Solo Pirating - Chapter 88

Chapter 88

30th of April 1522

Alabasta

Jack, the hulking All-Star of the Beasts Pirates, stepped forward, his eyes narrowing with a cruel smile. With a deliberate motion, he unsheathed his twin shotels—curved blades that resembled monstrous tusks. The steel gleamed wickedly, their edges jagged and serrated, designed to tear and mutilate flesh.

"Ready to die, Moria?" Jack taunted, his voice a gravelly snarl.

Moria's response was a chilling, almost gleeful laugh. "Kishishishishi... Not today, Jack."

Without warning, Jack launched himself at Moria, moving with a speed that belied his massive frame. The ground trembled under his weight, the air whipping into a frenzy as he closed the distance. Moria, however, was unfazed. With a fluid motion, he unsheathed one of his own blades, a blackened, menacing weapon that seemed to absorb the very light around it. The clash of steel rang out, echoing through the garden as Moria parried Jack's attack with an effortless grace.

Locked in a brutal strength contest, their blades pressed against each other, sparks flying from the grinding metal. To Jack's astonishment, Moria did not budge. His grin widened, exposing rows of razor-sharp teeth. "Is this all you’ve got, Jack?" he taunted, his voice dripping with dark delight. Then, with a sudden, almost imperceptible shift, Moria unsheathed his second blade, its edge gleaming with a deadly black aura of Haki. In a swift, fluid motion, he aimed for Jack's neck, the blade slicing through the air with lethal precision.

Jack barely managed to dodge, his eyes widening in shock as he retreated, a thin line of blood trickling down his neck where the blade had grazed him. The confidence that had once marked his expression was now replaced by a wary caution. He glared at Moria, the savage light in his eyes flickering with uncertainty.

Moria's laughter rang out again, a dark, mocking sound that filled the garden. "What's the matter, Jack? Losing your nerve already?" he sneered, his eyes gleaming with malevolent glee. He advanced on Jack, his twin blades humming with deadly energy.

"Shut up, you corpse-loving freak!" Jack roared, his shotels whirling in a deadly dance.

The battle resumed with a renewed ferocity, the garden now a nightmarish battleground drenched in bloodlust. Jack's shotels whirled through the air, their jagged edges cutting vicious arcs that gleamed wickedly under the moonlight. His muscles bulged, veins pulsing with each powerful strike. "I'll tear you apart, freak!" he bellowed, his voice a guttural snarl that reverberated through the desolate scene.

Moria met each of Jack's attacks with a deadly, almost supernatural grace, his movements a sinister ballet of strength and eerie elegance. His twin blades, blackened with Haki and absorbing light, clashed against Jack's shotels in a symphony of destruction. Sparks flew with each collision, the sheer force of their blows sending shockwaves through the garden, uprooting trees and shattering statues.

Jack swung his right shotel in a brutal overhead strike, aiming to cleave Moria in two. Moria sidestepped with uncanny speed, his maniacal laughter echoing in the night. "Is that all you've got?" he taunted, bringing his blackened blade up to parry Jack's follow-up slash from the left. The impact reverberated through Moria's arm, but he held firm, his grin widening as he pushed Jack back, savoring the struggle.

Undeterred, Jack launched a ferocious flurry of attacks, his shotels spinning and slicing through the air in a deadly dance. He aimed for Moria's legs, his neck, his torso—anywhere he could land a blow. But Moria was relentless, his defenses impenetrable. He parried each strike with precise, almost mocking movements, his own blades weaving a counterpoint to Jack's assault. The scent of blood and sweat thickened the air, mingling with the acrid odor of fear.

As the fight wore on, it became clear that Moria was toying with Jack, letting him tire himself out. "You're slowing down, Jack," Moria sneered, his eyes glinting with sadistic pleasure. "Feeling the weight of your own futility?"

Jack roared in fury, his tusks flashing as he transformed into his mammoth form. He charged, his massive trunk swinging with devastating force, uprooting trees and shattering stone. But Moria didn't flinch. With a wave of his hand, shadowy tendrils erupted from the ground, wrapping around the mammoth's massive legs, binding him in place. Jack struggled against the inky restraints, his roars of fury echoing through the night.

