Chapter 105: Moria’S Surrender, Loyalty And Hostage
"Etc!"
A sharp cry rang out.
Arías looked up and saw Moria entering in person.
Feeling uneasy after sending Absalom, Arías had followed him immediately. Upon arrival, he was shocked to find his zombie army completely annihilated, with Absalom being grabbed by the throat.
"Moonlight Moria," Arías muttered.
Instead of killing Absalom immediately, Arías threw him to the ground. Moria's ability was blocked, and Arías debated whether to kill her.
"You know me?" Moria's eyes narrowed. He had been hiding in the Devil's Triangle, and few knew of him.
Arías understood Moria's doubt, as the current Moria had not yet become a Shichibukai.
"My name is Arías, and I'm giving you two choices," Arías said calmly, holding up two fingers. "One, surrender to me. Two, die."
Moria was furious. Even Kaido hadn't subdued him. Who was this newcomer to make such bold demands?
"You're courting death!" Moria snapped. He recognized Arías as a formidable foe, and quickly took out his scissors to cut off Arías's shadow.
"Is it the power of the Shadow Fruit?" Arías wondered. He could have dodged, but he wanted to test the limits of Moria's ability, so he stood still.
Moria's scissors cut through Arías's shadow, which was pulled up like a living thing. Arías felt a faint, soul-tearing sensation and marveled at the magic of the Devil Fruit.
Logically, Arías was stronger than Moria, yet when Moria attempted to cut his shadow, Arías felt powerless to resist. No wonder Kaido had struggled against this ability.
Moria relied on this power to confidently challenge Kaido, but it was useless against Arías. As Arías's generals arrived to secure Moria, his shadow instantly returned to him.
Moria, who had been laughing maniacally, suddenly fell silent, as if his throat had been clamped shut.
"Is that all you've got?" Arías asked coldly. "Surrender or die! I'll give you three seconds to decide."
Moria felt more powerless than when he had faced Kaido.
"Three!" Arías began counting.
"Two!"
At that moment, a little girl ran towards them. Moria's eyes widened, and he quickly shouted, "Perona, get back!"
But it was too late.
A flying knife appeared at Perona's neck.
"Moria, if you don't surrender, not only will you die, but so will she!" Arías pointed to Absalom on the ground. "And him too!"
"One!"
As Arías spoke the final word, blood slowly began to trickle from Perona's delicate, white neck, where the knife had cut.
"I surrender! I surrender!" Moria cried out, his heart heavy.
Though Moria was a twisted individual who enjoyed playing with corpses, he was fiercely loyal to his own. When Absalom was killed, Moria even dared to confront Blackbeard alone. And Perona was his adopted daughter, raised since childhood—how could he bear to see her killed?
"Very good."
"Room!" Arías commanded, and the girl was instantly swapped with the knife, landing safely in his hand.
"A wise choice," Arías said. "Now, I need to secure your loyalty. Don't resist."
Before Moria could comprehend Arías's words, he felt a sharp pain as Arías's blade sliced through him, reaching into his chest to remove a piece of his heart.
Perona, seeing this, screamed in terror, "Moria! Why didn't you let us go after he surrendered?"
Arías placed Moria's heart in front of him and said, "As long as I crush this heart, you will die. Do good by me, and you won't be mistreated."
Putting the heart into a bag, Arías lifted Perona and said, "She will be the hostage."
Seeing Moria's restless expression, Arías added, "As long as you remain loyal, she will learn much from me. But if you betray me…"
Perona, who hadn't yet eaten the Lingling Fruit, didn't know where Moria had acquired the Devil Fruit. The positioning of this fruit was peculiar—in earlier versions without Haki, it was god-like, but once Haki became known, it lost its edge. Moreover, Perona's physical abilities were weak, making her an easy target.
Moria felt despondent. His life and death were no longer in his hands.
"There's no need to announce this to the world," Arías instructed. "Continue developing here, but stop focusing on creating a zombie army—it's useless against the strong. Focus on mastering Haki and fruit awakening. Those are the keys to future battles."
"I'll take the girl away, but I'll let her visit you when she can. Don't worry."
Through his monocular, Arías saw the children still scared by the zombies, except for Zoro, Kuina, and Hiyori, who dared to draw their swords against them.
After catching them, Arías returned Brook's shadow, which made Brook more appreciative of him.
"Who is she?" Hiyori asked, noticing the new girl Arías had brought along.
"Her? She's a hostage," Arías replied.
"Don't look back. If you behave, I'll let you visit Moria again," Arías assured Perona, who reluctantly followed him.
On the shore, Arías released the Dawn from its capsule and carried everyone back to Nine Snakes Island.
On the boat, Arías took out Shusui and placed it before Zoro. "As promised, for passing the last cliff test, this is your reward."
"This sword is called Shusui. It's a black sword tempered by Haki. It's a powerful blade and was once wielded by Wanokuni's dragon-slaying warrior, Ryoma. It's also Wanokuni's national treasure."
Zoro was mostly focused on the term "sharp sword," not fully grasping the significance of the black blade or national treasure. But Hiyori did. She was stunned.
"Is this Shusui?" Hiyori asked, shocked. As Wanokuni's national treasure, she, the princess and future queen of Wanokuni, couldn't let it go so easily. But since Arías had given it to Zoro, she couldn't demand it back.
Arías, understanding her dilemma, said, "I gave the sword to Zoro. If you want it, negotiate with him—offer another sword or something of equal value. I won't stop you."
Hiyori glanced at her father's sword, Ame no Habakiri, and firmly said, "No! This is my father's sword and it cannot be exchanged!"
Zoro, delighted with the gift, loudly declared, "I won't trade it! Brother Arías gave it to me, so it's mine!"
Hiyori fumed, thinking, I haven't even said anything yet! I want to kill this guy!
After a year of travel, Arías had collected four Devil Fruits: [Bear Bear Fruit Giant Panda Form], [Bear Bear Fruit Polar Bear Form], [Golden Gold Fruit], and an unknown Devil Fruit.
The giant panda form had been given to Kuina, saving her from certain death.
Luffy's friends, except Franky and Robin, had all arrived. Along with Yamato, Hiyori, Carina, and Nojiko, they would become the foundation of Arías's future power.
As he reflected on his gains, the system's voice suddenly rang out:
"Due to the host's attempt to assassinate Luffy, Garp has moved Luffy's residence, and Sabo has left with them to avoid being targeted by the Celestial Dragons."
"Luffy's departure point will change. Ace and Sabo are both key characters connected to the protagonist, and their future will change, leading to a significant alteration in the world line."
"As a reward, the host has unlocked one of the Eight Wonderful Skills [Tongtian Ru]."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Lisandrin32
Lisandrin32 Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
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