"Master Moria! Please save me!"
The moment she saw the newcomer figure, Perona—who was hanging from the Longsword—cried out loudly for help.
Beside her, Brook also shouted a warning, "Be careful! That Gecko Moria, the man who stole my shadow before!"
It had to be said—Gecko Moria appearance was indeed intimidating.
His build was about the same height as Kuma, perhaps even taller. With his sharp fangs, curved horns, and demonic features, he fit perfectly with the title of "Master of the Haunted Mansion."
The only issue was that, ever since Kaido had beaten the spirit out of him, Moria body had started to grow sideways instead of upward.
Combined with that long, chinless neck of his, his once-menacing figure now carried an unintentionally comical touch.
"Meowhahaha… Sherwin-nii! That uncle looks just like garlic, meow!"
(=`=)σ
Klee Meow instantly dropped the stag-headed zombie she had been bullying and pointed at Moria, laughing loudly.
"He also looks a bit like one of the flasks I use for experiments, meow," Haibara Meow added with a calm comment.
Moria shot a cold glance at the two Felynes, utterly unmoved—even though he had already heard from Hogback that these Felynes were the true force behind the destruction of his zombies.
Likewise, he ignored Perona plea for help. After all, her real body had already been taken to a safe place by Kumacy and the other zombies.
As for Brook—the one he had once easily defeated—Moria didn't even bother to spare him a single look.
"You're the Hunter, Sherwin?"
Moria turned his gaze back toward Sherwin, his face dark and brooding as he spoke.
"Since you've released the shadows I worked so hard to seize, and burned the corpses I painstakingly gathered—then hand over your bodies and shadows as compensation!"
He didn't even wait for Sherwin to answer before continuing on his own. Clearly, Moria had no intention of holding a conversation—he was simply venting his rage.
In truth, if it had only been about the escaped shadows, Moria wouldn't have been this furious.
After all, even before, Brook and those stranded pirates on the island had used salt to release some shadows.
Occasionally, the original owners of certain shadows would accidentally be exposed to sunlight, causing both the body and the shadow to vanish together.
To Moria, aside from the powerful shadows he'd implanted into the General Zombies, the rest were just consumables.
But Sherwin and his group were different. This lot—humans and Felynes alike—not only released the shadows but also burned to ashes all the corpses he had spent years collecting, repairing, and modifying!
Especially those General Zombies—each one was a powerful corpse he had dug up from graves all around the world.
And now, in less than half a day, every single one of them had been reduced to nothing but ash!
The more he thought about it, the angrier Moria became. He couldn't even be bothered with his usual pre-battle taunting—he went straight into attacking Sherwin group.
"Scatter, Bats!"
Countless shadow bats—black, spherical creatures with only a pair of wings and a gaping mouth—erupted from the shadow beneath Moria feet, surging toward Sherwin and the others like a dark storm.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Technique, meow!"
Klee Meow immediately unleashed a volley of small fireballs, meeting the swarm head-on and precisely intercepting each shadow bat.
The shadows struck by the flames plummeted to the ground, reverting into flat, inky silhouettes. Like flowing water, they quickly slithered back toward Moria feet, merging once more into his shadow.
"So you're the one who burned all my zombies?!"
Klee Meow fiery counterattack instantly exposed her as the culprit behind the zombie army destruction.
Without hesitation, Moria fixed his target on the tiny puppet-like Felyne and roared,
"Shadow Asgard: Shadow Horn Thrust!"
Moria shadow beneath his feet rapidly stretched out, and in the blink of an eye, it extended all the way to Klee Meow feet.
Then, it transformed into a spear that shot up from the ground, piercing straight through Klee Meow body.
"Wah! That just like Shikamaru attack style! Uncle Garlic, can you use the Shadow Mimic Technique, meow?"
Klee Meow, who had been skewered right through, now hung on the "spear tip" formed by the shadow blade, her ruby-like eyes filled with curiosity as she looked at Moria.
"!!!"
Moria clearly hadn't expected Klee Meow to ignore his attack so easily and was momentarily stunned.
But as an experienced pirate, he quickly figured out what was going on.
"A Logia-type fruit, huh?"
Retracting his shadow, Moria noticed the large flaming hole in Klee Meow body, confirming his suspicion even more.
"Heh-hihihihihi… So this is what gives you the courage to cause trouble in my territory?" Moria sneered coldly.
"You inexperienced little brats are all the same—thinking that once you've eaten a Logia Fruit, no one can hurt you… It nothing more than immunity to attacks. My Shadow Fruit can do the same thing!"
As he spoke, the shadow beneath Moria feet began to surge upward from the ground, forming a figure identical to himself—pitch black from head to toe, a perfect shadow clone.
"Meow?"
(=ω=)
The little doll tilted her head. "Your shadow clone technique doesn't seem like the one Sherwin talked about, meow.
Besides, Klee can use clone techniques too! Multiple Fire Clone Technique, meow!"
Klee Meow waved her little paws, quickly forming a series of random hand signs she made up herself.
Then, her body suddenly exploded outward, splitting into hundreds of sparks that scattered in all directions.
Each spark, upon landing, turned into a fiery Klee Meow—flame cats that looked just like her—surrounding the shadow mage Moria had summoned.
"Humhumhum~ Klee clones aren't just more numerous, they're also way more detailed than your pitch-black ones, meow!"
(=`=)
One of the flame cats shook its small head proudly.
Though both had created clones using their respective abilities, Moria shadow mage was just a mass of darkness with only its eyes and mouth glowing a faint purple, while Klee Meow flame clones had every detail of her outfit outlined vividly with colored flames.
"Also, you can't even tell which one is the real Klee anymore, can you?"
The real flame doll puffed herself up proudly as she continued to speak, while the other flame cats meowed in agreement around her.
Sherwin: "..."
Moria: "..."
"Klee, you silly kitten…" Haibara Meow pressed a paw to her forehead and couldn't help but remind her,
"The moment you start talking, you've already given yourself away, meow!"
"Oh, right!"
∑(=ΦДΦ=)
Klee Meow suddenly realized it, and an awkward silence filled the air for a moment.
"Meowya! Whatever! Anyway, Klee gonna blow your clone away, meow!"
After that brief pause, the flustered little doll gave a fierce command, and all the flame cats pounced toward Moria shadow mage.
"Klee Hundred Burst, meow!"
(=`Д=)