"Damn it! The captain's going wild again!"
"Run, run! He's doing it again!"
"Mock Town is finished!"
"H-He's a monster! How can something like that exist in this world?!"
As the terrifying shockwave rippled through the town and the earth trembled violently, everyone, whether members of the Chris Pirates or the local gangs and pirates of Mock Town, felt their scalps go numb. No one dared linger. They bolted, trying to get as far away as possible, praying not to be caught in the aftermath.
"That damn captain…" muttered Oliver, who had been covering the rear. He turned to face the oncoming wave of destruction, long blade twirling in his hand before slashing forward in a powerful arc.
One-Sword Style: Killing Break Slash!
Suddenly, the temperature dropped. Everyone felt a chill as their vision blurred. The monstrous shockwave tearing through the town was cleanly split in two, a deep, yawning chasm hundreds of meters long opening in the earth beneath it.
"Amazing!"
"Woooah! Long live the captain!"
"He's so reliable!"
The Chris Pirates' crew erupted in cheers, their fear momentarily replaced by awe.
But Oliver just twitched his cheek, turned around, and roared with bared fangs, "You idiots! Run already!"
The visible wave of force hadn't ended, it was closing in again. Dust, debris, and rubble churned within a twenty-meter-high wall of pressure that thundered outward like a living wall.
"Ahhhhhh!"
"Run, run!!"
"Save me!!"
Panic returned in full. People screamed, crying and scrambling, crawling and tumbling over each other to flee.
Thud.
With the ground shattered beyond recognition, Aeridar dropped from the sky, landing atop a large, jagged boulder jutting up from the ruins.
"This kind of seismic force… It really is terrifying," Aeridar muttered, face pale, breathing slightly ragged. "Huff… But the toll on my stamina is brutal. No wonder Whitebeard was known as the strongest in the world."
Two back-to-back uses of Airquake had drained Aeridar heavily, nearly as much as his use of Impact Cannon. It made him reflect, during the Paramount War, Whitebeard unleashed shockwaves again and again while seriously ill, yet still had monstrous stamina and vitality. Aeridar knew he couldn't compare.
In terms of destructive power, Airquake was formidable both in single-target and wide-area devastation. With one strike, it could crack the land itself, reducing anything in its path to rubble. But Impact Cannon remained Aeridar's strongest long-range single-target technique, it could drill a hole at least a hundred meters deep into the ground. Even Syrons had never dared take it head-on.
Aeridar was confident, if he landed an Impact Cannon cleanly, even Diamond Jozu would be driven into the ground, his body wracked with pain and forced to retreat. Each of these techniques had its own strengths, and in terms of raw force, Impact Cannon could rival even Whitebeard's seismic might.
As the earth stilled and the apocalyptic shockwave faded, most of Mock Town had been reduced to ruins. Hundreds had perished in the aftermath.
"Someone! Anyone!" Aeridar, having caught his breath, shouted at the top of his lungs, "Where is everyone?! Get over here and dig that bastard Moria out for me!"
"Captain!"
"We're here!"
"Hurry! The Captain's calling us!"
From the distance, Chris Pirates crewmates came running. Following Aeridar's orders, they began sifting through the debris, searching for any sign of Gecko Moria.
High atop the mountains outside Mock Town...
A towering figure held a Bible in one hand, whispering into a Den Den Mushi hidden beneath his cloak.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Moria has been defeated."
On the other end, in his office, Sengoku let out a deep sigh. "Can Aeridar be erased?"
"No. He's uninjured and still has enough strength to fight. And the entire Chris Pirates crew is present," the massive man replied calmly.
"He's gotten stronger again?" Sengoku's voice rose in alarm.
"Moria was out of his element. Many of his abilities didn't come into play. But..." the man paused, then continued, "He used Whitebeard's seismic power."
"What?!"
Sengoku could barely believe his ears. "Kuma, Whitebeard isn't even dead yet!"
He thought maybe the man was mistaken. One power capable of destroying the world was bad enough, if there was another, the Navy might not be able to maintain any semblance of balance.
"I know. It's likely due to his Impact-Impact Fruit. He mimicked a similar ability. Moria lost to that seismic force."
The speaker was a towering figure whose build and cloak resembled a bear. He stood nearly as tall as the massive Moria, a Bible draped over one hand.
Bartholomew Kuma, Warlord of the Sea, with a bounty of 296 million Berries, known as the Tyrant.
Bang!
Sengoku slammed his desk in frustration and shouted into the Den Den Mushi, "Damn it, Kuma! You're sure we can't eliminate him?"
A power like that suggested Aeridar could replicate global-scale destruction. Sengoku was desperate not to allow a second such threat to exist.
"We can't," Kuma replied without emotion.
"Damn it…" Sengoku's face darkened. Even the Den Den Mushi mimicked his grim expression.
"I'm leaving now. If he notices me, I can't guarantee I'll make it out in one piece."
With those final words, Kuma ended the call, and vanished into thin air.
...
Back at the ruins of Mock Town...
"Captain! We found Gecko Moria!"
The shout instantly drew Aeridar's attention. Without hesitation—
Fwoosh!
He vanished and reappeared beside Moria in the blink of an eye.
"Captain," said several crewmates standing near the collapsed body.
"Good work," Aeridar praised, patting them on the shoulder.
Then he turned to examine Moria, unconscious, eyes rolled back, body covered in blood and wounds. The warlord had been utterly crushed.
"If this had been on his turf… this would've been a lot harder," Aeridar said with a shake of his head, a note of regret in his voice.
Truth be told, Moria was strong. In his own territory, he could summon hordes of zombies and absorb shadows to amplify his strength. That would've forced Aeridar into a brutal fight, one he might not even have won.
But victory was his now, and that meant the first step of the plan was complete.
All that remained was to replace Gecko Moria as a Warlord of the Sea.
Aeridar crouched and searched Moria's coat, eventually pulling out a blue Den Den Mushi, likely the one used to communicate with the World Government or Navy as a Warlord.
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