Chapter 169: [169] : A Pirate on Kaido’s Level! Moria’s Defenses Shatter! The World’s Strongest Manifestation!

~ As Usual. Bonus Chapter Every 300 Powerstones!

~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon

<><><><><><><><>

Deep within a gloomy castle on Thriller Bark.

“Kishishishishi! What brings you here?”

A man with a hairstyle resembling a flaming onion, two demonic horns on his forehead, and cross-shaped stitches running from his head to his neck, slowly opened his mouth full of sharp teeth, letting out his signature laugh. His body was immense, nearly seven meters tall.

This was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—Gecko Moria.

Facing Moria was another man, no less tall than Moria himself, built like a bear, wearing gloves and holding a bible.

“The only man among the Seven Warlords who unconditionally obey the World Government—Tyrant Bartholomew Kuma,” Moria sneered, a mocking smile on his face.

“I’ve come to deliver two messages from the Government,” Kuma stated, his expression unchanging, his voice gentle and completely at odds with his immense size and tyrannical epithet.

“Oh??” Moria’s smile faded slightly.

“First, a replacement has been chosen for the Warlord position left vacant by Crocodile’s death—” Kuma stated.

“Oh?? Which great figure from the seas is it?” Moria feigned interest.

“Marshall D. Teach. Blackbeard,” Kuma replied.

“Blackbeard? Never heard of him,” Moria raised an eyebrow.

The purpose of the Warlords was to use their established infamy to intimidate other pirates.

Moria himself had been selected because he had made a significant name for himself in the New World, even clashing with the current Emperor, Kaido of the Beasts.

“A man who escaped from the Whitebeard Pirates. He has already made a considerable name for himself,” Kuma reported impassively, carrying out his duty.

Kuma didn’t elaborate on what Blackbeard had done; that information was still top secret within the World Government.

“What was his bounty before becoming a Warlord?” Moria asked.

“Zero,” Kuma replied.

“So a complete unknown??”

Moria wouldn’t believe that the World Government, which never acted without self-interest, would elevate a complete nobody to a Warlord position…

“But the vacant spot is finally filled. Now the balance of the seas, which was beginning to tip, can be restored,”

Moria said, his massive, bloated body moving with heavy footsteps to the castle’s railing. He looked out at the gloomy environment of Thriller Bark, a demonic smile returning to his face.

As a user of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, a place without sunlight was ideal for his shadow-zombie army—

—The people whose shadows he stole lived scattered across Thriller Bark. Moria didn’t bother them; if they died, the shadows in his zombies would disappear.

And those without shadows couldn’t see the sun. The perpetually dark Florian Triangle was the perfect stronghold for Moria now.

Balance… it was what the World Government desired, and what Moria needed.

After his crushing defeat by Kaido and the loss of his entire crew, Moria had completely lost heart. He believed that all living things were destined to be lost.

Thus, he used his Shadow-Shadow Fruit

to create an army of shadow-zombies. Being already dead, they couldn’t die again.

He used this to maintain the false prosperity of Thriller Bark.

This self-deception led to Moria’s complete downfall. His once agile body, capable of clashing with Kaido, had become incredibly bloated—the heavy thud of his every step was proof of this.

Moria could no longer even properly control the strength of his own body. Consequently, his once-powerful Haki had completely vanished.

He had become a pathetic shell of a man, relying solely on his Devil Fruit and zombie army to delude himself…

<><><><><><><><>

“Your information… is severely outdated,” Kuma stated, a slight inflection finally entering his voice.

“Hm?” Moria looked at Kuma.

“Sky Sovereign Rowen is heading this way. The Government orders you to evacuate this area immediately. Otherwise… the Seven Warlords will be short another member,” Kuma stated, looking directly at Moria.

“That Sky Sovereign Rowen who killed Crocodile??” Moria bared his sharp teeth.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Do those government fools think I’ll lose to some wet-behind-the-ears brat??”

Moria grabbed Kuma by the collar, his eyes bloodshot, roaring with fury.

