"Cough, cough, cough... Damn Moria... I really underestimated you..."
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Cross was buried deep under countless shattered rocks, with only sporadic light filtering through the cracks, allowing him to barely make out his dark surroundings. The constantly falling dust choked him, making him cough incessantly.
Though a hero shouldn't boast of past glories, Moria, ten years ago, was indeed known as the 'Hero of the West Blue'. The fact that a large number of pirates followed him, that he could engage in a fierce battle known as a "great war" with Kaido the Beast, and even after defeat, gain the World Government's recognition and be invited as a Warlord of the Sea—he was clearly not someone to be carelessly underestimated.
Thinking this, Cross couldn't help but feel secretly grateful. Fortunately, Moria's desperate counterattack hadn't truly landed on him. Otherwise, even with his Armament Haki defense, he would have definitely been impaled alive by the 'Spiky Shadow Lizard'.
After all, during the Summit War, Little Oars Jr., a descendant of Oars and a member of the Ancient Giant Race, possessed a body tougher than ordinary giants. Yet, he couldn't withstand the penetration of the 'Spiky Shadow Lizard,' let alone Cross, who was an ordinary human.
Although he was very confident in his physical prowess, he wouldn't be so foolish as to compare himself to the Ancient Giant Race. Even if the opponent was just a brute with raw strength, they were still true monsters.
Crackle—
After a while, Cross felt his somewhat dazed mind clear a bit. He endured the intense soreness throughout his body and strenuously dug through the countless rocks pressing down on him, struggling to climb upward.
Before long, a loud boom echoed.
A large amount of shattered rock was blasted away by immense force, scattering in all directions like falling blossoms. Another cloud of dust rose from the rumbling Cactus Mountains.
"That damned old bat!"
"That blasted hothead!"
"This time, I'll use all my strength to kill, kill, kill you...!"
Cross let out an enraged roar, leaping over ten meters high like a rocket, only to be stunned the next moment, stammering.
He found his vision suddenly clear, clearly at an extremely high vantage point with an incredibly wide view. The height was so exaggerated that even the town below appeared only vaguely from his elevated position.
Most importantly, his surroundings were desolate, scarred lands. Large rocks stained with brown dirt were everywhere, along with countless large and small craters resembling leprosy sores, and many broken, shattered tombstones and tattered clothes.
Holy shit!
My apologies! My apologies!
I merely dug up your graves on purpose; please forgive me!
Although "digging up graves and ending bloodlines" was a superstitious saying, as a human, the phrase "the dead are to be respected" was deeply ingrained in his DNA. Even if the owners of these graves were pirates, destroying their graves was a deeply immoral act.
Cross stood on the desolate ground of the cactus rock, his Armament Haki receding. He rubbed his head, quite annoyed, and muttered to himself, "You can't blame me entirely for this! That bastard Moria blasted me over here. You in the afterlife should know that. Don't come looking for... ugh, don't come looking for me. I'm not scared anyway!"
"I'm a proud Marine! I wasn't afraid of you low-tier pirates when you were alive, let alone after you're dead!" After saying that, Cross puffed out his chest, straightened his back with righteousness, and then swiftly used Geppo to leap into the air, heading down the mountain.
His retreating figure, however, held a hint of hurriedness.
Meanwhile, in Whiskey Peak town, various hoarse and grotesque roars could be heard, completely indiscernible, as if they were just ghostly wails, not a single voice speaking normally.
A group of 'monsters' wandered aimlessly, all wearing tattered clothes, most of them barefoot, with bandages wrapped around their bodies, looking like a group of casualties. But upon closer inspection, these 'monsters' had mouths without lips, only teeth and gums, and they flailed their arms menacingly like demons, not like living people.
Moria held two scissor-shaped greatswords, surrounded by these 'monsters'. The surroundings were filled with collapsed house ruins and tragically dead bodies. Various firearms, swords, and other weapons lay scattered on the ground. A strong scent of blood mixed with gunpowder permeated the air.
Ptooey~
Moria spat on the ground with disdain, scoffing, "Kishishishishi~ You fools actually dared to try to pick up scraps. You truly don't know your place!"
"M-monster..." Paul lay on the ground, covered in blood, his expression utterly terrified. He struggled to crawl, trying to get away from Moria. Unfortunately, a group of 'monsters' surrounded him, blocking his escape.
"Hmm?!"
Suddenly, Moria seemed to hear something and turned to look at the cactus rock across the river. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "As expected, he's not dead. What a troublesome brat!"
As he spoke, he instinctively touched the two bloody, gruesome sword wounds on his chest. The intense pain still made him frown.
"Forget it. Now isn't the time to fight the Marines. I'll take your shadow later!"
Then, Moria glanced at the heavily wounded Paul and said with malicious delight, "You're lucky today; I'll spare your life. Help me deliver a message to that Marine brat. Tell him I've reserved his shadow!"
With that, he swaggered towards the riverbank. The group of 'monsters' surrounding him stopped wandering and followed behind Moria.
Whoosh—
Boom—
Not long after, a black blur slammed heavily onto the open ground by the riverbank, instantly creating a shattered pit several meters in diameter. Dozens of cracks spread outwards like a spiderweb, and a strong gust of wind kicked up, raising a towering cloud of dust.
"Moria, get out here!" Cross emerged from the swirling smoke, his expression icy cold. He held his katana and roared towards the town.
But the next moment, he noticed something was wrong.
First, the smell of blood and gunpowder was several times stronger than before. Also, there were many more bodies on the ground, and the town was too quiet; not a single sound could be heard.
Lastly, Moria's pirate ship was gone.
'Could it be that this guy ran away?!'
Cross mused inwardly. Then, following the trail of bodies on the ground, he walked into the town and finally arrived at the place with the strongest scent of blood and gunpowder.
Instantly, Cross saw over a hundred bounty hunter corpses, lying haphazardly amidst the ruins of houses. Their bodies were mangled and twisted beyond human recognition, their deaths utterly gruesome.
"S-save me... Commander... Commander Cross..."
At that moment, a weak voice reached Cross's ears, making him turn. He saw Paul, the mayor of Whiskey Peak town, lying covered in blood in the corner of a ruined house.
Cross quickly walked over to Paulie, closely inspecting him with a deep frown. He stated grimly, "It seems you all tried to take advantage, and it backfired."
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