Chapter 439

Britannias.

Moria awoke two days later.

Blinding sunlight streamed through the window, falling upon him, yet brought not a single trace of warmth.

His memories were hazy, but he still remembered the shadow stab, fueled by all his strength, piercing Kaido’s heart.

No one could survive a strike that pierced the heart—not even Kaido the Beast.

He…

Must be dead, right?!

Must be!

Moria’s heart stirred with inexplicable unease.

He looked around.

Only then did he realize he lay in a hospital room, beside him a creature in a white coat, wearing a pink round hat… a raccoon?

No, this was a reindeer.

Moria recognized it—no raccoon grows antlers on its head; no one could possibly mistake this.

Facing the being that saved him—a seemingly harmless reindeer—Moria’s unease gradually eased:

“Where is this? Did you save me? Reindeer Doctor?!”

“Doctor?!”

The word “doctor” triggered a switch inside Chopper; his small ears twitched, his chin lifting slightly:

“That’s right, I’m Dr. Chopper. It was the captain’s order.”

“Captain?!”

Moria paused, then snapped back to awareness:

“Knight Gao Wen?”

This was Britannias. Only Gao Wen’s crew could have saved him from such wounds.

Back when the World Government stripped him of his Warlord title and handed him over to Gao Wen, he had once hated the man who tore away his last shred of dignity.

Especially the unchanged bounty—nearly grinding his honor into the dirt.

But time had passed; that hatred had long vanished. Having suffered a crushing defeat at the Straw Hats’ hands, Moria now felt even a measure of gratitude toward Gao Wen.

After all, had Gao Wen not shattered his comfort zone, Moria might have died still dreaming of defeating Kaido with zombie power, unwilling to awaken.

“By the way—what of Kaido? What happened to Kaido?!”

Moria remembered, and hurriedly asked—without confirmation of Kaido’s death, his heart could not rest:

“With injuries like that, even with that monster’s vitality… surely…”

“He didn’t die.”

A low voice came, and the hospital door opened.

Moria saw for the first time the man hailed as the strongest in the world:

“Knight Gao Wen!”

It was deep night. Moonlight streamed in, falling upon Gao Wen, illuminating a figure of supreme majesty!

Fitted silver-white armor, neatly cropped hair, a handsome face…

These defining features, Moria had seen countless times in newspapers.

But what truly chilled him was the complete absence of any aura of strength from Gao Wen.

Instead, there was only calm.

Yes, calm.

Like standing before a mountain or gazing at the ocean—awe stirred, but never fear.

Merely standing there, this man made Moria feel exactly that!

Transcendent, peerless!

“Knight… Gao Wen!”

This was the only thought in Moria’s mind now, and he spoke the man’s name again—but his tone had changed utterly.

In his youth, he had roamed the seas, risking his life to slay mighty rivals, one after another, all vanished into the river of time, all to become the one true king.

Yet even the strongest he had ever encountered paled beside this man.

He stood there, still and quiet—and yet no one could summon the slightest desire to fight him, as if instinct itself recoiled from battling this man.

Moria stared blankly for a long while, then belatedly registered Gao Wen’s words; his face darkened, eyes filled only with resentment:

“You say… Kaido didn’t die?!”

“Impossible! I saw my shadow stab pierce his chest! No one survives such a wound—not even Kaido!”

Gao Wen shook his head and explained:

“Your attack did break through Kaido’s defenses, pierced his scales, and sank deep into flesh—but in the final moment, you exhausted your strength.”

“Had you held on just one instant longer, the outcome of this battle would have changed. But your luck simply wasn’t as good as Kaido’s.”

Moria slumped against the wall:

“Even after all that—even betting my entire future for decades—I still couldn’t kill that monster?!”

“Ssshh—!”

Moria drew a deep breath, covered his face with his hands, and leaned on the hospital bed.

From Gao Wen’s perspective, Moria’s expression was hidden.

But Gao Wen saw Moria’s nails digging deep into his own skin, crimson blood trickling down his fingers, stark and grotesque.

“Wait!”

Chopper tried to intervene, but Gao Wen held him back.

Chopper turned to Gao Wen—and received his answer.

“This is the bitter pill a loser must swallow. Sometimes, fate is simply like this.”

“The difference between people lies in whether, after being struck down, they collapse into despair.”

Gao Wen’s gaze settled on Moria.

Though he had coveted Moria’s Shadow-Shadow Fruit, and even saved him, he had also entertained the possibility of recruiting him.

After all, the next opponent was the World Government.

A colossal entity that had ruled the world for eight hundred years, suppressing countless heroes and tyrants, standing firm on the seas for eight centuries without decay.

In Gao Wen’s past life, such a thing was nearly impossible.

Time advances; contradictions accumulate.

No matter how glorious a dynasty, it inevitably declines—this process lasts decades at the shortest, no more than three or four centuries at the longest; truly enduring eras never existed.

This was an objective law, unchangeable by any individual’s will—but the World Government had stretched this process to eight full centuries.

It was easy to foresee: its accumulated power must surpass imagination.

For this reason, Gao Wen needed to secure as many usable fighters as possible.

Moria’s Shadow-Shadow Fruit was an anomaly even among the vast sea of Devil Fruits.

The ability to amplify one’s strength without limit by gathering shadows was absurd anywhere.

With enough shadows and enhanced physicality and willpower, Moria’s power could easily surpass Kaido’s.

But all of this depended on Moria’s future actions.

A man who, after defeat, retreats into a corner to eke out a miserable existence, could never control vast shadows—let alone fulfill Gao Wen’s vision.

Previously, Moria had suppressed the shadows of thousands of prisoners, relying not only on his near-peak physique but also on his hatred for Kaido.

Clearly, to push the Shadow-Shadow Fruit’s limits, both physique and willpower were indispensable.

The former, under Gao Wen’s command, need not worry—hard training could close the gap. The latter rested entirely on Moria himself.

This was Gao Wen’s concern.

“Kaido!”

Moria’s voice was hoarse, choked with rage and venom.

Twenty years ago, that battle cost him nearly everything.