A single sword strike sealed his throat.
Moses leveraged his left arm for support, bending his right leg before delivering a powerful kick to the chest—thud! A dull impact echoed.
Both Moses and Quetta were sent flying backward.
His body swayed like willow in the wind, landing gracefully with the breeze.
Moses flicked his sword, shaking off the blood mixed with dew.
Not far away, Quetta knelt on one knee, clutching his throat tightly as blood seeped incessantly through his fingers.
Had his Devil Fruit awakened and had he mastered profound Life Return, he might have been able to heal quickly.
But now...
While the Zoan-Type granted its users extraordinary regenerative abilities, it didn't extend to severed windpipes.
Not all Zoan-Types were Mythical. Even among them, unless one possessed abilities like the Phoenix's, such fatal wounds were usually insurmountable.
Watching the blood bubbles gush from between his fingers as he clutched his throat, Moses spoke softly:
"Peipei. Use the negative one."
A tiny finger extended from his chest, pointing at Quetta. "Negative Spirit."
Transparent white Hollow Dolls with eerie laughter phased through his head. The next moment, his hands dropped, palms pressing against the ground as his mouth opened, blood spurting out uncontrollably.
Seconds later,
a pigeon-egg-sized irregular crystal shimmering with a mysterious luster emerged from his body.
[Obtained C- Grade Soul Crystal *1]
Glancing at the slavers around them, the dead ones were all weak, the strongest among them only F+—barely stronger than common thugs.
Moses noticed one who wasn't quite dead yet. After a brief silence, he asked, "Peipei, do you want to get your hands bloody?"
Silence lingered for over ten seconds before Perona hesitantly whispered, "What if I don't want to?"
Moses chuckled. "Then you don't have to. I'm just asking for your opinion—no pressure. It's entirely up to you."
"Oh... Then I'll try. Which one?" Perona muttered, "If I'm sticking with you, I'll have to face this sooner or later. Might as well start now."
He pointed at the one who wasn't completely dead—the first who had lunged at Moses.
Perona emerged from Moses' body, perching on his shoulder as she stretched her right hand toward the man:
"Mini... Hollow Bomb."
No fewer than ten mini spirits flew over, clinging to the man's body. Perona snapped her fingers—click—
BOOM!!!
A chain of explosions erupted in unison, the shockwave blasting the man to death.
Taking a deep breath, Perona stared at the dust-filled spot where he had been and mumbled quietly into Moses' ear:
"Doesn't feel any different. So killing scum is just... like this."
Moses replied softly,
"Because it isn't different. Just remember one thing: anyone who threatens your life is an enemy. And a dead enemy is the only good enemy."
Pfft!
"Halahala! Moses, I thought you were going to say something like 'don't provoke unless provoked'?"
"I never claimed to be a good person. I have desires too. 'Don't provoke unless provoked' is too passive.
When it comes to enemies, I prefer to be proactive."
"Proactive?"
"Alright, I'll send him off myself. Whether he ends up in heaven or hell is none of my business."
Moses surveyed the scene before him and walked over to the wine rack.
Rows of bottles lined the shelves—rum, sherry, whiskey, brandy—some fine, some cheap.
He turned to Perona. "Peipei, go call Da Bao over. He should be back on the ship by now. Have him come load this stuff up."
"Fine."
Perona's Spirit Body flew out of the underground bar and disappeared.
Moses began cleaning up the battlefield.
He hurled bottle after bottle of cheap liquor against the walls. The sharp shattering of glass echoed repeatedly as the scent of alcohol saturated the air—on the walls, the floor, the tables.
From the bar's drawer, he pulled out a stack of Belly and neatly arranged it.
Rummaging through cabinets and crates, he searched on a whim, hoping to stumble upon something else of value.
Behind the bar, Moses noticed a door. He opened it and narrowed his eyes—a staircase leading up and another descending further down.
He took the upward path first and soon found himself on the second floor of the building. Judging by the layout, this was likely the slaver group's dormitory.
After a thorough search, he found nothing worthwhile—just useless clutter.
At most, there were some snacks like sunflower seeds, peanuts, and more alcohol. Moses couldn't be bothered with any of it.
He checked every room on both floors before returning to the door behind the bar and descending the stairs to the second basement level.
After walking down about ten meters, he spotted an iron door around the corner.
