"Impressive tactics, Moria."
Ace stood on the rubble nearby, having watched the entire fight. He walked over, studying the sharp edge that had returned to Moria's eyes.
"Your physical strength and reaction speed have hit the threshold of a New World officer. Your Haki has reawakened. And most importantly, you've finally figured out how to coordinate your shadow with your real body."
Moria grinned, hoisting Shusui onto his shoulder, ready to accept the praise.
Ace did not keep praising him. He started pouring cold water instead.
"But is that really all your Kage Kage no Mi can do?"
He fired off one lethal question after another.
"You can control your shadow to fight independently. So can you split off several Shadow Mages at once, even a dozen, each with independent thought? What if you fused someone else's shadow into your own? Then when you swap places with your shadow, blending the real and the illusory, who could ever land a hit on you?"
"You can coat your own body in Armament Haki. Can you coat those detached shadows in Armament Haki too?"
"You can ambush from below using your shadow. So against a strong enemy, could you directly seize control of the shadow beneath their feet? Or launch an attack on them from inside their own shadow?"
Every question hit Moria's brain like a sledgehammer.
"What?!"
Moria's whole body jolted. His eyes bulged.
Multiple Shadow Mages? Coating shadows in Haki?! Attacking from inside the enemy's own shadow?!
These fruit development concepts shattered every boundary his mind had lived inside for over a decade. They tore through his blind spots like lightning. If he could actually pull this off, his Kage Kage no Mi could evolve into the most unstoppable swarm and assassination ability on the entire sea.
"Chew on that yourself. If you want to survive in the New World, those tricks you just showed won't stop a Yonko's blade."
Ace said nothing more. Point made. Move on.
---
The grand banquet hall inside Thriller Bark's main castle.
Outside, the eternal fog pressed against the walls. Inside, the hall blazed with light and noise. The long table groaned under a mountain of food. Leona had outdone herself, crafting a feast from the deep-sea ingredients unique to the Florian Triangle.
"Come on, Kuma! Try this deep-sea shark liver! I never ate anything this good back in Wano!"
Moria hoisted a mug bigger than a barrel, his face flushed as he roared with laughter at Kuma beside him.
They hadn't known each other before. But at this table tonight, they were crewmates of the Eclipse Pirates.
"Thank you. The texture is excellent for recovery."
Kuma accepted it with surprising gentleness. His enormous frame sat in a custom oversized chair, but his movements were as refined as a true gentleman's.
Next to him, Bonney had grabbed an entire roast suckling pig and was tearing into it with both hands.
Inside this castle, she had no need to hide inside the mechanical spider anymore.
"Mmph... this is so good! Chopper, Uncle Jeno, eat up!"
Bonney shouted through a full mouth, her big-eater nature on full display.
"Hahaha! Bonney, slow down, you'll choke!"
Chopper happily passed her a glass of juice.
Across the table, Dr. Indigo and Dr. Hogback, two scientists with equally grotesque aesthetics, had already huddled together. They were deep in an animated, spit-flying discussion about body modification and corpse stitching. Carina, sitting nearby, shuddered and edged her chair away.
The banquet was roaring.
Ace lounged in the head seat, gnawing on a massive bone-in cut of meat, watching with open amusement as this crew of wildly different monsters slowly lost their inhibitions under the alcohol.
"Hey. Pink-haired girl over there."
Enel, slightly tipsy, had his legs propped arrogantly on the table. He pointed at Perona, who sat beside Moria under her wine-red parasol.
"Carina tells me that ghost fruit of yours can break a man's spirit. How is that possible? On this sea, nothing can shake the iron will of a god!"
He let out a drunken burp, radiating disdain. "If you don't believe me, go ahead. Shoot one of those pathetic little ghosts at me. Try it."
"Hahaha! Enel, stop bluffing! When the old man punched you into the sky, you screamed pretty loud!"
Sabo cut in from the side, merciless.
"Shut up, Sabo! That was physical damage! Mental attacks have zero effect on a god!"
Perona's forehead twitched. She rolled her eyes with theatrical elegance.
"Hororororo. You asked for this yourself, long-eared old man."
She flicked her finger.
A translucent little white ghost with comically round eyes wobbled out of her palm and drifted straight toward Enel.
"That flimsy thing?"
Enel snorted and puffed out his chest. "Come on, then. Show me what you..."
"Negative Hollow!"
Shhk.
The little white ghost slipped through Enel's chest like silk.
The next second.
