Back in the Summit War, the two clashed and ended in a draw, but it was brief and not enough to gauge their true abilities.
After all, how could the Seven Warlords of the Sea possibly give their all for the World Government? At that time, Jinbe only wanted to protect Luffy and rescue Ace, avoiding entanglement with Moriah.
Still, he was confident then. Although Moriah had undergone some changes, abandoning those zombies, his long-standing reliance on others, which even Jinbe had heard about, made him somewhat lacking in strength.
If they had fought seriously then, he was confident he could defeat Moriah.
But now it's different; the determination and will bursting from this guy's eyes are a steadfastness Jinbe has never seen before.
So troublesome!
Jinbe took several deep breaths, clenched his flipper hand covering his waist and ribs, and struck forcefully.
Bam!
With one strike, the bleeding in his waist and ribs stopped, and when he released his hand, a terrifying claw-shaped gash could be seen on his waist and ribs.
"Worthy of the Heroes of the West Sea!"
Jinbe adopted a stance and said in a deep voice, "But you have your resolve, and I have mine! Luffy promised to help Momonosuke in defeating Kaido, so I must follow Captain's orders; anyone who obstructs me, I will fight them to the death!"
"Heh heh heh heh heh!"
Moriah cackled sharply, "A Sea Hero is a Sea Hero; we have all sailed from the Seven Warlords into a new era of Pirates. Alright, Jinbe, I won't try to persuade you, continue!"
The opponent is also a sea-renowned powerhouse, emerging from the chaos among great figures of the sea, even Big Mom couldn't defeat him quickly, and Moriah certainly has no such ability.
Underestimating the enemy is also underestimating oneself.
The Seven Warlords were not ones to be underestimated, even in today's context, entering Impel Down, it seemed to make Doflamingo the weakest in their eyes...
Buggy?
Buggy is personally named by Sage as a good fishing buddy!
Anyone who can bait the fish for Sage's hook is truly a king of good fortune!
"But fighting like this is too slow, Jinbe..."
With the sound, his body inexplicably began to resonate, while the shadow underfoot stretched forward; whether due to positioning or environment, his shadow inexplicably grew taller...
Crack...
Some inwardly collapsed scapulae began to recover in the shadow's gradual elongation.
Moriah grinned, spreading his arms wide, grimly saying, "Let me show you, my newly developed power!"
He and Jinbe essentially belong to the same type.
Jinbe on land without water can only forcibly execute Fishman Karate with moisture in the air; while it isn't devoid of power, the Fishman's racial talent cannot be fully utilized here.
Similarly, Moriah needs to be in a dark place to use his abilities recklessly.
Unlike facing Jozu and Vista earlier, his abilities were almost maximally developed there, controlling an entire forest's shadows to do as he pleased, easily taking down Vista and restraining Jozu, whose Haki was not particularly strong.
In such bright areas where he only could use his shadow, the ability was substantially weakened.
Both sides were weakened, getting to this point where Moriah had some advantage felt exhilarating for him as his genuine first battle restoring his confidence.
But...
"I am not only someone who relies on the environment to win!"
Moriah stared intently, "This obese physique, it greatly hinders movement; disappear, Shadow Revolution!!!"
The gradually stretching shadow began transforming from a plump, round form, becoming elongated and slender. As it fed back into himself, his rotund belly started to shrink, becoming flat.
Ever since losing to Kaido, neglecting exercise, and a weakening of will changed his figure, leading his once shortened limbs to elongate with the shadow.
Originally only visible were big shoes and short legs; the legs became apparent, revealing knees and transformed into muscular thighs and calves.
His long arms adjusted at this moment, becoming normal arms, not too long nor too short, yet very battle-suited.
Obesity once fused his chin and neck, resembling a long-neck; they began separating as the body changed, shortening into a normal neck, exposing a square chin.
The face also became emaciated.
"Ha, hahaha, heh heh heh heh!"
In the shadow's wild dance, Moriah suddenly tore open his coat, pulling it down, transforming his clothes into a Gothic-style outer coat, revealing chest and abdomen muscular physique.
"It's been a while..."
He twisted his neck, smirking, "Reminiscent of Wano Country, reminiscent of...myself!"
Just like back in the day, when he was vigorous and ambitious!
"You..."
Jinbe's pupils shook as he watched Moriah transform from an obese person to a robust man, and couldn't help but ask, "Can abilities achieve this?"
"Anything is possible; abilities indeed have limits, as Sage once said, just as Devil Fruits are born from the sea's longing, the limits of abilities are also based on their perception limits."
Moriah stated, "Like how the sun's fire is clearly greater, but no one believes the Flame-Flame Fruit can represent solar fire, that's a different power."
Flame is just flame, forest fire, stove fire, heavenly fire, these fundamental flames reflect life's perception of fire, thus the Flame-Flame Fruit was born.