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In the Shadows by Some Guy In An Ambulance
 Anime » One Piece Rated: M, English, Adventure & Crime, Absalom, G. Moria, Shichibukai, Words: 137k+, Favs: 788, Follows: 955, Published: May 10, 2019 Updated: Oct 30387Chapter 26
During my fight with Saga, distant thunderclouds had moved in. Currently, a dense cloud cover blocked what little light peaked through the setting sun.
Tendons cut, and pinned by my shadows, Saga looked to the sky. A light drizzle began to fall on us, as I stood patiently awaiting his answer. His hair became slick, covering his face, and hiding any expression.
With a thought, I used shadow reading on him, and was utterly perplexed. It seemed as if a conversation was going on between a monster, and a boy. This man has an additional personality? Given what I remember about the movie, and his blade, I can't say I'm surprised.
"We CANNOT allow ourselves to be subservient to this misshapen creature! His skill with a blade is subpar. He's fit only to be OUR slave. He will kneel before us, and beg, beg for mercy. And when his will is broken, when he wishes to be free from the shackles, we shall show him none. No succour for the obese clown!"
"You fool. You speak of breaking him, but it is we who are doomed. Surrender to him, we can still fulfill my dream."
"YOUR dream! A pathetic goal. To become the 'Sword of Justice' and protect the weak. The only reason I keep you around is because when I'm King of the World, it will be my Justice. That's why it's called Justice, it's just us."
"King of the World. Ha! How could you begin to imagine such a thing? I never once defeated Zoro, and were toyed with by this Shichibukai. We may be at the top in East Blue, but what about the rest of the world? Sensei was right, maybe I don't have what it takes to be the number one sword of Justice…"
"Always the whiner. If it wasn't for me, you'd have died to those three thugs protecting your little girlfriend. Your crippled arm has held you back for years. Worthless."
"You take that back! Maya is worth more than an arm, I'd give my life for her!"
"Yes, and soon after, the bandits would've had a sweet time with her. Face it, without me, you're nothing. Call on me, my power, and we can escape from this!"
"No! You won't get in the way of my dream!"
"What are you doing? No, stop! We'll become slaves!"
"Tell me, is it slavery when you get what you want?! My dream can't end here. You won't stop me!"
"Haaah, hah. Gecko Moria, my name is Saga. Promise me one thing, and I will join your crew." Saga let out tired gasps as he struggled to sit up.
"And what would that be?"
"I want-mnmn" Saga began only to have his speech muffled.
Raising his voice, Saga began again: "I want to become the strongest swor-" Saga's face twisted as if he was in pain. A smug grin replaced the grimace as he finished the sentence.
"I want to become the strongest power I can be. You said some Yonko didn't make it till their 40's. As the future Emperor of the World, I'll be stronger than them at 30. Promise me you'll help increase my power, and I will join your crew." At the end, Saga wore a look of pure disgust. As if he'd been forced to bite into a bar of soap.
"Ki shi shi shi! Welcome to the Thriller Bark Pirates, Saga! I have very simple rules for my crew. Don't destroy my things, that includes your fellow crewmates! Otherwise, I don't care what you do. If you kill some civilians, Marine's, or whoever, don't get caught. You're welcome to take part in drugs, sell illegal goods, or any other morally ambiguous activity. Primarily, and most importantly, don't take any trouble back to Thriller Bark Island, or my property's and I'll have no issue with you." I smiled at him.
"However. If you should disregard my kindness." I leaned in close, and began to slowly tighten the bonds around his extremities, depriving his limbs of oxygen.
"Then you'll make me very, very unhappy. Do we understand each other?" I was now so close to him that my every syllable exhaled against his face.
With a nod from Saga, I dissipated the shadows holding him to the ground.
"Good, good! With that settled, let's head back to home base." I scooped Saga up, and princess carried him while I stood upon my surfboard shaped shadow. Following my vivre card keyed to Absalom, I began my journey to Thriller Bark.
I didn't have to emasculate him like this, but it was prerogative that I set up the pecking order early with a guy like Saga. I get the feeling he'll be a lot like Starscream from the transformers cartoon. Always trying to take over my operation. Hopefully for both our sakes, his usefulness can keep him alive long enough to advance my goals. I'd hate to have made a bad investment.