The arrogant, untouchable Thunder God of Skypiea froze solid.
The swagger vanished from his face. In its place spread a gray, deathly despair, the look of a man who had lost all will to live.
Before the stunned eyes of the entire hall.
Enel dropped to his knees with a heavy thud. He clutched his hair in agony and shoved his face into the gap between two floorboards.
"I'm sorry. I'm not worthy of being a god. I'm just a worthless piece of trash with ears like rotten seaweed who can't even beat some old man from the Blue Sea..."
Thick black despair practically materialized around him. Tears and snot streamed down his face. His voice dripped with profound apology to the entire world.
"If it's not too much trouble, please just let me turn into a slug and get squashed in the mud by someone's foot..."
Dead silence.
The entire banquet hall went absolutely silent for three full seconds.
"Pfft. HAHAHAHAHA!"
Sabo broke first. He doubled over, clutching his stomach, laughing so hard tears streamed down his face.
"Enel! You bastard! This is the greatest day of my life! A slug?! Hahaha! The Thunder Slug!"
"Waaaaah! That ghost is terrifying!"
Buggy scrambled backward in panic. "It one-shot even that freak with the long ears?!"
"Hororororo. Pathetically weak will."
Perona twirled her parasol, savoring the one-sided execution.
"Tch. Enel must've had too much to drink. His willpower slipped."
Urouge set down the massive bone-in haunch he'd been devouring and wiped his greasy mouth. He stood. His five-meter frame loomed like an iron tower.
"This humble monk walks the Asura path of karmic retribution. Ten thousand arts cannot touch me. Little girl, send one my way too."
"Hororororo. As you wish."
Perona flicked her fingers again.
Shhk. Shhk.
Two Negative Hollows passed through Urouge and, right beside him, Shark, who had been quietly enjoying the show.
Thud. Thud.
Two heavy impacts.
The monstrous monk Urouge, who had been preaching the warrior's path not one second ago, was now sprawled face-down on the floor. Hands clasped in prayer. Weeping like a three-hundred-pound infant.
"This humble monk is a sinner. Eating this much meat every day is a crime against nature itself. This humble monk should crawl into a sewer and pickle himself into a stinking salted fish and never see sunlight again..."
And Shark, the cold-blooded, rational Fish-Man, had completely collapsed. He clutched Samehada, the symbiote fused to his back, in utter despair.
"I don't deserve to be a Fish-Man. I'm too ugly. Even seaweed looks better than me. Samehada, bite me to death. My existence is pollution to this clean ocean..."
Three top-tier fighters. Three men who had once stood untouchable. Now on their knees, questioning their entire existence like the most pathetic losers alive.
The banquet hall exploded.
Bonney laughed so hard she couldn't straighten her back. Chopper rolled on the floor clutching his stomach. Even the ever-composed Kuma couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching upward.
"This is insane! That ability is god-tier!"
Carina whipped out a camera Den Den Mushi in pure excitement. Click, click, click. She circled the three kneeling fighters, capturing every angle without mercy.
"This is hands down the most valuable blackmail material I have ever collected in my life! Hahahaha!"
Ace was laughing too, watching the joyful execution unfold.
But as his gaze settled on Perona, floating smugly in mid-air, something deeper flickered behind his eyes.
That Paramecia. The Horo Horo no Mi. Its strategic value was far more terrifying than what this banquet hall was seeing.
"Hah... I'm alive again."
A moment later, the Negative Hollow's effect finally wore off.
Enel, Urouge, and Shark climbed to their feet, their faces black as the bottom of a pot. They looked at their crewmates, still howling with laughter. They looked at Carina, still snapping photos with that damn camera Den Den Mushi.
Murder entered their eyes.
"Carina! Smash that bug right now! No negatives survive!"
Enel's teeth ground together. Sparks crackled at his fingertips. He lunged.
"Classified intelligence. Not for sale at any price."
Carina reacted instantly. A single Soru dash put dozens of meters between them. She ducked behind Kuma's enormous frame and stuck her tongue out at Enel.
"Get back here, you fox!"
Enel chased after her, furious.
"Hahahaha!"
Sabo pounded the table as the two of them tore around the spacious banquet hall. Even the gentlemanly Kuma let his lips curve upward, his massive body a living wall shielding Carina from the lightning.
Bonney cheered Carina on at the top of her lungs. Chopper rolled on the floor, completely undone by the chaos.
The banquet didn't cool off after the "execution." It burned hotter. Mugs clashed. Meat vanished. Brook even pulled out his violin and started playing a lively dance tune.
