222 Chapter 221

Author's note: sorry to have kept ya'll waiting so long for the chapter. The past month was hectic AF what with my final, the new fic, and all kinds of shit happening at the same time.

But yeah, I didn't drop this story, I just didn't have the time to update it since I was focusing on my new story.

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"If you were to go on a trip, where would you like to go...?" the owner of the shadow spoke in a slow, calm, and deliberate voice that sounded both soothing and hypnotic.

Johnny felt the fine hairs on the back of his neck standing as he heard the voice and realized who was standing behind him. He quickly let go of Moria, jumped away and turned to face the newcomer.

"Didn't your handlers in the world government teach you it's rude to sneak up on people... Bartholomew Kuma?" Johnny leisurely replied, smiling as he stared at the newly arrived warlord.

However, his body was tense, his stance low, and his fingers were twitching in anticipation as they hovered over the handle of his sheathed sword and Archangel revolver.

Kuma was about to reply, but he stopped as Moria shakily walked toward him and stood in front of him with a menacing glare in his eyes despite his haggard, waning appearance.

"Are you here to pick a fight with me, Kuma?" Moria shrieked with a scowling expression, reaching a shaky hand and gripping the cyborg's shirt.

"They sent here me because they're worried," Kuma calmly replied, unbothered by Moria's rude gesture as he didn't even seem to register it.

"You are not the first warlord to clash with Johnny silver hand and his crew..." Kuma explained, giving Johnny a brief glance. "Crocodile was the first. He suffered considerable losses to his assets and almost publicly lost..." he added, turning to look Moria in the eye.

"But it looks as though I'm already too late. However, I'll still lend you my strength if you wish..." Kuma concluded, looking around at the wrecked island, and settling his gaze on Johnny, who was content to spectate from a distance, seemingly deliberating something.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TALKING TO, YOU FUCKER?" Moria shrieked, his voice echoing in the area, extinguishing many of the flames that lingered on the earth.

"Disappear from my sight immediately! I'll kill you right here and now!" Moria added through gritted teeth as he glared at Kuma, daring him to object or disagree.

"Take a look around you..." Kuma replied, unphased by Moria's threat and his tightening grip over the cyborg's shirt. "I suggest you consider... you've already lost..." he added, gesturing to the wreckage and debris littering Thriller Bark.

Gritting his teeth, Moria looked around as he let go of Kuma's shirt and took two steps back.

"So you want to die that badly, huh? Fine, kishishishi..." Moria remarked with a peal of deranged laughter as he looked at Kuma. "I resign from my position as a warlord. I've grown tired of being the world government dog anyway," he added, summoning his shadow and reaching into it.

"I'll quickly kill this bastard and take care of you, brat, so sit there and wait for me..." Moria said as he turned to Johnny while changing the shape of his shadow to which his own appearance changed to match as well.

Moria's rotund body began to shrink, turning lean and muscular. His bloated neck disappeared, and his jawline became defined and chiseled.

However, just as he began transforming his legs, Kuma appeared before him, burying a haki-coated fist into his now muscular abdomen.

"K-Kuma... you bastard..." Moria grudgingly remarked, grunting in pain as he held on to Kuma's shoulder to stop himself from falling. However, he soon lost consciousness and fell to the ground on his face.

...

'And just as I was about to see something interesting too...' I mentally sighed as I looked at Moria's unconscious body after Kuma knocked him out cold before he could complete his transformation.

"This is a troubling turn of events, but still within their expectations..." Kuma calmly remarked without bothering to give the unconscious Moria another glance as he turned to me.

'Their expectations, huh? I wonder if he's talking about the marine higher-ups, or...?' I mused, my body still tense in anticipation of when Kuma might make a sudden move.

"It seems that there is a vacancy among the seven warlords of the sea..." Kuma said as he stood rotted in place. "What do you think? Are you interested in becoming a warlord, Johnny Silver Hand?" he asked, raising a hand and gesturing towards me.

"You only need to kill Moria and claim his place..." the warlord concluded, waving his raised hand to the side and going quiet as he waited for an answer.

"Not interested," I immediately replied without even bothering to think about Kuma's offer. I'd have to be an idiot to accept it, even though one of my medium-term goals was to become a warlord before Luffy gets to the grand line.

I had already started doubting the feasibility of such a goal when my first bounty had the words wanted alive on it. The ambush in Alabasta only confirmed my suspicion that coexisting with the world government was nothing but a pipe dream.

I might be able to broker a deal if I figure out what they want and offer it to them. But is it really a good idea to give the genocidal world government suffering from a god complex something they want badly enough to send out six vice admirals?

I think not, especially considering they probably sacrificed more than one kingdom to get their hands on me by removing the vice admirals from their posts.

They are desperate to get their hands on whatever they think I have, and giving it to them would only result in catastrophe if it's that important to them. So yeah, I didn't have to think about it before refusing as I had already given it a lot of thought.

"That is a shame. Then I will have to ask you to come with me in that case, Johnny Silver Hand," Kuma calmly replied, holding his book under his armpit and taking off his black gloves, revealing the paw pads on the palms of his hands.

Kuma stretched his fingers, and I felt my body subconsciously grow more tense, my muscles tightening as I prepared to defend myself when he pointed an open palm at me.

I had already faced two warlords, Crocodile and Moria, but Kuma was a different animal altogether. Unlike my two former opponents who learned the wrong lessons from the new world and let themselves go, Kuma was a man on a mission and still in his prime.

However, I soon relaxed, grinning as a giant, transparent doom engulfed Kuma and myself inside it.

A pebble came flying toward Kuma, and he dodged it by merely moving his head to the side. However, it disappeared just as it flew past him, and Doc appeared, his colossal scythe already mid-swing, reflecting the ominous red glint of its wielder's eyes.

Doc's scythe hit nothing but air as Kuma suddenly disappeared, appearing behind him and pointing an open palm at the doctor's back. Doc clicked his tongue in annoyance at his failure as he vanished before Kuma's attack could hit, replaced by a pebble.

And before Kuma could set his sights on me again, Wilson came flying from behind him, already in his hybrid form as he hit the warlord's side and sent him sliding away.

Kuma said nothing and didn't look too concerned about the sudden sneak attack. He adjusted his posture and opened his mouth, a blinding yellow light emanating from his maw as he aimed at Wilson.

However, a bullet came from nowhere and hit Kuma's face, exploding with a loud bang, scorching the warlord's face and staggering him. Kuma took two steps back, but he looked unphased still as he tried to resume attacking.

And that's when black clouds began coalescing above the warlord's head, loudly rumbling with blue electric arcs dancing around it as it unleashed a lightning bolt that hit the warlord, staggering him even more.

Having had enough spectating, I charged at the warlord, disappearing and appearing before him with a quick soru step, already mid-swing.

Kuma tried to dodge. However, the cloud above his head turned into many fine, steel-hard threads binding him in place as Wilson closed the distance, and Law teleported Doc right behind the warlord's back once more.

The cloud threads began crackling in electricity, transmitting pure lightning, shocking the warlord, and further hindering him as we all unleashed our attacks.

I swung my sword at Kuma's chest, Wilson punched at his stomach, Doc aimed at his back, and two explosive bullets exploded in his face at the same time.

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