Upon hearing Luffy's words, Moriah unexpectedly burst out laughing, saying,
"Kishishishishi..."
"Spare my life?!"
"Straw Hat!"
"Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
"For a true pirate, facing death holds no fear!"
"Just a newcomer who's gained a bit of fame, and he's already completely looking down on everyone."
"You're too arrogant, Straw Hat!"
Moriah roared at Luffy with all his might, filled with rage.
He claimed to have once been a particularly famous strongman, even rivaling Kaido in his prime.
Even though he lost that battle, it still showed the World Government his strength, and they invited him to join the Shichibukai.
This was enough to prove that Moriah's strength and influence were absolutely not weak.
He also possessed the pride and self-respect of a strongman.
So when Luffy, a newcomer, spoke such words to him, Moriah felt a deep humiliation and was utterly enraged.
Moriah continued in a deep voice, "Straw Hat!"
"The only thing you have that's stronger than me is this group of partners who can stand on their own."
"If I had had such a powerful group of partners back then, I would have been the victor in that battle with Kaido!"
Luffy quietly listened to Moriah's words.
To be honest, he believed some of what Moriah said.
Moriah's major battle with Kaido broke out a year after Roger was executed.
At that time, Garp, Sengoku, Golden Lion, and even Whitebeard were still young, not all at their peak strength, but close to it.
Moreover, that was also the explosive period of the Great Pirate Era, with countless famous people flocking to the sea.
For Moriah to gain fame in the New World at that time and have the strength to compete with Kaido for territory, it proved that his strength at that time was absolutely not weak.
However, Luffy also knew.
After losing that great battle to the Kaido Pirates, Moriah's psychology became twisted.
He spent his days sleeping, researching zombies, and thinking of becoming the Pirate King by relying on the strength of others.
As a result, he had become like this, his strength even weakening to the point where he was almost removed from the Shichibukai in the original story.
Luffy thought this to himself, while Moriah continued to speak.
"Do you know, Straw Hat?"
"Although you now have your current status thanks to these partners who can stand on their own."
"But once you reach the New World, you will lose them all!"
"Do you know why?"
When Moriah said this, his expression had become twisted, a half-smile on his face.
Without waiting for Luffy to answer, he spoke to himself.
"I found the answer from my own experience!"
"Why did I lose those famous and powerful subordinates?"
Moriah suddenly spread his arms, falling into a state of frenzy, and loudly declared,
"Because my companions were alive, that's why I lost them!"
"As long as everyone is a zombie from the start, then nothing will be lost!"
"Zombies are immortal!"
"Even if they are destroyed or purified, at worst, I'll just replace them!"
"They are..."
"Infinite soldiers!"
"I'm going to rely on this army of the dead to seize the throne of the Pirate King!"
"You should feel fortunate that your shadows can become my subordinates!!!"
As Moriah said this, he looked at Luffy with a maniacal laugh and said,
"Straw Hat!"
"I'm doing this to help you!"
"Once you reach the New World, you'll find out..."
"Your current companions will die one by one in front of you."
"And there's nothing you can do about it!"
"I've personally experienced that feeling!"
"So, Straw Hat..."
"Hand over your shadows obediently!"
"I will take your shadows..."
"And become the Pirate King!!!"
Moriah laughed hysterically, completely consumed by madness.
Luffy quietly watched Moriah, slowly clenching his fists.
At the same time, he said in a deep voice, "You lost your companions not because they were alive..."
As he spoke, a black aura appeared on Luffy's fist.
"But because..."
Crack!
A terrifying explosion suddenly sounded, and terrifying purple-black lightning bolts shot out from Luffy's fist.
The entire island was instantly covered by the purple-black lightning, and the already gloomy and dark environment now appeared even more like hell.
And Luffy's low, resolute voice continued to emanate, reaching Moriah's ears.
"You.....~.
"Are too weak!!!"
As Luffy finished speaking, he looked up at Moriah.
And when Moriah saw Luffy's eyes, he was instantly filled with endless fury.
Those eyes were filled with confidence and disdain, as if looking at an ant.
Moriah still maintained the confidence and pride of his prime, so how could he tolerate being looked at like that by others?
Let alone Luffy, even if Kaido looked at him like that now, he would absolutely choose to fight without hesitation.
