The glass on the restaurant's second floor suddenly shattered, and Moria's towering figure burst out, landing heavily on the street below.
Dark shadow energy gathered quickly beneath his feet. Spreading one hand, he seized a mass of shadows and growled, "Shadow—"
Before he could finish, a bolt of lightning split the air. From within it, Ortoren emerged, instantly clamping down on Moria's wrist.
Moria's reflexes kicked in immediately. The moment Ortoren grabbed him, he twisted his wrist, condensing a black spear of shadow and driving it straight at Ortoren's abdomen, aiming to skewer him.
But Ortoren didn't even bother to dodge. He let the spear strike him head-on—only for it to shatter in Moria's grip without even piercing his skin.
Moria's heart sank. He was just about to switch tactics when Ortoren's face twisted into a savage grin. Tightening his grip, he yanked Moria's arm and swung him up like a ragdoll, slamming him into the ground.
With a deafening crash, the street caved in, leaving a crater with Moria's massive body smashed into its center.
Cracking his neck and rolling his wrist, Ortoren sneered. "One more chance to organize your answer, Moria. Two hundred billion—are you paying or not?"
Moria didn't respond, only glaring at him with hatred. His body suddenly darkened. Seeing this, Ortoren stomped down mercilessly on his abdomen.
The blow shattered Moria's body into fragments of shadow, which immediately transformed into a swarm of bats flooding in every direction.
"A shadow mage?" Ortoren raised a brow, intrigued.
Moria's Kage Kage no Mi was impressive in Ortoren's eyes—especially the ability to swap places with his shadow at will. That technique was dangerously useful.
Raising his hand, Ortoren unleashed dozens of bolts of lightning, wiping out swathes of the shadow bats. As the storm of light and darkness faded, he spotted Moria again—this time standing on the roof of a small two-story building down the street.
Grinding his teeth, Moria glared back at him. "I'll remember this, Benn Ortoren! Next time we meet, I'll make sure you get a big surprise!"
That brief clash was enough for Moria to understand he wasn't Ortoren's match. Outwardly, he might have looked fine, but inside his body, the injuries Kaidou had left on his organs hadn't fully healed.
He decided instantly: no more fighting. Better to retreat now, recover completely, and look for revenge later.
After tossing down his threat, his figure vanished on the spot.
It was one of his signature tricks—switching places with a hidden shadow to teleport instantly. Back in Wano, when Kaidou had nearly killed him, it was this very move that let him slip away right under Kaidou's nose.
In the original story, Doflamingo had been ordered by the World Government to secretly eliminate Moria, but he too had been fooled by this technique, failing to finish him off.
Watching Moria disappear, Ortoren raised an eyebrow. Lightning flickered through his hair as an overwhelming surge of Observation Haki burst from him, expanding outward. Not just the island—vast stretches of the surrounding sea were now under his perception.
This was his Observation Haki, massively amplified by the Goro Goro no Mi, giving him an immense monitoring range.
Almost instantly, a cruel smile spread across his face. "I was wondering how far you could run..."
As the words left his lips, a thunderclap shook the air, and he vanished.
...
At the island's hidden harbor, Moria emerged from an inconspicuous warehouse, his face twisted with rage as he cursed to himself. "Damn Marines... I'll make you—"
Before he could finish, lightning exploded above his head, and Ortoren materialized in the air directly over him.
"Righteous Lightning Axe!!!" Ortoren roared.
His leg came down like a battle axe from the sky, aiming straight for Moria's head.
Moria froze in shock. He never expected his signature escape move to be countered in an instant by Ortoren.
There was no time to dodge. He could only cross his arms in an X above his head, bracing to block the strike.
The next moment, Ortoren's ankle crashed down onto his guard. The sheer force drove Moria's legs through the thick stone beneath him, nailing him into the ground. His arms trembled violently, unable to withstand Ortoren's monstrous strength. Straining, he twisted his head aside, but the pressure was too much—his crossed arms snapped apart under the blow.
Ortoren's kick then slammed into his shoulder, smashing him face-first into the ground. The earth exploded, dust erupting everywhere.
"Gecko Moria," Ortoren said as he waved the smoke away, his voice calm and mocking, "your little tricks mean nothing to me. Only those I choose to release when I'm in the mood get to escape my hands. Understand?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a shadow shot up from the ground, stabbing at his chest.
Ortoren didn't even flinch, letting it drive into him.
"Tsuno-Tokage!!!" Moria roared in frustration.
But the black spear of shadow couldn't pierce his body. With a faint smile, Ortoren advanced step by step, the weapon trembling and bending under the crushing pressure. Finally, with a sharp crack, it snapped apart.
Brushing the dust off his chest, Ortoren asked patiently, "So, what's your answer? Are you paying or not? My patience is running out..."
As he spoke, arcs of lightning crackled across his fists, his aura climbing higher and higher, the oppressive presence of Conqueror's Haki building around him.
Moria was furious, but against this monster he was powerless. He couldn't fight, couldn't run... For a moment, as he looked at Ortoren, Kaidou's shadow overlapped with him, dragging him back into that nightmare.
Yes, Moria feared Kaidou. Despite all his talk of revenge, the truth was that after his defeat, his spirit had been broken. For over a decade, he'd hidden away in the Devil's Triangle, refusing to face the world.
Even his so-called revenge plan was pitiful—amassing an army of zombies to fight Kaidou, without ever daring to face him directly.
So much so that his catchphrase had become, "Leave it to you."
"D-don't come any closer..." Moria stammered, collapsing to the ground. As Ortoren's footsteps drew near, he scrambled backward clumsily, trying to put distance between them.
Seeing Moria's terrified face, Ortoren felt a pang of disappointment. He remembered glimpsing him from afar back in Loguetown, when Moria was still a renowned powerhouse of the West Blue. Back then, at least his presence was commanding.
But now, he was nothing more than a hollow, broken failure.
And in that moment, Ortoren finally understood Garp's old words—there's a world of difference between a fist full of conviction and one that's lost it.
"But precisely because of that... you're perfect for the Shichibukai," Ortoren sneered inwardly.
Just as he lost interest and prepared to follow Admiral Sengoku's orders—to beat Moria down, capture him, and send him to Marine Headquarters—
Moria blurted out desperately, "Don't kill me! I just treated you to a meal... I really don't have two hundred billion Belly. Kaidou took all my treasure back in Wano. But... I do still have a powerful technology..."
"Technology?" Ortoren raised an eyebrow, lowering his fist, curiosity piqued. "What kind of technology?"
"I found it in some ancient ruins. A technique to turn islands into warships. With it, you can build massive moving fortresses, like giant sailing warships the size of islands..." Moria swallowed hard, blurting it out quickly.
At that, a glint of understanding lit Ortoren's eyes. Of course. In the original story, after leaving the New World, Moria had cobbled together exactly that in the Devil's Triangle.
The Thriller Bark—known as the "world's largest three-masted ship." Just as he said, the size of an island, and capable of movement.
...
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