22

"AAAAAHHHHHH~" After a hearty yawn, I stretched my arms into the air, and smacked my lips in satisfaction. It had been a day since I returned from Impel Down, and there's nothing like sleeping in your own home. Based on the grandfather clock in my room, I slept till 11am. A well deserved rest in my book.

"Good morning Moria-sama, what would you like for breakfast?" A cheerful chipmunk-like voice sounded below me.

"Bwah? Oh, ahem, Red, it's you. Ah, I'll have something simple today." I scratched the back of my head. Was Red watching me sleep all night long?

"Right away sir!"

"Oh, and grab Absalom and Hogback along the way, I have much to discuss with them."

Bowing, Red left me to my own devices.

"Haaah~" Yawning once more, I went to the balcony to take another look over my island. Just how big is it? In the One Piece Movie Gold, the antagonist had a pirate ship of about 13km in length. Robin said that Moria's ship, the Thriller Bark was the largest in the world. So does that mean my ship is at least 14km in diameter? I'll have to get one of the tri-color minions to ask Absalom, if I asked him, that'd just be embarrassing. A captain who doesn't even know the size of their own ship?

Keeping up my surveillance of the island, I spotted the zombies at the shooting range. They kept up their combat drills, shooting, stabbing, and climbing over walls with ladders and ropes. The land where the factory was to be installed had had all of the wholes patched, and flattened all over again. Absalom sure does work fast when it comes to directing the zombies. His combat potential may not be the highest, but his managerial talent is first class. Having him learn sniping, and stay in the background can only be a positive towards my forces long term growth.

Thoughts of Absalom aside, that factory isn't going up anytime soon. Realistically, I'll have to pay off the tithe to the World Noble's first before I even think about building any kind of factory. Factory parts cost money, and I can only get them if I buy them from a kingdom or the black market, or if I steal them. Although, it's unlikely I can steal factory parts. I imagine steel mills are heavily guarded by Marine's or Underworld dealers. With all the things I have going on, all the enemies I've made, stealing parts for a factory would bring more trouble than it's worth.

"Your breakfast Moria-sama." Red held up a bowl of white rice, with chunks of fish in them.

Simple indeed.

"Moria-sama. Red hand this map to Moria-sama, it has the location of two of our targets. El Drago, and the mercenary Golas have been sighted, Captain." Absalom nodded in my direction as he entered.

"M-Moria-sama!" His neck was flushing, glasses askew, haggard looking Hogback entered my study.

I gave a look towards Red. What's the deal with him?

In response, Red shied away from my eyes, and stood to the side of the room.

Ohhhkay, let's get this meeting started. Picking up my chopsticks, I ate a few mouthfuls of food before addressing the two. "Good work on the information gathering Absalom, I look forward to your diligence in the future. However, the occupation of spymaster is a heavy task, especially considering you manage Thriller Bark. That being said, I have a few ideas to make that aspect of your job easier. We'll discuss this topic, and the matter regarding these two potential recruits later." Rolling up the map, I placed it on a cleared desk, and got to the topic at hand.

"Gentleman, as you are aware, we require a little less than 17,000,000 beri to reach our goal of 30,000,000 to pay the tithe. One of my money making ideas is to set up a silk materials factory. From it, we can make ropes, nets, parachutes, stylish light weight clothing, bed sheets, and perhaps even bullet proof clothing. Dr. Hogback, I've seen the spider monkey in action. Can he produce enough silk to work in a factory?" The reason why I had summoned Hogback for this meeting, instead of just Absalom was to get an answer to this very critical question.

"I'll have to double check the spider monkey's output Moria-sama, but for now, I'll give a tentative yes. I never thought about using a zombie animal hybrid for something like labor before. You've given me new inspiration to further my art! Fos fos fos fos!" Hogback laughed a zealous laugh.

