One Piece: Rising to Power as a Warlord of the Sea

"Negative Ghost!"

Perona unleashed a horde of ghostly figures that floated erratically toward Akin. In the original story, this ability had given the Straw Hat Pirates' strongest fighters a hard time.

But Gin was no rookie. Skilled in using Haki, he evaded the ghosts with ease, his body enveloped in an eerie blue fire. Ghosts, spirits—none of it had any effect against Gin in his ghostly chimera form. As an ancient mythical bird, he possessed the natural abilities of soul-devouring and flame control.

"Soul-Devouring Fire!"

With a "whoosh," three strange, vibrant flames appeared in mid-air. At first glance, they seemed cold and harmless, but to Perona, the sight of them filled her with a fear that gripped her heart like a predator's fangs.

As the flames drifted toward her, she instinctively retreated, realizing that confronting him head-on was suicide. Now, all she could do was hope that Moria would notice something amiss and defeat the intruders before it was too late.

Of course, Perona was unaware that her beloved Moria was currently under Natsu's watchful gaze.

Inside the castle, in the central area, Moria was hard at work creating more zombies. Ever since his defeat at the hands of Kaido, he no longer trusted his own power, seeking to dominate the seas through external means. This reliance on external forces had earned Moria his reputation as the weakest of the Seven Warlords.

Boom!

The heavy doors of the chamber burst open as Natsu kicked them in. The metal doors flew through the air, landing with a heavy crash on Moria.

"What the—who dares?!"

Moria snarled, spinning around to find a stranger standing there—an unfamiliar young pirate.

"Ah, sorry for the rude entrance. Let's start over." Natsu gave a serious introduction. "My name is Monkey D. Natsu, a pirate."

"A pirate? What do you want here?"

Natsu tilted his head, flexing his arms, his fists cracking in anticipation. "What else? I'm here to plunder, of course, Gecko Moria."

"Plunder? You have no idea who I am, do you?" Moria's eyes bulged in anger. Having long since tuned out world news, he had no idea who this young man was.

"I'm not interested in weaklings." Without further words, Natsu shot forward, fist blazing with Armament Haki, and slammed it into Moria's massive belly.

Whoomp!

The blow sent Moria staggering back several steps, clutching his stomach in pain and sweating profusely as he stared at Natsu with a mixture of shock and fury. "Armament Haki? How is that possible in the first half of the Grand Line? Are you from the New World?!"

Natsu smirked. "Guess."

Before Moria could respond, Natsu was on the move again. Wanting to finish this quickly, he activated his next technique.

"Shave!"

"Tempest Kick: 40-Meter Slash!"

Natsu's figure vanished, leaving only a blur of afterimages in Moria's view. As Moria frantically looked around, a barrage of giant slashes closed in from all directions.

"Navy Six Powers?! Are you with the World Government?" Moria's confusion turned to dread, his mind racing. He couldn't fathom how a pirate would know the Navy's techniques.

"Curse it, Fly Away Bats!"

Moria frantically evaded the incoming strikes, summoning a swarm of shadow bats from his body to counter Natsu's onslaught.

"Flame Starburst!"

Natsu retreated a few steps, using Shave to reposition himself. At his feet, a massive Taijitu symbol appeared, and streams of fire shot out like meteor showers, colliding with the bats in mid-air.

"A Devil Fruit user? No… not quite!" Moria's initial impression that Natsu was a Devil Fruit user quickly shifted as he realized something was different.

"Shadow Box!"

Shadows swarmed, surrounding Natsu in an attempt to trap him, but he had no intention of letting Moria's plan succeed.

"Golden Light Technique: Mountain-Splitting Axe!"

A golden glow enveloped Natsu, manifesting a massive golden axe between him and Moria. Lightning crackled along its edge as the axe grew in size, looming ominously.

Boom!

The surrounding bats disintegrated instantly, and the axe's momentum continued unabated, aiming to slice Moria in two.

"Shadow Double!"

"Shadow Clone!"

Seeing the golden axe barreling toward him, Moria hastily summoned a shadow double, swapping places with it just in time to evade Natsu's strike.

Pop!

The shadow clone shattered like a burst balloon, scattering into nothingness.

After multiple exchanges, Moria, weakened from years of experiments, was outmatched, retreating under the relentless assault of Natsu's Haki-imbued fists. Bruised and battered, his once-robust frame had been beaten down, leaving him panting and bloodied.

"Damn it. I didn't want to resort to this… but you forced my hand, brat."

Moria's expression turned conflicted. Running away would be shameful, yet he could hear sounds of fighting throughout the castle. If he fled now, his precious subordinates would surely fall. He remembered his bitter escape in the past—he couldn't bear to go through it again.

"Shadow Spear!"

A massive shadowy spear erupted from the ground, halting Natsu's advance. Seizing this brief reprieve, Moria transformed into a swarm of shadow bats, attempting to flee.

"Running away?"

Natsu shook his head, dismissing the thought. Moria was cruel and cowardly, but his loyalty to his subordinates was undeniable. If Moria stayed, it was out of concern for them, unwilling to abandon them a second time.

Activating his Observation Haki, Natsu scanned the area. Other than his own crew, the strongest presence in the vicinity was Moria. Natsu sensed Moria moving deeper into the castle.

"Going to resurrect the demon, Oars?"

"Serious Punch: Fortress Breaker!"

Locking onto Moria's direction, Natsu touched the ground, gauging the position. He clenched his fist, his muscles tensing as power surged through his arm.

Boom!

His fist smashed down, leaving a massive imprint on the floor. The ground split apart, cracks radiating like a spider web as his punch energy surged forward, burrowing underground.

"Whoosh!"

With a leap, Natsu dropped into the massive pit he'd created, his body falling freely into the depths below.

Inside the special cold-storage chamber, Moria, who'd been preparing to revive Oars, nearly lost his footing as Natsu's seismic impact rocked the ground beneath him.

"What the… How did you find this place?" Moria's eyes widened in horror. This brat was relentless!

"Whoa, amazing! So, this is Oars—the monster who shook the world five hundred years ago?"

Natsu marveled at the sight of Oars. The giant's sixty-seven-meter-tall body loomed above, his head barely visible from the ground.

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