"Is this all the great Jack can muster?" Moria mocked, tightening the shadowy bonds. He stepped forward, his blades ready. With a swift, brutal strike, he severed one of Jack's tusks, eliciting a bellow of agony from the mammoth. Blood sprayed across the garden, painting the scene with a macabre red.

Jack reverted to his human form, gasping for breath, his eyes wild with pain and rage. But Moria was upon him, his shadow tendrils tightening their grip, immobilizing him. Moria's eyes gleamed with sadistic pleasure as he delivered blow after blow, his blades slicing through flesh and bone with unrelenting precision. Each cut was a calculated act of cruelty, designed to inflict maximum suffering.

"You pathetic worm," Moria hissed, his voice dripping with contempt. "Did you really think you could challenge me?"

Moria's attacks grew more brutal, more grotesque. He relished each moment, each scream, each torrent of blood. With a swift motion, he severed Jack's right arm. Jack's scream echoed through the garden, a visceral sound that sent shivers down the spines of any who heard it.

"One down," Moria said with a sickening grin. "Let's see how long you can last."

Jack's eyes were wide with terror and agony, but he was powerless to stop the onslaught. Moria moved with brutal efficiency, slicing off Jack's left arm, then his right leg, and finally his left leg. Each severed limb brought a fresh wave of excruciating pain, each cry a twisted symphony to Moria's ears. Blood pooled around them, a dark testament to the violence unfolding.

"Look at you now," Moria sneered. "A broken, pathetic mess."

Jack's cries were stifled by the pain, his body convulsing with each cut. Moria's shadow tendrils pried Jack's mouth open, forcing it wide. With a deft flick of his wrist, Moria sliced off Jack's tongue, silencing his screams. Blood gushed from Jack's mouth, a gruesome fountain staining the ground.

"Ah, so much quieter now," Moria mused, his voice a mocking purr.

The final act of Moria's sadistic performance came as he leaned over Jack, his eyes gleaming with unrestrained malice. With precise, deliberate motions, he gouged out Jack's eyes, leaving the once fearsome warrior in darkness. Jack's body twitched in agony, his muffled whimpers the only sound breaking the eerie silence.

In a corner, Stussy and Morgans watched silently, the only sound being the scribbling of Morgans' pen in his notebook.

Tamago landed softly behind Moria, who didn't even appear winded from the brutal fight. Moria's gaze remained fixed on the bloodied figure of Jack, who lay in a pool of his own blood, gasping and shuddering. Shadows emerged from the ground, coiling and writhing like living serpents, and began to weave themselves into thick ropes.

"What are you going to do with Jack?" Tamago asked, his voice betraying a hint of unease.

Moria turned his head slightly, a grotesque smile playing on his lips. His eyes gleamed with sadistic delight as he responded, "I’m going to make an example out of him, Tamago. This will be a message to Kaido and any other pirates who dare enter Alabasta. They will learn the consequences of defying me."

The shadows solidified into soldiers, their forms dark and menacing, with glowing red eyes that seemed to pierce the night. These shadow soldiers moved, lifting Jack's mutilated body effortlessly. His limp form hung like a broken marionette as the soldiers carried him to the entrance of the palace.

At the palace entrance, a massive wooden pole began to materialize, constructed from the very shadows themselves. The shadow soldiers worked swiftly, securing the pole firmly into the ground. They then hoisted Jack's mangled torso, stripped of its legs, arms, tongue, and eyes, and suspended it from the pole. Blood dripped steadily onto the ground below, forming a dark pool that reflected the eerie glow of the moon.

Jack's lifeless face, contorted in a permanent expression of agony, was framed by the dangling ropes. The shadows tightened their grip, ensuring he would remain suspended, slowly decomposing, a macabre beacon for all who entered Alabasta. His skin, pale and cold, began to take on a bluish hue as death fully claimed him.