Lost in thought, and muttering to himself about "the possibilities" Hogback almost walked away in a stupor before I spoke again. "Absalom, I want you to inform our Underworld contacts about our desire for factory parts. Then cross reference the price they're quoting with the market value. Secrecy isn't that big of a deal in this transaction, so feel free to ask several companies to enter a bidding war. We'll take whichever outfit offers the lowest prices." For those uninitiated in the ways of business, most companies worked like this in my old world. Hopefully a similar situation occurs in the One Piece World. Paying a premium on services because of a lack of competition is a hit to my pocketbook I do not want to take.

"Right away Moria-sama." Absalom turned to carry out his task.

What, is today ignore Gecko Moria day? Summoning a hand shaped shadow, I slapped Absalom lightly across the face to grab his attention.

"Just a minute gentleman." I had them wait for five minutes while I finished my rice bowl. Was it petty? Yes. However, if you don't respect the boss over the little things, sometimes people won't respect the boss when it really counts, and I won't tolerate disobedience.

"Now that we have a concrete idea on our long term gains, I have a fool proof plan that will see us surpass our goal of thirty million, and then some. We'll even elevate ourselves to nobility." And if this plan somehow doesn't work out, I can sell the pirate ships and Marine ship I plundered from Marineford. However, that was a plan B I didn't want to enact, and not something worth mentioning in this conversation.

"Fos Fos Fos, Cindry-chan and I can be the Baron and Baroness Hogback!" Hogback gave a creepy laugh as he imagined all sorts of lewd acts.

"Nobility Moria-sama?...Won't the Government get on our case if we openly take over a nation?" Absalom rubbed his cheek, and hesitantly questioned my orders. He looked like he was expecting another blow would come. However, another hit never came.

I respected and valued naysayers given the right setting and situation. And during an officer's meeting is the best time to question my decision making, I'm not all knowing or clairvoyant. If I would've harvested all those corpses from Marineford.

"No need to worry about the Government this time around. I've earned us a bit of a grace period with certain meritorious deeds recently. However, that doesn't mean we can go overboard. Follow my orders, and we'll have another successful mission, just like the Ukkari Hot-Springs."

"Thanks for the explanation sir!" Absalom saluted, and stood in place, waiting for his dismissal.

"Of course. I appreciate your advice Absalom, you're a valued member of this crew." Praising Absalom, I patted him on the shoulder. In my experience, it's always important to reinforce bonds of loyalty. Casual friendliness had gotten me out of a tough situation more than one time in my life. Remember someone's name, give half a damn about their past, and you'll stand out more in their mind then the surrounding faceless masses.

"Speaking of the Ukkari Hot-Springs, how is our guest doing? You're keeping him well fed, yes?"

"Three meals a day, and we've refrained from torturing or beating him, like you've instructed Captain. Although…he sure is an odd fellow, sometimes he forgets to breath, he'll stick his food in his ears or the time he forgot to speak when being asked questions…Do you wish to see him?" Absalom replied. Based on his tone of voice, it seemed he was worried I'd punish him over the prisoner's eccentricities.

"Sure, why not. He's held in the cells by the Freezer Block, correct? I needed to head over there today anyway, and take stock of the bodies. I recently acquired a large amount of shadows that need a deposit." A wide grin emerged on my face. The zombies made from Impel Down shadows will have the skills and abilities of some of the most powerful criminals in the world. It was finally time for my power spike.

"Before we go Absalom. Red, get over here!" I motioned for Red's attention.

"Yes Moria-sama?"

"Spread the word to any idle zombies. I want 100 rats caught in the next five days. It doesn't matter if you kill them, but they have to look like normal rats and have as little damage as possible."

"Yes!" With a shout, Red left with gusto.

"Rats, Moria-sama?" Absalom questioned with a confused voice.

"Rats Absalom. I know you currently gather information through newspapers, and our contacts in the Underworld. And I suspect you share rumors and have made penpals with the people who are subscribed to that hentai magazine you read. So I thought I'd make your life easier."

"He-he-hen." Absalom stuttered.

"Yes, I'll place shadows into the rats, and have them act as spies. We'll start with 100 for now. I want you to train them code, and how to use a den den mushi." Turning away from the wheezing Absalom, I addressed Hogback.

