10

Being shot is not the most pleasant sensation. Fortunately for me, either by some miracle, Hogback's surgery, or Moria's natural constitution, the bullet didn't break skin. My chest may not have been penetrated by a bullet, but it sure hurts. Feels like getting hit by a dozen paintballs all in one spot. A shot from one of those pistols in the eye would make me blind, or a couple of hits in the same spot could wound me. Not to mention the bazooka he has strapped to his back. If I can stall until the curtain wall is raised, then I would've demonstrated my prowess, and usefulness as a Shichibukai. I'm not dying for Justice or some asshole World Noble's, thank you very much.

In the melee between Marine and pirate, the two fighting forces formed a mosh of mostly static fighters. Perfect.

"Ki shi shi shi! If that angered you bucket hat, then you're going to love this!" The shadows of about a dozen nearby pirates dragged across the ground in my direction. As they gathered closer, I grasped them up, and cut them from their tether. A string of pirates suddenly disintegrated in the bright sunlit morning.

"NO!"

"Biscuit!"

"Avenge us Curiel-san!"

"The Division Commander will save us!"

A string of crestfallen pirates cried out in shock at their friend's sudden disappearance. In response, Curiel's face firmed up, and a hail of bullets were launched my way.

"To late!" I emerged behind him having swapped with Doppleman. A host of shadow spears shot out towards him the second I switched. Unfortunately, he dodged, and even managed to send half a dozen shots my way while he was rolling. A quick swap with Doppleman, and I had to instantly summon a barrier of shadow which was being quickly depleted by Curiel's rapid fire.

As the fight raged on, my ability to stall out till the curtain wall was raised looked bleaker and bleaker. This fight is intense! Nothing like when I subjugated those weaklings on Thriller Bark. I'm just barely dodging his shots in time. I've already had to swap out parts of my body with Doppleman several times. I would use the shadows from Curiel's weapons to mix up my attacks, but he was incredibly fast! He even learned to shoot at Doppleman when I swap body parts, and now I have a new welt on my shoulder.

"Yer washed up Moria! To slow, and ya lack finesse! I've read yer techniques, and I've gotta lock on ya. Ya betta start prayin to Kami, cuz not a soul here gonna cry over yer sorry ass." Curiel mocked me as he moved in to close the distance.

He's right. At this rate, I'm going to lose. He's consistently shooting at where I'm forming my shadow attacks. And no matter how hard I try to harass him with Doppleman from behind, he'll just dodge, or kite backwards. He's a Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, so he must have haki. I vaguely remember him being unable to damage Akainu, that means he can't have armament. So he must have observation haki, that would explain his god-like reflexes.

"Hah~ I didn't want to go all out this early, you know? Although it looks like I'll be late to the party." Around the battlefield, cannon balls, bullets, and swords created a cacophony of slaughter. To the side, huge shockwaves shook the bay as Mihawk and another Division Commander went at it. "Looks like your friend with the mustache and roses over there isn't doing so well."

"Enough chitchat, die!" Curiel unslung his bazooka, and fired a salvo at my location with one hand, and fired at Doppleman with a pistol in his other hand.

"I have to thank your friends for this new form of mine, without it, this wouldn't be possible." Emerging from Curiel's shadow, I stabbed him in the back. Once again, he dodged to the side, and I only scored a glancing blow to his shoulder.

"What the hell did ya do to yerself! Answer me creature!"

"Oh bucket hat, don't you recognize your friends?" I stood before him clad in the shadows of the pirates I had taken earlier. My entire body was covered head to toe in shadow.

"What you see before you is all that remains of them. You can thank the Rolling Pirates for my discovery. Store a shadow in a pocket, what a ludicrous idea! Ki shi shi shi! When I fought one of them, he consumed a large amount of shadows, and entered a berserker rage. And so, I thought to myself, 'what would happen if I wore the shadows around me like armour?'

Emerging from the shadow of his gun, I scored a slash on his chest. As soon as he returned fire, I emerged from his shadow, and scored another blow on the same shoulder from earlier. This time the attack had some bite to it. As a result, Curiel's arm gave out, and he could no longer support the weight of his bazooka.

"Like my new technique? I call it 'shadow hop."

A new barrage was sent my way as I grinned like a loon the entire time.

