In the latter half of the Grand Line, the third island of the second route in the "New World" is a winter snow island known as White Yasan Island. It features three main islands shaped like the letter "W," along with several tiny islets that can barely accommodate a hundred people.
This is also the third island of the first route, which means that pirates from both routes often cross paths here and engage in battles.
The victors move forward, while the defeated sink into the depths of the sea.
Thus, this place is most commonly littered with the wreckage of ships and corpses left to dry on the beach, impaled by wooden sticks.
At this moment, the eastern island among the three large islands is occupied by a strange tribe of twenty individuals, each over six meters tall, with horns on their heads and fangs protruding from their mouths.
They tread through the blood-soaked ground, exuding an aura of menace, navigating among the bodies scattered around them. Occasionally, they hear the faint sounds of someone gasping for breath, and without a second thought, they stomp down on the chest of the dying, granting them a swift end.
"Moria! You won't die well! You will definitely meet a terrible fate! It won't be long, cough cough cough, it won't be long before you scum report to the land of the dead!"
Captain Temple, with his hands bound behind his back, knelt in the blood-stained snow, enduring the pain of his numerous injuries, his eyes red and wet with tears as he furiously cursed the man before him.
Just moments ago, those comrades he had spent years with were killed one by one by these bastards from the Moonlight Pirates. "Hee hee hee~"
Moria, slender and tall, sat atop the thickest corpse, a three-meter-long sword planted upright beside him. Seeing Temple's frantic expression, he grinned widely, revealing his sharp fangs.
"Such an ugly sight, Captain Temple of the War Elephant Pirates. You're a well-known pirate with a bounty of sixty-seven million berries; can't you maintain some dignity?"
But at this point, Captain Temple was already in despair. Knowing he was doomed, he paid no heed to Moria's taunts, only wishing to curse a bit more before his end.
"Eh, how boring. I thought you'd be someone of substance."
Moria stood up with a disappointed expression, casually gripping the hilt of his sword and pulling it from the ground. He looked up at the bright sun and smiled.
"However, I truly admire the bond you share with your comrades; a pirate crew like yours is rare. So, I've decided to give you a grand death, one that will be far more beautiful than that of the Pirate King, Roger."
"Wow, the captain is going to give him a light funeral!"
"Hahahaha, this is getting interesting! No matter how many times I've seen it, it's always something to look forward to!"
The crew of the Moonlight Pirates gathered about ten meters in front of Captain Temple, their eyes wide with excitement, eagerly awaiting what was to come.
"What! What are you going to do?!"
Seeing these guys staring at him like they were watching a clown, Captain Temple felt a surge of anger and fear as a large shadow loomed over him from behind.
A chill ran down his spine, and he understood that his time had come.
Were they going to chop off my head from behind? Just then, Moria swung his sword down, the swift sound of slicing air made Captain Temple instinctively close his eyes, thinking, "This is fine; my comrades just died, I should be able to catch up with them on the way to the land of the dead."
But in the darkness, it seemed like one second passed, then two, then three, yet he felt no pain at all. After about ten seconds, he opened his eyes in confusion.
"I'm still alive?"
"Hee hee hee~ Experience the scorching heat of the sun, Captain Temple of the War Elephant!"
As Moria stepped to the right, the large shadow that had loomed over Temple vanished.
[Swish————]
Before he could react, a sudden, intense burning sensation erupted across his back, quickly spreading throughout his entire body.
The cold sunlight pouring down from above had transformed into the most brutal of punishments.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
A piercing scream erupted as Moria, holding the freshly severed black shadow in his left hand, watched excitedly as Captain Temple slowly turned to ash under the sunlight.
"It's coming! It's coming! It's coming!"
"Hahahaha, this show is fantastic!"
His fellow crew members danced with excitement, occasionally jumping up and down.
When Captain Temple's expression completely faded away, the shadow in Moria's hand also disappeared, which did not surprise him in the least.
Even if the shadow and the physical body were severed, there was still a connection between them. If the physical body changed, the shadow would correspondingly change as well. Thus, when the body turned to ash, the shadow naturally ceased to exist.
"Eh, we should have tried to capture them alive, letting the whole crew enjoy the light funeral together would have been a much better spectacle!" one of the Moonlight Pirates said with a wide grin.
"Those who are dead are fine too, but the captain doesn't like cutting the shadows of the dead."
"What's the point of watching the dead turn to ash? The screams before death are the most captivating part!"
As a group of tall individuals chattered away, Moria scolded them with a laugh.
"You bunch of idiots, hurry up and search their ship! Bring anything useful or edible back to ours!"
"Also, throw these corpses into the sea; let the fish have a feast!"
"Yes! Captain!"
"Let's go, go, go! Let's see what's up there!"
"If there's alcohol, that would be great! We don't need meat; we have plenty of sea kings' meat on our ship, enough to last!"
Moria watched them excitedly rush toward the War Elephant Pirates' ship, feeling pleased as he turned to head back to his own pirate ship.
Today's sunlight was too bright for him, not very comfortable; he preferred darker environments. However, occasionally witnessing a grand light funeral was a nice change of pace.
"Yo~ Finally found you, the bounty of one hundred and twenty million berries, Moria~"
Suddenly, a languid, relaxed voice stretched out from behind him. Moria quickly turned, drawing his sword in defense, and saw a golden glimmer transform into a figure about half his height not far away.
This person wore a black gentleman's hat and a bright yellow suit, but most importantly, the pristine white Justice Coat billowed gently in the wind and snow.
"The Navy?"
Moria's expression darkened as he said, "From the ability you just used, you must be a Logia user. You're the newly promoted admiral candidate, Borsalino?"
"Eh~ Impressive, you guessed it right away~" Borsalino feigned surprise, then casually asked, "So, how about you come along quietly with me? It would help me finish my task quickly, and you'd suffer less pain."
"Hee hee hee—, although I don't know why the Navy is targeting me, since you've appeared before me, let's see the power of a top-tier Logia user!"
Moria bared his sharp fangs in a cold smile, his eyes filled with malice as he fixed his gaze on Borsalino, the long sword in his hand eager for action.
"How troublesome~ I knew it wouldn't be that simple," Borsalino sighed as he took off his gentleman's hat and tucked it into his coat pocket.
In the next moment, he instantly appeared in front of Moria, the golden light shining directly into Moria's face and eyes.
The intense brightness forced him to instinctively close his eyes, but a light, airy greeting rang in his ears.
"Have you ever been kicked by light~~?"