At this very moment, Moria, his face covered in blood, lay on the ground with only one thought in his blank mind: 'Damn it, this kid is definitely not just a swordsman!'
While it was true that many Devil Fruit users on the Grand Line also excelled in both swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat, seeing such a combination in a kid under 20 was unprecedented.
A Devil Fruit user proficient in both swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat, a Conqueror's Haki user in the Marines, and also capable of Armament and Observation Haki, and this guy was under 20 years old. It was absolutely ridiculous!
Whoosh—
Cross landed on the ground, slowly exhaling. His Armament Haki hadn't receded; he still looked like a pitch-black metal sculpture, gleaming with a subtle metallic sheen.
It had to be said, when Moria slashed him to the ground just now, he wasn't too flustered, but the moment Perona's Negative Hollow appeared, he felt a shiver down his spine. He wasn't sure if Armament Haki could block the 'Negative Hollow's' penetration, so he naturally didn't dare to risk it.
If Armament Haki could block the Negative Hollow, that would be perfect. However, if Armament Haki couldn't block the Negative Hollow, he might end up lying on the ground in a very negative state, saying things like "I want to be seaweed in my next life," which would be incredibly embarrassing.
So Cross simply unleashed his Conqueror's Haki fully, directly knocking Perona unconscious. After all, she was clearly still a child and couldn't possibly withstand the deterrent power of Conqueror's Haki.
Once a Devil Fruit user falls into an unconscious state, their externalized abilities disappear, thus eliminating the need to worry about being attacked by the Negative Hollow.
"You damned brat, die!"
Just as Cross turned to retrieve Kagehide from the ground, Moria, who had been lying there, suddenly sat up. His blood-stained face was terrifyingly distorted as he raised a hand and slapped at Cross.
Feeling the whistling wind from behind him, Cross frowned. He immediately leaped over ten meters away, easily dodging Moria's attack.
"As expected of a great pirate who's dominated the seas for over a decade. This sheer resilience alone far surpasses ordinary people! Hmm, that means he's thick-skinned, or rather, literally thick-faced!" Cross turned back to see Moria, like a tiger descending a mountain, lunging at him, swinging fists larger than cooking pots.
"You stinking brat, die!"
Whoosh—
Cross took a deep breath, exhaled, and then forcefully pushed his palm forward.
Thud—
In an instant, fist met palm, and a violent tremor passed through the air due to the terrifying force. A powerful wind pressure erupted, spreading outwards with a roaring sound.
Immediately, while Cross's body remained completely still, the ground beneath his feet couldn't withstand the pressure, shattering and cracking into a massive spiderweb pattern.
On the other hand, Moria felt as if his fist had struck an incredibly hard yet elastic wall of air. The counter-force actually sent him reeling several meters backward.
"Tch~ What a troublesome guy!" Cross grumbled, his killing intent growing even stronger. He knew his strength far surpassed that of the Straw Hat brat, who only had his Second and Third Gear. By all accounts, dealing with Moria shouldn't be this difficult.
His luck was clearly not good. This version of Moria wasn't the same Moria from a decade or so later; his strength hadn't declined to such a weak state yet, so he still retained considerable combat power.
"You hateful brat, I will never let you off!" Knowing that he wouldn't escape if he continued to engage, Moria glared fiercely at Cross, wiped some nosebleed with his hand, and then snarled through gritted teeth, "Shadow's Asgard!!!"
As his words fell, black ropes appeared all over his body, rapidly extending in all directions like spiderwebs. In a flash, they spanned across half of Thriller Bark, connecting to all the zombies.
"This is..." Upon seeing this, Cross was startled. He was about to step forward to stop it, but then he suddenly remembered something and halted his steps, allowing Moria to unleash his ability without interference.
Cross then watched as the hundreds of 'shadow ropes' released by Moria writhed like black blood vessels, seemingly absorbing something from hundreds of zombies.
"100!"
"200!"
"300!"
"400!"
Thump—
A muffled heartbeat seemed to echo in his ears.
"Ugh... ugh..."
Veins popped on Moria's forehead, and his eyes were bloodshot as if he were enduring immense pain. His body suddenly swelled and grew, tearing apart his clothes, and his beast-like clawed feet burst through his shoes. In moments, he transformed into a terrifying monster over ten meters tall.
"He absorbed 400 shadows, huh... This aura... it's like a monster!" Cross's eyes widened, and his voice actually contained a hint of excitement.
"Ah—I feel the power surging!!! " At this moment, Moria's expression was grotesque and distorted. He tilted his head back and let out a wild, enormous roar towards the sky.
Rumble—Rumble—
Immediately, the enormous sound, like muffled thunder, transformed into almost tangible rolling sound waves, forming a fierce, whistling gale that swept out in all directions.
"Holy crap!" Cross couldn't help but curse, quickly raising his hands to shield his face, both to prevent sand from entering his eyes and to try and steady his body, to avoid being blown away by the shockwave.
"Marine brat, die!" Moria, like a gigantic demon, shrieked. He suddenly stomped forward, his heavy steps shattering the ground. He instantly raised his massive arm and swung a gigantic fist, fiercely striking at the 'tiny' Cross below.
Cross watched the enormous fist descending from the sky, his breath catching. He felt the intense wind pressure pressing down on him.
"Geppo!!!"
Boom—
The next moment, the gigantic fist, like a meteor descending, slammed into the ground, producing a thunderous roar.
The earth visibly trembled and instantly cracked into over a dozen deep, terrifying fissures. Furthermore, a tumultuous airwave swept out in all directions like a shockwave, creating a high, wall-like ring of earthen-colored air.
Even the large ancient castle in the center of Thriller Bark, the island ship, shook violently as if hit by an earthquake. Even the long bridge connecting the two spires collapsed.
"Kishishishishi~ Keep running! I'll crush every bone in your body!" Moria shrieked with a joyful laugh, looking at Cross in mid-air with immense pleasure, and without hesitation, swept out another palm strike.
"His strength is truly undeniable!"
"But for such slow attacks to hit me, that's far too naive!"
Cross held his arms, bouncing in mid-air.
Facing the whistling, incoming giant palm, feeling the terrifying gale, he actually had the leisure to make a comment.
After speaking, he quickly moved through the air using Geppo, circling Moria's body. No matter how Moria swung his hands, he couldn't hit this 'mosquito.' Instead, he utterly devastated the surroundings. The original main gatehouse had long since collapsed, turning into a massive gap.
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