"It's a shame really. I can only hold this form now for ten minutes, and as of now, only hold about a dozen shadows. Or that this armour can only be formed by the shadows of people, and not ones I generate. Could I challenge a Yonko if I could hold it for a day? What if I used a hundred shadows? A thousand!?" I smirked, proud of my work, and reveling in this newfound power.

"I'll kill you in less than one" Curiel spat a wad of blood from his lips, and bullets started coming at me faster than ever before. His shoulder may prohibit him from wielding a bazooka, but he could still dual wield pistols.

In my new state, my speed and reaction times were markedly faster. There wasn't a strength boost, that seems to be exclusive to when someone absorbs a shadow. However, the speed boost was something else. Even with my short stubby legs, I could probably out run a bullet.

As the fight escalated, I dodged into the shadows of pirates as they were locked in combat with Marines, and would use them as meat shields. Occasionally stopping to stab them in the back.

"It's the Shichibukai, waste him!" Several pirates noticed my appearance, and unloaded on me. I may be faster, and able to tank quite a few hits, but if I lost the shadow form, I'd lose my speed, and my teleportation. In response, I became one with the ground. Having adopted the form of a shadow, I went completely flat.

"Gah!"

"Zuckerburg, you team killing bastard!"

"It wasn't me, I swear!"

My quick dodge saw the deaths and injuries of over a dozen pirates who had shot at me.

"He's not a Logia type guys, his shadows can be destroyed, keep firing!" Curiel urged them on.

Even more bullets started being shot my way, a couple even managed to strike my armour, slowing me down as I lost some of the shadow covering me.

"Tch." All this shadow hopping is starting to take a toll on me, both mentally and physically. Much like the stress put upon Luffy whenever he uses his 'gear' attacks, this form also puts great stress on my body. However, most of it's mental. I'm assaulted by odd notions, and sensations when I cover myself in shadow. It's almost like I can see a world that's not there.

"Knock, knock. Had enough time day dreaming?" A smirking Curiel stood just a few meters away. His guns were pointed directly at my face.

Time seemed to slow as I sensed the bullets flying towards me. It felt like some kind of bat sonar, or echolocation as I saw a 3D image of myself, Curiel, and a muddled view of the rest of the bay. The trajectory of each shot was clear to me in vivid detail. He double shot, and in some cases, triple shot into some locations, to make sure that I would be wounded. Bullets were sent in every direction one could imagine. Behind his allies towards their shadows, towards the ground in front of, and behind me, towards Doppleman. There was no escape. As a desperate gamble, I shadow hopped behind Curiel, hoping to stop his attack.

"Yer as predictable as a house tour. To call ya surface level, would be an insult to the ground floor." Curiel flicked his wrist, and he got out over one hundred bullets in a couple of seconds. My armour took about a dozen shots before I swapped with Doppleman. The bullets he had shot at Doppleman had all been dodged, or he had opened gaps to let the bullets pass.

"Yer gonna have ta do better than that, now won't you?" Curiel wore a mad grin, and approached me with his glasses tinted.

My speed drastically lowered; I was starting to pant from all the physical exertion. Additionally, the couple places where I was hit were starting to feel a little sore as the adrenaline started to wear off. Not good.

No, I won't lose, I can't lose! All of my most devastating attacks take at least ten seconds of set-up. After stealing the shadows of his comrades, Curiel hasn't given me a moment to think! If I survive this, I'm going to need a training montage.

"I am Gecko Moria, Shichibukai, prepare to die!" I jumped into the air, and formed wings on my back. Revealing another trump card I'd rather keep secret from the world at large. Copying Kizaru, I unleashed a torrent of spears and javelins towards Curiel. Mine couldn't explode, but they were incredibly sharp. He sidestepped most of them, and shot those he couldn't dodge. At the same time, I had Doppleman attack him from the rear. He could only attack me a handful of times, which I easily dodged. Like this, I had him on the defensive, hopefully he'll make a mistake, and I can exploit the opening.

Now that I could get a breath of fresh air, I decided to open my senses, and take in the surroundings. Doflamingo was fighting Diamond Jozu, unlike in canon, it looks like he was unable to take over his body with strings. My money is on Jozu's Devil Fruit protecting him.

A bright flash and the sound of blades rapidly clashing sounded on the far side of the bay, where Mihawk, and The Rose, Vista were in a sword clash for the ages. Mihawk's cape had been torn in multiple places, and Vista was missing half his mustache, as well as an ear.

