Thud. Spectating yet another knockout of a mafia goon, the citizens of Veto found themselves in disbelief.
In front of them, that one marine named Smoker was walking across the straight street, triumphantly advancing to the huge mansion that lied just ahead.
BANG!
The confronting mafias, filled with horror, relentlessly shot bullets at Smoker. However, the clanging noises were heard—ones that can only be heard during the collision between two metals. Such bullets had no effect on this marine, and there was nothing that the criminals could do to prevent the retribution upon them.
Thud. The street, now entering the starry night, was filled with blood. The civilians, stepping and drenching their footwears in said blood, expressed nothing but exhilaration. Violence was justified, and blood has become their symbol of liberation.
The mass massacre of criminals...
'...Perhaps some marines would've frowned upon, if they were to be here.' Smoker thought as he now stood in front of the gate of the mansion, 'Believers of Moral Justice.'
Those whose ideals stood on the opposite end of Absolute Justice. Smoker had a firm belief that such ones are those who harbour the right mentality as marines. But still,
'Justice itself is flawed,'
or so Smoker believed.
'Must I stop my "inhumane" murders and let innocent ones suffer more? Must I care about the "rights" of the criminals, those who've inflicted harm upon others? The potential of rehabilitation, you say? Screw that.'
Since the Ohara incident, Smoker began to remember, the details of his past life that he previously wasn't able to think of.
It was a challenge that he set for himself. In order to act according to his ideals, he must become strong. In order to become strong, he must not back down in difficult situations that he encounters.
Now, there he stood—in front of the huge entrance of the mansion. And there was no hesitation. Raising his left leg up, Smoker performed a clean kick,
"Rankyaku."
SWOOSH!
In front of the civilians' eyes, the previously intact gate was now spliced into four clean pieces.
BOOM!
'...Soundproofing, huh,' As those pieces fell on the ground, Smoker noted, 'Soft surface, dense and thick layer... no wonder the mansion was quiet.'
Gazing at the front, Smoker was met with tens of remaining mafias, with one old-aged man standing in the middle. Said mafias were pointing their firearms at him, though their arms trembled in fear and disbelief.
"You... just who the fuck are you..." The old-aged man, Giancana Angelo the boss of the family, growled unlike his usual calm self, "In just one day only, everything that I built—gone...! You pesky marine, have I not made a deal with your folks?!"
The grip on his cane trembled. His face turned red from fury. Angelo, he was the scheming person who took over the entire island, as well as the ambitious fellow who desired to conquer the entire West Blue. Yet, right now, he was nothing but a senile old man unable to conceal his emotion.
After all, said pesky marine standing in front of him, Smoker, was someone who wiped out Angelo's entire family by himself—within a day.
"Are you the boss of the gang?" Under the eyes of civilians, those who remained outside, Smoker began his walk. Uncaring of the guns aimed at his head, he approached Angelo with casual steps, "I was informed that he goes by the name Giancana Angelo if I'm not wrong... I hope he wasn't cowardly enough to run away."
"ANSWER ME, MARINE!!!" Angelo exploded in a loud scream, "I promised your folks 25% of the profit if you were to let me—"
"'Your folks,' you say?" Smoker, now standing right in front of Angelo, stated coldly, "You're probably wrong about that part."
Then, just as Smoker's right hand twitched,
BANG BANG BANG!
the mafias surrounding him shot at once, immediately responding to the slightest movement of their enemy.
However, there was one thing that they failed to see; up until now, Smoker hasn't displayed his ability to morph his body itself into smoke, and simply blocked the bullets with Tekkai only. This meant,
SWOOSH!
the bullets would bypass the marine harmlessly, and,
PUK PUK PUK!
Inflict damages on fellow mafias—essentially ending their lives by their own hands.
Thud.
And not having perceived what happened in a split second, Angelo stood still, frozen. A human being that can't be killed by bullets...
'Is he a human even...?' Angelo felt himself being filled with horror to the brim. Rationality was long gone, and his instinct overwhelmed him.
"S-s-stop!!!" Without any trace of dignity, Angelo shrieked in a terrified tone, "D-don't you dare m-move... or I'll t... take them with me!!"
Having taken out the luxurious-looking pistol while sweating profusely, Angelo pointed its barrel at the civilian mess standing at some distance away from Smoker.
"You're welcome to try,"
However, Smoker, at the next moment, placed his hand on top of the barrel of Angelo's pistol, and... crunch. His grip instantly ruined the gun, rendering it useless.
"if you are able to."
And without the pistol, Angelo, standing dumbfounded, ran out of options. Losing strength in his legs, he fell to the ground. His shaking eyes became fixated on the ground, and his trembling right hand instinctively moved to his lips as if smoking an invisible cigar for relief. Then, in realization of something, Angelo suddenly perked up and shouted, "T-that's right...!! I still have—"
"Shigan."
PUK!
but his words never met their completion, having swiftly been executed by Marine Lieutenant Smoker.
__________
Thud. As Angelo's corpse fell, I raised my head up to a door that stood in front of me.
The people behind me cheered wildly, crying in joy and enjoying this bask of freedom. they chanted the name 'Smoker,' the hero who appeared out of nowhere one day.
'...This should be enough for an alibi,' I thought as I grasped the doorknob, 'With Giancana Angelo dealt with, the only remaining tasks are to thoroughly search this mansion and find if there are any remaining mafias under the hide—'
"FOOD!!!!!!" At the next moment, a terrifying roar suddenly boomed forth, causing everyone here to freeze.
