Gecko Moria belonged to The Seven Warlords of the Seas with a former bounty of 320,000,000 berries and was the captain of a very large pirate gang – the Moria Pirates. He also owned the Thriller Barque – the largest ship in the world – and was active in the Mysterious Triangle. Furthermore, he is in possession of devil powers, which he was granted by the Shadow Fruit. He was officially declared dead by the world government, but in reality he is in hiding.
Contents
Appearance
To some extent, Moria’s external appearance resembles that of a Devil. Thus, unlike other humans, he has a purple complexion with a light skin tone and darker lips of the same color. Pointed teeth flash out from his wide, devilish, grinning mouth. However, his nose is barely noticeable on his face due to its small size. His pointed ears and two horns on his forehead especially add to his appearance.
He is a rather tall man with purple hair. His height can be compared to Bartholomew Kuma’s. However, when the two samurai of the seas stand side by side, the opposite body proportions are noticeable. While Moria has a wide lower body and an upper body that is much too narrow for that, it is the opposite case with Bear. Due to his wide lower body, his legs look like two stumps and his feet look quite huge. There are seams along his forehead and neck.
Mainly his jacket is black with a large collar for his long neck, as well as his gloves. In stark contrast, his pants are orange and yellow. Around his neck he wears a necklace with a pendant that has similarities to a crucifix.
However, after Moria applied Shadow’s Asgard, his entire appearance changed. Thus, his already large figure took on much more powerful proportions. His entire upper body bloated, both his stomach and his previously slender and long neck. His horns also grew longer and more pointed. His legs were now quite scrawny and long. Since he could only be seen crouching, one could assume that his legs could not hold the entire weight of his upper body.
During the meeting in Mary Geoise, Moria wore a cloak of fur.
Personality
He used to be very similar to Luffy. He also had the same dream – to become a pirate king, which he still pursues, of course, only with different methods. Back then, he believed in himself and his strength. But this became his undoing when one day he faced one of the Four Emperors – Kaidou – and lost his crew in this fight.
Unable to get over the death of his fellow warriors, he became bitter and his attitude towards life and death changed from the ground up. He began to believe that a crew of undead could not die again and that there would be no casualties as a result. However, if they lost their lives again, he could simply resurrect them with a new shadow. Also, he put a new motto on himself, which states that others should work for you to achieve your own goal, and a chant which reads, “You do it!” Thus, in the battle against the Straw Hat Pirates, he has his commanders and zombies fight for him while he himself does nothing. Also, in a duel against Luffy, he sent his shadow ahead and likewise ordered Dr. Hogback, Absalom, and Perona to make him Pirate King.
In Moria’s opinion, a true pirate does not even fear death.
Skills and strength
Through the devilish powers of the Shadow Fruit, Moria is able to steal the shadows of all living creatures. The loss of the shadow causes the victim to instantly crumble into dust upon coming into contact with sunlight. The victim also instantly falls into a coma for two days after the shadow is removed. The former owner has no reflection and cannot be photographed. With the help of Dr. Hogback, who prepares dead bodies for him, Moria is also able to implant the stolen shadows into these corpses and bring them back to life.
The resulting zombies initially have the same character traits of the original shadow owner. They also possess the same fighting techniques. But the longer the zombie is in possession of the shadow, the more the character traits disappear – but not the fighting techniques. The total physical strength of the undead depends on the strength of the body. So if a strong body merges with a strong shadow, an even stronger zombie warrior is born. However, if a strong shadow is put into a body that is weaker for the shadow, the zombie may not be able to control its shadow as easily. This was the case with Inuppe, whose body wasn’t exactly up to the strength of Sanji’s shadow and initially resisted it in regards to women, but after some time shed its traits. The same was true of Oars with Luffy’s shadow.
However, if the shadow owner has devil powers, the shadow owner cannot use them, though they can use the knowledge and attacks of the devil fruit. And this is where Moria’s ability comes into play one more time. By having the power over the shadows, Moria can warp them at will. This is how the shadow owner warps as well, because both components must always have the same shape. As was the case with Oars, who possessed Luffy’s shadow, he could use its attacks, but without the effect of the gum-gum fruit. With Moria’s help in matching the shadow to the attacks, the special zombie was able to simulate the Devil Fruit’s powers after all and stretch its body like rubber.