"Oh, and Hogback, you're dismissed. If possible, I would like you to brainstorm uses for the spider silk from a medical perspective. Maybe Cindry would have a good eye for designing clothes." I waved a hand in dismissal, and walked away.

"Ooooo! Cindry-chan will love it! Thank you Moria-sama!" Hogback's voice faded as I rounded a corner.

"Let's go Absalom." I walked ahead, expecting him to keep up. Back in my room, I heard a shout.

"IT's NOT HENTAI! IT'S ART!"

On my journey towards the zone of my ship known as the Freezer Block, I heard a passionate, muffled voice. "And remember, you have to keep up the act around Moria-sama. Be yourself when it's just you and me. Before you know it, you'll have your shadow back…do enough meritorious deeds for Moria-sama, and we can even get your villages shadow's back! He's not that bad of a guy, he values usefulness more than most anything else. Show us you're more useful than the shadows that come from your village, and everyone can go free. And remember, don't try anything funny, or I'll tell Moria-sama where your village is!"

Absalom had caught up to me, and kept glancing about furtively. Heh, like I care what people do in their off time. As long as my subordinates can do their jobs effectively, and don't mess with my organizational structure or damage my image; they're free to do whatever they please.

As Absalom and I got closer to the muffled voice, I heard a second voice respond with thick sarcasm. I almost didn't recognize the voice because it was so lacking in cheer. "You're right as always. Perona-sama."

"I told you Kenji, when it's just the two of us, call me Perona, A! No sama, just Perona! You're so not cute today!" An irate Perona complained.

Rounding the corner, Absalom and I were greeted by the sight of a pouting Perona being followed around by that kid I captured yesterday. The kid, Kenji? Had his burlap sack vest replaced, and now he wore a butler uniform, and a fancy silver inlaid dog collar around his neck. Taking a closer look, I saw a mutinous gleam in his eye as he stood behind Perona. They're just about the same size in height. Given his stature, I wonder if he has a Napoleon complex?

"I didn't know you were into that S&M stuff Perona. Kinky." Absalom guffawed.

"Stupid lion, you make me look bad! Ahem, uh Moria-sama, this is my new servant, Kenji! He's real strong, and has a devil fruit! Uhm, during your next mission, could you send him out to prove himself? He's super loyal and can do all sorts of stuff. Say hi, Kenji." Perona lost her cool at Absalom, but quickly reeled it back in to plead her case.

"Super loyal, huh? You sure move fast girl!" Absalom wolf whistled in provocation.

Perona looked like she was about to burst a gasket, but held back, waiting for my response. A silence had descended on our group as I began to think.

I stared at Kenji, waiting for him to greet me. Seeing his expression change from a roaring anger, to defeat, and finally acceptance was absolutely hilarious. Although the look in his eye still hadn't changed.

Gritting his teeth, Kenji had finally responded before the situation got any more awkward due to the abnormally long silence. "Hello…Moria…sama. I'm Kenji, and I can't wait to prove myself to you, and officially join your crew." Kenji gave his reply haltingly at first, but eventually got into the flow of things. His face had a look of constipation the entire time, like something on the inside was slowly withering away. He kind of reminded me of those kids who read a speech off a piece of paper that their parents wrote. Totally fake, and unbelievable performance.

I saw out of the corner of my eye, Perona facepalming in exasperation.

"Welcome aboard Kenji, it's a shame you hadn't joined us willingly and destroyed some of my zombies. However, with time, I'm certain you'll make a fine addition to this crew. In return, you can work for me to pay off the damages. However…" I trailed off as I tried to think of a solution.

"However? 'However', what?! Please let him get his shadow back Moria-sama! Please! Please! Please!" Perona fell on her knees and pled Kenji's case. Not even giving me a moment to gather my thoughts.

Absalom had a twinkle of a tear in his eye, even Kenji looked moved by her performance. Knowing the little hellion that she is, I didn't know if this was genuine, or a performance. Regardless, I was stunned just like Absalom and Kenji.