Located in the perpetually dark Florian Triangle, Moria was cut off from the world—even News Coos didn’t come here. And Moria, immersed in his false prosperity, couldn’t care less about outside events.

In Moria’s mind, what major changes could there be?

The balance between the Warlords, Marine HQ, and the Four Emperors had persisted for years.

Those upstart rookies entering the New World, all dreaming of overthrowing an Emperor to become a new one… For years, the Four Emperors had reigned supreme, and those who dared challenge them were either crushed and absorbed into their forces or completely buried in the New World.

These fledgling brats have no idea how terrifying an Emperor truly is!

Thinking back to his own crushing defeat by Kaido, Moria’s eyes became even more bloodshot, his bared teeth looking like he wanted to devour Kuma.

Kuma’s words had dealt a massive blow to Moria’s already shattered pride. To think they believed he would lose to a brat who had been at sea for less than a year!

Moria’s intel was still stuck at the moment Crocodile was defeated by Rowen.

This was why Kuma had come here personally—to deliver this new intel.

Moria, isolated in the Florian Triangle, had no idea what was happening in the outside world.

<><><><><><><><>

“As I said… your information is outdated,” Kuma stated, completely unfazed by Moria’s roaring, and produced several reports from his coat.

“See for yourself. Sky Sovereign Rowen is no longer the man who merely defeated Crocodile a few months ago.”

Kuma’s voice held a slight tremor. What this man had accomplished—even Kuma, who was on the verge of losing all emotion and consciousness, felt a profound shock.

“Huh?!” Moria snatched the reports from Kuma’s hand. One look—and his eyes widened in utter disbelief.

“MARINE HQ ADMIRAL AOKIJI DEFEATED? MARINE HQ ADMIRAL AKAINU DEFEATED??”

“A BUSTER CALL SUFFERED AN UNPRECEDENTED DEFEAT?! ENIES LOBBY COMPLETELY DESTROYED??”

“THE STRONGEST DEVIL FRUIT USER? THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS MAN??”

“A NEW EMPEROR OF THE SEA? BOUNTY…”

Each piece of intelligence struck Moria’s psyche like a hammer blow.

When he saw the bounty amount, Moria’s defenses completely shattered. He let out a horrified shriek.

“—3,988,900,000 BERI?!!!”

Moria’s hand crushed the intelligence reports to pulp.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME? THIS BOUNTY AMOUNT! ISN’T THIS… AN EMPEROR’S BOUNTY??” Moria roared, looking up and glaring at Kuma.

Among the Four Emperors, the one with the lowest bounty, the youngest, Red-Haired Shanks, had a bounty of 4,048,900,000 Beri.

A bounty of 3,988,900,000 Beri—was absolutely, unequivocally, an Emperor-level bounty!

“Correct. Sky Sovereign Rowen has been officially recognized as a new Emperor of the Sea. He is a pirate on the same level as Kaido of the Beasts,”

Kuma, knowing Moria’s past and why he was so broken, still delivered the World Government’s ruthless message.

Though Rowen was still called a ’new’ Emperor, the meaning was entirely different now.

When he defeated Aokiji, being called the Fifth Emperor was the World Economic News Agency’s hype; Marine HQ and the World Government hadn’t acknowledged it—

—But after the Enies Lobby incident, and with the Straw Hat crew’s combat power far exceeding expectations—to be able to crush a Super Buster Call led by Akainu—the Straw Hat Pirates, with Rowen at their helm, were now indisputably an Emperor-level super crew.

<><><><><><><><>

Kaido of the Beasts—Moria’s eternal inner demon!

To tell Moria that Sky Sovereign Rowen was now a pirate on the same level as Kaido… As the ones who recruited Moria as a Warlord, the World Government knew his current strength well.

The current Moria couldn’t even defeat one of the Straw Hats’s commanders—before Rowen himself, he was like an ant.

’Evacuate immediately—and don’t cause any trouble for us!’ This was the purpose of Kuma’s visit.

“A pirate on Kaido’s level? What nonsense are you talking about? Kaido is—!” Moria roared, utterly broken, mentioning Kaido.

