A Playful Fight  

Zavia's tone was cold, laced with a hint of mockery. He held no fondness for Moria.

Before becoming the grotesque figure he was now, Moria had been much like Luffy, setting sail with a burning passion for adventure and justice.

However, after encountering the Emperor Kaido and suffering a crushing defeat that nearly wiped out his entire crew, Moria had fallen into despair and turned to the path of researching the undead.

"This guy...!!"

Seeing his Shadow Doppelman reform, Moria gritted his teeth, his wariness towards Zavia growing.

(He dispersed my Scatter Bats with a single attack! Just how strong is this brat!?)

The ease with which Zavia had dispelled his attack left Moria shaken. He had never encountered such an opponent in the first half of the Grand Line.

Perhaps due to his prolonged isolation within his castle, Moria was unaware of the current state of affairs in the outside world. His only source of information was the newspaper Hogback had given him.

The last time someone had so effortlessly dispersed his Scatter Bats was when he encountered Kaido in the New World. This led Moria to speculate that Zavia might possess strength on par with an Emperor.

It's often said that a lack of information can lead to misjudgments, and Moria was a prime example of this.

If Zavia could read minds and hear Moria's current assessment of him, he would have surely laughed.

It wasn't that the enemy was too strong, but rather that Moria himself was too weak. In some ways, his behavior mirrored Crocodile's.

Before entering the New World, both had been brimming with confidence, believing themselves to be invincible.

However, upon encountering Emperors – Kaido for Moria and Whitebeard for Crocodile – they were both swiftly defeated and driven to despair. They sought to achieve their ambitions through unrealistic fantasies.

Crocodile, however, was arguably in a better position than Moria. After all, Pluton was a real and powerful weapon. Moria's undead zombies, on the other hand, were ultimately just a product of his Devil Fruit ability, easily neutralized with a bit of salt.

"Next time, remember not to release bats to harm others. Otherwise, the consequences will be far greater than you can imagine.

Consider yourself lucky. Under normal circumstances, you would already be dead. I wouldn't have given you the opportunity to even attack.

Just surrender and announce to the world that you've been defeated, and your body will remain intact."

Zavia shook his head slightly and sheathed the Yamato blade, his eyes fixed on Moria with a deadpan expression.

"Damn brat!! Don't get cocky! I'll cut off your shadow and make it my own!" Moria, enraged, stood up, his face contorted with fury.

Seeing Moria rise, Zavia abandoned the idea of a "Spartan Skewer." The way Moria had summoned his shadow while sitting reminded him of Urizen from Devil May Cry 5.

(Sitting still and unleashing attacks is a privilege reserved for me, Urizen. A weakling like you has no right to do that.) Zavia thought to himself.

"Come forth, my zombie soldiers!"

The ground within the castle began to crack open, and lifeless hands emerged from the earth. Soon, numerous zombies stood before Zavia, with Moria and his Shadow Doppelman behind them.

"Yare yare, resorting to a swarm tactic? If your subordinates were even slightly stronger, and you yourself weren't so weak, I might actually be scared."

Facing the horde of zombies, Zavia remained calm, his right hand slowly reaching for the hilt of the Yamato blade.

"Capture him! I'll use him to activate Number 900!"

"Oooooooh!!!"

With Moria's command, the zombie soldiers, devoid of any semblance of intelligence, charged towards Zavia, their movements surprisingly swift for undead creatures.

Zavia sidestepped a lunging zombie and drew the Yamato blade in a flash, slicing upward and sending a head with sharp fangs flying.

He then shifted his stance, raised his right leg, and delivered a powerful side kick, sending another zombie flying.

Zavia reached into his spatial bag and retrieved a glass beaker filled with a transparent liquid. He positioned it above the Yamato blade and crushed it, allowing the liquid to flow onto the blade due to gravity.

After coating the blade with the liquid, Zavia swiftly switched his grip to a reverse hold and stabbed the headless zombie he had just decapitated, slicing through its body.

The headless zombie's eyes rolled back, and a small shadow emerged from its open mouth, passing through the wall to seek its master.