He can wield power not only over the stolen shadows of others, but also over his own. He usually lets this one fight for him while he does nothing himself. His doppelganger can easily transform into other forms like shadow bats and regenerates as soon as he is mostly destroyed. Otherwise, the captain from Thriller Bark can switch places with his shadow at will, making Moria himself nearly invulnerable.
Last but not least, the Samurai of the Seas can call all the stolen shadows to him and incorporate them into himself. Thus he gains more and more strength per shadow. An external change of appearance is also indispensable. In the end, the final strength depends on the number of shadows absorbed. The disadvantage of this is that even strangers can take advantage of this ability. So Luffy also merged with 100 shadows and became – as Nightmare Luffy – extremely strong.
Other disadvantages are that when the shadow owner dies, their shadow also dissolves. This in turn means that the shadow owner – in this case the zombie – dies again. Since the zombies can live by the power of the devil fruit, this can be taken away from them by the power of the sea, by means of salt and sea water. Also by complete destruction of the body it is possible to kill the zombie and regain the shadow. Otherwise, it is only possible to regain a shadow without any force if the Lord of Shadows – that is, Moria – orders the stolen shadows to return to their owners. As is common with all Devil Fruit users, Moria also loses the ability to swim.
As for his physical strength, he fought one of the Four Emperors, Kaidou, in the New World years ago, but was ultimately defeated by him. To what extent Moria could keep up with Kaidou, however, is unknown. After all these years, he apparently stopped training and became rather sluggish, due to his current motto. However, he seems to be quite resilient. For example, he was directly hit by Luffy in his Nightmare form – which was stronger than the special zombie Oars – with a Gomu Gomu no Pistol and a Gomu Gomu no Storm, but was able to get back up a short time later to use Shadow’s Asgard. Through this technique, he manages to carry the strength of 1,000 Shadows within him and split the floor of Thriller Bark with just one blow, but he was unable to hold this mass of Shadows within him for an extended period of time.
Past
Gol D. Roger’s execution
Moria was present at Gol D. Roger’s execution. At that time he still had a prominent chin and the horns on his head were smaller.
Fight against Kaidou
During his time as a pirate, Gecko Moria roamed the seas with his then-gang of pirates, earning a bounty of 320,000,000 berry. A year after Gol D. Roger’s execution, 23 years ago, Moria reached Wano Country and stole Ryuma’s body as well as his sword, a Wano Country national treasure, the Shuusui. However, there, in the Ringo region, he also encountered Kaidou. A fight ensued between the pirates. Moria not only lost the fight, but also his gang. It is still unclear whether Absalom and Perona were already in his crew at this time. If so, only these three had survived the fight against the emperor.
It was only after this battle that he built the Thriller Bark and became a Samurai of the Seas. When exactly, however, is not known.
Building an army
Ten years before the current timeline, Moria took Dr. Hogback into his gang. Hogback, the most famous doctor in the world at the time, was to lend Moria his surgical skills. In return, Moria promised the doctor a way to bring his deceased love – Victoria Cindry – back to life through the doctor’s skills and his own devil powers. Together with Absalom and Perona, the two set out on Thriller Bark to the mysterious triangle. Along the way, they gathered the lifeless bodies of numerous legends, as well as many normal corpses. Moria began to build his army of undead, including the resurrected bodies of the great legends, who were called Zombie Generals.
Five years before the current timeline, Moria encountered Brook, stole his shadow, and implanted it in the body of the samurai Ryuma.
Three years before the current timeline, he took the Rolling Pirates’s shadows. The captain’s shadow was implanted into Lola, and the shadows of two of her comrades-in-arms were implanted into the Risky Brothers. The rest of the shadows were merged with random zombies.
