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Moria lay on the ground, eyes wide open, his massive body now devoid of life. To think that a Warlord of the Sea would meet his end on his own turf, slain by a rookie who had only been at sea for a year, it was unbelievable.
In the past, Lucci would have scoffed at such news, full of disbelief. But ever since he met Noir, he understood. This wasn’t just a rookie; this was a Devil who didn’t play by the rules of humanity.
The complete fruit ability filled Noir with a strange sense of exhilaration. He felt as though every fantasy and development he had envisioned for the Shadow-Shadow Fruit could now be realized.
The Shadow-Shadow Fruit had numerous uses; creating immortal zombie minions was just the most basic path. Moria had stubbornly stuck to that path, refusing to explore others. But if one were to create subordinates, could they ever rival the homies created by Big Mom’s Soul-Soul Fruit?
There were other uses, such as materializing shadows in dark places to launch surprise attacks, an assault that was almost impossible to defend against. The user could also traverse through shadows or replace their own body with a shadow when under attack.
This ability was similar in concept to the Kamui technique in Naruto used by Obito, essentially achieving perfect elemental intangibility.
Sitting cross-legged in the chair that once belonged to Moria, Noir sent Blueno to locate the scattered crew members. Lucci and the CP9 team were dispatched to survey the castle. Robin was sent to check on Enel’s situation. Noir figured that Robin might have a better chance of recruiting Perona, the cute girl with the Ghost-Ghost Fruit.
Once the hall was empty, Noir began contemplating how to develop the Shadow-Shadow Fruit. Unlike the abilities he had copied before, this one had immense potential for growth and needed to be quickly developed into a golden-tier skill. Once that happened, Noir could aim to acquire the Soul-Soul Fruit and merge the two into a dark-golden mutant ability.
To develop the power of shadows, Noir was particularly interested in the fruit’s ability to steal shadows. When someone’s shadow is taken, they immediately fall unconscious, and exposure to sunlight results in death, this was a power that operated on a fundamental "rule."
Like Sugar’s Hobby-Hobby Fruit, which imposed its own set of "rules," no matter how skilled or powerful one was, they had to abide by these rules if they fell under its influence.
Noir pondered, eyes closed, considering how to tailor the ability to suit his fighting style. As a master swordsman, what if he could integrate this ability into his swordsmanship?
Moria’s method of cutting shadows was cumbersome. If Noir could streamline it, severing the connection between shadow and person quickly, it would be a game-changer.
Imagine, in a duel against Mihawk, Noir strikes the ground, severing Mihawk’s shadow in one slash. Mihawk would fall unconscious, and exposure to sunlight would finish him off. It wouldn’t be a fair victory, but it would be highly effective.
The more Noir thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. After all, the fruit didn’t stipulate that scissors were the only tool to cut shadows.
Then there was the ability to control shadows and, by extension, their owners. This power was too valuable to ignore!
And let's not forget the Shadow Asgard technique, which absorbs shadows to gain others' combat skills…
As he delved deeper into these ideas, Noir became increasingly excited. How could Moria have faced such a setback that he became obsessed with creating zombies? Was it some traumatic event, perhaps?
In the vast hall, shadows on the ground shifted and fluctuated, and Noir played with them as if they were toys.
Blueno reappeared from an Air Door, with Wyper beside him. Wyper was holding a fat, unconscious man. "Captain, we’ve got the guy. He says his name is Hogback."
Blueno also handed over the black sword Shusui, reporting, "There was indeed a swordsman zombie named Ryuma. He was tough, but suddenly stopped moving."
Noir frowned and quickly asked, "Did his shadow leave?"
Wyper shook his head. "No, but it seems his shadow isn’t fully compatible with his body anymore. The zombies in the courtyard are experiencing the same issue."
Noir pondered this, realizing it was likely due to the transition of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit’s power from Moria to himself. Although the power transfer was seamless, the nature of the ability had changed. The situation should resolve itself soon.
Noir took the black sword Shusui and examined it. Despite both being dark-colored blades, Shusui and his own sword, Devil Blade, had completely different vibes, one felt solid and reliable, while the other was fierce and unruly.
Blueno opened another Air Door, and Lucci returned with his team, reporting, "We’ve located the control room of Thriller Bark. The zombies on board have become sluggish, and we found a corpse in the freezer, larger than a giant."
That corpse must be the corpse of Oars, Noir mused. Although a giant, his body was even bigger than that of a regular giant. Moria had certainly left behind quite a legacy…
After waiting a while longer, Noir grew puzzled. "Where’s Enel? Hasn’t he taken care of things yet?"
Blueno, who had been running back and forth, chuckled. "Enel and Jabra can’t seem to catch that ghost girl, and they’re getting frustrated."
Wyper asked, confused, "Is she really that tough?"
Blueno nodded, then shook his head. "Her ability is tricky, but it’s really just a matter of smarts…"
Wyper nodded in understanding.
Noir sighed. "Alright, let’s go check it out."
In the eerie courtyard, this was where Perona, one of Moria’s three lieutenants, resided. When Noir arrived, he saw lightning crackling wildly in the air.
Before long, Enel was once again lying on the ground, questioning his existence. "I’m like seaweed, drifting with the currents… no one cares…"
Loud, rapid laughter rang out as a pink-haired girl with twin ponytails and a crown on her head dashed toward him. Behind her, Jabra was chasing her, tongue lolling.
Seeing Noir arrive, Robin approached and smiled, "The little girl’s quite clever. She’s been giving Enel a hard time."
Noir chuckled sympathetically, nodding. "She’s got some wit."
Perona, fleeing in panic, suddenly saw a man standing in front of her. "Out of my way!" she yelled desperately. White ghosts emerged from her palms, rushing toward Noir.
Of course, Noir wouldn’t fall for such an obvious trick and was about to dodge when, unexpectedly, the system’s voice chimed in.
"Detected an external skill attempting to forcefully invade. Absorb it?"
"Ghost of Negativity: Blue-quality. The user will experience extreme negativity, lose the will to fight, and after some time or a slight recovery of spirit, the skill will dissipate."
Noir’s eyelid twitched violently. Could something like negativity actually be classified as a skill? Was it because the negative emotions induced by a Devil Fruit were different from normal emotions, so the system categorized it as a skill?
This was the first time he’d encountered such a situation…
If it’s not emotions, but any negative state induced by a Devil Fruit, would the system classify all of them as skills?
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