Moria hates fat people; it's a well-known fact among his crew.
So, when he uttered those words, Absalom, his only subordinate, knew that these Marines had escaped a grim fate.
Since Moria had no interest in turning them into zombies, the punishment would stop here. After all, the Warlords were technically allies of the Marines.
"Heh-shishishi! Absalom."
Under Commander Haake's terrified gaze, Moria finally let go of his face, straightening up and waving casually.
"Tie them all to the cannons. Let 'em drift at sea for a few days—maybe it'll help them remember how to behave next time they see my ship."
"Yes, Master."
Absalom bowed respectfully, then turned and gave the signal. At once, the zombie soldiers began dragging the Marines toward the cannon mounts.
Absalom himself hauled Haake over his shoulder. The 300-pound man squealed like a slaughtered pig, his wails echoing across the deck.
Moria sipped wine from his goblet, leaning on the railing with a smug grin, admiring the scene before him. He had just raised the glass to his lips when—creak—a nearby cabin door swung open.
A figure stepped out.
Huh? Another Marine?
Moria's brow twitched. With a flick of his fingers, the shadows beneath his feet stretched and split, forming two massive tendrils that shot toward the door.
But just then, the figure pulled back his hood, brushed off the dust from his shoulders, and looked up.
CRACK!
The wine glass shattered in Moria's hand. Red wine sprayed across his chest—but he didn't even notice.
He just stared, eyes wide, jaw slack.
How could it be him!
The newspapers just said this guy was in the New World a while ago. How did he return to the West Blue so quickly?
No time to think. Instinct kicked in. In a flash, Moria stomped hard, recalling the shadows that had nearly grabbed the man's feet.
Good thing I reacted in time…
As the shadows recoiled, cold sweat poured down Moria's back. He'd heard plenty about this guy's nasty temper. When it came to pirates, he was notoriously ruthless. The Warlord alliance? Worthless in his eyes.
If he hadn't realized in time who it was…
He shuddered.
"Looks like you recognized me."
Nao, who had just been about to draw his sword, relaxed his thumb on the hilt and slid the Wind Blade back into its sheath. He looked up at Moria with a half-smile.
"A bit of a shame. Haven't had a fight in a while, and I was itching for one. I thought I might get my fill."
A fight!? Are you out of your mind!?
Moria wanted to scream. This guy was infamous among pirates—took out Dugalio the Drought the Drought, went toe-to-toe with Katakuri…
Did he think that I, Gecko Moria was anywhere near that league?
He still remembered the humiliation of his New World campaign two years ago. Outsiders thought he'd lost to Kaido, but the truth was far worse.
Kaido didn't even take him seriously—knocked him out with a single casual swing of that spiked club.
When he came to and tried to rally, he was crushed again—this time by the Drought under Kaido's command.
And now standing before him was the very Marine who had defeated that Dugalio the Drought and thrown him into Impel Down.
This wasn't just a mismatch—it was suicide.
"Um… Rear Admiral Nao…"
Moria forced himself to smile as Nao walked closer with slow, deliberate steps. His throat was dry.
"I just want to clarify—it's not that I'm ignoring the Warlord alliance. It was your people who fired first. I wasn't planning to kill them, just… teach them a little lesson…"
"You did the right thing."
Nao waved it off, glancing around before locking eyes on the blonde youth who still had Commander Haake slung over his shoulder.
"I swear, I wasn't going to kill them! You've got to believe—wait, what?"
Moria blinked.
"…Did you just say I did well?"
Why's he stuttering now?
Nao gave him a flat look.
Maybe a slim, stylish 29-year-old really was less composed than a chubby old man in his 50s.
"I said, you handled it well."
He added with a casual smile, "Relax. I'm not being sarcastic."
By now, he was standing in front of Haake. Absalom, unsure what to do, looked to Moria—who wildly gestured with his eyes until the blond young man finally got the message.
He gently put Haake down and quickly stepped back, giving Nao space.
"Do you still recognize me?"
Nao smiled down at the trembling man.
"…Y-yes, I… I do…"
If wetting himself before was bad, Haake now felt like he couldn't even hold in anything else. His teeth chattered as he stammered:
"I-we really didn't recognize you, Rear Admiral Nao…"
This is a disaster!
Haake was on the verge of tears, wishing he could travel back in time and choke himself and Lian from that morning. Of all the people to provoke, he just had to provoke him!
He knows my name, but didn't recognize me?
Nao stared at him coldly.
A commander in the West Blue should've been aware of his superiors. But then again, this was a world where information moved slowly.
Even Garp, the Hero of the Marines, had once been disrespected by fools like Captain Morgan.
"Regardless of whether you recognized me," Nao said calmly, "you still looted someone while they were asleep. That's not exactly proper behavior, is it?"
"N-Not at all! Absolutely not!" Haake's head bobbed like a bobblehead.
"And for a Marine to be stealing like a common thief… even worse, right?"
Nao instinctively went to sit and cross his legs—but there was no chair beneath him.
In the distance, Moria launched a sudden kick. A nearby zombie soldier shot forward, slid across the deck, and dropped to his knees behind Nao like a bench.
Nao glanced at Moria, who gave him an awkward grin. Shrugging, Nao sat down, crossed one leg, and turned back to Haake.
