Chapter Eight: Shadow Fruit

"Hmm?"

"A Supernova... the 'Shadow Master'?"

As Arlong began describing the enemy's fighting style to Chu Yi and the others, the mere mention of an opponent who could manipulate shadows cleared the fog in Chu Yi’s mind. Relying on his familiarity with the original *One Piece* story, he deduced that the person attacking Fisher Tiger and Arlong was none other than...

A well-known boss from the original series!
A user of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit!
Gecko Moria!

What surprised Chu Yi slightly was that Mihawk shared his exact suspicion, also sensing that the attacker was that man, Gecko Moria.

Especially after hearing Mihawk confirm that Gecko Moria was indeed nicknamed the "Shadow Master," Chu Yi raised his eyebrows with interest and asked, "Mihawk, you know Gecko Moria?"

"Of course I do."

Mihawk disliked being scatterbrained when discussing serious matters. Once he heard of Tiger’s ambush, he shed his confused demeanor. Now that Chu Yi asked, he replied directly: "Pirates who can successfully travel from the four seas into the Grand Line are rarely mediocre. Among them, those whose bounties quickly exceed one hundred million berries and who make a name for themselves in the Grand Line are given the title of 'Supernova.'"

"Shadow Master Moria is one of the Supernovas among this current crop of rookies."

"But..."

Mihawk frowned, sounding somewhat uncertain. "But the rumors in the Grand Line regarding Shadow Master Moria’s personality seem to..."

"Seem to differ from what the long-nosed one said?"

Differ?
Why did I get the impression that Gecko Moria was just the type to randomly attack any fleet he came across?

Ever since Chu Yi arrived in this pirate world, his access to information had been extremely limited because he was almost constantly busy with something. The Celestial Dragons, the future three Admirals, the current Admirals, Whitebeard—one of the future "Four Emperors"... Chu Yi seemed to have provoked nearly everyone in these seas that no one else dared to touch.

Because of this, apart from being busy trying to grow stronger, his energy was dispersed by various trifles; he barely even had time to read a newspaper. That was why Chu Yi didn't know Moria was considered a Supernova, and his knowledge of the man was still stuck at the level of the original story.

Gecko Moria, a Shadow-Shadow Fruit user, was a shadow man. As a fruit user, he possessed the ability to steal others' shadows. He could manifest scissors to snip off a person’s shadow, and in the original story, he would transplant those shadows into corpses to create zombie soldiers.

Anyone whose shadow was stolen could not be exposed to sunlight, or they would turn to ash and vanish from the world. In the original series, it was only after the Straw Hat Pirates met Brook, who had lost his shadow, that they ended up locked in a fierce battle with Moria.

Of course, Gecko Moria was truly asking for a beating. No matter who he met, if they were powerful, he would try to steal their shadow to bolster his zombie army.

It was certain that Moria had attacked Tiger because he had taken a liking to Tiger’s strength. Chu Yi even linked the disappearance of Lucci to Moria, concluding that the fake Arlong who used the Six Powers must have been Moria’s handiwork.

The trouble was that when Tiger and his group clashed with Moria, Arlong was accidentally caught in the shockwaves and swept onto the island, becoming just as lost as Chu Yi and Mihawk, unable to lead them back to their ship.

Under these circumstances, even if he was worried about Tiger’s safety, Chu Yi had to first uncover the mysteries of Dark Island. Otherwise... they would be stuck there, helpless and anxious.

Consequently, as Arlong remained emotionally unstable and needed Jinbe’s company, Chu Yi and Mihawk began using their Observation Haki to explore the island’s secrets, hoping to return quickly to rescue Tiger. By persistently using their Haki, they eventually unraveled some of the rules governing Dark Island.

According to their analysis, there was a mysterious force on the island that interfered with Observation Haki. The reason they hadn't been able to return to their ship earlier was that they had trusted their Haki too much, which only led them further astray.

Through their persistent efforts, Chu Yi and Mihawk discovered the pattern of that mysterious power.

Three hours!
That’s right, three hours!

Whenever that mysterious, Haki-disrupting force enveloped the island, it lasted for exactly three hours. After those three hours, while the power didn't disappear entirely, it would gradually weaken until it faded away.

Chu Yi and Mihawk were exhausted... they had persisted for three full hours before finally, through the weakening barrier, they managed to pinpoint the location of their ship.

By then, Arlong, comforted by Jinbe, had fallen into a deep sleep to recover from his mental trauma, meaning he had to stay behind for the time being. After a quick discussion, Chu Yi decided to return to the ship with Mihawk first; after all, Tiger’s situation was urgent, and they had to intervene.

"Jinbe, you and Arlong stay on the island for now. Once we deal with Moria and rescue Tiger, we’ll come back to fetch you while the island’s mysterious power is waning."

"Understood. No problem."

Jinbe nodded silently in agreement. He paused, then added, "Chu Yi, when you return, it would be best to move as a group. If there is more than one Supernova hiding on this island, it will be nothing but trouble!"

"Haha, I’ll keep that in mind. We’re off!"

Chu Yi waved at Jinbe and prepared to set off with Mihawk to resolve the trouble with Tiger. But just as they were about to move...

Suddenly!

In Chu Yi’s Observation Haki, the missing Lucci began to materialize. Immediately afterward, when Fisher Tiger’s signature also slowly emerged—causing Chu Yi’s pupils to contract—a strange laugh echoed, and a dark shadow...

Coalesced right before Chu Yi’s eyes!

"Kishishishishi!"

"I’ve finally found you!"