Chapter 196: Countdown to Dawn! Shadow's Asgard and the Advent of the Tyrant
Accompanying a world-shaking roar.
The massive body of the ancient giant Oars crashed heavily into the ruins, unable to move ever again.
The moment Oars completely lost his ability to act.
The mass of black shadow that had been forcibly stuffed inside his body seemed to break free from some restraint, suddenly bursting out from the giant's wide-open maw.
Turning into a streak of pitch-black light, it shot straight toward the unconscious Luffy not far away, quickly sinking into the ground beneath his feet.
Luffy's shadow had finally returned to its owner's body.
However, the battle did not end there.
Standing by the wreckage of the dilapidated cockpit, Moria witnessed the fall of his strongest warrior with his own eyes.
His pale face contorted completely with rage and resentment, and his entire being fell into a state of hysterical madness.
Moria stumbled as he climbed up the ruins of the nearby highest tower.
Facing the night wind, he suddenly spread his arms like a desperate bat and let out a piercing roar at the exhausted Straw Hat crew below:
"You rookies... don't get too cocky!"
"Don't think that just because you defeated Oars, you can win against me!"
Moria's voice became raspy and cracked with madness: "In the true world of pirates, the real despair is yet to come!"
The moment he finished speaking, Moria slammed both hands onto the masonry beneath him.
"Shadow's Asgard!"
In an instant, the entire Thriller Bark seemed to come alive.
All the shadows on the island, including those that had been stolen and stuffed into zombie bodies.
Even the incorporeal wandering shadows in the forest all rose from the ground at this moment!
Hundreds and thousands of black shadows turned into a terrifying black tornado.
Howling and circling, they continuously poured into Moria's obese body.
Even the shadows beneath the feet of the Straw Hat crew were pulled by this powerful suction, with parts of the black shadows flying toward Moria uncontrollably.
Moria actually forcibly absorbed exactly one thousand shadows into his own body!
His body began to expand frantically in a nauseating manner.
In the blink of an eye, Moria transformed into a massive, deformed shadow monster.
His thick arms were several times thicker than his thighs, and his neck was so bloated it almost merged with his head.
"ROAARRRR——!!!"
Having lost his reason, Moria let out an inhuman howl, and his massive fist slammed down haphazardly.
"BOOM!"
It was just a simple punch.
That world-destroying power actually split half of the main castle in two!
Rubble and dust flew everywhere.
But the price for forcibly containing a thousand shadows was heavy.
Moria's body was clearly unable to withstand such a massive mental and physical load.
Although he possessed unparalleled destructive power, he had completely lost his sanity, and crimson blood began to flow uncontrollably from his seven orifices.
He was like an over-inflated balloon, in danger of exploding at any moment.
Moria's crazed destruction inadvertently produced a fatal consequence.
The thick black mist blocking the sky over the island gradually dissipated under the violent shockwaves.
On the eastern horizon, the first ray of golden sunlight, like a sharp sword, pierced through the long-standing darkness and quietly spilled onto this cursed land.
Dawn had arrived.
But for the Straw Hat crew who had lost their shadows, this was a fatal countdown.
The golden morning light shone mercilessly on Zoro, Sanji, Robin, and the others.
"Ugh!" Zoro gritted his teeth, letting out a pained groan.
Under the direct sunlight, white smoke began to rapidly rise from the surface of their skin.
The edges of their flesh were like paper scorched by high heat, turning into ash bit by bit and scattering with the wind.
Tatsuya stood in the ruins; his left arm was also exposed to the sun, and his fingertips had already begun to turn into black ash and peel away.
Tatsuya endured the intense pain of his body dissipating.
He stared fixedly at the deformed monster rampaging above, pointed at Moria's bloated belly, and shouted sternly:
"His belly right now is like a ball stretched to its limit!"
"Hit it with all your power! Make him spit out the shadows!!"
Hearing Tatsuya's shout, Nami threw herself beside the unconscious Luffy, desperately shaking his shoulders:
"Luffy! Wake up!"
"Everyone is going to disappear! Wake up!!!"
As if hearing his comrade's call, Luffy suddenly snapped his eyes open.
He gasped for air as he scrambled to his feet.
What met his eyes was the tragic sight of Zoro, Sanji, Robin, and the others gradually turning into ash in the sunlight.
Luffy's gaze instantly became incredibly resolute.
"Ah! I don't really understand what's going on! But as long as I blow that guy away, it'll be fine, right!"
Without the slightest hesitation, he stuck his thumb into his mouth and bit down hard.
Then he took a deep breath, frantically blowing a massive amount of air into his bones.
"Gear Second! Plus Gear Third!"
Luffy's body instantly turned bright red, and steam rose from him.
Simultaneously, his right arm inflated like a balloon into a colossal giant's arm.
The high-speed blood flow and the gigantification of his bones combined perfectly at this moment.
"Gomu Gomu no——"
On the other side, Tatsuya took a deep breath.
He gripped the hilt of the black blade shusui with both hands, and a blinding blue lightning suddenly erupted from the pitch-black blade.
Under the extreme shape transformation of Chakra, this high-voltage electricity turned into a massive lightning blade dozens of meters long and incredibly sharp.
"Lightning Release: Absolute Slash!"
