Gathering of Shadows

Chapter 81: Gathering of Shadows

As a ninja, one must learn to conceal themselves, remain still like a stone, lock onto the target, gather strength, and move swiftly like the wind...

Since Rodney had chosen to hide, he would never willingly expose his position. He believed in delivering a lethal blow with a single strike. If he couldn't do that, he would first send a Shadow Clone to probe the enemy.

As expected, one of Rodney's Shadow Clones appeared, only to be taken out by the shadows, squashed inside the Black Box.

"Damn it! How can you be so cruel?" 

The memories of the defeated Shadow Clone returned to Rodney's body as he coughed from his hiding place underground. He asked in a low voice, "Sister Slug, where is that fatso?"

Sister Slug replied, "Lord Rodney, he's to your northeast, about three hundred meters away, hiding behind a tree. Although the tree is useless in hiding his large body."

"Got it." 

Rodney started using Earth Release to dig his way over.

Meanwhile, Moria, who realized that he had missed his target, sneered, "What ability does this guy have? Why can't I hit him?"

Wait, what sound was that?

The ground beneath him seemed to be softening.

Soft?

Boom!

He fell into a pit, and a low drink came from above, "Fishman Karate: Thousand Brick Fist!"

His abdomen was being struck, but he couldn't see who was attacking. It felt really uncomfortable.

That punch forced out all the food Moria had eaten in the morning, and the arm that Rayleigh had chopped off was now even more painful.

"Damn Rodney, don't let me catch you, Shadow Magician!" 

He once again switched places with his shadow. 

"No, I can't delay any longer. You zombies, find him for me!"

Moria was in a dire situation, unable to use one hand, suffering from the pain in his stomach, and unsure of the whereabouts of his subordinates. All he had were a group of dumb zombies who weren't good at fighting. He felt very anxious.

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire!"

The zombies exploded in terror at the sight of the flames, losing all fighting capabilities.

"Rodney, you ignorant fool, how dare you cause trouble in my territory! Since that's the case, I will take your shadow! Horn Blade Shadow!"

Once again, Rodney's Shadow Clone was pierced through. Moria's anger surged once more. This fighting style was really disgusting, and he wondered where this person had come from.

"Earth Release: Tremor Technique!"

The ground under Moria's feet began to tremble like it had a life of its own. Moria's massive body wavered, almost falling over. 

"What's going on? An earthquake?" 

Then he suddenly remembered that he was on his Thriller Bark ship at sea. How could there be an earthquake? That meant the guy could cause earthquakes?

Similar to Whitebeard's power? What kind of ability did he have?

"Hakoku!"

The mist was torn open by sword energy, and it rushed toward him.

Moria seemed to hear the sound of his bones breaking, feeling extremely uncomfortable all over. Even though he had a thick layer of fat on his stomach, it was still covered in blood, and some places even exposed bone fragments. 

These were the results of years of living a lazy, obese life, which limited Rodney's strength from fully unleashing.

"Ah ah ah! It hurts so much! It hurts so much!" He howled loudly. 

"How is this possible? The power of the Giant race, how can... How can you possess it?"

"Everything is possible." 

Rodney stepped out of the mist and said, "Moria, the one who was defeated by Kaido, you've lost your past strength. With your obsession with creating the strongest zombies, how could you possibly defeat the monstrous Kaido?"

"You... Don't mention that name in front of me!" 

Underneath the torn disguise was, once again, a Shadow Clone and Moria's rage surged again. This fighting style was too disgusting. Where did this guy pop out from?

"Treinta Fleur!"

Arms grew out of the ground, grabbing hold of Moria's body. 

"This... This is the Flower-Flower Fruit? Nico Robin!"

"And me." 

The pink poisonous girl, Levy, took elegant steps through the mist.

"Who... Who are you?"

"Poison Powder." 

Poisonous mist swirled around Levy, transforming into arrows.

In the blink of an eye, the arrows pierced into Moria's wounds, intensifying the pain even more. Feeling a sudden dizziness, Moria realized, "This is... poison? How despicable!"

"All is fair in war! With your current state, you must have lost any ambition to compete for the title of Pirate King, scared by Kaido, aren't you? Moria, how about you offer your head, valued at three hundred million bellies, to me?"

"Hmph! That Kaido, I will definitely kill him! But before that, I will kill you first, Magician Rodney!" 

As he spoke, the shadows under his feet spread out like unleashed hair, connecting to the shadows of numerous zombies.

He looked up and roared, "Come! All the shadows on Thriller Bark, give me all of your power!" 

Countless shadows flowed to Moria from all directions on the island, surging into his body.

One hundred, two hundred, three hundred... more and more shadows filled Moria's body, and he grew larger and larger, with visible energy surging on his body. Seeing this, Rodney felt the situation wasn't good and raised Kashu, "Hakoku!"

Sword energy swept through the mist, pulverizing everything in its path.

A big hand stopped Hakoku, causing some slight injuries. 

"Kid, I'll show you the consequences of enraging me! Hehehe! The Shadow-Shadow Fruit is the strongest! You're definitely no match for me!"

One thousand shadows flowed into his body, and his massive frame ballooned from seven meters to over ten meters.

"Hehehe! I truly am invincible! No one is my match!" 

The surge of power made him extremely confident, feeling as if he could punch Kaido, kick Capone, and even sit on Whitebeard to death.

But his reason told him that it was just an illusion caused by the sudden increase in power. When facing Kaido, he would still be knocked down. 

With his current strength, he wasn't a match for Kaido at all. He needed to find powerful shadows to resurrect Oars, the Continent-Puller, as his ally to defeat Kaido.

And in front of him was a perfect shadow to drive the corpse of Oars, the Continent-Puller.

He only needed to beat him until he lost all fighting capabilities.

Oh dear, this was really troubling. In his current state, it was quite difficult to hold back and not kill the opponent.

"Magician Rodney, I'll take your shadow. Become my power to defeat Kaido!" 

A fist as heavy as Mount Tai swung, causing a thunderous sound as it moved. The fist carried a powerful gust, blowing trees around, and filling the air with sand and dust. Like a beast freed from its cage, it wanted to tear everything apart and devour it all.

"Spread out! Execute my backup plan!" 

Reiju approached Robin, carrying her in the air, while Sister Slug ended her spiritual connection and returned to the Shikkotsu Forest.

Rodney didn't plan to directly confront this current version of Moria. To defeat him, he would need to exert considerable effort. He had a better plan.

"Don't think you can escape!" 

Moria chased after, but his speed was not fast. He was never good at speed, and in his current state, it was worse.

Rodney said, "Robin, Reiju, get back on the ship, activate the Black Pearl, and leave this place. I'm not sure what will happen here."

"Captain, what are you planning to do?"

"I'll take him down in one go!"