54 Arriving at Thriller Bark
Unaware of the storm his actions had caused, Max arrived at the Thriller Bark. The massive, haunted, and eerie ship that serves as a mobile island is the home of Gecko Moria.
Max, utilizing his observation haki, pinpointed the location of Gecko Moria amidst the eerie and daunting setting of Thriller Bark. After locating Moria, with a swift transition, Max materialized near Moria, his sudden appearance surprising the Warlord.
Moria, initially taken aback by Max's sudden arrival, gazed at him with a mix of curiosity and caution.
"White Tyrant, what brings you here?" Moria inquired, his voice tinged with a hint of wariness, as his source told him that he had toyed with an admiral.
Max didn't respond and kept reading his memories to know if he was worth recruiting or not. In the manga and anime, Moria was never portrayed as truly evil, but Max still tried to see if real-world Moria was evil or not.
Understanding Moria's past and the trauma he endured after the devastating loss of his comrades in the battle against Kaido, Max empathized deeply with the warlord's pain and fear of losing those close to him. The revelation about Moria's true intentions and the manipulation he suffered at the hands of Hogback painted a different picture of the once-feared pirate.
"I want to recruit you, Moria," Max said, his voice filled with emotion. Moria's memories once again reminded him just how cruel the One Piece world is.
" kishishishi, Your actions of enslaving and humiliating Celestial Dragons speak to your hatred towards injustice, yet you want to recruit me." Moria laughed mockingly upon hearing Max's words.
"Your actions weren't driven by malice, but by a fear of loss and a desire to prevent more tragedy. Hogback took advantage of your vulnerability, exploiting your grief for his own selfish ambitions." Max said calmly.
Moria, visibly shaken by Max's understanding and revelations, found himself at a loss for words. The realization that he had been used as a pawn in Hogback's scheme struck him deeply.
"You are saying Hogback manipulated me?" Moria scowled and inquired, his joking tone now serious.
Max didn't say anything but directly projected Hogback's memories using the Trickster ring.
Moria glanced at Max and then at the memories, and the more he watched, the more infuriated he became. Enraged, he chopped Hogback in half with his scissors.
Hogback dies without knowing how he died, since Max was influencing his mind with the Trickster ring.
"You exposed Hogback and helped me, but why should I join you?" Moria asked Max after calming down and returning to his resting position.
"I can give you the ability to kill Kaido," Max stated calmly, conjuring chairs and a table.
Moria opened his eyes wide and asked Max, "Are you telling the truth?"
Max, maintaining his composure and understanding Moria's urgency, responded calmly, "Yes, I speak the truth. I have the means to grant you the power necessary to confront Kaido."
Moria, his curiosity piqued by Max's words, cautiously sat up, his gaze fixed on Max. "What kind of power are you talking about?"
"An ability that surpasses conventional strength," explained Max. "A power that could give you a chance to face Kaido on equal footing, to avenge your fallen comrades."
He has already asked System, and from it, he knows Moria has talent, which would result in him obtaining a good template or any other power.
Moria's expression shifted, torn between skepticism and a flicker of hope. "Why would you offer such power to me?"
"I want talented individuals like you in my team; after your former comrades deaths, you didn't train yet your Devil Fruit progressed," Max asserted. Moria is similar to Ace in that he is a talented individual who has not fully utilized his talent. "It's your option whether or not to join me. But I can give you the tools you need to fight Kaido and avenge your fallen comrades."
Moria mulled over Max's proposition, weighing the possibilities and the sincerity behind his words. The idea of gaining power to finally confront the adversary responsible for the loss of his crew members intrigued him, yet he remained cautious.
"Is this power you speak of genuine?" Moria inquired, seeking reassurance and clarity.
"Yes, it is," affirmed Max, his voice unwavering. "But it comes with a choice. A choice to use it for justice, not vengeance. To protect, not to succumb to the darkness that has haunted you."
"Okay, I will join you," Moria replied. His only aim is to kill Kaido.
"Welcome to my pirate group, The White Devil Pirates," Max smiled and said.
[Congratulation, Host, on establishing a pirate group]
[Reward: Infinity Tower]
[Infinity Tower]: An infinite floor tower exists in dimension gaps; only people approved by Max could enter it to train.
Each floor poses different challenges to the challenger, with each challenge becoming harder as they ascend the tower.
Death in the Tower is not real, but the challengers who died will be unable to enter it for the next 24 hours.
On the 10th floor, challengers will receive a class. The class will be determined according to challenger traits.
There is no reward for clearing the floors other than your own progress and experience.]
"Hmm, a training place, and it will even grant classes." Max smiled happily upon seeing the reward.
"Give me your right hand," Max said to Moria after checking out the reward.
Moria raises his brows but extends his right hand to Max, grabbing Moria's hand. Max told the system to extract Moria Shadow fruit.
[Extracting...successful]
Moria abruptly drew his hands back, leaped back, and distanced himself from Max, yelling, "You lied to me!! Instead of giving me powers, you robbed me of my shadow fruit."
"I didn't lie; you just didn't let me finish my work," Max said calmly to Moria, understanding his anger.
"I don't care any more; give me back my powers." Moria didn't listen to Max and rushed towards him with his scissors.
Max sighed and bound Moria in place using the binding spell.
"I can see you, you know," Max said, turning back and looking at Absalom, who was trying to sneak attack him.
"Just stand aside. I promise I won't do anything to him; after all, if I wanted to kill you all, I would have done it in a second." Max said and ignited their bodies with Ashen flames but didn't harm them, just showing them that if he wants to kill them, he won't have to rely on any deception.
Absalom and Perona looked at the flames on their bodies and nodded to Max, seeing that, Max removed the flames.
Max then approached Moria, placed his finger on Moria's right wrist, and told the system to grant him access to the Infinity Tower. After Max told the system, a miniature tower-like tattoo appeared on Moria's wrist.
Max then removed Moria's binding. Moria didn't attack Max but looked at the information that suddenly appeared in his head after Max created the tattoo on his wrist.
"So, this is the power you were talking about," Moria exclaimed after digesting the information.
"Yes, train there, and you will become strong enough to avenge your comrades," Max replied.
"Hmm, forgive me for doubting you." Moria nodded and apologized.
"It's okay," Max said.
Max then instructed Moria to train properly inside the tower and also stripped Perona of fruit, and he also granted her access to the tower.
He didn't receive any other reward for recruiting Moria and Perona, but he learned from the system that he can copy any three skills from each of them and from all the people he will recruit to his pirate group.
The Hunter group recruitment will reward him with random rewards for each recruit, while the Pirate group recruitment will allow him to copy three skills from each recruit.
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