"Impossible! That's impossible! I don't believe this!"
Perona screamed hysterically, her eyes wide with disbelief as she continuously released Negative Hollows toward Ryūjin.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One after another, the ghosts exploded apart before they could even touch him.
No matter how many she sent out, the result remained exactly the same.
Every single Negative Hollow was destroyed instantly.
"T-This is Demon Eye Ryūjin...?"
Perona's face gradually turned pale.
For the first time since joining Gecko Moria, genuine fear began creeping into her heart.
This man was completely beyond reason.
Slap!
Ryūjin clapped his hands together lightly.
"Wood Release."
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Several thick wooden branches suddenly burst from the ground like venomous snakes. They wrapped around Perona's body instantly, binding her tightly before she could react.
Perona was defeated on the spot.
"As expected of someone who defeated Mihawk and Crocodile. You actually have some skill."
Gecko Moria finally spoke, his expression far more serious than before.
The arrogance from earlier had vanished completely.
"Shadow Horn!"
Without hesitation, Moria launched an attack.
His shadow twisted violently before condensing into a massive spear that shot toward Ryūjin at terrifying speed.
This attack was powerful enough to pierce Oars during the Summit War.
But Ryūjin merely raised one hand toward it.
The Rinnegan's power activated.
Preta Path.
The incoming shadow spear was absorbed completely.
Gone without a trace.
"My shadow was absorbed?!"
Moria's face froze.
"How is that possible?!"
Even Kuma's expression became noticeably heavier.
The intelligence reports from the Marines had underestimated Ryūjin badly.
"How can this bastard do that?!"
Moria roared furiously before manipulating his shadow again.
This time, countless shadow bats burst forth and flooded the hall.
The entire room darkened instantly as the swarm descended toward Ryūjin like a black tide.
"Not bad."
Ryūjin spoke casually while extending both hands outward.
A transparent energy barrier formed around him through the Preta Path.
The moment the shadow bats touched the barrier, they were absorbed instantly.
Like water disappearing into dry soil.
"Demon Eye Ryūjin... what the hell are you?!"
Moria's voice had started trembling.
His confidence was crumbling rapidly.
Even Kaido hadn't made him feel this powerless back then.
Moria's abilities revolved entirely around shadows.
But Ryūjin could absorb them effortlessly.
How was he supposed to fight something like that?
"Wood Release."
Ryūjin clapped his hands once more.
Wooden branches erupted from the ground violently, spiraling toward Moria from every direction.
Moria's expression darkened.
He immediately created a shadow clone to block the attack.
Whoosh!
The clone was pierced instantly.
The wooden branches shattered through it without slowing down and continued toward Moria himself.
"Nani?!"
Moria's pupils shrank violently.
Those wooden branches were far stronger than he expected.
Fast, durable, and overwhelmingly destructive.
His shadow clone had been completely useless.
Swish!
Suddenly, a massive figure appeared directly in front of Moria.
Bartholomew Kuma.
At this point, Kuma could no longer stand by and watch.
Ryūjin's strength had already surpassed Moria completely.
If he didn't intervene now, Moria would lose immediately.
Crack!
Kuma raised one hand and smashed apart the incoming wooden branches instantly.
Nami and Robin's expressions changed slightly.
"One of the Seven Warlords, Bartholomew Kuma..." Robin muttered quietly.
If Moria wasn't enough, now another Warlord was joining the fight.
"Ryūjin, Moria cannot fall here," Kuma said emotionlessly.
Then he slowly removed his gloves.
The paw pads on his palms were revealed.
The power of the Paw-Paw Fruit.
A terrifying ability capable of repelling nearly anything.
Including people.
Anyone struck by Kuma's paws could be sent flying across the sea for days.
"You think stepping in changes anything?" Ryūjin asked with a faint smirk.
"I will do everything possible to stop you."
The moment Kuma finished speaking, his body vanished.
Nami's eyes widened.
"He disappeared?!"
Almost instantly, Kuma reappeared directly in front of Ryūjin.
His paw shot forward.
The speed was monstrous.
"Ryūjin!"
Nami shouted nervously.
But at that exact moment, Ryūjin's eyes shifted.
The Rinnegan disappeared.
The Sharingan emerged.
Kuma's hand passed directly through Ryūjin's body.