In a good mood at a successful recruitment, I began to share some of my sagely advice. "You know Saga, you don't mind if I call you Saga, do you? Anyway, you know, Saga, among my many abilities, I can completely heal a person of all wounds. Ordinarily, as a fair, and just employer, I'd heal you up free of charge. As a good boss, I want each and every one of my subordinates to have a healthy mind, body, and home life." And as his boss, I'd make sure he recovered from his wounds naturally. Nothing teaches a lesson like pain. There's a reason why even the mentally retarded don't stick their hands in open flames.
"Of course, I happened to notice that disabled arm of yours, and couldn't help but wonder to myself. 'Moria old boy, this looks like the perfect time to test Saga's willingness to fight for the cause.' So, I won't be healing your wounds, and more importantly, your disabled arm. Here's a lesson in trickery. If you want to be a villain number one, just follow my moves, and sneak around! It's boss etiquette 101 really, test the new blood and see if they're worthy of joining the organization. Stick with me Saga, and you'll learn all you need from a leader's perspective. There's more to power than how fast you can kill someone."
"Number one? Nmm, the pain, make it stop." Saga weakly complained.
"Hush Saga, you'll learn with time that in this type of work environment, pain is an obstacle to be overcome. You see, to be a leader you…"
"In conclusion, always make sure to give 110 percent, think outside the box for solutions, bite the bullet when the getting gets tough, and always, always wash your hands after going to the bathroom. Because if you don't, you're pure evil."
"Ah, we're here." Spotting the Castle Mast, I gave Absalom a call on the den den mushi: "Meet me in my office, I'll be there in a minute."
'Hm, less than 10 minutes in flight, not bad. Thriller Bark is quite close to Goa Kingdom.'
After arriving on the island, I spotted Red holding a lantern on my balcony. A dim light in the rain soaked, sea of darkness.
"Greetings Moria-sama." Red bowed.
"Let's go inside Red, I may block the rain with my shadows during flight, but the cold is troublesome all the same."
"Of course, sir." With another bow, Red opened the way to my room.
Inside my dimly lit room, Absalom sat at a table reading a newspaper, and sipping on a coffee.
After a round of greetings, I relaxed into my giant sized beanbag chair, and turned to Red: "This is the kind of weather perfect for tea, make it so. Oh, and fetch someone to carry our new crewmate to his quarters. Set him up in a nice room at the mansion, but he doesn't need anything too fancy."
"Does he require any medical attention?" Red, ever thoughtful took a curious glance at the still bleeding Saga.
I looked down at him, and my mood instantly soured. Just my luck. My act of carrying him only got my clothes dirty, and covered in blood. At least it didn't spray all over my face this time. In a petty act of anger, I tossed Saga out of my room with a swish of my hand.
"Have someone stop the bleeding, otherwise this is a lesson he'll have to overcome himself."
"R-right away s-sir!" With a jolt of nervousness, Red bolted out of the room.
"What a funny guy that Red is, eh Absalom?"
"Ahh, ha ha, always a joker that Red." Absalom pulled at his collar and gulped.
I narrowed my eyes in response. "Never mind all that. As you saw, that bloodied young man is our new crewmate. His name is Saga, a former Marine sword trainer. If you discount Shanks, he's probably the third or so most accomplished swordsman to have come from East Blue. I see great potential in him."
"Third strongest in East Blue, that's not so impressive. Wait, if he has so much potential, if that's the case, than why didn't you heal his-" Absalom began before I interrupted him mid sentence.
"Why didn't I heal his wounds? This one is willful, and has dreams of grandeur. We'll need to watch our backs around him for a time. I'll be honest, in a straight fight, I think he'd defeat you."
"He's that strong?!" Absalom raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"He wields a powerful sword, and is highly skilled. I commanded him not to cause any trouble, but I wouldn't put it past him to attempt a murder of our crew while I'm away on business."
"If he's such a danger, why not kill him now? Why take the risk?" Taking my warning very seriously, Absalom asked the question in a concerned voice.
"Hmph, you should know better. Has the time in the Florian Triangle really softened you to such a degree? We're pirates! What you, me, Perona, and Hogback have going on is rare in the world. In every crew there's at least a few who envy the Captains position. Saga is disposable. Should he ever outlive his usefulness, or take a step to far out of line, I'll end him myself. The issue is, our crew is lacking elites. The General Zombies are strong, but if the original owner dies, I've lost an asset. With living people as my subordinates, they have potential for endless growth, and could surpass the undead." I explained to Absalom how I saw recruitment. This is the real world, not all people are selfless saints. It's unrealistic to think that everyone I recruit would have 100 plus loyalty to me.
