This attack... can't be received!
His body had just returned to its original position when Sage's fist came down, slamming into his face.
Boom!!
The stone floor was smashed into a hole, and amid the scattering debris, a cloud of dust was stirred up.
Moriah's body fell from above into the invisible hall, causing an indentation as he held his bleeding head, incredulously looking upwards.
Above, through the hole, the dust gradually dispersed, revealing Sage's figure blazing with fiery aura, looking down at him.
Boom!
A thunderbolt exploded outside, its light illuminating through the hole Sage previously made, shining onto that figure.
It was as if he had returned to over twenty years ago, under that thunderous sky, facing the terrifying guy who defeated him, looking down with disappointment and disdain.
"Kaido!!"
Moriah's eyes were filled with bloodthirsty intent, his obese body explosively demonstrating unusual agility, leaping up angrily, "I won't be defeated by you again! As long as I have invincible zombies, I won't fail!"
"Looks like relying on external things won't change, better switch to something else."
The voice reached Moriah's ears, making him falter slightly, finally seeing clearly the person above wasn't that terrifying guy.
Sage dropped from the hole to the ground, smiling at Moriah, "Why not rely on me instead? Compared to zombies, I'm more trustworthy and reliable, Moriah..."
"Hee hee hee, you actually want to recruit me? To recruit me, a Seven Warlords of the Sea member?!"
Moriah laughed sharply, "What do you want? To become Pirate King? Kid, having confidence is good, but just having confidence is useless! You think you're strong? That's because you haven't encountered those even stronger guys!"
He spread his arms, shouting, "When you bring your confidence, trying to fulfill your dreams, you'll realize, your dreams, your ambitions, your companions... they're all illusions!"
"They will be crushed, no matter how strong you are, this world can never be fought alone! In the end, you'll find yourself all alone, forever alone!"
He opened his hands wide, allowing his shadows to spread outward, like twisted tentacles branching out, "Because living means losing! Because losing, nothing has meaning at the beginning!"
"Only undead zombies are eternal. They won't die, hence won't lose. They won't hunger, won't sicken, won't feel low, won't be angry..."
Moriah's head gradually lowered, his sharp voice turning somber, "They won't laugh, won't cry, won't clamor to go treasure hunting, nor tell the captain how their hometown is..."
"They can't do anything! Hence they are eternal!!"
He suddenly raised his head, his arms lifted high, those branching shadow tentacles rose from the ground, solidifying.
"Shadow Horn Spear!"
The solidified shadow, with its front end turned into lizard-like spikes, directly stabbed toward Sage's body.
This thing...
Sage's gaze shifted, his figure turned into a shadow image, dodging aside.
"Shadow Warrior!"
Just as he flashed to the side, a shadow also appeared in front of him, simultaneously turning into solid form, transforming into Moriah's body.
Sage frowned, just as he wanted to continue moving, he suddenly felt his body freeze.
Moriah's foot stepped on his shadow, and beneath that foot, there was an additional strange shadow layer.
"Shadow Revolution! Although I can't control you, I can restrict your movements!"
He spread his fingers, letting the excess shadows gather in his hand, turning the fingers with sharp gloves even sharper, swiftly grabbing forward.
"Die, Sage!"
Moriah widened his eyes, in those pupils, the white-haired figure blazing with black fire aura, suddenly transformed, becoming a dreadful, enormous man of unmatched might...
Stab!
A hand blocked his claw, shedding a few drops of blood, falling onto the ground.
Those sharp shadow fingers pierced through Sage's arm, and still wanted to extend to his head, but seemed to reach their limit, unable to continue.
He glanced at his pierced arm, seemingly unaffected, nodded approvingly, "The power is quite good."
"You..."
Bam!
Moriah hesitated for a moment, just as he was about to speak, he felt a massive impact on his abdomen, his body retching like a ball, flying backward, crashing into the wall behind, creating an indentation.
"Abilities are miracles, but Haki at a certain level can also neutralize the effects of abilities. The power of will is equally the miracle of the sea."
Sage retracted his foot, shaking his injured hand, the arm with blood holes emitted white steam, rapidly healing.
He looked at Moriah, a smile curling up his lips, "That was a bit of Seven Warlords of the Sea style, 'Shadow Mage' Moonlight Moriah."
The technique that could penetrate his Haki defenses didn't surprise Sage, Doflamingo could do it, no reason Moriah couldn't, after all, both are Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Currently, he's fully protected, Haki evenly infused throughout, naturally not as strong as concentrated use.
But by stepping on his shadow to restrict the main body's actions, that was somewhat unexpected.