This was Moriah!
Weak, but never cowardly!
Seeing that Luffy had already taken his stance, Moriah no longer held back and immediately activated all the power in his body.
Countless snake-like shadows suddenly spread out from his body.
The shadows seemed to be able to track, extending themselves to all places where zombies existed.
The Zombie Generals fighting Zoro and the others nearby, as well as the ordinary zombies watching, were all connected by these snake-like shadows.
Everyone who saw this scene was bewildered.
However, before they could react.
Those snake-like shadows forcibly extracted their shadows and continuously surged into Moriah's body.
Moriah's body swelled and grew like a balloon.
Even his face became more sinister, like a demon.
This sight filled Laura and her group with immense fear and solemnity.
They cried out in alarm,
"He's absorbing the shadows of all the zombies on the island!"
"Absorbing shadows will increase his power, you need to stop him quickly, Straw Hat!"
"This is truly unbelievable! We ordinary people can only absorb a maximum of two shadows, how many has he absorbed?"
"This is bad! He has already absorbed so many shadows, his strength will probably increase to an incredibly terrifying level. Even Straw Hat... probably can't stop him now!"
"Moriah is... invincible now!"
Everyone watched this scene with extreme horror.
And Moriah had now finished absorbing all the shadows on the entire island.
At this moment, he had become a giant in stature, exuding an incredibly powerful aura; just looking at him made one feel his immense strength.
Moriah was incredibly confident, laughing with a demonic voice,
"Kishishishishi..."
"You're right!"
"Ordinary people can only absorb one or two shadows at most!"
"But as a Devil Fruit user, the number of shadows I've absorbed now is..."
"1000!!!"
Upon hearing this number, Laura and her group immediately gasped in disbelief, their faces filled with shock and incredulity.
"Waaahhh..."
"Impossible! That number is too exaggerated!"
"Absorbing one shadow can already make a person's power skyrocket, how strong is he now after absorbing 1000?"
"It's over! It's all over! No one can defeat this monster!"
Moriah was incredibly pleased to see their fear of him, and his aura surged even more.
He clenched his fist and let out a terrifying roar.
"Oh oh oh..."
As he made the sound, Moriah simultaneously clenched his fist and aimed at the ground beneath his feet.
He threw a punch.
Boom!
A loud bang.
The entire island instantly shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
What shocked everyone present was this:
They saw that Moriah's punch had directly split the entire island into two halves!
Along the crack, the castle behind them collapsed, and the giant mast broke.
The entire Thriller Bark island instantly turned into ruins.
This scene completely stunned Laura and her group.
"This... this can't be real?! The island was shattered!"
"Moriah's strength is terrifying!"
"Can Straw Hat really defeat a monster like that?"
For a moment, everyone doubted if they could defeat Moriah.
To them, Moriah's displayed combat power was simply too exaggerated.
Although the Straw Hat were also shocked by Moriah's attack,
they were not worried about the outcome at all.
With Luffy there, they believed there would be no problem.
Brook was initially terrified by Moriah's astonishing combat power and was in extreme panic.
But after seeing the Straw Hat's calm demeanor, he gradually calmed down, staring quietly at Luffy's back, choosing to trust his strength.
On Luffy's side,
when he saw Moriah absorb all the shadows into his body,
not only was he not afraid at all, but the corners of his mouth turned up.
This way, he could release all the shadows at once.
After punching and splitting an island, Moriah immediately became incredibly smug and laughed loudly.
"Kishishishishi..."
"Do you see my power, Straw Hat?"
"Little brats like you, with a bit of power, become conceited!"
"Do you know what happens when you're conceited in this vast ocean?"
"Just live peacefully!"
"There are countless examples of the nail that sticks out getting hammered!"
"You are nothing more than..."
"A rookie!!!"
Hearing Moriah's words, Luffy was too lazy to bother with him.
More words were useless.
He didn't need to explain so much to Moriah.
He looked at Moriah, and the power on his fist surged again.
The purplish-black lightning instantly became like a fierce beast, raging and crackling.
And at this moment, Luffy suddenly leaped up, his fist wrapped in purplish-black lightning, and smashed towards Moriah.
Seeing this, Moriah immediately snorted disdainfully.
"Hmph!"