Boa Hancock was turning every man she saw into stone. If she saw a female pirate, or Marine, she would deliberately refrain from harming them. Each hit from her would turn a person's body part to stone. One Marine took a direct hit to the head, his face was frozen in an expression of love. What a sad way to go.

Kuma was still standing on the platform from earlier, and occasionally shooting laser beams from his mouth into crowds of soldiers. I wonder if a cyborg can use haki? Would they take haki from their brains/hearts, and transfer it to the cybernetic limbs, like how Zoro transfers haki to his swords?

Anyway, Squardo is standing in the shadow of Whitebeard. Squardo is standing in the shadow of Whitebeard, excellent! That means I just have to keep up this offensive, and then I'll be able to take five after his betrayal.

And Marco is…Danger!

"Kuh!" I spat out a mouthful of blood as I was kicked down into the ice by Marco. Cracks formed all around my massive body from the impact. I'm not overly damaged, but most of my shadow armour left me, and is incredibly thin. It's barely clinging to my body by a thread.

"I had it under control Marco. Ya dun need ta interfere. But if yer gonna help, take care o'his shadow clone." Curiel remarked.

"Heh, you're welcome Curiel. You take care of ugly, I've got the shadow clone." Marco finished the byplay by flying up into the air, rocketing towards Doppleman.

"Well, well, well. It's been near ten minutes. Looks like yer times up." With that, he walked up to my prone form, and aimed his pistols downward right into my eyes. The twin barrels of his pistols encompassed my entire focus. "Nighty night."

"Ga!" Curiel screamed as my attack landed.

"Hn" I grunted, almost passing out from the pain. Sticking out of my chest were two tendrils made of shadow. Curiel was in a similar state, with the two tendrils piercing his chest. He had been standing so close, and with victory assured. Even with haki, he would've never expected I'd harm myself to end him.

"You fool." He coughed a mouthful of blood. "You've killed us both!"

"Ki ka shi ka" I coughed mid laugh. "I avoided all of my major organs, and these shadows can do more than just stab you!" at the end of my statement, Curiel realized the truth in my words, and attempted to raise his guns.

"No, you don't." The shadows piercing his back wrapped around his arms, restraining them. The bindings around his arms wouldn't last terribly long, for a sniper he's surprisingly strong. I have to finish this quickly.

"Getting tough to breath isn't it? Be a good nakama, and wait for Ace in hell!" My shadows inside his body turned to spikes, and proceeded to enter his blood stream. Every capillary, every pour, every crevice within his body had a tiny shadow tendril.

"Goodbye Mr. Curiel." With a squeeze of my fist, I commanded the tendrils in his body to explode. A spray of blood shot in every direction as Curiel was exsanguinated.

"Ugh, I hate messy kills like that." Reflecting on that kill, I wonder if I could've fought that any better? If I swapped a part of myself with Doppleman for an attack, or formed an attack, he'd just dodge, and then kill me from a distance. And Marco was suppressing Doppleman, so I couldn't switch.

"C-Commander Curiel!"

"Curiel-san! You can't be dead!"

"The Shichibukai Gecko Moria has slain a Whitebeard Division Commander. OHHH!"

"Ura!"

A cacophony of calls, shouts, and cries met my victory. Heh, what am I beating myself up for, I killed a Whitebeard Division Commander. Now to take a couple of these shadows out of my pocket, from Thriller Bark, hulk up a bit, and heal these wounds….I could've used those shadows as a new armour, and shadow hopped to safety. "Stupid!" I facepalmed. At least I can hang back till the curtain wall goes up in a minute.

I showcased my might before the whole world, and the World Government won't have an excuse to kill me or replace me. Hey, maybe I can cash in Curiel's bounty! A quick glance at Curiel's mangled remains. Pretty sure the World Government needs at least a head as proof. Well, at least I'm alive, and newly healed. "Today's a good day." I felt relief and joy at meeting, and even exceeding my objective.

"Something good about killing my sons. Hm, boy?" A masculine voice from not to far away sounded out.

AN: So, Moria's power with zombies is different in the Thriller Bark arc vs the Marineford battle. So I decided to combine some elements from both. The bodies of people who touch sunlight get disintegrated, but their shadows can still be used. I might put a time limit on how long the shadows of the deceased can be used for depending on viewer feedback, or if their one nerf is they can't be used in a zombie.

Also, how has Moria been keeping up with Curiel this whole time you might ask? Was the Resort Island Arc filler, or was it actually supposed to advance the plot? XD