Hey little girl, give me some time to think before you break out the waterworks! I can't always have sudden inspiration on the fly!...But then again, another devil fruit user would be a useful asset to my arsenal of tools. There's only so much the undead can do. Hmm, I had a starred off into the distance.

"Eep!" Perona exclaimed when she saw my face.

Even Kenji took a step back, like he'd seen a ghost.

"Ha ha, looks like your pretty boy isn't going to be making it out of this one." Absalom snickered to himself.

What, this is simply the expression my face makes when I'm thinking. What are you all scared of!

"However." I continued where I left off.

"Kenji needs to prove himself capable of following commands. And Absalom just volunteered himself as the instructor. I've seen the fine work you've done. Training the zombies how to shoot, and better follow orders under fire isn't a simple task. Teach Kenji well Absalom." I gave him another pat on the shoulder in encouragement. I sure as hell wasn't going to teach some resentful brat how to obey superiors! I had, er, an image to maintain! And, and, I had training to do! I'm certainly not dodging any responsibility and dumping it all on Absalom like usual.

"Say what! Moria-sama~" Absalom gave me a pitiful puppy dog look, and grabbed my ankles hoping I'd take pity on him.

"Once Absalom makes the determination that Kenji won't bungle up an operation, I'll temporarily return his shadow. Once he does enough missions and earns my trust, maybe I'll return it permanently."

"Let's go Absalom, we have more work to do." Kicking him off my feet, I once again headed towards the Frozen Block.

"Ooof, my head. How did she even get that kid down here in the first place without him melting in the sun?" Absalom groaned on the ground.

"Nyeh! His name's Kenji! We went through the passageways between the castle. Stupid lion! Horo horo horo!" Perona stuck her tongue out at Absalom and laughed.

"Why you!" Absalom reared up for a fight.

"Come along now Absalom, we've dallied long enough!" I shouted down the hallway.

Absalom leaned in close, so only Perona could hear him. "This isn't over brat, I'm in charge of your boytoy's training. I'm going to make his time with me hell, by the end of this, he'll respect me more than he ever loved you. And the best part is, there's nothing you can do to stop me, I heard some rumors that you promised Moria-sama to double your training. There's no getting out of this one." Wearing a wolfish grin, Absalom made his way to catch up to me.

"Coming Moria-sama!"

Finally! Between my meeting with Absalom and Doctor Hogback, the endless staircases, and the talk I had with Perona, it took damn near two hours to get to the Frozen Block. We need some sort of zombie powered pulley elevator installed, or I might as well fly everywhere. This castle is huge! Actually, now that I think about it, I could just send Doppleman somewhere, and teleport.

"You really are my most useful companion." Giving my shadow a loving smile, it was the fastest, strongest, and most versatile shadow I could manipulate. I'd be dead ten times over without Doppleman. My shadow had a weird pseudo intelligence that I could communicate with empathically. As a result, I could feel where my shadow was at all times. That meant he could be used as a scout, and I always knew when he was in the most ideal position for me to teleport with.

Come to think of it, I can feel all of the shadows nearby to a degree as well. I can even get a basic understanding of the environment around the shadow, similar to observation haki! The Frozen Block on the other side of this gate…I can sense the shadows of iron bars, hundreds of corpses, empty boxes, and a dozen other miscellaneous objects. I'm onto something here! Focusing on Absalom's shadow, I tried to get a feel for it.

"!" Astounding! By observing his shadow, I can tell Absalom is tired, likely from being overworked, and he's currently elated? How odd, I guess he just likes attention from his boss. I have to test this ability on more people! I'll call it…shadow reading. I wonder. Is this ability part of what it means to be the 'Ruler of Shadow's?! I entered a state of euphoria at this discovery. Like a xianxia cultivator, I felt like I was one small step closer to the next stage.

If there was one word to describe my current state of mind, it would be 'epiphany.' I was on cloud nine! I felt like I was on top of the world! I was-

"Ahh~ thank you for the praise Moria-sama, I never thought of myself as your most useful companion, but…I'll make sure to work even harder to do you proud! Right this way, sir, and I'll take you straight to our captive!" With a bounce in his step, Absalom moved towards the cell.