Even if I were to save a beggar from the streets and trained them to be a soldier, it'd be a gamble if they stayed loyal to me. Human nature is greedy, selfish and self-fulfilling. For example, in canon, I bet most of the rank and file pirates who joined Blackbeard used to be part of Whitebeard's crew. People follow the strong, it's the way of nature.
The kind of trust Luffy's crew has between one another is unthinkable in 99.99 percent of all cases. They knew each other for a month, less than that in Zoro's case, and were willing to die for each other. I may only have that kind of trust with my parents, and my best friend who I've known for a decade.
"Anyway, keep an eye on the man. I'll send a spy rat to monitor him and keep us updated."
"Your tea Moria-sama." Red placed the tea before me.
With a nod in his direction, I continued conversing with Absalom.
"Enough of this talk about recruits. The Goa Kingdom is now under my dominion, and I've appointed you as Minister of the Interior. You'll be responsible for our financial situation there, the businesses left behind by King Stelly, and the nobles. I want you to handle the matters pertaining to the payment of our tribute to the Celestial Dragons. Additionally, search for skilled mercenary's, I have no immediate plans to hire any, but there's a person or two that I'm interested in.
With our recent windfall, I've decided to undergo several ventures that require our Underworld contacts. Inform the Germa 66, you have my permission to spend the 100,000,000 beri necessary for our factory construction. You may spend up to 50,000,000 on advanced den den mushi's. I want a full suite security system installed at the factory; and a security system for the underground workplace I have envisioned as well. Not only that, get your hands on at least 20 small sized den den mushi. It's essential that they can fit inside our spy rats."
Absalom had a pen and paper out, scribbling furiously to keep up with my monologue.
"Lastly, keep track of any abandoned coal mines at the Goa Kingdom. I've decided not to keep all my eggs in one basket, and invest heavily in the country. The catch and release system I have when taking a person's shadow belongs in the past. It's a wonder we have as many zombies as we do. That the original owners haven't disintegrated is a small miracle. I need a place to keep the shadow donor's, and Thriller Bark is too conspicuous.
If a successful riot or break in were to occur on Thriller Bark, it could be catastrophic. That means the assailants would have a chance, however slim, to team up and take me out. However, if an attack was made on Goa Kingdom, any escapee would have to deal with the sun. It's a fool proof plan. I have ideas to educate the people we've shanghaied, and turn them into assets worth more than their shadow, but we can discuss that another time." I leaned back into my beanbag, and took a long sip of tea. All this talking made me parched. The steady pitter patter of rain upon the stained-glass window, along with the warmth of my drink set me in a relaxed mood.
"That'll be all for now. It's been a long day, and I think I'll catch some shut eye. If you need me, I'll be at the Goa capitol's town square testing my healing ability over the next few days. Now that business is over, I can finally change out of these bloodstained clothes. Contrary to popular belief, I do not enjoy bathing in the blood of my enemies. Good night Absalom." After dismissing Absalom, I took a long shower, making sure to scrub all of Saga's blood off my body, and turned in for the night.
"Step right up, one and all! Old, young, man, woman, boy or girl! Everyone is welcome! Yessiree! Giants, fishman, long-arms, long-legs, every variant of human, or sentient creature is invited to a once in a lifetime experience!" A dark-skinned zombie who could pass for a living human being began to proselytize a crowd of curious citizens. His body would shake, and sway whenever he put emphasis on certain words. Standing before a giant circus tent that encapsulated the town square, the zombie's curly white hair would shake and shudder along with his body.
"This is it! The one and only time to heal your deformities, to heal your wounds!" The zombie gestured wide with his arms, reaching into the skies. A light shower fell upon him in an otherwise mostly sunny day.
"Horseshit! This Prime Minster is'na better than tha King!" A voice cried out from the crowd. As a result, the crowd began to mutter in doubt.
"Some of you may have heard the good rumors!" The zombie continued his speech, ignoring the heckler.
"Well I tell you, they aren't just rumors, they're truths! The other day, His Grace took pity on a crippled lady, and completely cured her lame leg! She can now provide for her daughter, protect her family! In fact, here she is now! Tell us what His Grace did to you, is he the monster all those yellow journalists claim him to be?" With a wide smile, the zombie pushed a blonde woman forward. Daughter in hand, the woman took center stage.
With a face full of nervousness, the woman faced the crowd, and almost broke down. After an encouraging pat, smile and nod from the zombie, she gulped and began her statement. "H-hello. My name is Maria Sanchez, and I am a nurse. Or at least, I used to be. Then, the accident happened. I won't go to much into detail, but I lost my job, my husband left me saying I was damaged goods. When I got my movement back. I. I don't know what to say, but thank you! Thank you to the Prime Minister!"
