
"Really?" Allen raised an eyebrow. Perona pursed her lips and shut her eyes as if struggling with herself, but in the end she gave up.
"... the bad news."
"The bad news is that we won't be letting you go," Allen smirked as Perona started crying again. "The good news is that we won't do any of the things your zombie-loving mind is imagining. At least nothing comparable to what you used to do to the people you captured."
Perona looked away. Claiming she was innocent would have been ridiculous. Her "pets" were nothing more than corpses filled with human shadows.
"Another piece of good news is that someone might come rescue you."
Perona looked up in confusion. She had been an outcast ever since she was little because of her creepy tastes. Even after joining Moria's pirates, she had never felt that any of them would risk their lives for her.
"Of course, that depends on whether that guy decides to change and become someone worth defeating." Allen crouched down and hoisted Perona onto his shoulder.
"H-Hey! What kind of way is that to treat a girl?!"
"What are you talking about?" Allen scoffed. "Do you know how many women in the world would kill to be on my shoulder? You should be grateful to have such an honor!"
Perona was speechless. Was this guy crazy? Sure, he was handsome, but wasn't he a little too confident in himself?!
The rest of the girls laughed. Everyone had the same reaction when they saw Allen's real personality compared to the rumors about him.
On the way back, Allen came across a group of people who looked like zombies because they were so emaciated and filthy. They were the people whose shadows Moria had stolen, but they had now recovered them.
They all thanked Allen profusely, but he asked for nothing in return except their absolute devotion and loyalty to him as the future King of the World—trivial things.
When he returned to the ship, Allen found the girls waiting. Everything was peaceful, except Tashigi had one arm wrapped in bandages, the result of her battle against Ryuma's corpse. She also now possessed the katana Shusui.
Allen congratulated her, but teasingly reminded her that she was the only one who had been injured during the battle against Gecko Moria's pirates, so she would have to work even harder to become stronger.
Tashigi called him a pervert and stormed off to her cabin. As for Perona, she received the same treatment as the rest of the hostages: her own bed, her own room, and complete freedom aboard the ship... Allen was beginning to think they looked less like hostages and more like guests at a five-star hotel.
The Black Pearl set sail, leaving Thriller Bark behind.
Neither Allen nor the girls wanted to stay long in a place that smelled like death, so they departed for the last island of Paradise, the island known as Sabaody!
...
Long before Moria arrived in these seas, the legend of the disappearing ships was already well known, which meant there was something else lurking deep within this fog.
A gigantic shadow, larger than even a giant, watched Allen's ship as it sailed away.
On the deck, Allen turned around with a frown.
[Is something wrong?]
"No... maybe it was just my imagination," Allen thought. Still, instinctively he decided to leave these waters as quickly as possible—not for his own sake, but because he feared something might happen to his crew in this cursed sea.
====
A/N: Well, we already knew that once Allen had enough resources, his enemies wouldn't last long. Now comes Sabaody, the last island and the end of the arc. 🍷🗿
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