Ace sat in the head seat, a giant bone-in sea beast cut in one hand. He tore off a mouthful and watched these shameless monsters with a satisfied grin.
"Hororororo. See that? It doesn't matter how high your bounties are. My ghosts hit you, you kneel."
Perona floated over, twirling her wine-red parasol, unbearably smug. She drifted up beside Moria and Ace, who were drinking together.
"Little girl, don't get too full of yourself."
Moria said the words, but watching his subordinate shine among these monsters filled him with pride. He took a deep swig from his mug.
Ace swallowed his mouthful of roast meat and wiped his hands on a napkin.
He glanced at Perona floating in the air. He didn't interrupt the chaos across the hall. His voice stayed casual, pitched so only the three of them could hear.
"Your fruit ability is genuinely strong. One of the most troublesome rule-type powers on the sea."
Ace leaned back in his chair, looking at Perona.
"Of course it is!"
Perona lifted her chin, proud.
"But your real body is too fragile."
Ace spoke like he was making dinner conversation. "The moment your ghosts miss their target, or you run into someone fast with sharp observation, they'll slip right past your ghosts, lock onto your real body, and end you in one hit. You pass out, the ability cancels."
Perona's smile froze. She drifted down to the floor, suddenly less confident.
Moria said nothing. He knew this fatal weakness of hers all too well.
"Then what do I do?"
Perona bit her lip and looked at Ace, her bravado gone.
Ace didn't lecture. He just pointed across the hall at Carina, who was dodging lightning like a greased eel.
"You see Carina?"
Ace smiled. "Her real body isn't built for close combat either. But she doesn't just survive when enemies chase her. She finds openings to counterattack. Because she took Soru and Kami-e from the Six Powers and forged them into the most disgusting survival style you've ever seen."
"Tomorrow, go find her. Have her teach you that整套逃跑和躲避的修炼心得."
Ace looked at Perona. "If you can pair your fruit with the ability to slip around a battlefield like an eel no one can grab, you become everyone's nightmare."
"Eh? I have to learn sweaty physical techniques? That sounds exhausting..."
Perona's face crumpled.
"Kishishishi! You go learn what he tells you to learn! This is Ace giving you the key to staying alive!"
Moria smacked Perona on the head.
"And one more thing. Your fruit development is too narrow."
Ace picked up his glass and took a sip of rum. His tone stayed light, almost offhand.
"Your ghosts strip away an enemy's fighting spirit. They plunge people into extreme negativity. But have you ever considered that your ghosts are, at their core, pure vessels for emotion?"
"Vessels for emotion?"
Perona and Moria both blinked.
"If your ghosts can transmit negative emotion..."
Ace looked into Perona's wide eyes and tossed out a few ideas.
"Could you develop a Rage Ghost? One that makes people lose all reason and attack their own allies?"
"Could you make an Arrogance Ghost? One that convinces people they're invincible, so they drop all defense? It wouldn't be as dramatic as the Negative Hollow, but it'd be far more subtle. The infected might notice something's off and not even care."
"Your Giant Hollow creates physical explosions. Could you compress extreme terror into it? Build a spiritual bomb that shatters an enemy's mind the moment it detonates?"
Perona went completely still.
Moria's jaw hung open. He didn't even notice his mug tilting, rum dripping onto the table.
Rage Ghosts. Arrogance Ghosts. Spiritual bombs.
If she could truly develop ghosts that controlled every extreme emotion and unleashed them indiscriminately across a battlefield... that was god-tier support. The kind of power that could collapse an army from within. That could make a top-tier fighter lose control for one critical second in a duel and get slaughtered for it.
"Ace."
Moria swallowed. He looked at his young captain, still casually drinking rum, and felt genuine awe.
What kind of mind did this man have? How many terrifying, convention-shattering tactical frameworks were sitting in that head? A few offhand remarks, and he had just elevated someone else's Devil Fruit into an entirely different dimension.
"Can I really do something like that?"
Perona stared at her own hands, uncertain. But a spark had caught in her eyes. The urge to try.
"That depends on your imagination. And how badly you want it."
Ace smiled. He set down his glass, stood, and stretched.
He said nothing more. He turned and walked toward the deep night beyond the banquet hall doors.
"Tonight, eat and drink your fill!"
He waved over his shoulder without looking back. His voice carried across the hall, loose and free, pure pirate.
"Tomorrow morning, the Eclipse sets sail!"
"Destination: the New World."
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