"Now, now honey. What was the experience like? The people are dying to know!"
"It, it was painful! When my leg righted itself, it was more painful than the original break! He, put a shadow in me, I felt all confused, and scared. The next moment, I remember pain, and holding my baby girl, lifting her up like I hadn't been able to in years. Then, everything was dark. I guess I must've lost consciousness because of the pain?" The woman looked at the zombie with a questioning look.
"That's right! Even a miracle has its price! The price we pay to live is paid for by the deaths of animals and vegetables. This is the miracle of life! To heal others, my Lord requires the shadows of the worthy. Those who volunteer themselves to this one-time service will receive 10,000 beri! That's right folks, act now, and 10,000 beri will be yours for this most holy service! Help save your fellow countrymen, and get a cash reward! Our Lord's magnanimity knows no bounds."
At the zombie's declaration, the crowd went into a frenzy.
"I could buy more than fifty loaves of bread with that kind of money!"
"Idiot, buying bread! Get a hunting rifle, or better yet, a small boat and some fishing nets!"
"Clothes! I could use a new blanket, and some winter clothes for my family!"
"You have five kids Chris, of course you'd think of clothes!"
"Money, money, money!"
"Who among you has a bad back, knee, or other joint? Who among you have the need to be healed!?" The zombie raised his arms up high.
"I do! I need to be healed!"
"No, me first, I need to be healed, I've had tooth pain since I was a lad!"
"Good, good! I can see the fervor, the passion to serve! However, I have a question for all of you. Are you ready?"
"Yes!"
"I said, are you ready?!"
"YES!"
"There is only ONE man who is up to the task. The great and powerful Royal Shichibukai, Emperor of Shadows, and our Goa Kingdoms very own Prime Minister! And his name is GECKO MORIAAAAA!"
To the sound of drums and a trumpet, I made my entrance in a carriage made of pure shadow, drawn by two horses, also made of pure shadow. It took a surprising amount of concentration to keep this amount of shadow corporeal, and constantly sustained. I was proud of my work.
"Hello Goa Kingdom! People across the world have forgotten my name. Lost to the Florian Triangle, I spent 20 years, seeking knowledge itself! I heard you came here to be healed?!"
The crowd began to cheer, and quickly devolved into a mob as they struggled to be closest to me.
"Heal me!"
"Me first, I want my money!"
"I love you Moria-sama!"
"And I love you random citizen! Okay everyone, form an orderly line, and we'll get through this by the end of the day!"
"You heard the Prime Minister, form an orderly line you animals!" Several club wielding Goa Kingdom guards began to push, and roughly shove the citizens into a line.
"Good job Preacher. Your combat potential isn't anything special, but I'm very impressed by your mass." I whispered to the dark-skinned zombie. I had specifically searched for the best conman among the shadows I'd stolen. It came as no surprise that a lowly Level 2 inmates shadow would be such a gifted con artist.
"Nonsense my Lord. Speaking your Gospel is my truth! These ingraits couldn't see greatness if it slapped them in the face! You're granting these mud people a real honest to goodness cure for physical ailments. But because of your appearance, your reputation, I have to sell literal miracles like a snake oil salesman! Trust me when I say this my Lord, you don't need their gratitude." Preacher opened his arms, and smiled a smile that said 'trust me, I have your best interests at heart.' His eyes, and kindly grandfatherly appearance made one want to instinctively trust him.
"Ki shi shi shi, your skills put me to shame. Goodwill is only one of my goals. I still don't know the extent to my healing abilities. Today is one of those tests."
"Very well my Lord." Ending our hushed conversation, Preacher turned to the crowd before us.
"Let the festivities begin!"
It was after a long day that I returned to my base. With a weary smile, I took stock of what I'd learned earlier in the day. Number one, stuffing a shadow into someone doesn't remove scars or burns, however, they are reduced in size, and the damage they caused is healed. Two, diseases can't be cured, however, the effects can be mitigated. A man with cancer was returned to the peak of his health, however, upon further analysis by Dr. Hogback, it was discovered he still had cancer…Third, limbs, teeth, eyeballs, or any appendage could not be regrown. However, I could cure the blind, deaf, and mute. Not to mention any damage done to those and any other sensory organs. Finally, any physical wound could be healed within seconds. In conclusion, I still needed to conduct more tests. Such as limb reattachment, or eyeball re-integration.
