"Straw Hat, you actually dared to mess my ship up like this!!!"
Standing before the Straw Hat crew was the man who once clashed with the Yonko Kaido and ultimately suffered a narrow defeat.
"Clearly you're the one who blocked my route!!!"
Luffy clenched his fist, staring dead-on at the massive black drumstick in front of him as steam burst out from his body.
Second Gear!!!
"I'm the man who will become the Pirate King!!!"
Around him, his crewmates also went on full alert, preparing to face the Shichibukai Moria.
Seeing this scene, Moria — who originally intended to erupt in anger — suddenly froze.
This aura…
It really was similar.
He too once had such a close-knit group of partners, and he too once possessed the dream of becoming Pirate King.
But partners and dreams…
Before a true monster, they were nothing but fragile things easily shattered and lost.
Thinking of this, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly, as if mocking Luffy, or perhaps mocking himself.
"Shishishishi~ Even if you keep sailing forward, with your strength, the only path ahead is death."
Moria's eyes turned blood-red.
"The monsters of the New World are far stronger than anything you can imagine. Even if you have many promising companions…"
"In the end, you will lose them!!!"
"Famous Shichibukai who dominate entire seas, sea emperors who rule the New World, not to mention those terrifying ancient monsters from the old era…"
"That's why, I've already found a way to never lose companions. If your companions are dead from the start—zombies—then you never lose them!!!"
"As long as I obtain enough shadows, I can advance toward the position of Pirate King!!!"
Speaking his ambition, Moria's body began to expand wildly again, while Kuma simply sat quietly atop the castle rooftop.
He silently observed everything, including Luffy fighting with his life on the line to defeat the gigantic Moria, and his crewmates working together, ultimately achieving a hard-fought victory with everyone injured.
"Just as Orin-san said… Straw Hat Luffy would win."
Though also a Shichibukai, Moria's strength was undeniably at the bottom of the group.
But even so, for a rookie pirate crew, defeating Moria was enough to boast about.
"Then, just as Orin-san instructed, it's time to let the Straw Hat crew witness the true pressure that a Shichibukai should have."
Not just to give the kids a lesson—
They've already defeated two Shichibukai in a row. Does Orin have no dignity left?
After all, the whole world knows that this organization is basically made up of Orin's underlings.
His figure flashed—
Just as the Straw Hats exhaled in relief, a silhouette appeared atop the ruins, sitting cross-legged, holding a Den Den Mushi, adjusting something.
"Nani!!!"
"Th-This… another Shichibukai!!!"
"Tyrant Bartholomew Kuma!!!"
Except for the unconscious Luffy, everyone else froze in place.
But Kuma didn't address them at first. Instead, he lifted the Den Den Mushi and placed it on a stone block, adjusting its position repeatedly.
This scene confused the pirates, who were originally extremely tense.
Holding his slingshot, Usopp — who had been full of dread moments earlier — couldn't help asking:
"Uh… what are you doing?"
Kuma didn't answer at first. After adjusting the angle, he finally turned back slowly and spoke:
"Nothing. Just doing a live broadcast as requested."
"???"
Nami's face instantly filled with confusion.
Live… broadcast?
For who?
But Kuma offered no further explanation. Instead, his tone softened.
"I am here under orders to erase you. Prepare yourselves."
...
"Ah-woo…"
Savoring top-tier world-class cuisine, Orin sat at the dining table, watching the live broadcast through the Den Den Mushi with great interest.
Though he wasn't there personally, it still counted as witnessing the event.
In Kuma's hands, the Straw Hats were utterly powerless.
Unlike Crocodile and Moria, who had weaknesses that could be exploited, Kuma was executing pure dimensional-reduction combat—effortlessly negating all their attacks.
As Orin watched, Usopp ran in terror straight toward the Den Den Mushi's view. Then he fell flat on his butt in front of the lens.
"???"
While eating, suddenly a big butt blocked the whole screen, ruining his mealtime entertainment.
Orin's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
The view cut back to Thriller Bark.
Kuma stood before the crew like a towering mountain, any attack bounced away by the rules of the Paw-Paw Fruit—whether slashes, bullets, or kicks—while even a small compressed air pressure strike created terrifying explosions.
The battle quickly turned grim.
Zoro was blasted away again, rolling across the ground.
Sanji kicked Kuma, only to feel like he'd struck steel—nearly breaking his leg.
They dealt no effective damage, yet a single compressed paw strike from Kuma reduced everyone to near-critical condition.
"Rashomon!!!"
Just as Zoro prepared to risk his life, and Luffy was about to be slapped to death, as the situation reached true despair—
The one attacking from afar, Usopp, suddenly stood forth.
In desperate moments, he appears!!!
Truly the legendary king of endurance. Even while covered in blood, he could still stand like a normal person.
His loud yell instantly drew everyone's attention—including Kuma, who turned his gaze briefly, allowing Rashomon to slice a gash into his shoulder.
"What are you doing, Usopp!!!"
Nami, lying on the ground, stared in shock at the figure standing atop the ruins.
The man carrying the slingshot, face covered in blood, looked straight at Kuma, then slowly raised his hand.
"Stop!!! Shichibukai, look at this!!!"
At some unknown moment, the Den Den Mushi used for the live broadcast — originally placed far away — was already in Usopp's hand.
Just a small squeeze could kill it.
When did he take it?
"Usopp?!!"
Chopper, not understanding the details, simply felt that Usopp looked extremely cool right now.
Kuma remained silent, just staring at Usopp quietly.
He said nothing, but the fact he paused proved something clearly:
He did care about that live broadcast Den Den Mushi.
After all, Orin entrusted it to him. Kuma valued such instructions greatly, and was worried the broadcast might fail midway.
Thus, an eerie calm settled over the battlefield.
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Orin burst into hysterical laughter, unable to stop.
With a maid girl in his arm while eating fruit, Orin was genuinely entertained by Usopp's god-tier maneuver.
As expected of him—
The only man who could rival Buggy in certain aspects.
In desperate moments, you can always rely on the Great God Usopp!!!