ABSALOM! My pupils dilated, and I made a constricting motion with my hands in his direction like I was about to throttle the life out of him. My epiphany! I was basking in the euphoria of my discovery, now gone! This I hadn't had this sense of epiphany since two weeks ago when I discovered my shadow armor. Hell, I'd say the discovery of shadow reading was an even greater epiphany than that. Anyone could cover themselves in the element of their devil fruit. However, learning that every single shadow was unique, and had its own story to tell. Now that, that is a discovery!

"He's over here Moria-sama!" Absalom once again broke me out of my reverie, signaling at a particular cell.

Taking deep breaths, I shook my head, and dispelled any murderous thoughts I had towards Absalom. I can practice this ability later, let's just get this over with.

"You prisoner Moria." Absalom pointed into the dark, dank cell.

"Gedatsu of Skypiea, I can see you're doing well. Now that some time has passed, will you reconsider my offer, and join my crew?" I leered down at the odd, tan man. His purple outfit was scuffed in a myriad of places, and his long dreads had grown dirty with grime.

"…" Gedatsu's mouth moved, but no sound came forth.

"I'll take that as a no then."

The money and taking over of the Ukkari Hot-Springs was nice, but that wasn't my objective at all. As soon as Absalom had sightings of this man, I beeline rushed to his position. The 'sixth sense' I had for the last two weeks was given by this man's shadow. He gave me the power of mantra, better known as observation haki. After the paramount war, my observation haki has fully unlocked, making this guy completely useless to me..hmm, when I read Absalom's shadow, it did say he was overworked…I almost laughed out loud. Oh Moria, how devilish!

"Absalom, since you've been such a loyal, hardworking subordinate of mine, I thought I'd reward you." I held back a giggle as I began to move towards him.

"Oh, that's not necessary Moria-sama, the joy of working for you is reward enough." Absalom blushed and waved his arms from side to side while backing away.

"It is entirely necessary! Here, take this!" Reaching into my body, I searched for, and pulled out Gedatsu's shadow.

Without pause, I shoved the shadow into Absalom.

*cough* *couch* "Moria-sama, what the fu-" Absalom began before I gave him the stink eye.

"Uhh, thanks for the 'reward' but what am I supposed to do with this?" Absalom for the umpteenth time looked around, utterly lost in confusion.

"This mans shadow has the skill known as Kenbun-shoku no Haki a.k.a. observation haki. You've been sailing with me for a long time, so I trust I don't need to go into the finer details of how this works. Suffice to say, this ability should make your infiltrations, assassinations, and sniping abilities soar."

"Th-thank you Moria-sama! With this…I'll be two, no five, NO! Ten times stronger! But uhh, one question, is it safe to have this guys shadow in me?" Absalom looked at his chest like Gedatsu's shadow would suddenly make Absalom act like a retard.

"The Rollerback Pirates managed to have one or two shadows occupy their body and had no problems. You should be fine unless you take some strong blow, knocking the shadow out of you. Make sure to train this ability as fast as possible. I'd like to use this shadow to teach Perona, and new prospects haki as well. While you're at it, resolve that issue with that Charlotte girl. Send her remaining crew off at a nearby island that we pass by, or whatever it is I promised her to get her to behave." I placed my hands behind my back, and wore a smirk. It just dawned upon Absalom that training his observation haki was more work piled on top of his already tight schedule.

"I won't have any more time for boobies weekly." Absalom whimpered to himself in dejection.

"Ki shi shi shi, chin up Absalom. You're doing your part to resurrect the Thriller Bark Pirate's! You'll do our nakama proud!"

"You know what, you're right Moria-sama!" A fire of passion began to shine in Absalom's eyes.

"Great! Now, while I scout out which body's I want to put these shadows in, I want you to set sail for the Goa Kingdom, Dawn Island. It's here in East Blue, so it shouldn't take us more than a week to get there. That place will be the beginning of the end."

AN: No, Kenji isn't in love with Perona (yet?). Absalom is just being Absalom.