Through Observation Haki, Moses sensed multiple presences behind it. His brow lifted slightly—this matched the total number of auras he'd detected earlier.
The door was locked, with no key in sight, but that was no obstacle for Moses.
From his waist pouch, he retrieved a slender metal pick. He tapped the lock, listening to the reverberations to gauge its mechanism, then deftly inserted the pick into the keyhole.
Click, click, click.
Thanks to his "Lockpicking" Blessing, such a trivial lock posed no challenge.
With a final click, it popped open effortlessly.
Moses pulled the door open and took in the sight—a space as large as the bar above, spanning about a hundred square meters.
Inside were rows of cage-like prison cells.
He scanned them briefly.
About seven or eight unlucky souls were trapped inside. Moses couldn't be bothered to question each one.
After inspecting the cells, he spotted a set of keys hanging on the wall near the entrance. He grabbed them, noting the numbered labels on each key.
A glance at the numbered cages made their purpose clear. Moses began unlocking the occupied cells one by one.
Once finished, he tossed the keys aside casually.
"You're free. The slavers upstairs are all dead. Do whatever you want now."
With that, he turned to leave. Hearing someone call after him, he ignored it.
Back in the bar, he found Crow Dabao, Perona, and Chopper loading alcohol into the castle.
Noticing Chopper's trembling legs at the sight of the corpses, Moses chuckled and ruffled his head.
"Scared, huh?"
"Well, not particularly scared. I've seen plenty." Chopper averted his eyes and muttered before turning to Moses. "Are they all bad people?"
"You could say that. They're all slavers who deserve lead bullets."
As he spoke, Moses took out a bottle of sherry, pulled the cork, and examined its amber hue—clear and transparent. He took a sip and found it decent, with a complex yet smooth flavor and a rich, fragrant aroma.
"Have a drink to steady your nerves. It's not bad."
He handed the bottle to Chopper.
Curious, Chopper took it, cradled it in both hands, and gulped down a big mouthful before swallowing with a loud gulp.
Sherry isn't high in alcohol content.
But its kick is strong.
Chopper's cheeks instantly flushed red after that big swig, the fine fur on his face somehow betraying the sudden blush.
"Moses, it's kinda sweet. Really tasty!"
With that, he took another swig.
"Huh? Big bro, why are there two of you now? Wait, no—three. Glug, glug, glug."
Moses' eye twitched as he watched Chopper down several more gulps, finishing the entire bottle in no time.
Smirking helplessly, Moses grabbed him by the scruff and tossed him toward Crow Dabao. A ripple of spatial distortion later, Chopper was safely stowed inside the castle.
Perona blinked at Moses and said, "You're terrible, teaching a kid to drink."
Moses thought about it—even by reindeer standards, Chopper was still a cub. He felt a bit awkward but stubbornly defended himself.
"It's fine. Gotta build up alcohol tolerance young so he can hold his liquor when he's older."
"Is that so?"
Perona looked puzzled, then nodded in understanding.
"I guess that makes sense. Big Sister Dory, at her age, drinks a glass or two every day."
Before long, after clearing the liquor from the shelves, Moses set the place ablaze, burning the corpses to ashes.
He and Perona returned to the Castle Space while Crow Dabao flew toward the harbor.
On the way back to the ship, they stopped in town to stock up on daily supplies.
...
Stepping onto the deck of the Little Bear, Moses gazed at the thick black smoke rising from a corner of the town, flames flickering within.
Robin approached, following his gaze with curiosity.
"Mission accomplished? Who were those people?"
"A slaver group's hideout. One of Du Feld's operations. An old acquaintance."
"Old acquaintance?" Robin tilted her head, studying Moses. She'd heard of that underground big shot. "You know him?"
Seeing the curiosity in her eyes, Moses chuckled. "Once helped someone break one of his claws."
"Anyway, enough about that." Moses turned to Crow Dabao perched on his shoulder. "Did you find the Sky Island earlier?"
"Caw! Not far south, about seven thousand meters up, there's an Island Cloud like you described. Found a huge golden hexagonal gate there, with some old woman standing guard."
Moses nodded. That must be White Sea—the layer beneath Skypiea, ten thousand meters above the ocean.
Everything was ready. All preparations complete.
Moses looked at Crow Dabao. "Let's go. To the Sky Island."
