Chapter 279: Headwind—Moria vs. Teach!
In the first half of the Grand Line, there exists a treacherous sea region known as the Florian's Triangle. Shrouded in dense mist all year round, this place is perpetually cast in shadow, with the sun never breaking through its eerie fog.
Throughout maritime history, fog has always been a harbinger of danger. After all, one can never know what lurks within its depths, mystery often breeds peril.
The Grand Line is home to many strange fogs, each with its own legend. There's the ever-present mist of the Florian's Triangle, as well as the Rainbow Mist, which is rumored to allow passage through time itself.
According to statistics, over a hundred ships vanish without a trace in the Florian's Triangle each year.
Most people sailing the Grand Line have no idea why this happens. Strangely enough, these mysterious disappearances only started occurring about seven or eight years ago.
However, the World Government knows exactly what's behind it.
The Florian's Triangle was always a dangerous place due to its naturally misleading fog. Many ships found themselves circling endlessly, unable to escape. The magnetic field in the region is also highly unstable.
Adding to the peril, enormous Sea Kings, which typically avoid sunlight gather within this darkened expanse.
These factors alone were enough to turn the Florian's Triangle into a place of myth and fear. Yet, in the past, some lucky sailors still managed to escape.
That was until seven or eight years ago, when Gecko Moria took refuge there.
After suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Kaido in the New World, Moria abandoned the fight for supremacy among pirates. He retreated to the first half of the Grand Line, recruiting subordinates before disappearing into the Florian's Triangle.
From then on, his ship—the Thriller Bark, the world's largest sailing vessel became the stuff of nightmares. Any ship that entered the mist never came back.
Moria turned every survivor into an undead minion, enslaving them as zombies. And because these creatures had no shadows, even if they managed to escape the Triangle, they would disintegrate upon exposure to sunlight.
Thus, the Florian's Triangle became a true graveyard one with no survivors.
---
Originally, Claudius had expected Teach to handle Moria with ease. After all, Teach was exceptionally strong even without a Devil Fruit, he could fight Shanks to a standstill in a chaotic melee. And now, after obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit, his strength had likely surpassed Shanks, if only by a fraction.
Moria, on the other hand, was a different story. In his younger years, he had been highly ambitious and truly formidable. His Shadow-Shadow Fruit is among the most powerful Paramecia-type abilities, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it exceptionally broken in the right hands.
One of its core abilities allows the user to create a shadow clone that possesses the same combat strength as the original.
If that doesn't sound terrifying, imagine this: if someone like Garp had this power, he could spawn a "Shadow Garp" and fight as if there were two of him.
Not only that, but Moria can instantly swap places with his shadow at will. Against an experienced fighter, this would be a nightmare to deal with.
And that's not even considering the other bizarre and overpowered abilities the fruit grants.
Yet, despite wielding such an incredible power, Moria squandered its potential.
After his humiliating defeat by Kaido, Moria's once-fierce ambition crumbled. He became lazy, relying entirely on his subordinates to do the fighting for him. His once-imposing physique grew bloated, and his combat ability deteriorated drastically.
In contrast, Teach was ruthlessly ambitious and continuously grew stronger. If you put the two side by side, the outcome seemed obvious, Moria was destined to lose.
Or so Claudius had thought.
Because the situation was playing out very differently than expected.
---
At this moment, aboard the Thriller Bark, a vicious battle had just concluded.
Moria stood, covered in blood, his massive, swollen body marred by deep wounds. His chest heaved with exertion, he looked utterly spent, on the verge of collapse.
Yet, compared to him, Teach looked far worse.
Despite being relatively unscathed, with only minor injuries, his spirit had been utterly broken.
The once-ambitious Marshall D. Teach who had dreamed of seizing ultimate power was now kneeling at Moria's feet like a defeated dog.
His face was devoid of hope, and his posture slouched in abject despair.
"In my next life… I want to be a Shit-Shit Fruit user…" Teach muttered, his forehead pressed against the floor. "Yeah… a fruit that turns me into literal shit… That way, no one would ever dare to step on me again…"
From a distance, a petite figure in a gothic dress floated toward them.
Perona.
The mischievous Ghost Princess had arrived.
Just moments ago, Teach had nearly killed Moria. He had completely overpowered the former Warlord. But then, Perona had struck from afar, launching a single Negative Hollow that had passed straight through Teach's body.
And in an instant, Teach had given up on life itself.
It had to be said, Perona's Hollow-Hollow Fruit was an extremely overpowered support ability. Used correctly, it could single-handedly turn the tide of any battle.
"Grhh… snot-dripping… whiny mess… what a disgrace…" Perona giggled as she floated closer.
Moria, still gasping for breath, turned to her and said, "You really saved my ass, Perona. I owe you one."
Perona nodded smugly. Meanwhile, Teach continued his pitiful muttering about wanting to become literal excrement.
Moria, regaining some composure, scowled. "Where the hell did this guy even come from? Never seen him before… but damn, he's strong. Nearly had me there."
"Why would someone like him attack you, Lord Moria?" Perona asked curiously.
"I have no idea," Moria admitted, his expression darkening. "But he claimed he was sent by the World Government."
Perona's eyes widened. "The World Government?! But… aren't you one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
A grim look crossed Moria's face. After a long pause, he muttered, "Looks like we've been hiding in the Devil's Triangle for too long… The World Government must be getting impatient. Maybe they want to replace me with a new Warlord…"
He then turned his attention back to Teach. Stepping on the defeated man's back, he sneered, "Tell me—who sent you? A guy as powerful as you… What did they promise you? Were you supposed to take my place?"
Teach remained unresponsive at first. He was still drowning in negative energy, his mind lost in self-pity.
But then…
Moria's words echoed in his mind: "What did they promise you?"
And in that instant, an image flashed in Teach's thoughts—the Dark-Dark Fruit.
That single thought shattered Perona's ability.
Teach's obsession with the Dark-Dark Fruit was so strong that it became the anchor he needed to snap himself out of his depression.
His eyes flickered with sinister light.
Yet, despite regaining control, Teach did not react immediately. Instead, he chose to play along, muttering even more nonsense:
"I want to be the stinkiest pile of shit… The stinkiest shit there ever was…"
Moria, growing frustrated, raised his foot to deliver a final kick to Teach's spine.
But the moment his foot lifted—
Teach struck.
With zero hesitation, he lunged upward, delivering a brutal, Haki-infused punch directly to Moria's most vulnerable spot.
The sound of something… bursting echoed through the room.
A bloodcurdling scream tore through Thriller Bark.
"ZE HAHAHAHA!!" Teach cackled maniacally, flipping the battle in an instant.
"You're too careless, Moria!"
As soon as his laughter faded, Teach stomped his foot, and his figure vanished from sight.
A second later, a Negative Ghost passed through the empty space where he had just been, missing him completely.
Teach reappeared behind Perona, mimicking the same arrogant stance Moria had used earlier. With a wide grin, he stepped on the man's back and laughed mockingly.
"That trick only works on me once! Hey, girl, why don't you join me? Ze hahahahaha!"
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