Present
The Meeting with the Straw Hat Pirates – The Zombie Night
Shortly after the Straw Hat Pirates arrived on Thriller Bark and accidentally split into two groups, Gecko Moria awoke from his four-day sleep and ushered in Zombie Night. When Luffy, Nico Robin, Sanji, Franky and Zoro entered Hogback’s castle, the cook and swordsman unexpectedly disappeared. These were taken to Moria, who took their shadows and put them in Inuppe and Jigoro.
A short time later the last three had to face the Zombie Generals, but in the process Luffy was taken by surprise and carried off as well. Moria encountered the Straw Hat Captain in the dance hall of Hogback’s mansion and cut off its shadow with a large pair of scissors to fuse it with his powerful Special Zombie Giant #900. Through this fusion, he created arguably the most powerful zombie named Oars, with which he claimed he would be able to defeat Kaidou. However, things didn’t quite go Moria’s way. Oars, with Luffy’s characteristics, refused to be subordinate and went off on his own, setting out to explore Thriller Bark. He had Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji sent back to the Sunny.
Sinking of Thriller Bark – Moria’s personal nightmare
As they awoke early at the hands of the other Straw Hats, the Straw Hat Pirates readied themselves for the counterattack. While the enraged pirates exorcised every zombie they encountered, Moria didn’t give it a second thought, even with the knowledge that his opponents had figured out his undead’s weakness. He would much rather linger in place, waiting for Oars to bow to Moria’s power.
But before that happened, he encountered Luffy and after a brief skirmish, Moria’s wait had paid off and his special zombie was at his service. He ordered his new subordinate to storm through Thriller Bark, locate the members of the Straw Hat Pirates and take them out so they couldn’t wreak further havoc. Unexpectedly, Moria ran after his order, with Luffy breathing down his neck. He led his pursuer deep into the Thriller Forest. When Luffy finally got a hold of him, he realized that Moria had tricked him, for the King of Shadows had switched places with his own shadow unnoticed. The shadow double also disappeared afterwards, leaving Luffy standing completely alone in the forest.
Meanwhile, in his dance hall, Gecko Moria met Bartholomew Kuma, another samurai of the seas. On behalf of the World Government, Bear was dispatched to tell him of Crocodile’s successor, as well as the fact that he had been sent to Moria’s assistance on the Thriller Bark. Moria refused his assistance. Telling Bartholomew Kuma to sit back and watch the spectacle, Moria left convinced of himself that he would succeed in making the Straw Hat Pirates part of his zombie army. He then appeared in the control center in Oars’s belly. From there, he backed up the special zombie with his devil powers against the enemy, using his Shadow Revolution to make it possible for him to simulate Luffy’s devil powers.
His opponents didn’t stand a chance anymore. One Straw Hat after another was defeated by Moria and his Zombie Giant, until finally Usopp and Nami were left, but were saved by Nightmare Luffy, and an all-consuming defeat of Luffy and his crew ensued. The entire Thriller Bark took quite a beating in the process, and the entire zombie army was crushed as well. After Bartholomew Kuma took care of the Straw Hats and everything calmed down after these events, the unconscious Moria was taken off the Thriller Bark by Absalom and Dr. Hogback.
The call of world government
While the Straw Hat Pirates was on the Sabaody Archipelago, it was announced that Portgas D. Ace was to be executed. The execution of the commander of the 2nd Division of the Whitebeard Gang was to lead to a war between the World Government and the aforementioned gang. In order to keep Whitebeard and his pirates from rescuing their member, all 7 Samurai of the Seas were called upon to assist the Navy in the upcoming battle. To this end, a meeting was held six days before the execution, at which five of the seven samurai – Bartholomew Kuma, Donquixote Doflamingo, Dracule Mihawk, Blackbeard, and Gecko Moria himself – had answered the government’s call and were eating their meal together at one table. Judging by his presence, Moria seemed to have already recovered, but he still wore a bandage around his head.