"I'M HUNGRY!!!! BRING FOOD!!!!!"
It was such a monstrous scream, the noise that human beings shouldn't be capable of producing.
"...All of you," Narrowing his eyes at the door in front of him, I stated calmly, "Get out of here."
"It said food," Robin whispered with suspicion, "Don't tell me that the food that mafias collected are—"
"FOOOD!!!!!"
Turning around in urgency, I said once more, "Hurry—"
BOOOOM!
The wall in front of me collapsed, before a huge figure revealed itself all of a sudden—with one man under its grip.
"What... just w-what is that thing...?" One civilian woman, hugging her body with a pale expression, whimpered.
The old-aged civilian immediately noted as he unconsciously took a step back,
"...T-that's, without a doubt, 'Nightmare' Gecko Moria. Why is he here?!"
The huge shadow loomed over us, and said shadow belonged to the pale-skinned man—Gecko Moria—whose attention was focused on the bleeding man in his grip.
"Dr. Romand... where is my food?!!" Moria growled murderously, "I've been holding in for six hours!! For how long must I tolerate?!"
"K-kurgh... esteemed guest of ours, please have mercy... I-I beg you. It's on the way, i-it really is."
Moria didn't seem to have noticed the presence of others, being tunnel-visioned. Romand, on the other hand, seemed to be in too much agony to pay attention to his surrounding.
'...Gecko Moria.' Suppressing the growing dread in my heart, I quickly dispersed smoke and latched them onto the civilians and Robin at the back, 'The news suggested his stay on the island of "Suspiria." But judging by how he's been hiding in this mansion... he initially used his ability to mass-produce the undead, and used them as decoys.'
Gecko Moria. Not only did he possess a dangerous devil fruit that can be used in various means, but being a pirate from the New World...
'He likely possesses Haki.'
Even with the consideration that Moria has been weakened to a severe degree, my chance of victory was extremely slim. Coupled with loads of civilians who were helpless in front of the notorious pirate, the burden on my back was heavy.
"...Tch, as expected, alive are imperfect unlike the dead," Whispering to himself, Moria revealed a huge scissor that he held with his left hand, "Your skills as a doctor are quite remarkable, but... not even you are able to surpass my power—to bring the dead back in its perfect form."
"KISHISHISHI!!!! For how many times must I scream food for you to understand?!!"
Subsequently, forming a wicked grin on his face, Moria mercilessly cut the shadow off from Romand, causing the latter to slump into unconsciousness.
A peculiar scene unfolded in front of me. Letting go of the unconscious doctor, Moria gripped onto Romand's shadow that thrashed under his grasp.
"Kishishishi! Be grateful, Dr. Romand! Now, I shall make you perfect... something that you won't be able to achieve during your entire lifetime!"
Moria's statement boomed across the hall. Overwhelmed by anxiety, one civilian screamed, "AHHHHHH!!!!"
And with such a cry,
"R-RUN!!!!!"
"M-me first, me!!"
all civilians simultaneously fell in panic, desperately running out of the mansion with hopes of survival. The whole island fell into chaos, and the entire city, within the night, was filled with animalistic screams.
"...Ha," Letting out a sigh to calm myself down, I eyed Robin who looked back at me, "Go."
Robin looked horrified. However, such feeling didn't stem from fear, but from guilt—that she wasn't able to identify Moria's stay on this island.
'Moria's fruit ability is versatile. Running away with hundreds of those normal people—it's virtually impossible.'
Gecko Moria, one who had the strength and capability to reach the New World and clash against Kaidou. Judging by various patchworks on his body, the notable obesity that contrasts with what he was a year ago, and his eyes that seemed hollow as if unfocused, he seemed to have severely weakened. However, Moria was Moria nonetheless—the master of shadows.
And I knew, that the only option left for me was to defeat... this monster in front of me. It wasn't the question of whether I can do it or not; I had to win, no matter what.
"S-Smoker..." Robin, not knowing what to do, seemed like an eight-year-old child for once. With her whole body trembling uncontrollably, she looked at me.
"Orobi,"
I know, that life isn't meant to be easy. Not everything goes according to your way, and there is no such thing as a 'perfect plan.' This is especially the case in this world, where laws don't protect you, where the sense of morality is thin.
And I already promised myself, didn't I? I will become strong, strong enough to break free from the chains set by the World Government.
'If I were to run away in every single adversity, how will I become strong?'
Therefore, I didn't take a step back. Forming a smile on my face, I gazed at Robin confidently.
"Have some faith in me, will you?"
Robin seemed reluctant. However, knowing that her presence here would be nothing but a nuisance to me, she eventually turned and ran away as well.
Now, there only lied two people in this mansion: Moria and me.
"Kishishishi, those screams fucking hurt my ears." And Moria, laying his murderous gaze in the direction where the civilians ran away to, growled with a grin, "Yet another useless bunch. As expected, people are better dead than alive."
Shifting his bloodshot eyes on me, the only one who remained in front of him, Moria playfully repeated the act of throwing and catching the still-struggling shadow of Romand. Then, crouching down, he asked me with a crazed expression, "And a marine, I see... Kishishishi, are you one of those fools screaming justice every second? Those hypocrites who commit the same wrongs as pirates?"
"...Maybe you aren't wrong about the second half." I remarked as my body began to emit wisps of smoke,
"Gecko Moria."
As Moria threw Romand's shadow into his mouth and engulfed it, I stated with a grin of my own,
"Let's die together."