"Will you surrender obediently, or perhaps I can grant you a quicker death!" Cross stared expressionlessly at Moria, his voice devoid of emotion, though he was silently grumbling to himself. 'This guy was truly worthy of being a former great pirate, genuinely skilled enough to escape from Kaido the Beast.'
Just the power contained in that single punch and kick earlier, even with his Armament Haki coating, had left his muscles aching intolerably, and his internal organs slightly displaced. Even if there were no fractures or bleeding, multiple contusions were definitely unavoidable.
"Stop being arrogant, you stinking brat, who do you think I am!" Moria, startled and enraged, retorted with a furious expression, as if ready for a head-on clash.
In reality, Moria was almost dumbfounded, feeling extremely weak inside and merely putting on a brave front.
What was going on? He had only reduced his activities on the sea and stopped participating in the conflicts of the New World. It wasn't like he hadn't left his house in ten years. Is the competition so fierce now? Are young people forced to become this strong?
"Moria, the World Government and Marines are about to establish a new order. Given that you do possess some genuine strength, I can give you one more chance!"
"Marine brat, pirates are free, unrestrained beings! Kishishishishi~"
"You hothead, don't be ungrateful. You're just a defeated dog!"
"You damned brat, you're nothing but a dog of the World Government. Stop spewing nonsense here!"
"..."
For a time, the two stood facing each other, each wary of the other. They didn't continue attacking but instead engaged in a verbal spat, inadvertently forming a subtle, balanced standoff.
Cross, while spewing nonsense, secretly worked his muscles, alleviating the intense soreness throughout his body, and pondered how to defeat Moria.
He had initially underestimated his opponent, believing that since this guy couldn't even defeat the Straw Hat Pirates, who didn't use Haki, defeating him would be a piece of cake.
He never expected this guy's strength to be somewhat beyond his expectations; it wasn't as easy as he had imagined.
He guessed that Moria's strength had indeed declined, but not as much as it would during the storyline. Upon closer inspection, Moria's stomach... it didn't seem as large as it was in the original storyline, and his appearance was closer to his younger days. It seemed he hadn't degenerated too badly.
On the other side, Moria was also secretly contemplating how to break the stalemate. Clearly, Cross's strength had also exceeded Moria's expectations, leaving him in a difficult position. However, accepting the invitation to the Warlords of the Sea in such a situation would be too humiliating.
But just then, as Cross was secretly pleased with successfully stalling for time, Moria, with his richer combat experience, noticed something amiss.
Moria secretly speculated that his previous punch and kick had been delivered with almost all his strength, likely causing no small amount of damage to that Marine brat. Otherwise, given the brat's assertive attitude, he would have already attacked him instead of wasting time talking.
"Brick Bats!"
Thinking this, Moria made up his mind. He raised his hand and waved it, taking the initiative to attack, ready to test Cross. Countless shadow bats flapped their wings, surging forward like a 'black cloud'.
However, while Cross had been stalling for time, trying to recover from his pain, he hadn't let his guard down against Moria. Seeing his opponent suddenly attack, he reacted instantly.
"One-Sword Style: Shockwave!"
Cross let out a low roar and immediately raised his sword, unleashing a powerful force that compressed and then released the air, forming a visible, violent blade wind.
However, Moria seemed to have learned his lesson from before; he made the flying shadow bats more numerous and their range larger.
The fierce blade wind swept out like a shockwave, effortlessly dispersing countless shadow bats, instantly splitting the 'black cloud' in front into two. But there were still dozens of shadow bats in the sky, attacking Cross from both left and right.
Just then, Scáthach actively stepped forward, her dark body transforming into dozens of fine threads that bloomed like fireworks. They rapidly extended outwards, instantly bursting all the shadow bats.
"Hahahaha~ Well done, Scáthach!"
"Now it's my turn! Dark Blade: One-Sword Style: Absolute Severance!!!"
Cross let out a maniacal laugh, stomping his foot heavily. The terrifying force shattered the bluestone tiles on the ground. The counter-force propelled his body forward like a cannonball.
In an instant, Moria's vision blurred, and he found Cross already in front of him. The intense gale felt like knives cutting his skin, making him instinctively raise the scissor-shaped greatsword in his right hand to block.
Clang—
Splish—
At the same time, Cross raised his sword and slashed. He lightning-fast severed the scissor-shaped greatsword in Moria's right hand, and the momentum of his attack continued, striking Moria's chest.
With the tearing sound of flesh, crimson blood splattered into the air.
Moria coughed up large mouthfuls of blood, his face filled with disbelief, and he involuntarily fell backward.
This was the second time Moria had been struck.
"Since you don't want to be a lapdog, I'll make sure you can't even be a dog!" Cross's expression was cold. He held Kagehide with both hands, raised it above his head, and with a glint in his eye, slashed down towards Moria on the ground.
"Spiky Shadow Lizard!!!"
Moria lay on the ground, his expression terrified. Intense fear surged through his heart, and he let out a hoarse, cracking roar.
Screeeech!—
In that thousandth of a second, Moria's shadow instantly transformed into a pitch-black spear, extending at incredibly high speed, as if piercing through even the air itself, emitting a strange, tearing shriek.
Quick as a flash, Cross's expression subtly changed. He decisively retracted his attack, holding Kagehide horizontally across his chest.
Clang—
The Spiky Shadow Lizard, like a black bolt of lightning, instantly pierced the blade of Kagehide, immediately erupting in a colossal clang like a bronze bell. Visible air ripples spread rapidly outward in a circular pattern.
At this very moment, Cross felt an irresistible surge of immense force. His body involuntarily flew backward, instantly transforming into a black afterimage, propelled by the supersonic extending Spiky Shadow Lizard onto the Cactus Mountains on the other side of the river. Afterward, white rings of air appeared in the sky, accompanied by a 'rumbling' sound.
Rumble—
Rumble rumble—
Then, the black blur that was Cross flew to the top of the enormous Cactus Mountains, crashing into a slightly smaller, hundred-meter-diameter cactus rock like a cannonball, shattering it into pieces.
Under the gaze of countless bounty hunters, the Cactus Mountains on the opposite bank trembled violently, scattering rocks and dirt everywhere, falling like rain and kicking up vast clouds of dust on the mountain.
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