For this endeavor, I opted to use the shadows of average citizens. The shadow I used the other day to heal the crippled woman had increased by a mere centimeter. It was still missing a large chunk, and was much smaller in size. I spent upwards of 10 million beri today bribing the citizens to be my guinea pigs. But the price was worth it. If I were to continue to recycle shadows, I have a theory that they have some sort of recharge time. With that in mind, I'm not going to use the shadows from Impel Down for anything but emergency's or if I find a fitting host body.
"Haah~" With a yawn, I stretched my arms. With a look outside, I saw it was pouring buckets.
"Red, get me something to help me sleep."
"Right away Moria-sama!"
…
I sat at my table, enjoying a nice juicy burger. Something I hadn't had in what felt like ages. Looking down at my phone, my friend had sent me a funny gif.
Suddenly, darkness enveloped me, and I was trapped in a pit. Hundreds if not thousands of voices, from all age groups and genders screamed at me. The sheer cacophony was stunning. This. Is this a dream?
"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!"
"DIE! DIE! DIE!"
"I want to see my children, please!"
"I never had children, I'm still a virgin!"
"Please Mr. will you let me out?"
"Shame! Shame! A pox upon your house! Shame!"
"OUT! OUT! OUT!" The voices began to chant in unison until all other pleas were drowned out.A swarm of shadow beings swarmed me, each reaching a hand in my direction. Pleading for salvation.
With a gasp, I jumped to my feet, wide awake. Prepared for a fight, I drew my swords and a dozen shadow javelins had manifested themselves around me instantaneously. My heart was racing a million times per second as I scanned my surroundings, searching for a threat.
"Ah ha ha. Just a dream." As if to accentuate my statement, overbearing peels of thunder rang out above the island. Bright streaks of lightning poured across the sky like a fountain. The smooth pitter patter of rain I had found so calming in the past had disappeared, and been replaced by monsoon like intensity.
"Congratulations on another excellent nightmare, Moria-sama!" Red saluted.
I glanced at him, and have never before felt like kicking someone as much as I did at that moment.
"Yes, it was such a great nightmare, I don't think I could possibly sleep anytime soon. Summon those three Zombie Generals of mine. Fu Manchu, Silver Knight, and Captain John. I have some energy I need to work off."
Twenty minutes later, Red returned in a sprint.
"Apologies, Moria-sama! The castle is so large, it took forever to return!"
I waved him off, and turned my attention to the three new arrivals.
"Do we finally get to kill something?" Fu Manchu directly stated what was on his mind.
"Ja ja ja, typically I'd disagree with my amigo here, but he's right! Besides, we're already out of the good vino!" Captain John raised a bottle to his lips, and only the tiniest of drops entered his skeletal mouth. With a grimace, he tossed the empty bottle to the side. Before it could touch the ground, Red dashed forward, and began juggling the bottle in a frenzy to make sure it didn't spread glass shards across the floor.
"Not this time. Tonight, you're my sparring partners. I need to test your combat capabilities before I send you out on any sort of missions."
"No slaughter to wet my thirst? A shame." John looked longingly at the still juggling bottle in Red's possession.
"The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can kill. We leave now." Fu Manchu crossed his arms and gave me a look that said 'don't test me on this.'
"Hn." Silver Knight nodded and gave a shallow bow.
"It's settled. On my flight to Goa Kingdom, I spotted a small island nearby that will be perfect for our spar. Climb aboard." Summoning a slightly larger platform than usual, I gathered the three generals, and prepared to set off.
Right as I took off, I heard a shattering noise, and Red's deadpan reaction.
"Ah, I dropped it."
"REEED!"
AN: 1 dollar equals 100 beri. Basically, every volunteer got paid 100 dollars although the One Piece world is basically feudal/industrial revolution Japan, so money is worth slightly more I guess.
Would it be in poor taste to unleash zombie plague ships given current world events? Keep in mind, you're looking at the man who in November, made a Witch class character, named her Virus Empress, and created the guild Corona-chan. Who knew it'd blow up like that?
Also, I'm very seriously considering adding some secondary antagonists down the line inspired by fiction. Characters that would fit in universe, like Cervantes from soul caliber, Sticky Beard from KND (I'm thinking this guy could be an ex-husband of Big Mom), and Maui from that Disney movie (He even sinks in water!). Believe it or not, One Piece has a rather limited caste of detailed characters. I'd practically be making OC backstories for 90% of canon characters if I stuck strictly to the source.
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