"Gehihihihihi..."
Moria let out his trademark hideous laugh, completely unaware of just how grating it sounded.
A dark purple shadow crept out from beneath his feet, slithering forward to shield him.
From her earlier attack, it was clear Hancock was a combatant who leaned heavily toward physical prowess. Her Devil Fruit was more of a powerful supplement than the core of her fighting style.
Knowing this, the battle-hardened Moria naturally chose the tactic that gave him the upper hand.
"Go, Doppelman!!"
Moria bared his fangs like a devil kidnapping a princess, and without a hint of mercy, he ordered his shadow doppelgänger to launch a fierce strike at Hancock.
The Doppelman, created using the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, was a clone possessing the same strength as Moria himself.
However, it also had far superior speed and an unpredictably fluid body, traits Moria himself lacked.
With a command, the Doppelman shot forward, raising its arm toward the Empress. Its body twisted unnaturally, limbs distorted and out of sync.
Its upper torso snapped backward grotesquely as its arm morphed into a pitch-black lance. With a flash of violet, it tore through the air like a bolt of lightning, aimed directly at Hancock's piercing sapphire eyes, completely devoid of hesitation or mercy.
"Damn men!"
To be resisted twice in one day by two different men, this was a massive blow to Hancock, who was used to being the center of worship wherever she went.
Blazing with fury, Hancock didn't dodge at all. She simply raised her slender arm, now coated in Armament Haki.
Though the Doppelman was fast, under Hancock's Haki-enhanced perception, its every move was laid bare. She saw right through the attack.
CLANG!
A powerful soundwave echoed through the sky from Salome's head as the sharp black lance clashed against Hancock's Haki-covered arm.
Sparks flew at the impact point, as metal rang against metal. The power struggle between the two was clearly just beginning.
Salome, Hancock's loyal snake companion, had received its command and now stood frozen in place, unmoving like a statue.
"Gehihihih… Barrage!"
Moria's excitement surged as he watched Hancock locked in a deadlock with his shadow.
Devil Fruit users had their own advantages, wider attack range, more flexible techniques, and a richer set of tools.
In the blink of an eye, the Doppelman shifted again. Its body sprouted countless spikes from every direction, firing wildly with such speed that the air screamed from the force.
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!
A rain of black spikes slammed into Hancock with the sound of clashing steel.
"Damn it!!"
Caught off guard by the sudden barrage, Hancock's heart clenched. Like a feather tossed in the wind, she danced through the air, barely dodging the wave of shadow assaults.
But the Doppelman's area of effect was far too wide. In the end, she had no choice but to form a full-body Haki shield to block the onslaught.
Her flowing violet dress was shredded into tatters by the assault, leaving only a few strips of cloth clinging desperately to her body.
"Sister!"
"Lady Empress!"
The Kuja Pirates cried out from afar, panicking in their voices. Their usually invincible queen was now shockingly vulnerable.
But the weaker warriors didn't even dare approach Salome, let alone step in to help Hancock.
"Tch!"
With a backflip, Hancock leapt away from the next wave of attacks. She snatched up her cloak and used it to cover her now nearly bare body, moving with the grace of a phoenix mid-flight.
"Unforgivable!!" she roared, voice cold and deep.
Her crystal-blue eyes blazed with rage. Her expression turned grave.
Her hair floated unnaturally in the air as a powerful aura slowly emanated from her body.
And then, Conqueror's Haki erupted from her like a raging ocean storm, flooding toward Moria.
But Moria was prepared.
He had fought kings and conquerors before. He knew what to expect.
In a flash, the Doppelman retreated into Moria's body. Rather than becoming just a shadow at his feet, it was absorbed as a foreign energy, wrapping around Moria's mind like armor, shielding him from the full mental impact of Hancock's Haki.
The skies themselves were torn apart by Hancock's overwhelming will, yet Moria stood tall, unmoved. He grinned.
"Gehihihihi… Little girl, not all Conqueror's Haki is equal!
And yours, yours is the weakest I've ever seen! Gehihihihihi!"
But Hancock said nothing.
Her usual cold indifference had faded. Now her face showed the slightest trace of anxiety.
She hadn't expected Moria to have so many underhanded tricks.
And with Luffy, whose status was clearly even higher than Moria's, she began to wonder if coming to this island had been a mistake.
Bending her body low, she launched off of Salome's head, her long legs kicking down and leaving deep impressions in the snake's skull as she shot toward Moria like a bullet.
She sensed something was wrong.
This fight had to end, now. The longer it dragged on, the worse things would get.
As Hancock attacked, her Conqueror's Haki dissipated into the wind.
Moria stared at her rapidly approaching form. His eyes widened. The whites bulged slightly.
His long-frozen blood… suddenly began to boil again.
He had done it. Just like twenty years ago, throwing himself forward without regard for consequences, burning with the kind of passion that had once driven even his friends away.
His spiked hand opened wide, covered now in a thick layer of pitch-black Haki.
Tears slid silently down his cheeks.
"It's been too damn long!"
The chilling force of Armament Haki spread down his entire arm.
It had been so long since he'd felt the desire to truly fight.
It was time… for one more real battle.
"Shadow Possession!"
A dark purple light shimmered over Moria's body for a split second, so fast that one might think it was a trick of the eye.
By absorbing his own shadow, Moria had doubled his strength.
This was a power he had developed shortly after gaining the Shadow Fruit, and the one that had allowed him to rise through the Grand Line.
But once he entered the New World, his physical body ceased to be an advantage. He sealed this move away and focused instead on more sinister techniques.
Now, after all these years… that desire to swing his fists had returned.
"Let's reset everything… and start over!" Moria's expression turned serious. For once, the mockery disappeared from his face.
His jet-black fist drew back, aimed squarely at the charging Empress.
"Perfume Femur!"
BOOM!!
A blackened palm clashed with a violet leg. A violent shockwave exploded outward. Thunder rumbled in the air above them.
Boom! Boom! BOOM!!
The two of them stood atop Salome's head, just enough space for a perfect duel.
Their fists and feet collided again and again, streaking across the air in flashes of lightning.
Each clash burst with blinding force, sending powerful shockwaves ripping down to the earth, like the roars of dragons, echoing across the world.
"Didn't think Moria still had that kind of move..."
From afar, Luffy and the others watched the intense battle raging in the sky.
"Moria-sama…"
Perona clasped her hands over her chest, eyes full of worry.
"Yohohoho… He really is impressive." Brook said calmly, but his hand, resting on his cane-sword, trembled visibly. Inside, he was far from calm.
Everyone watched the battle intently.
Suddenly, from Luffy's arms came a soft voice:
"L-Luffy…"
Luffy looked down and smiled at Robin, whose eyes had just opened and were gazing up at him.
"You're awake, Robin~"
"Mm~" she nodded gently, her cheeks tinged pink.
"How do you feel? Are you hurt?"
"I'm okay… It was just a lot of mental stress. I've fully recovered now~"
"That's good."
Relieved, Luffy helped her sit up slowly.
"Ah!" Robin yelped softly in protest, startled as he helped her.
"What's wrong?"
"N-nothing!" Robin replied quickly, a bit flustered.
Secretly, she thought to herself:
"If I'd known… I would've stayed in his arms just a little longer…"
==========
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