No impact.
No contact.
Kuma's expression changed immediately.
"An illusion?"
He was genuinely confused.
Earlier, Ryūjin had physically attacked Moria.
So how could his body suddenly become intangible?
But before Kuma could process it fully, Ryūjin grabbed his arm instantly.
"Not intangible?!"
Kuma's eyes narrowed sharply.
Then Ryūjin moved.
Boom!
With terrifying force, he swung Kuma downward and smashed him directly into the ground.
The earth exploded violently.
A massive crater formed instantly beneath Kuma's body.
The entire castle shook.
Nami and Robin stared in complete shock.
Kuma's enormous body looked like a giant compared to Ryūjin.
Yet Ryūjin had slammed him into the ground with one hand effortlessly.
The visual impact alone was absurd.
"So even Kuma got crushed instantly..."
Moria's face stiffened badly.
Then his expression became savage.
"Kishishishi!"
Without hesitation, he activated his Devil Fruit power fully.
All throughout Thriller Bark, shadows began flying out from countless zombies.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Thousands of shadows rushed toward Moria before being swallowed into his body.
His size began expanding rapidly.
Meanwhile, Kuma burst upward from the crater again.
Boom!
A paw-shaped shockwave exploded toward Ryūjin.
Ursus Shock.
The transparent blast passed directly through Ryūjin's body again.
Kuma's expression became even more serious.
The earlier intangibility hadn't been a coincidence.
Ryūjin truly could shift between reality and illusion.
"What kind of monster is this...?"
Even Kuma found the ability ridiculous.
If Ryūjin could freely alternate between tangible and intangible states, defeating him became nearly impossible.
Slap!
Ryūjin clapped his hands together once again.
"Wood Release."
Crack! Crack! Crack!
A forest suddenly erupted around Kuma.
Countless trees burst upward wildly, their branches twisting like giant serpents as they wrapped toward him from every direction.
Kuma's pupils contracted sharply.
Earlier, Ryūjin only used several branches against Moria.
Now he had created an entire forest.
Crack! Crack!
Kuma destroyed several branches immediately.
But it was meaningless.
The number of branches was endless.
In seconds, his entire body became restrained tightly.
Arms.
Legs.
Torso.
Neck.
Everything was bound firmly by the wooden restraints.
Only Kuma's face and paw pads remained exposed.
Even so, he could no longer move properly.
The Paw-Paw Fruit required directional movement to function effectively.
But under Ryūjin's restraints, Kuma couldn't even rotate his wrists.
The ability became useless.
Bartholomew Kuma was completely defeated.
Robin felt suffocated watching the scene unfold.
One of the Seven Warlords had lasted less than a minute against Ryūjin.
Even Crocodile had performed better.
If Ryūjin truly intended to kill, Kuma would already be dead several times over.
Just how terrifying was this man?
Suddenly, the entire castle began shaking violently.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Walls collapsed.
The ceiling shattered.
Rubble rained down everywhere.
Moria's body had expanded so massively that the castle itself could no longer contain him.
The structure burst apart completely.
Ryūjin raised one hand toward the sky.
The Rinnegan reappeared.
"Shinra Tensei."
An invisible repulsive force erupted outward.
Every falling stone was blasted away instantly.
When the dust settled, an enormous figure towered over the battlefield.
Fifty to sixty meters tall.
Gecko Moria had become a true giant.
Nami gasped.
"That thing is basically a mountain..."
Robin's expression became grave as well.
Against a monster of that size, ordinary attacks would mean nothing.
But Ryūjin remained completely unfazed.
Lightning Release chakra surged wildly through his body.
Then he spoke three words calmly.
"Chidori Stream."
Crackle!!!
Terrifying lightning exploded across the battlefield instantly.
Countless bolts spread through the sky like a massive electric net, covering everything within a hundred-meter radius.
The giant Moria was swallowed whole by the lightning storm.
"AAAAAAHHHH!"
Moria let out an agonizing scream.
Then his enormous body collapsed heavily onto the ground.
Boom!!!
The earth trembled violently.
Immediately afterward, countless shadows burst out from his body and scattered everywhere.
Within moments, Moria's giant form shrank rapidly back to normal size.
His eyes rolled back.
His entire body went limp.
Gecko Moria had lost consciousness completely.