Build The Strongest Family in the Prirate World

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"Whoop whoop whoop!"

Not far away, Gecko Moria stood watching Vladimir, who remained calm and composed in the middle of the crimson sea of blood, looking like a true Emperor of Blood. Moria was breathing heavily, clearly shaken.

If not for his quick thinking—using a shadow double to swap places with a shadow mage he had quietly summoned earlier—he would have been consumed by the blood sea already.

"That brat is a real pain," Moria muttered angrily.

"But don't think you can defeat me so easily!"

"Let me show you my true strength!"

"General zombies, special zombies—everyone, attack!"

Moria's sinister grin returned as he called forth his forces. From deep within the castle, an army of general zombies and special zombies, including the colossal Majin Oars, emerged from the shadows.

These zombies, collected by Moria to one day challenge Kaido, now stood in Vladimir's way, blocking his advance.

Moria, hiding behind his zombie army, smirked coldly. He no longer hoped to steal Vladimir's shadow—his goal now was to add Vladimir's body to his zombie collection.

"Let's see how you handle this," Moria thought to himself.

But the hope in Moria's eyes slowly faded as he watched the battle unfold.

It was useless. Completely useless.

Even though the general zombies had once been legendary warriors in life, their decayed bodies and weak shadows rendered them a shadow of their former selves. Most of them couldn't even use Haki, a fatal flaw against Vladimir.

Vladimir's blood magic made him almost untouchable. His body, like that of a Logia user, could transform into blood at will, rendering ordinary attacks meaningless.

"Such pathetic control over flesh," Vladimir said coldly, his voice dripping with disdain.

"These once-mighty warriors—reduced to this. What a waste!"

As the zombie generals' attacks passed harmlessly through his blood-transformed body, Vladimir calmly raised his hand.

From the sea of blood, countless crimson tentacles surged forward. They wrapped around the zombie generals, binding them tightly and rendering them completely immobile.

In Vladimir's hands, these "precious materials" would be reborn.

He had once used forbidden magic to reconstruct and resurrect the undead God of War, Thane. For Vladimir, manipulating flesh and life was second nature.

The bound general zombies writhed helplessly as Vladimir's crimson tentacles tightened around them. Even the colossal Oars, the zombie Gecko Moria had placed his highest hopes on, roared and struggled but was eventually dragged under by the relentless, sticky sea of blood.

The zombie army, Moria's pride and hope for revenge, was utterly decimated. Only Ryuma, animated by Brook's shadow, continued to resist, cutting through the blood tentacles trying to ensnare him.

"A mighty warrior," Vladimir mused, watching Ryuma's valiant struggle.

"But time has left his body in ruins."

As Vladimir spoke, the sea of blood surged once more. The towering wave loomed over Ryuma, and in the zombie samurai's lifeless eyes, the faint light of resistance dimmed. In an instant, the crimson tsunami crashed down, swallowing Ryuma completely.

For Vladimir, dealing with Gecko Moria's zombie army was effortless.

Gecko Moria stood frozen, watching helplessly as his forces were destroyed one by one. His expression darkened, and despair began to creep into his heart.

Years ago, after suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Kaido and losing all his comrades, Moria had placed all his hopes for revenge in his zombie army.

But now, a single rookie—a supernova who had only recently set sail—had obliterated them with ease.

How could these zombies ever stand against someone like Kaido?

Moria's despair deepened, his soul sinking into an abyss as cold as the depths of the sea. His body began to tremble uncontrollably. Even as Vladimir approached him, standing mere steps away, Moria didn't react.

His once fiery will to fight had been extinguished.

Darkness filled Moria's eyes, and his remaining determination crumbled as he watched the army he'd built with so much effort fall apart so easily.

But just as Vladimir moved in for the finishing blow, his body was suddenly sliced clean in half by an unseen force!

At the same moment, several negative ghosts phased straight through him.

"Did we get him?!"

"As long as we're here, you won't lay a finger on Lord Moria!"

Emerging from the shadows were two of Gecko Moria's trusted lieutenants: Absalom, the wielder of the Clear-Clear Fruit, and Perona, the Ghost Princess, who stood defiantly in front of Moria.

Even Dr. Hogback, who valued money more than anything else and was far from brave, couldn't think about running away with treasure at this moment. Instead, he desperately shook the dazed Gecko Moria, trying to snap him out of his despair.

Moria, now a shadow of the hero he once was, believed in his warped philosophy: "The living will eventually lose, but zombies—undying and obedient—can never fail."

Despite his current state,Gecko Moria still cared deeply for his three closest subordinates.

Perona, in particular, was like a daughter to him, as he had raised her since she was a child.

Though he was now a "deadbeat," Moria had once been a great captain from the West Blue, a man who cherished his crew above all else. His transformation into a reclusive and broken man began after losing his original crew to Kaido.

Meanwhile, Absalom and Perona, still laughing over their sneak attack, were shocked to see Vladimir's body, which they had sliced in half, heal itself almost instantly.

Even more terrifying, the negative ghosts, usually unbeatable, had absolutely no effect on him.

"Recovered?!" Absalom exclaimed in disbelief.

"Then I'll just cut you again!"

Absalom activated his Clear-Clear Fruit powers, vanishing from sight. But in the blink of an eye, Vladimir extended his hand toward empty space and gripped Absalom's invisible neck tightly.

"Your eyes aren't the only way to see," Vladimir said coldly.

Without a care for the negative ghosts phasing through his body, Vladimir turned his piercing gaze toward Perona, who was trembling in fear. Tears welled in her eyes as she struggled to hold back her terror.

"Impressive mental abilities," Vladimir acknowledged.

"The power of a Devil Fruit truly is a miracle."

"But no matter how powerful it is, it's still dependent on its user."

For someone like Vladimir, Perona's abilities were insignificant. The strength of a Devil Fruit user depended entirely on their willpower and skill, and hers paled in comparison.

Even the mightiest Devil Fruits had limitations. For instance, Law's Op-Op Fruit couldn't easily move a body fortified with the overwhelming Haki of someone like Big Mom.

In Vladimir's grasp, Absalom's body thrashed violently, like a fish pulled from water. Blood trickled from his neck into Vladimir's hand, where it was absorbed, leaving Absalom weaker by the second. His face grew pale, and his struggles became feebler.

Watching this unfold, Perona's fear finally overcame her. Tears streamed freely down her face as she trembled, powerless to intervene.

Hogback, his legs shaking uncontrollably, still clung to his duty, trying to wake Gecko Moria from his despair.

Yet, even as the situation grew dire, none of them considered abandoning their captain—even if he was no longer the man he used to be.