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  --xLOVEx--

  Luffy stood over Moria’s lifeless body, breathing heavily. He wiped some sweat from his brow and looked down at their fallen enemy. “I wonder why he turned into something like this. He really seemed like he cared about his crew,” Luffy said, his voice quieter than usual.

  Coby stepped up beside him, sheathing Shusui. "He did care," Coby replied. "Moria was once a big shot pirate like you. He had a crew, and they meant everything to him." Coby began walking away from the bloodied corpse, and Luffy followed. “But he ran into a Yonkou named Kaido. Moria’s whole crew was annihited in that fight.”

  Luffy’s eyes widened. “Kaido?” he asked, gng at Coby.

  Coby nodded. “Yeah. After that, Moria swore he would never experiehe pain of losing his crew again. That’s why he started stealing shadows and creating an army of the dead. He thought if his soldiers were already dead, he couldn’t lose them.”

  Luffy frowned, deep in thought as they tio walk away from the battlefield. "That's... sad," he muttered, his usual carefree expression repced by a moment of refle. "But stealing shadows… that’s nht."

  Coby shrugged. "He thought it was the only way to protect himself from the pain. But yeah, he lost his way."

  As they walked, the eerie silence of Thriller Bark surrouhem. The massive castle loomed in the background, but the battle was over. Moria’s reign of terror had ended.

  Luffy finally cracked an awkward ugh, looking up at the sky. "Well, at least we gave him a good fight." His energy quickly returned as he threw his arms up in the air. “Let’s get back to the others! I’m starving!”

  Coby chuckled. "Yeah, I’m sure Sanji’s got something cooking by now."

  When they reached the entrance, Zoro was sitting on top of iant body, casually resting his arm on the massive zombie’s head. "Yo, did you end him?" Zoro asked without muthusiasm, looking up at Luffy and Coby.

  Luffy nodded, his voin. "Yeah, he’s done."

  Zoro smirked, then filled them in on what happened after Moria’s call to gather all the shadows. "When Moria called all the shadows back, this big guy," Zoro motioo Oars, "just colpsed like a sack of bricks. Didn’t eveo have any real fun with him before that."

  Coby chuckled at Zoro’s ent, knowing the swordsman robably annoyed he didn’t get more of a challe of Oars. "He was big, but slow," Coby said, gng at the motionless corpse.

  Zored, clearly unbothered. "Nami, Robin, and Usopp went looking for treasure after that," he added. "Sanji and Chopper are cheg up on Hogback."

  As if on cue, Sanji and Chopper appeared from one of the castle’s side corridors, Chopper looking furious while Sanji had a cigarette dangling loosely from his lips.

  Chopper stomped over, eyes bzing with anger. "Coby, you were right about Hogback!" he said, his voice trembling with rage. "That bastard reparing to run away with his personal zombie sve, dry. She was dead for ten years, and that sick freak patched her back together! He didn’t even care about her as a person, just obsessed with her beauty!"

  Sanji added with a growl, "Yeah, the asshole defiled her memory. He and Moria turned her into a puppet for their sick games."

  Coby’s expression darkened as he listehe disgust clear on his face. "He doesn’t deserve to live." With that, Coby walked up to the beaten Hogback, who was still lying on the ground, battered from Chopper’s earlier assault. The doctor’s pitiful groans were barely audible, but it didn’t matter. Coby stood over him, his face cold and unfeeling. With one swift motion, he brought his trident down, ending Hogback’s miserable life instantly.

  "Now he’s out of the picture," Coby said, turning away without a sed gnce.

  Chopper’s hands ched into fists as he stood over dry’s body, his shoulders shaking with quiet rage. Sanji patted him on the back. "You did what you had to, Chopper."

  The rest of the crew soon gathered as well. Nami, however, looked listless, her shoulders slumped in disappoi. Robin walked alongside her, while Usopp had an equally dejected expression.

  "No treasure," Nami muttered, her voice filled with frustration. "We searched everywhere. It’s like the pce was ed out."

  Coby knew Perona had already made her move, heading toward the Thousand Sunny to escape with the rest of her belongings. He wasn’t worried about her. Among all of Moria’s underlings, she was the least dangerous and, frankly, the most normal. Perona had been just a brat when Moria picked her up, and her loyalty to him was mostly out of habit. Coby had no iion of killihere was no need. He would let her live.