Battle on Marine Ford
During Ace’s execution, he and the remaining four samurai were on the front lines, facing off against Whitebeard and his allies. In the midst of the battle, however, Little Oars Jr. appeared on the battlefield out of the blue. Facing a direct descendant of Oars, he immediately claimed his body for his own. However, when Flamingo brutally cut off the giant’s leg, Moria was none too pleased and quickly put an end to the goings-on by spearing a sword of shadow through Oars’s ribcage.
Later in the battle, he encountered Luffy again. To defeat the Straw Hat, he brought dead marines back to life as zombies to defeat Luffy. However, Moria’s plan did not work, as his zombies were taken out by Jinbe. As a result, Moria went toe-to-toe with Jinbe, but was soundly defeated by the fish-man. However, he was able to recover and fought the pirate Curiel in the further course of the battle. But this fight was also interrupted. However, Gecko Moria continued to fight resolutely against the Whitebeard pirates and his allies until the battle was finally declared over by Sengoku after Ace’s and Whitebeard’s deaths and Shanks’ appearance.
Betrayal of the world government
Shortly after, Flamingo, along with some Pacifista, attacked Moria in a back alley of Marine Ford, as he would no longer be needed. However, it was to be said that he had died in the great battle of Marine Ford. When Moria asked if Sengoku gave that order, Flamingo replied that they were higher ups. After all, Moria was to be killed. As stated by Donquixote Doflamingo, the newspapers later also stated that the samurai was supposed to have died in the Battle of Marine Ford. However, he later reported to a member of the World Government that Moria escaped by literally “vanishing into thin air,” which Doflamingo said was not supposed to be part of Moria’s Shadow Fruit’s skill repertoire. Moria’s escape posed a huge problem for the government, as his death had previously been reported in the newspapers.
Search for Absalom
Two years after the Battle of Marine Ford, after which Gecko Moria was declared dead, he went in search of his crewmate Absalom, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. His search included entering the Blackbeard pirates’ new base, which he immediately had his zombies search for Absalom. Shortly after entering the island, he also found Absalom, who gleefully replied that he had simply forgotten to report to Moria.
Relieved, Moria was about to ask his member to accompany him when he was suddenly wounded by an invisible force with a sword. This force later turned out to be Shiryu, who also, to Moria’s horror, possessed Absalom’s devil power, allowing him to turn invisible.
The fake “Absalom” turned out to be Catharina Devon a short time later, who at the same time demonstrated her devil powers of the Fox Fruit, model: Kyuubi, with which she took Absalom’s form. She gleefully replied to the angry Moria that he could gladly take his crew member after she brought his lifeless body, since Moria likes to collect dead bodies for his army. Moria was about to counter when suddenly, over a microphone, Blackbeard himself spoke to Moria, mentioning the morning newspaper in passing and offering Moria to join his crew.
Miscellaneous
Like many villains in One Piece, Moria has a distinctive and unusual laugh: kishishishi.
- In the SBS to volume 63, Oda drew the samurai as children, including Moria.
- In SBS Volume 76, Oda shows us what Moria would look like if it were female.(Show image [hide])
- His favorite food is marinated caviar.
Explanation of the surname
- His name Gekkou is a play on words and, when written as 月光(gekkou), can mean moonlight or moonshine. This fits very well with the general motif of the Thriller Bark
Like the other members of the Seven Samurai, Moria also has an animal motif in his name, or in his case, two!
- Gekkonidae – The classification of the gecko (Gekkonidae) is called yamori (jap. ヤモリ) in Japanese. Now, if you put the first syllable of “ya” at the end of the word, you get“moriya“, which has the exact same wording as the name Moria.
- Microbat – Furthermore, considering the spelling in Romaji(Gekkoumoria), Moria’s name also contains the Japanese word for bat koumori (jap. コウモリ). (This motif is also found in Moria’s attack Brick Bat).
References to reality
- Moria (Greek – foolishness) is a medical term for Jokethe majority of which is based on damage to the brain. Diagnosed is a mild mental disorder with an exaggerated cheerfulness, a morbid chattiness and silliness with a euphoric mood.
- Moria is the name of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem
- Moria is also the Greek term for folly (which might explain why he would not accept Bartholomew Kuma’s help)