"How foolish!"
"Still don't know when to surrender?!"
As he spoke, he also clenched the same fist that had shattered an island.
"Oooohhhhh..."
With a roar, Moriah's fist met the incoming punch from Luffy.
Boom!
A huge roar.
The entire island even trembled violently in an instant.
Powerful energy continuously surged out from the colliding fists of the two.
Stirring up gusts of strong wind.
Such a powerful clash completely stunned Laura and her group.
Everyone stared with their mouths agape, as if frozen, looking at Luffy and Moriah's figures in shock, marveling at their power.
However, what elevated everyone's shock to another level was this:
They saw that the moment Moriah clashed with Luffy, he already began to show signs of being outmatched.
Clenching his teeth, his expression looked extremely horrified.
He was just struggling to hold on with all his might.
This scene left these people stunned.
"W-w-what?! Straw Hat is actually gaining the upper hand!"
"That Moriah just shattered an island with one punch! Is such a monster now being suppressed by Straw Hat?"
"Straw Hat is too strong!"
"Is this the man worth 3 billion Berries?! He's terrifying!"
Brook was also shocked by the strength Luffy displayed; he stared blankly at Luffy's figure and exclaimed.
"sugei!"
"Luffy-san is so strong!"
And just as Brook's voice fell,
everyone suddenly widened their eyes, their attention all shifting to Moriah's mouth.
They saw that Moriah's eyes were now rolled back, and he looked extremely disoriented.
And from his mouth, shadows actually began to emerge.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, one shadow after another continuously emerged from Moriah's mouth, detaching themselves.
Just as everyone was puzzled, a shadow that had detached from Moriah suddenly flew over to one of the people present and merged into their body.
Immediately, everyone was incredibly surprised to see that
the person whose shadow had been taken away now had a faint shadow vaguely visible, thanks to the slight light emanating from Luffy's battle.
This scene completely made that person and the people around them cheer wildly.
"It's back! My shadow is back!"
"This is great! It seems Moriah can't control so many shadows; now, under Straw Hat's attack, the shadows are starting to detach on their own!"
"Go, Straw Hat! Defeat Moriah!"
"Go, Straw Hat! Get our shadows back!"
"Please, Straw Hat!"
Upon seeing the hope of getting their shadows back, everyone immediately became incredibly excited, cheering Luffy on with all their might.
Brook also became incredibly excited at this moment, cheering loudly.
If he could get his shadow back, he would have a chance to go back and see Laboon.
"Go, Luffy-san! (Okay, Zhao) I'm counting on you for my shadow!"
On Luffy's side,
his attack continued.
Moriah, meanwhile, had his eyes rolled back, looking incredibly pained.
Because he had absorbed too many shadows, he couldn't fully control them.
At this moment, his consciousness had already begun to blur.
Luffy's powerful attacks prevented him from relaxing, and the continuous detachment of shadows also made his power weaker and weaker.
If this continued,
finally, at some point, Moriah could no longer withstand Luffy's attack and was sent flying by a punch.
And at the same time, the remaining shadows in his body all detached in an instant.
Each of them actively returned to their original owners.
When everyone present saw their shadows reappear at their feet, a wave of incredibly excited cheers erupted.
"This is great! We have shadows again!"
"Finally, we don't have to be afraid of the sun anymore!"
"The days of the Dark Forest are finally over!"
"This is amazing!"
Brook also looked at the shadow at his feet, incredibly excited and emotional.
"Laboon! I finally have a chance to fulfill our promise!"
Just as everyone was cheering excitedly, Luffy finished the battle and returned.
At this moment, Laura suddenly led her entire group and knelt down with a thud.
Laura then said,
"Thank you!"
"We will never forget your great kindness!"
"Thank you!"
"To repay your kindness..."
Laura glanced at Luffy and the other boys, then said with extreme seriousness,
"I've decided to marry all of you!"
...
After Luffy and the others dealt with Moriah's group, as night was falling,
they held a feast with Laura and her group and spent the night on the island.
The next morning, Franky and Usopp helped Brook build a grave on the island.
Brook buried the skulls of all the members of his former pirate crew there.
Zoro also buried his sword, Yukihira, there.
Afterward, the Straw Hat bid farewell to Laura and the others and resumed their journey.