But the words caught in his throat…

What could he say about Kaido?

The man who instilled fear deep within his heart?

Moria becoming a Warlord was, generously put, because he ’challenged’ the Emperor Kaido.

He was just a lucky guy who survived an encounter with Kaido!

Just saying Kaido’s name made Moria tremble from the depths of his soul… His very name struck fear into countless powerhouses on the seas!

For the World Government to now deem Sky Sovereign Rowen a pirate on Kaido’s level—Moria refused to accept it!

But reputations could lie—battle records could not!

The successive defeats of Marine Admirals Aokiji and Akainu—were the best proof of Sky Sovereign Rowen’s strength!

Especially Akainu… Moria knew very well what a scary monster Akainu was…

No matter how much he didn’t want to admit it, Moria knew!

He, now, stood no chance against a man with such strength.

“The Government’s orders have been delivered. Evacuate immediately. Otherwise, the Government will have to select another replacement for a Warlord position,” Kuma stated calmly.

Moria’s cheek twitched, but he couldn’t utter a single word of rebuttal.

“Do you need me to send you off, Kuma?” Moria snarled, unable to bring himself to say he would retreat.

For a Warlord, could it be called ’running away’? No, it was ’responding to a World Government summons’!

Kuma showed no emotional response to Moria’s words. His mission was complete; he could use his Paw-Paw Fruit

ability to leave at any time.

This was why the World Government often used Kuma to deliver orders. The Paw-Paw Fruit was incredibly useful, almost a BUG-level ability.

This fruit, along with Kaido’s Fish-Fish Fruit, was one of the prizes in the God Valley Incident hunting tournament for Celestial Dragons.

“Hm?!” Just as Kuma was about to activate his Paw-Paw Fruit, his expression suddenly fluctuated.

“Such strong… auras! Many of them…” Kuma’s Observation Haki sensed numerous terrifying auras, having already breached Thriller Bark!

The auras that could pose a threat to him—numbered at least three.

And one more…

Kuma’s emotions began to fluctuate violently.

AN INCREDIBLY TERRIFYING PRESENCE!

Just sensing it with his Observation Haki filled him with a sense of dread.

To appear in this sea area, and for him to feel such dread just from their aura, it could only be one man—

“A bit late,” Kuma sighed.

“What’s a bit late?” Moria asked, confused. His Haki had long since vanished along with his will to fight; he hadn’t sensed any approaching presences.

“Sky Sovereign Rowen… has arrived,” Kuma’s voice was grim.

He even abandoned the thought of using his Paw-Paw Fruit. The Paw-Paw Fruit could repel people at terrifying speeds to a designated location, true; in terms of escape capability, it was even stronger than the Glint-Glint Fruit.

The Glint-Glint Fruit couldn’t allow the user to maintain a state of light for long-distance travel; even Kizaru couldn’t bear such a terrifying stamina consumption.

But the Paw-Paw Fruit only required stamina for the initial ’push’; the repelled person or object would then fly through the atmosphere surrounded by a paw-shaped shockwave. This escape method was almost foolproof.

But that depended on who you were facing!

The man arriving now was the World’s Strongest Devil Fruit user!

Not only a Rumble-Rumble user whose Observation Haki could cover an entire country, but also a man who had Awakened the Door-Door Fruit, capable of controlling space!

In front of this man—using the Paw-Paw Fruit was suicide!

The moment this man arrived, Kuma’s Observation Haki told him this fact.

Kuma hadn’t yet trained his Observation Haki to the point of seeing the future, but the moment he considered using the Paw-Paw Fruit, he felt a fatal sense of crisis.

It was like when Luffy tried to attack Mihawk in the original story, and his Observation Haki showed him a vision of his hands being cut off.

An absolute life-or-death crisis triggered a terrifying premonition.

And beside him, Moria’s pupils constricted to pinpoints.

Sky Sovereign Rowen… that pirate on Kaido’s level—IS HERE??!

<><><><><><><><>

~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!

https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)

<><><><><><><><>

~# Keep the Chapters coming — Support with Power Stones!

~# Every 300 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep