Phantom? Gale Swordsman?

"Eh? Wait a moment..." Dr. Hogback said with a startled expression. "Master William, did you change this through your own shadow?" 

"Hiss! The Shadow Fruit has this kind of ability?" Perona exclaimed in disbelief.

Upon hearing these words, the three of them woke up with cold sweat on their heads, staring at the calm and smiling William in front of them with shock and incredulity.

"Don't compare me with that Moria guy..." William crossed his arms, full of pride, and said, "He has not been able to fully demonstrate the power of the Shadow Fruit at all!"

This was how he had been recently, making bold attempts based on his original abilities to deeply develop a new skill - phantom transformation! After half a month of tireless work and continuous attempts, not only did it meet expectations, but it could also make the shadow clone look exactly like himself, as if it were the real one. It could even be transformed into any shape or form, directly obtaining the effect of the Paramecia Clone-Clone Fruit.

After all, even the Paramecia String-String Fruit's ability could develop string clones that were difficult to distinguish between true and false, and the Logia Sparkling Fruit could create a bunch of light clones... There was no reason why the Shadow Fruit's ability couldn't do this.

"Phew, I was almost scared to death by you, Sir William!" Dr. Hogback and Perona both collapsed on the ground, patting their chests, their backs soaked in cold sweat after confirming that the Moria just now was really transformed by William.

"My heart is almost beating out, even though I don't have a heart, yo ho ho ho..." Even Brook, who only had a handful of bones left, was no exception. They were really frightened. They had thought that Moria was not dead and had used the unknown ability of the Shadow Fruit to seize William's body. 

For a while, they had even considered that Moria's Shadow Fruit ability was too special and he had never really died, just faking his death by pretending to be William's shadow and deceiving everyone. Even Perona, in her heart of hearts, hoped that Moria, whom she regarded as an adoptive father, was really alive. But the scene just now was too terrifying, catching them completely unprepared.

"I really didn't expect that the Shadow Fruit actually has such an ability..." Dr. Hogback said in amazement after regaining his composure. He couldn't help grinning excitedly, "But this way, the fake can be mistaken for the real!"

"After all, Moria is a user of the Shadow Fruit, and Sir William, you are also a user of the Shadow Fruit!" This meant that William could definitely wear the skin of Gekko Moria, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, being fair and aboveboard, taking them to sail freely all over the world. Not only could it scare the pirates, but even the Marines couldn't take action against them.

"It would be great!" Perona couldn't help but her eyes lit up. With the Marines unable to act against them, how many of the pirates in the first half of the Grand Line could be their opponents?

"Yo ho ho ho, as expected of Sir William, he can actually do such an exaggerated thing!" Brook was also a little surprised. The Gekko Moria just now looked like a real person, giving them a great sense of oppression. 

"After all, for now, the identity of a Warlord of the Sea is still of great use. If you don't use it, it will be in vain!" William nodded. The skin of a Warlord was indeed very useful - when needed, take it out and wear it; when not needed, throw it aside. Anyway, in addition to Perona and Dr. Hogback, there were also those zombie soldiers who obeyed orders. Not many people knew that Gekko Moria had already been killed by him, and the pirates and travelers who had some knowledge were all locked up in the dungeon by him, their shadows taken away.

"Time waits for no one!" William clenched his fists. He believed that as long as he endured loneliness and laid low for a year or two, fully developing the ability of the Shadow Fruit, continuing to draw on the shadows of those strong people, and practicing unremittingly to hone his physical skills, swordsmanship, and even Conqueror's Haki to become more proficient, his own strength would surely usher in a huge leap. 

At the same time, the forces under his command could also develop and grow under the eyes of the Marines by relying on the skin of a Warlord. What if the Marines and World Government found out? He had been unwilling to be mediocre and ambitious from the beginning, determined to step on this sea. Sooner or later, he would break into the New World and face those monsters head-on, fighting for the throne of the "Pirate Emperor".

The next morning, looking at the red sun in the distant sky, Brook, who had chosen to join William's army and was left with only a handful of bones, was moved to tears. "Yohoho, it's great... woooo... I finally came out!" Yes, not long ago, the terrifying ship that had been hiding in the Florian Triangle for several years had left this sea area for the first time.

Waving dumbbells that were as high as a hill and as heavy as a jerk, William, who had been practicing swordsmanship and Haki according to his memory and had achieved remarkable results in the past few days, smiled and said, "Perona, are you free?" 

In order to prevent his identity from being exposed, he reduced his body to two meters tall with the help of Life Return, and even his appearance changed a lot. To the outside world, he was a cadre under Gekko Moria, the vice-captain of the Hell Pirates - the Wind Swordsman Yasuo. 

Originally, he wanted to disguise himself as a Paramecia Retractable Fruit ability user. But considering the similar characteristics of the Paramecia Rubber Fruit, William gave up directly. The fruit that the World Government did not hesitate to tamper with the Devil Fruit illustration to hide its real name was too special and easy to attract the attention of their top leaders.

Although the fruit was taken away by Red Hair Shanks a few years ago, if the World Government misunderstood him and thought he might have obtained the Rubber Fruit, it would be bad to take the blame for nothing. It would be better to disguise himself as a swordsman. Anyway, he had the important memories of swordsmen such as Ryoma and Captain John. 

With his strong physical fitness and considerable talent in swordsmanship, he was more than qualified to be a swordsman. If he was willing to work hard, he might become a real swordsman in the future. His way of directly obtaining other people's memories from the first-person perspective could almost be said to be equivalent to an immersive experience, simulating the other person's life again and again. 

Whether it was the practice of Haki or the related kendo perception, it was much more exaggerated and profound than the teaching of those famous teachers. It could be said that practicing was twice the result with half the effort, and the progress was rapid and jaw-dropping.

"William... No, Lord Yasuo, I am helping you patrol the enemy situation!" Perona's face fell, and he hurriedly stepped forward to flatter, "Can I take a day off? No... half a day!" 

The movement of his hands did not stop, still swinging the "dumbbell" up and down as if vigorously swinging a sword. William turned his head without blushing or panting, and looked at the other party with a smile, "Are you bargaining with me? Today your training plan is doubled, and you are not allowed to eat if you don't complete it!"

Perona's little thoughts, of course, couldn't be hidden from him. There were special raptor zombie soldiers responsible for patrolling the enemy situation, and she, the Ghost Princess, was not needed. This girl just wanted to be lazy.

"Ah? Not satisfied? Then I'll double it again?" William said with a raised eyebrow.

"No, no, I will go practice immediately..." Perona made a bitter face. The consciousness that left the body returned to the body in a hurry, together with Dr. Hogback who had already consciously started training on the side, continuously hitting the wooden stake in front of him.

"Wei... Lord Yasuo, is there anything I can do?" Brook scratched his head. Even William, the boss, worked so hard and everyone was training, which made him a little embarrassed.

"Since you think you have too much free time, then let me fully see the strength of our new member!" William looked at him and said indifferently. 

"Uh... no problem!" Brook replied, readying himself for the challenge ahead.

(end of chapter)