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Chapter 280: Form is Born of the Heart
Chapter 280: Form is Born of the Heart
"You're still the same as ever!"
Moriah was not surprised in the least. He raised his hands, and the Shadow-Aspire Spear that was rising upward split into two, piercing to the left and right.
This time, before the move could land, Falujia's body split again—from two to four, and from four to eight. It continuously split into thread-like forms from the original body, instantly creating over a hundred clones that occupied the mountain path.
Over a hundred identical Falujia drew trumpet-shaped flintlock pistols from their waists and pulled the triggers, their voices ringing out in unison:
"Splitting Gunfire!"
Bang, bang, bang!
The fruit's ability caused their guns to split as well.
Aside from their will, which remained unified as one, their physical qualities were also uniformly inherited, without any weakening whatsoever.
"Scattering Bats!"
Moriah's outstretched shadow fanned out, forming countless spherical little bats that created a defensive bat formation in front of him. The bats were struck by the lead bullets and turned back into scattered ink dots.
The power of lead bullets was peculiar—sometimes strong, sometimes weak. When weak, they couldn't even pierce a body, but when strong, they could hit even an Emperor. In fact, without Haki, even someone like Whitebeard couldn't defend against gunfire.
Moriah didn't have the time to experiment and find out if his physical body could withstand the assault.
"Only a hundred or so? It's been over a decade since we last met, and you seem to have gotten weaker. Back then, whenever I saw you, there would be thousands upon tens of thousands of Shadow-Aspire Spear: Bat Umbrella!"
Moriah spread his fingers, and the Shadow-Aspire Spear, which had split into two paths, suddenly scattered like a fountain. It split into hundreds of paths, piercing through these people's bodies.
In this attack, each path pierced from Falujia's head to the ground below. A large number of Falujia fell as if melting, sinking into the earth.
The few Falujia who hadn't been hit once again split, continuing to multiply.
Moriah had fought this fruit ability before and knew that if he couldn't kill all of them at the same time, even if just one remained—that guy could be the original body, and he could split again.
Even...
Bang, bang, bang!
Falujia, who had swiftly split into over a hundred people, once again pulled the triggers, unleashing a curtain of lead bullets.
"Shadow Warrior!"
Moriah's body instantly turned black, forming a shadow. The Shadow-Aspire Spear he had sent out earlier quickly retracted, switching positions with his original body.
The lead bullets struck the shadow's body, creating several holes and sending out a cloud of ink. At that moment, Moriah's body appeared in the center of the crowd. His gloved hand, with its sharp claws, reached out and grabbed Falujia's shadows, which appeared slender under the moonlight.
"Hehehehe, your ability has a flaw. Once you lose your shadow—"
Chh!
Moriah concentrated the shadows in his hand and slashed downward, severing the shadows that were pulled from the ground. The people he had just split instantly fell, not just losing consciousness or feeling discomfort like normal humans would when losing their shadows. Instead, they melted away and disappeared, taking the shadows that Moriah had just cut with them.
"Then they will also disappear." Moriah turned his head to look at the sole Falujia who still had his shadow, his face twisted into a strange smile.
Aside from the distinction between higher and lower levels, there were also counter relationships between abilities. Perhaps an extremely powerful ability would be countered by an extremely weak one.
Although he didn't know exactly how the Shadow-Shadow Fruit and the Split-Split Fruit countered each other, over a decade ago, when Moriah and Falujia had fought, he had once cut the shadows of those clones.
Back then, Moriah had been delighted because this guy could split infinitely, producing infinite shadows. As long as there were enough shadows, he could also insert an infinite number of zombies.
"You've grown weaker!"
Moriah remarked, "In the past, your shadows weren't so easily taken. Where is your Haki now?"
Those with strong willpower could resist the effects of abilities, and shadow-taking was also a capability. Experts in Haki would outdo capability users by achieving deeper mastery.
"And you have far fewer people!" Moriah exclaimed.
"What happened, Falujia?"
"Hehehe, am I the one who's gotten weaker? How dare you say that to me?"
Enraged, Falujia's body split even faster, no longer dividing equally. His flesh tore open, revealing a slender yet muscular version of himself. His abdomen split, giving birth to a more corpulent iteration.
Tall, short, stout, and lanky—on the mountain path, they swarmed like a dense army, each splitting further to form thousands of clones.
"Behold, this is my true power! You wanted to witness the mighty 'Falujia Army' once more, and now you have. Yet, after all these years, you've become flabby and spineless, daring to accuse me of weakness!"
The Falujias shouted in unison, their voices echoing through the mountains.
Moriah gazed at the army, their flintlock pistols aimed at him, and noticed a strange expression in his eyes.
Just like before, with a single split, he had formed an entire army. Wielding their advanced marksmanship, they had claimed the heads of countless pirates on the high seas.
Yet, they were also different.
The Falujia of old was robust, perhaps an odd description for a pirate, but he was undeniably filled with righteousness, confidence, and vigor. He always fought alongside that young boy he treated as his own, brandishing dual pistols.
But now, despite amassing thousands, in Moriah's eyes, they were insignificant.
As the moon crept westward, their shadows stretched longer, reaching his feet.
With a sharp tug, Moriah seized thousands of shadows in his grasp. To onlookers, the formidable army seemed terrifying, but in that instant, they all vanished, leaving only the obese original body standing behind.
"Yes, you have grown weaker. But I, too, was once feeble. Yet, now..."
Moriah stomped on the shadow beneath him, freezing the just-split Falujia in his tracks, unable to complete the action.
"Shadow Stomp!"
Moriah advanced swiftly within the shadow he stood upon, arriving before the astonished Falujia. His clawed glove shimmered with dark energy as he slashed viciously.
Shhii!
Four deep gashes appeared on Falujia's face and chest, spraying blood as he howled in agony. His body slackened noticeably, but the Shadow Stomp immobilized him, preventing any attempt to collapse.
"The old you wouldn't have whimpered so pathetically." Moriah sighed deeply, his eyes filled with a mixture of emotions.
The outward appearance reflects the inner self.
The dissipation and decay of willpower could render one ugly beyond recognition.
This was true for both Moriah and Falujia.
But there was a difference.
He had started to reclaim his former resolve.
However, this man, who had once left a profound impression on him during their encounters on the high seas, had become ugly to the point of unrecognizability.
And he had grown weak beyond measure.
(End of Chapter)
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