At the same time, the two unleashed their strongest attacks.
"Giant Jet Shell!!!"
Luffy's massive red fist, wrapped in extreme speed and terrifying power, and Tatsuya's lightning blade dozens of meters long that was enough to tear the air apart.
One from the left and one from the right, they turned into two rays of destructive light.
Without reservation, they simultaneously struck Moria's bloated belly!
"BOOM———!!!"
A world-shaking explosion resounded through the heavens, and the terrifying shockwave leveled all the surrounding ruins.
"GWAHHHHHH——!!!"
Moria's bloated body could no longer withstand the terrifying power penetrating from the outside.
His eyes bulged, he opened his bloody maw, and let out a shrill scream.
Exactly one thousand black shadows gushed out of Moria's mouth like a bursting black waterfall.
They turned into a sky full of black meteors, flying in all directions.
In the very last second before half of Zoro's, Sanji's, and the others' bodies were about to completely turn to ash in the sunlight.
Several black shadows descended from the sky, connecting back to their respective feet with pinpoint accuracy.
With the return of the shadows, the white smoke rising from everyone's bodies instantly dissipated.
The flesh that had originally turned to ash and scattered miraculously reshaped under the bath of sunlight, returning to its original state.
"Thud."
Losing the support of all the shadows.
Moria's massive body deflated rapidly like a leaking ball.
Finally, he collapsed with a crash, slamming heavily into the pile of rubble, completely losing consciousness.
Thriller Bark had finally welcomed a true morning.
The warm and bright sunlight spilled across the land without hindrance, dispelling all the gloom and cold.
The exhausted Straw Hat crew could no longer support themselves and collapsed one after another into the ruins, gasping for breath and enjoying the sunlight of their narrow escape.
"Ah! I'm exhausted!" Usopp complained loudly, then lay flat on the ground.
Lassoo followed suit; although he hadn't done anything, he still mimicked his master, lying on the ground with his four legs in the air.
Afterward, everyone lay down in exhaustion, as this battle had been incredibly taxing even for monsters like them.
"Finally... it's over..."
Nami let out a long sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
She turned her head and looked at Tatsuya beside her, who was also panting; her eyes were full of tenderness.
Nami was just about to reach out to help Tatsuya and let him sit down for a good rest.
However, the moment she reached out.
Tatsuya's originally relaxed pupils suddenly constricted.
It was a sense of overwhelming, desperate pressure.
Tatsuya looked up abruptly, staring fixedly ahead.
The others noticed Tatsuya's abnormality and forced themselves up, following his horrified gaze to look toward the heights.
Right in front of them, at the highest point of that dilapidated city wall.
Bathed in the warm morning light, at some unknown point, a man so tall it was suffocating was standing there quietly.
He was a terrifying man nearly seven meters tall with a build as burly as a bear.
He wore a bear-eared hat with a spotted pattern on his head.
In his hands, he was holding a thick Bible.
The man looked down from his high vantage point at the Straw Hat crew below, his face devoid of any expression, like a machine without emotion.
He slowly raised his hand and took off the glove on his right hand.
In the palm of his hand, a paw pad like that of an animal was revealed.
The man slowly opened his mouth, and his deep, steady voice echoed eerily through the ruins that had just fallen silent:
"It seems Gekko Moriah has indeed been defeated."
"Then..."
The man paused, his tone still as calm as water:
"If you were to go on a trip, where... would you like to go?"
Seeing this iconic outfit and that Bible, Tatsuya's brow furrowed.
One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, "Tyrant" Bartholomew Kuma!
The morning breeze blew against his black coat, and the thick Bible in his hand looked incredibly solemn in the morning light.
He was merely standing there, not making any offensive posture.
But that terrifying pressure belonging to a top-tier powerhouse of this sea descended like a physical weight.
They had just gone through a life-and-death battle, and everyone had reached their absolute physical limit.
At this moment, another of the Seven Warlords of the Sea had appeared, and he was in peak condition.
"Ah..."
Usopp looked at the terrifying figure on the wall and let out a desperate wail.
His legs went weak, and he fell straight onto the ground, covering his face with his hands and shouting:
"Why did another one come!! It never ends!!"
"I can't do this anymore, just let me die..."
However, in this desperate situation.
"Clang."
A slight sound of a blade.
Zoro gripped the Wado Ichimonji at his waist tightly, using the scabbard to prop himself up as he shakily forced himself to stand.
He was covered in blood, his stamina long since overdrawn, but the fighting spirit in his single eye had not been extinguished.
Zoro did not look back; he just kept his back to Luffy and Tatsuya, his voice deep and raspy:
"Luffy, Tatsuya..."
"You two must be exhausted from the fight just now."
"Leave the rest to me."
Hearing these words, the rubble in the nearby ruins was kicked aside.
Sanji slowly stood up.
He took the cigarette from his mouth and dropped it to the ground, crushing it fiercely with his leather shoe.
Sanji snorted, his tone carrying its usual mockery:
"Marimo, if you're going to act cool, you should at least pick the right time."
"At a time like this, how could I let you hog all the spotlight?"
Loving Book So Far Check Out 80+ Advanced Chapters At Pa Treon:
patreon.com/FicTonic1