"Definitely not proper, Commander."
Under the pressure of Nao's presence, Haake finally snapped, sobbing openly.
"It's my fault! It was a moment of weakness! I was blinded by greed—I swear I'll never do it again! Please, please spare me!"
"A moment of weakness?"
Nao's eyes turned cold.
He suddenly drew his sword with lightning speed, and amidst Haake's screams, plunged the blade into his shoulder blade.
Moria's eyelid twitched in the distance.
"Then what about the slaves in the dark room? Selling them to the underworld—was that just a 'moment of weakness' too?"
The zombie beneath Nao strained, its bandaged head slowly unraveling.
Nao gave it a glance, then said coldly:
"I'll give you one minute. If you can't explain clearly before these bandages fall off, your head's coming off!"
Blood poured from Haake's shoulder, but the pain was nothing compared to the terror in his gut.
Did… did Rear Admiral Nao already know everything?
"I'll talk! I'll talk! Please don't kill me!"
Haake panicked, words tumbling from his mouth.
"It wasn't my fault! I was just following orders—orders from our superior officer! The deal with the underworld was arranged by him! He takes seventy percent of the profit—we only get thirty! And even then we have to suck up to him for it—"
"Your superior officer?" Nao's brow arched.
Plop. The bandage fell to the deck.
"Don't kill me, Rear Admiral! I'll explain everything!"
Haake was nearly screaming now.
"It's our branch commander—Captain Baji! I didn't want to get involved, I swear! But everything in the division goes through him. If I disobeyed, he threatened to expose how I bought my rank—I'd be forced out of the base, back to raising pigs at home!"
Nao's face remained unreadable.
He tossed the bandage back to the zombie, who dutifully rewrapped it around his head in careful layers.
"Two more layers. Keep going—from the beginning. You bought your commission?"
"Y-Yes, Rear Admiral…" Haake stammered.
"Two years ago, I paid three million Berries to the previous branch commander, Captain Cartlo, to get promoted. Captain Baji only took over last year…"
"You even have a built-in dark room, so skillfully done. You've done this quite a bit before, haven't you? How many times have you participated in this kind of dirty work?"
"Th-Three… six… seven times! Seven!"
Under Nao's glare, Haake confessed everything.
"There were two other commanders doing the same. If you count all of us—and Captain Baji—it's happened at least two or three dozen times this year…"
"Two or three dozen times in one year…"
Nao chuckled coldly.
"Then that means you've sold hundreds of civilians into slavery. Does no one at your base feel even a shred of guilt?"
"S-Some did…"
Haake swallowed.
"Last year, a few tried to report it to the First Branch,… but Captain Baji found out. He silenced them. Since then, only trusted officers handle the 'dirty work'… As for the total number sold… maybe five, six hundred…"
Five or six hundred.
Nao fell silent.
"…So what you're saying is—"
He exhaled and looked Haake in the eye.
"Every Marine on this ship knew about it. None of them were innocent, or coerced."
"Y-Yes, that's right…"
That smile on Nao's face made Haake's skin crawl. Still, he forced out a trembling laugh.
"Rear Admiral… I confessed everything. That should count for something, right? If I go to trial… maybe a reduced sentence…?"
"According to the rules, yes."
Relief flooded Haake's face. But then—
Shing.
A sword was drawn.
And with a cold voice, Nao said:
"Unfortunately for you—I've never been one to follow Marine protocol."
Haake's eyes widened.
There was a flash of steel.
A sudden clarity.
He looked down—
He was floating.
Below him, his own headless body collapsed in a spray of blood.
Thud.
His severed head hit the deck, rolling a few times before coming to rest, blank eyes staring up at the sky in disbelief.
Moria was frozen in shock.
Before he could even speak, Nao vanished. White flashes of sword light tore across the deck. Screams rang out.
In less than twenty seconds, every last Marine on the ship lay dead in a pool of blood.
When Nao returned to the bow, he calmly shook the blood from his blades, slid them into their scabbards, and stood there quietly.
To him, it was as if nothing had happened.
Moria and Absalom exchanged horrified glances.
Cold sweat soaked their backs.
"Uhh… so, um…"
Moria stepped back as Nao approached, forcing a nervous smile.
"Next time… could you maybe give us a little warning? This kind of thing's a bit intense to watch…"
Nao looked at him curiously.
"What, you gonna report me to Marine Headquarters?"
"Wha—No! Of course not!"
Moria's heart nearly leapt out of his chest. He almost activated his Shadow Swap ability right then and there.
"Good. Then pretend you saw nothing. Problem solved."
Nao returned to the cabin.
A moment later, Moria heard clapping and muffled voices.
Then—
A group of slaves emerged from the darkness, clothing tattered, limbs weak, supporting each other as they shuffled onto the deck.
Most didn't even notice the corpses. They collapsed against the railings, too exhausted to care.
So pitiful…
Absalom looked away. He'd only recently joined the crew, still barely a pirate.
He couldn't stomach scenes like this.
Moria, on the other hand, felt nothing.
He watched as Nao handed out food and water, preparing supplies for the freed slaves. He was about to say something—
When he felt it.
A gaze.
He turned—and saw her.
In the corner, a delicate little girl with soft pink hair was staring up at him with wide, curious eyes.