  As the crew gathered, preparing to leave Thriller Bark, Coby’s main now was avoiding a potential enter with Bartholomew Kuma. That was why he’d been so hasty, pushing to end Moria as fast as possible. Unfortunately, fate wasn’t going to make things easy for him.

  Just as they started walking toward the ship, the ground trembled slightly. In the distance, a giant silhouette emerged from the fog, walking toward them with heavy steps.

  Luffy turned his head, blinking in surprise. “Huh? Who’s that guy?”

  Coby cursed silently as Bartholomew Kuma loomed before them. The t figure stood still, with a Den Den Mushi in his hand, speaking to someone oher end of the line. Kuma’s presence was suffog, his sheer size making the crew tense up immediately.

  “Is he still alive?” the voi the Den Den Mushi asked, cold and indifferent.

  Kuma’s response was calm aionless. “Who knows.”

  The voice tinued, “So long as he is alive, we wait for him to heal. We o keep the number of Shichibukai at seven. As for the situatiohere, if Shichibukai tio fall like this, then the name will lose its prestige. We shouldn’t let news of this reach the world. Do you uand what I’m saying? We ot have any wito Moria’s defeat. This is a special order from the Wover. tairaw Hat Crew, and as for everyone else left on the isnd, dispose of them.”

  Kuma replied without hesitation, his voice as calm as ever. “Easy enough.”

  The call ended with a faint click. Kuma lowered the Den Den Mushi and turned his gaze toward the Straw Hat crew. The crew tensed, instantly realizing the dahey were in. The giant man wasn’t here for a friendly visit; he was sent to elimihem.

  Zoro’s ha instinctively to his swords, his eyes narrowing at the giant figure. “This guy’s no joke,” he muttered, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

  Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke. “Doesn’t look like he’s here for tea.”

  A group of people, who emerged from the shadows before Kuma arrived, looked tehose who had been freed after Moria’s defeat. These were the individuals who had once lost their shadows, their lives hanging in the bail now. They gathered around the Straw Hat crew, their thanks in hushed voices. However, their relief quickly turo dread as they realized Kuma’s true purpose.

  “He’s… he’s here to kill us all,” one of the survivors stammered, eyes wide with fear.

  Coby stepped forward, his grip tightening around Shusui. “Fall back, hide in the woods,” he ordered the survivors. “This guy isn’t someone you fight.”

  Luffy, however, stood his ground, gring up at Kuma with fiery determination. “We’re not running,” he said, his voiwavering. “We’ll take him down.”

  Kuma remained silent, his gaze sing the crew with detached i. He raised his massive paed hand, and a sudden wave of force surged from it. The air rippled violently as the pressure bst shot toward the crew. The ground cracked beh the weight of the attack, the force barreling toward them at breakneck speed.

  “Move!” Coby shouted, grabbing Usopp by the colr and leaping out of the way. Luffy and the others scattered in different dires, narrowly avoiding the destructive bst. The impact cratered the ground where they had been standing, sending debris flying in every dire.

  Zoro was already on his feet, swords drawn. “This is bad,” he muttered, eyes locked on Kuma. He khe situation was dire, but running wasn’t an option.

  “Damn it, I hate this guy already,” Sanji growled, fire igniting around his leg as he prepared to attack.

  Kuma remained expressionless as he slowly advanced. Without a word, he raised his paw again, this time targeting Luffy directly. A pressed bubble of air formed in his palm, glowing ominously.

  Before Kuma could unch his attack, Coby dashed forward, using Shadow Step to close the distance. He appeared beside Kuma, swinging Shusui in a sharp arc aimed at the giant’s midse. Sparks flew as the bde met metal. Coby k wouldn’t do much against Kuma’s cyb body, but the point was to distract him.

  Kuma didn’t flinch. Instead, he turned his head slightly, aowledging Coby’s presence. "Coby the Copy Ninja, 333 million beri," Kuma said. "Why did you have to kill Moria?"

  Coby grimaced, pulling back after his strike barely made a dent. He knew Kuma wouldn’t be too heavy-handed with the crew, but killing Moria had ged the game. He had to act more brutal now, even if he knew Kuma wasn’t truly ao them. "It had to be done," Coby said bluntly, not any further expnation. He didn't want to let Mo.

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