As the final shadow tendrils secured Jack's body to the pole, Moria stepped back, admiring his work. The once-mighty pirate was now a grotesque warning, his dismembered form swaying gently in the night breeze.

"You will serve as a warning to all pirates who want to test my dominion over Alabasta…and to Kaido. Mainly Kaido."

Moria sighed, his grotesque smile fading into a contemplative frown as he looked at the suffering form of Jack. Had he been too violent? Made his move too early? He wasn’t ready to confront Kaido... but then again, Kaido would be preoccupied with the marines moving into the New World and trying to seize the remnants of Whitebeard’s territories.

He shook his head, dismissing the doubts that momentarily clouded his mind. Then, a manic grin spread across his face, and he began to laugh. Whatever! he thought, the sound his through the blood-soaked place. It had been so cathartic! So amazing! And this was just the first step in my revenge!

Moria made a sign, and the shadows began to dissipate, retreating into the ground from which they came. The Warriors of Stone, with their imposing wings and animal heads, landed near him. Their red eyes glowed ominously as they awaited his command. Moria dispatched them to patrol the perimeter, their heavy footsteps thudding against the ground as they moved into position.

He turned back to Tamago, Stussy, and Morgans, who was busy taking a photograph of Jack's grotesque display. Moria's face twisted into a semblance of politeness as he addressed them. "I apologize for the unexpected fight and the disturbance," he said, his voice dripping with mock civility. "I trust it was not too much of an inconvenience."

As he spoke, the voice of Isabella echoed through the loudspeakers of the city. "Jack the Drought from the Beast Pirates has attacked our King and our Queen," she announced, her tone filled with righteous indignation. "These villains dared to bring their evil into our peaceful land. But fortunately, our brave and powerful King, Moria, has triumphed over Kaido's minion! Let us celebrate his courage and victory!"

The announcement reverberated through the city, sparking cheers and applause from the citizens - and Isabella's vampiric voice helped in that aspect. The sounds of celebration began to fill the air, a stark contrast to the gruesome scene at the palace entrance. Moria's eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he watched the reactions of those around him.

Tamago, his expression carefully neutral, nodded in acknowledgment. Stussy, ever the picture of composed elegance, gave a slight smile, while Morgans, still scribbling in his notebook, looked up with a glint of excitement in his eyes.

— — — —

1st of May

Marineford

Fleet Admiral Sengoku sat in his office, the weight of the world heavy on his shoulders. He flipped through a worrying report, his brows furrowed in deep concern. Drum Kingdom had been totally razed and destroyed, apparently by a monstrous entity. The locals whispered tales of the God of the Forest, an ancient deity whose wrath had decimated their land. Sengoku had dispatched a Vice Admiral to investigate, but all contact had been lost. The situation was so dire they were even considering calling a Buster Call.

His eyes drifted to the empty armchair across from his desk, where Garp usually sat. A sigh escaped his lips, laden with sadness. The room felt emptier without Garp's boisterous presence. Even though he knew Garp was dead, he often found himself expecting to see his old friend burst through the door, laughing and full of life. The reality of his absence was a constant, painful reminder.

A knock on the door pulled Sengoku from his reverie. A seaman entered, saluting crisply before handing over the day's newspaper. "Sir, the latest edition," the recruit said, his voice steady despite the obvious tension in the air.

"Thank you," Sengoku replied, taking the paper with a heavy sigh. He unfolded it, his eyes scanning the headlines. Suddenly, he froze. The front-page image was shocking: the dismembered form of Jack the Drought, hanged from a pole in Alabasta, with a grinning Gecko Moria standing proudly beside the grotesque display.

Sengoku's breath caught in his throat as he took in the horrifying scene. Jack's body, stripped of its limbs and eyes, was a macabre warning. Moria's twisted smile only added to the chilling tableau. The implications of this act were immense, sending a clear message to Kaido.

The recruit shifted uncomfortably, sensing the gravity of the situation. "Sir, what are your orders?" he asked hesitantly.