With a nod, Crow Dabao activated his ability, and the entire Little Bear began shrinking, vanishing from the harbor at a visible pace.
Some townsfolk at the dock gaped in shock, muttering about seeing ghosts.
Crow Dabao soared straight upward, flying high into the sky.
Top Floor · Leisure Area
Before a massive floor-to-ceiling window, Moses and the others watched as the island below grew smaller and smaller until it became a tiny black dot the size of a fist.
Piercing through layers of clouds, plop!—Crow Dabao flew up onto a cloud formation that resembled an island.
Before their eyes:
Clouds shaped like mountain ranges.
Clouds shaped like winding rivers.
And clusters of translucent, jelly-like clouds standing all around.
"Moses, look, look! That cloud looks like jelly pudding!" Perona exclaimed excitedly, her eyes sparkling as she tugged at Moses' arm.
"Let's go check it out! I wanna see if it's edible!"
"Jelly?" Chopper mumbled drunkenly, swaying as he stared at Moses. "Is it tasty?"
Truth be told, Chopper had never tried it before. Now, wobbling unsteadily, he fixed his gaze on Moses.
Thunk!
Kureha's fist landed squarely on Chopper's forehead with a crisp sound.
"You little dummy, if you can't handle alcohol, drink less! First time drinking and you down this much?"
Chopper grinned goofily, his tongue thick with intoxication, his eyes narrowing into slits.
Moses turned to Kureha. "Doctorine, haven't you been to Skypiea before?"
"Decades ago, I visited the small sky island, Weatheria. But I've never been here."
Not just the group—even Crow Dabao was curious. He landed on a massive, hundred-meter-wide, white, translucent jelly-like cloud.
Boing, boing!
The elasticity was incredible.
The sight was too tempting. Perona flung open the window and leaped out, her body shrinking and growing as she landed on the Jelly Cloud. She bounced a few times before rolling around joyfully.
"Haraharahara! Moses, Moses! This is so fun! Come up here too! Haraharahara!"
Moses, intrigued, jumped out the window. The moment his feet touched the cloud, it felt like he was about to sink in—yet not quite. The bounce was incredible.
Crouching down, he ran his fingers over the surface—cool, smooth, and incredibly elastic, with no dampness.
It was like a trampoline—no, softer than that. More like gummy candy.
Seeing Moses join in, Kureha, Bear Cub, Robin, and Chopper all leaped out. Even Crow Xiao Niu flew out with her five children in tow.
After playing for a while, they lay on the jelly-like cloud, basking in the sun, their bodies half-sunken yet perfectly comfortable.
Listening to the cheerful laughter around him, Moses felt drowsy. Covering his eyes with his right hand, he let them drift shut.
This Jelly Cloud is way too comfortable to lie on...
Soon, someone sat beside him. A faint floral scent wafted over with the breeze, and then—poke—his cheek was prodded.
Peeking through his fingers, Moses turned his head to Robin. "What's up? Not playing with them?"
Robin pressed her hand into the Jelly Cloud, savoring the slippery sensation between her fingers.
"Do you know if there are people living on Skypiea?" she asked curiously.
"Are we going to stay here from now on?"
"Cut to the chase," Moses said, brushing her finger away from his face. Still squinting at the sky above, he added, "We're going back to the sea below eventually, aren't we?"
"Of course, while Sky Island is beautiful, it can't compare to the excitement of the vast ocean below."
"We came here just for some peace and quiet, and the ten-thousand-meter altitude happens to be great for training.
Plus, there are plenty of interesting things here. Once we've had our fill of fun, we'll take you to the East Blue."
"East Blue? What for?"
Hearing Robin's puzzled tone, Moses chuckled:
"Didn't I mention it before? I have a younger brother named Ace. He's on an island in East Blue. It's very safe there, and few people know about you. I'll take you there to stay for a few years."
"Mmm, okay. Thank you, Moses. I'm really glad I met you."
Robin sat hugging her knees on the Jelly Cloud, tilting her head to look at this little brother eight years her junior. From the day they first met, he'd always been protecting her. The thought brought a faint smile to her lips.
"Being by your side gives me a sense of security I've never felt before. It's... warm."
"Tch, don't go saying such provocative things when you're still a little girl who hasn't even grown all her feathers yet."
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