"Not just 'not bad'—he straight-up scared Moria into brain-dead mode!"
From the adjacent room, Whitebeard had long since sensed everything happening in the vice-emperor's quarters.
He didn't quite understand how Roya had suddenly gained access to the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, but any increase in Roya's strength was always welcome in Whitebeard's eyes.
"Return his own moves back at him?"
"Now that's a perfectly fitting name!"
Roya slowly approached Moria, now collapsed on the floor.
Their eyes met—though Moria's were blank, filled with terror and confusion, his will to resist completely shattered.
Roya sighed in disappointment.
He reached out and lightly patted Moria's grotesque, misshapen forehead.
"Hm… what should I do with you?"
"If you're so fond of stealing others' shadows and letting them burn to ashes in the sun... then maybe it's time you got a good sunbath yourself—tied to the mast!"
As he spoke, he flicked a finger.
A silent Doppelman figure beside him instantly morphed into a thick black rope the width of a thumb, coiling around Moria's bloated form.
It lifted him effortlessly into the air, starting to rise toward the deck above.
Moria's body involuntarily shifted into a shadowy state.
That was when the real panic set in.
He hadn't activated this ability—this strange rope had forced him into it!
Moria shouted in a panic, "Wait! Vice-Emperor Roya!"
"Being defeated by my own powers—I admit it, you've bested me. No complaints there."
"But could you please… enlighten me? What exactly is the ability you used to beat me?"
"Surely there can't be a second Shadow-Shadow Fruit in this world… can there?"
Roya paused the ascent.
He shrugged.
"Of course not. There are never two identical Devil Fruits in the world."
"And besides—I didn't beat you with a Devil Fruit."
"It was Haki. Observation Haki, to be exact."
Moria's head shook in disbelief.
"W-what?! Observation Haki?! That's impossible!"
"Vice-Emperor Roya! I accept my loss, and I'll accept whatever punishment you see fit."
"But don't tell me… that even as the loser, I don't deserve to understand why I lost?"
Roya couldn't help but chuckle.
In truth, the moment Moria had entered this section of the sea, Roya had already used his Observation Field to completely analyze the workings of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
Then, by projecting his Observation Haki outward, he had simulated the light and shadow of the room—the moonlight, the angles, the illusions.
The result was a flawless false scenario that completely misled Moria's senses.
Moria truly believed he had been bested by an identical Shadow-Shadow Fruit user.
Based on this principle, Roya could theoretically simulate any Devil Fruit ability or physical technique.
And this "returning one's own technique against them" style—unless someone possessed Haki on a comparable level to his own, there was no way to see through the deception, let alone counter it.
But… why should he tell any of this to an enemy who'd just tried to kill him?
Roya smirked, eyes full of mockery.
"You want to know? Then think it over while hanging on the mast!"
"With your body type, I figure you'll need at least 180 days of good sun to burn it into you!"
He paused, then added with a wicked grin:
"If you manage to figure out why you lost in those 180 days, I might let you live. How's that?"
With that, he ignored the despairing Moria.
The black rope suddenly tightened—compressing Moria's body into shadow form once again.
It passed through the ceiling, rising up to the deck and eventually hanging him from the mainmast—tied and dangling in full view.
Far off in the mist, the Terror Bark quietly reversed course and vanished into the fog.
Strangely, not a single crew member aboard Moria's ship made any move to rescue their captain.
Just like when they came—they left in total silence.
Now that Moria was defeated, the shadow bats lurking in the crew's shadows faded away one by one.
With everything settled, Roya finally flopped back into bed.
Muttering, "Damn these Navy schemers… always showing up in the middle of the night."
"Would be easier if I just took out their whole fleet at once. So annoying."
---
The next morning, the sun rose as usual.
On the Moby Dick, the pirates woke feeling surprisingly refreshed.
After the intense battle and celebrations, it was like the night had fully restored their strength.
Up in the crow's nest, the lookout stretched and glanced down at the bustling flagship.
He muttered, "Huh… peaceful night. Guess it's fine that I slept through it."
"…Wait, what the hell is that hanging from the mast?!"
He slapped his cheeks and squinted—nope, the giant hanging from the mast wasn't a dream.
Down below, Vista nudged Marco.
"If I'm not mistaken… that's Gecko Moria, one of the Seven Warlords, right?"
"What's the deal with hanging him from our mainmast?"
Marco replied, "I'd guess Vice-Captain Roya caught him and decided to make an example out of him."
Vista turned on his heel and walked straight back to his cabin.
Time to double down on Life Return training.
Marco was about to do the same when his senses suddenly tingled. His gaze snapped to the west.
"…Seems like four or five warships are rapidly approaching!"
"The Navy?"
Then he paused—his heart leaping with excitement.
"Wait… this level of sensory range… at least mid-level Observation Haki!"
"I didn't expect Life Return training to boost Haki development too!"
Despite his excitement, Marco remained composed, quickly analyzing the situation.
"These four warships… definitely pirates, not the Navy."
"If they were Marines, Vice-Emperor Roya would've picked them up long ago and alerted us."
"So… they're probably other pirate crews heading to join us in the assault on Marineford."
"The west is the gateway to the New World… Sabaody Archipelago."
"That means these four ships must be Supernovas gathering there. But which four?"
Just then, Squard also emerged on deck.
But today, instead of standing outside Roya's quarters as usual, he was already up on the deck.
Even more surprising—his sharpened gaze was locked on the western horizon.
Marco was stunned.
He instantly realized: Squard, like him, had made a significant leap in his Observation Haki!
And that was shocking—because Squard had never been a Haki user.
He was purely a swordsman, a brawler.
His Haki aptitude before this could only be described as trash.
And now, after just a few days under Vice-Emperor Roya's command…
He'd already caught up?!
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