Behind the island, Hogback, who was preparing to board the ship with the treasure he had brought, and his beloved Sindori, stopped their actions upon hearing Moria's roar as if driven into a corner.
Fear quickly spread across Hogback's face.
"So soon."
"It seems Moria's demise is only a matter of time."
He rapidly moved the treasure he had brought to a small sailboat docked by the shore. This was essential for his future life, and he couldn't forget it.
"Hmm... Sindori, what's wrong?"
Just then, he noticed Sindori had stopped moving. As if struck by a thought, he stopped moving the treasure he held, took a step forward, and quickly lifted Sindori's body.
As expected, Sindori's shadow was gone from her body.
"It looks like Moria has been pushed to the brink and has to use his ultimate move."
Turning around, Hogback quickly walked towards the ship.
This was too dangerous. In such a short time, the silver-haired group had pushed Moria to despair. He couldn't wait any longer. He had to leave immediately because, just moments ago, an extreme sense of danger had suddenly appeared in his heart.
He trusted this premonition implicitly. If it weren't for this early warning of danger, a person like him would have died a hundred times over, not be alive today!
Therefore, upon sensing the danger, he didn't hesitate to abandon Moria and flee. At the edge of the island, he felt the danger again. He didn't even care about the treasure anymore; he just wanted to take Sindori and leave this place quickly.
"Hmm!"
Just as Hogback, holding Sindori's corpse, was about to board the ship via the wooden bridge, he suddenly sensed something, stopped, and raised his head in terror.
In his sight, a figure with silver hair fluttering in the wind stood silently at the end of the wooden plank.
He was only a few steps away from the ship, but to him, with this figure blocking his path, these few steps were a world apart, a chasm between life and death.
He... couldn't cross it.
Looking at Hogback, a flicker of disgust crossed Kotaro's eyes. He didn't want to waste a single word on this guy.
With a thought, Hogback's neck felt as if it were suddenly gripped, forcing him to release Sindori's corpse from his embrace.
*Crack crack crack!!*
No matter how much he struggled, this invisible force was beyond his ability to resist. It tightened and tightened, making it impossible for him to breathe, causing his eyeballs to bulge.
Then, with a crack, his neck was snapped into a thin line.
Casting a disgusted glance at Hogback's corpse, Kotaro didn't want this guy's corpse to have an easy end. So, with a thought, he tossed his body into the sea.
"You who toy with corpses, may you forever sink into the abyss of the sea! Only endless darkness and the bellies of fish are your destiny."
After dealing with Hogback, Kotaro's gaze shifted to Sindori's floating corpse, and he sighed softly.
Then, he took a step forward, and his figure vanished. He reappeared on a mound of earth by the shore.
He tapped the ground with his toe.
*Thud—!*
It sounded like a drumbeat. The earth rippled like a drum surface, then a fissure split open in the middle.
Kotaro then placed Sindori's corpse into this fissure, and the earth closed around it, leaving no mound.
"Dust to dust, earth to earth. May you rest in peace!"
A pitiable woman.
Turning around, Kotaro's figure vanished from the spot.
Suddenly, a whirlwind swept over the place where Kotaro had just buried Sindori, lingering there unwilling to leave.
If someone could have drawn this wind, they would surely have seen the shape of a woman, bowing towards the direction Kotaro had disappeared, as if expressing gratitude.
Then, the wind followed a larger gust and disappeared from here, going to where it belonged.
This left the place once again in eerie silence, save for the sound of waves lapping against the shore.
...
"Kotaro, has this guy gone mad all of a sudden?"
Kotaro had only been gone for half a minute. He hadn't taken much time to kill Hogback or bury Sindori.
Seeing Kotaro return, Kuina quickly said to him, "Swallowing shadows so recklessly, he'll explode himself without anyone else needing to act, even Ahua and the others. He just needs to hide and let himself burst."
As for what Kotaro had gone to do?
Kuina knew, so she didn't ask. Instead, she looked at Moria with astonishment.
She could sense the immense energy within Moria's body. However, his physique was too poor, making him like an overstuffed person who found it difficult to walk. How could he fight?
"Eh?"
Kotaro, who had just returned, hadn't even fully come to his senses when he was suddenly locked onto by a peculiar malice. "Does this guy think he hasn't died fast enough?"
He looked up and glanced at Ryuma and Brook, who had just finished their fight.
As expected, Brook had defeated Ryuma.
It wasn't that Ryuma wasn't strong. After all, he was from centuries ago, and his body hadn't completely decayed. It was only because his body was buried in ice that it could be preserved until now.
Even so, he could fight Brook for a while. Although he lost later, the fact that he, with his residual strength and a trace of his former will, could fight Brook for so long was already formidable enough.
Then, shifting his gaze to the right, Kotaro finally looked at Moria, who had completely changed. This guy now looked like a giant balloon. Although his body contained immense power, it couldn't be unified. And as long as he encountered an external blow, it would be easy for this guy to regurgitate the shadows he had swallowed.
Just then, Moria also turned his gaze to Kotaro, no, to Perona next to Kotaro.
Then, ignoring Ahua and the other two, he strode directly towards Kotaro.
"Silver-haired one, release Perona."
He roared and punched towards Kotaro.
"So it's for Perona!"
One had to admit, this guy was truly good to his subordinates, and his subordinates could also risk their lives for him. This was quite rare in the profession of piracy.
Because pirates were mostly selfish individuals. How loyal and united could a pirate crew composed of selfish people be? It was simply impossible.
Things were fine when the wind was favorable, after all, they were after benefits!
Everyone would be like they were on steroids, charging forward.
But against the wind, when danger struck, it was every man for himself.
Kotaro looked at the colossal fist that blocked out the sun as it came towards him. He extended his hand, his index finger wrapped in Haki that flowed like water, and flicked it forward.
*Bang—!*
There was no contact, but it easily blocked Moria's full-force punch.
"It's over, Moria."
The shockwave that came head-on met Kotaro and was like a sharp blade, directly cleaved. It split on either side of him and rushed backward, not stirring a single hair on him, not even moving the strands of his hair.