"Damn it, salt water? This guy knows the weakness of the zombie soldiers." Moria muttered, his eyes bloodshot. Each lost subordinate pained him deeply.

Zavia, his expression cold, charged towards Moria after dispatching the headless zombie. He swung the Yamato blade horizontally and vertically, cutting down the zombie soldiers that tried to impede his progress.

With a swift kick, he sent a zombie flying and followed through with a slash, splitting the creature in two.

Zavia always aimed for vital points like the neck or heart. If he couldn't deliver a killing blow, there was a chance the enemy might escape and seek revenge.

He wasn't foolish enough to underestimate any opponent, no matter how weak. Anyone who crossed him would meet one of two fates: decapitation or a pierced heart.

If he couldn't eliminate them on the spot, it would leave the possibility of future retaliation, creating unnecessary trouble that might come back to haunt him.

Once the blade was drawn, a deadly feud was formed. In a duel, one side had to die, or the conflict would never truly end.

"Damn it! If this continues, I'll be finished!"

Moria watched as Zavia drew closer, panic rising within him. He knew he couldn't hold back any longer.

"Shadow Asgard...!!"

Just as Moria was about to use his ability, Zavia vanished from sight.

(He disappeared?! Where is he!?)

Moria was momentarily stunned, then frantically searched for Zavia.

However, just as he began his search, Zavia reappeared, standing merely 70 centimeters away, a cold smirk on his face.

That smirk sent a wave of fear through Moria, a fear that quickly escalated into despair and the certainty of death.

The Yamato blade flashed forward, and a severed arm flew through the air, accompanied by a spray of blood.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!"

Moria landed on the ground, and after 0.99 seconds, his brain registered the intense pain coursing through his nerves. He let out a scream.

Zavia stood before him, his eyes cold and devoid of any sympathy.

"Master!!!" Two seconds after Moria's scream, the zombie soldiers finally reacted.

"Ahhhhhhh!!! My arm!!!"

The excruciating pain made Moria writhe in agony, his face contorted in a grimace.

"Moria, did you think I was joking? If you surrender, your 'parts' will remain intact, and you won't have to suffer like this."

Zavia held the Yamato blade before Moria's eyes, his voice eerily calm, as if he were an emotionless machine.

"..."

Moria forced one eye open, his face twisted in pain, seemingly conveying his refusal to surrender.

"I see. Judging by your expression, you don't intend to give up. A pity. I wanted you to say it yourself. Well, no matter. I'll do things my way then."

Zavia, seemingly having anticipated Moria's stubbornness, shook his head slightly. He switched his grip on the Yamato blade to a reverse hold and thrust it into Moria's massive body.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!"

Another wave of excruciating pain surged through Moria as the salt water from the Yamato blade flowed into his body, causing intense agony.

Zavia swiftly withdrew the blade, switched back to a regular grip, and slashed at Moria's left leg. A severed limb, accompanied by a spray of blood, flew through the air.

The loss of his left leg elicited another scream from Moria, his face now drenched in sweat.

Zavia thrust the Yamato blade downward, and another scream pierced the air. Behind him, a zombie soldier who had tried to grab his leg to restrain him scrambled away.

Ignoring the remaining zombies, who were too terrified to approach, Zavia slashed at Moria's right leg.

Blood splattered onto Zavia's body and face. The sight of him, with his glowing blue eyes, created the illusion of a demon from hell descending upon the scene.

Well, in a sense, that wasn't entirely inaccurate, considering the evil residing within Zavia – the demon Urizen.

Having lost both his legs, Moria felt a sense of utter despair. His mind flashed back to his encounter with Kaido in the New World, where he had felt the same overwhelming sense of helplessness and weakness.

"Hmph, just stay like this and fall asleep."

Zavia channeled his strength into his left leg and delivered a powerful kick to Moria's head. The impact sent a jolt of numbness through Moria's temples, and his vision went dark.

"Yare yare, finally done. Arthur, did you capture everything?"

Having dealt with Moria, Zavia let out a sigh of relief, sheathed the Yamato blade, and looked towards the doorway.

"Yeah, I got it all."

Standing at the entrance was a young boy with short blue hair, holding a recording Den Den Mushi.