Theory Moria in Wano thread

[hokageji]

Isn't Moria dead? There literally was an episode where I remember Doflamingo chasing him down with pacifistas after marineford, and Doflamingo saying that he (Moria) is too weak to be warlord and he got orders to execute Moria...That to me, strongly implied that Moria was killed off by Doffy...

Perona also has also moved on and stays with Mihawk on his ship symbolizing that she is now under his wing because Moria is no more

Actually Moria did get away and we saw Moria's ship leave the island Kidd and others met. Perona was actually interested in searching for Moria.

 

[Kato756]

I want him to be stronger than when he was selected to be a shichibukai.

MAYBE a bit hard, but I find it hard for him to be relevant (outside of a "lets steal kaido shadow" plot that for sure aint gonna work) if hes not at that level

 

[Core D. Roy]

Oda suspiciously left Moriah alive after Marineford.

Moriah was suspiciously given the Kaidou-centric backstory wherein his entire crew was slaughtered, leading him down the horrible path that leads him to where he is during the Thriller Bark arc.

Wano opens up with Zoro being singled out for his possession of Shuusui, a sword he only has because, presumably, Moriah pilfered the grave of Ryuuma

At this point it seems like a foregone conclusion that Moriah will show up, but in what capacity? My gut is going with him being a Crocodile-esque arc villain-turned-reluctant ally. But with Croc it was a natural progression- Luffy's prison break at Impel Down was a solid way to segue into Croc's performance at Marineford. Last we saw of Moriah, he was on a tiny raft with Hogback and Absalom, utterly destitute after the loss of his zombie army at Thriller Bark and betrayed even by the Marines.

How will Moriah show up, if at all?

 

[ThatOtherGuy]

Oda suspiciously left Moriah alive after Marineford.

Moriah was suspiciously given the Kaidou-centric backstory wherein his entire crew was slaughtered, leading him down the horrible path that leads him to where he is during the Thriller Bark arc.

Wano opens up with Zoro being singled out for his possession of Shuusui, a sword he only has because, presumably, Moriah pilfered the grave of Ryuuma

At this point it seems like a foregone conclusion that Moriah will show up, but in what capacity? My gut is going with him being a Crocodile-esque arc villain-turned-reluctant ally. But with Croc it was a natural progression- Luffy's prison break at Impel Down was a solid way to segue into Croc's performance at Marineford. Last we saw of Moriah, he was on a tiny raft with Hogback and Absalom, utterly destitute after the loss of his zombie army at Thriller Bark and betrayed even by the Marines.

How will Moriah show up, if at all?

Moriah's ship was seen outside Kidd's hide out right when the alliance was leaked to the news, implying that at the very least Absalom is working as a scoop hunter for the news. And Moriah may be with him.

 

[Aizen]

I anticipate him having a big role considering his history with Kaido. He could end up being similar to Croc even though that would be repetitive. Oda does tend to take queues from earlier arcs with this stuff. Especially, Pre-TS ones. Either way, I think it would be cool if he was a big help in defeating Kaido. Always nice to see characters that are left active come back and do something useful.

 

[hokageji]

I want him to be stronger than when he was selected to be a shichibukai.

MAYBE a bit hard, but I find it hard for him to be relevant (outside of a "lets steal kaido shadow" plot that for sure aint gonna work) if hes not at that level

Thinking about it again, shadow is only a copy of the personality and skills... For all we know, Kaido's durability is just body specific, so it may not land much advantage...
@zetsu banned
What do you think is the possibility of Moria and crew being behind Weevil??? He surely has the scars similar to Absolem and some zombies kinda tilting the possbility of being a product of Hogback..... perhaps has some physical remains of WB and shadows of some of his crew members giving him additional strenght...
The difference between Moriah and Crocodile is, Crocodile didnt personally hate Luffy inspite of losing to him. But Moriah has shown hatred towards Luffy... In any case, i see him working with the strawhats since his hatred over Kaido trumps everything else.

 

[Kato756]

Thinking about it again, shadow is only a copy of the personality and skills... For all we know, Kaido's durability is just body specific, so it may not land much advantage...
@zetsu banned
What do you think is the possibility of Moria and crew being behind Weevil??? He surely has the scars similar to Absolem and some zombies kinda tilting the possbility of being a product of Hogback..... perhaps has some physical remains of WB and shadows of some of his crew members giving him additional strenght...
The difference between Moriah and Crocodile is, Crocodile didnt personally hate Luffy inspite of losing to him. But Moriah has shown hatred towards Luffy... In any case, i see him working with the strawhats since his hatred over Kaido trumps everything else.

I was thinking more along the lines of

KAIDOU, NOW I HAVE YOUR SHADOW AND UR GONNA DIE IN THE SUN

*kaidou proceeds to not die in the sun*

Moira gets knocked out

And we just wasted 3-4 chapters

 

[Core D. Roy]

Thinking about it again, shadow is only a copy of the personality and skills... For all we know, Kaido's durability is just body specific, so it may not land much advantage...
@zetsu banned
What do you think is the possibility of Moria and crew being behind Weevil??? He surely has the scars similar to Absolem and some zombies kinda tilting the possbility of being a product of Hogback..... perhaps has some physical remains of WB and shadows of some of his crew members giving him additional strenght...
The difference between Moriah and Crocodile is, Crocodile didnt personally hate Luffy inspite of losing to him. But Moriah has shown hatred towards Luffy... In any case, i see him working with the strawhats since his hatred over Kaido trumps everything else.

It was one of the first things everyone was thinking during Weevil's introduction chapter. He is somehow 'related' to Whitebeard, but is probably not his biological kid. He talks in a weird stilted way similar to Oars with Luffy's shadow. It'd also explain how he's so unbelievably powerful and seemingly came out of nowhere. He is covered in patchwork scars, reminiscent of Moriah and Hogback's zombies. There was even some speculation that BB and Moria were in cahoots during Marineford- BB would steal WB's devilfruit, and Moriah would get WB's shadow.

But there's the big reason he's not a zombie: he walks around under the sun. Unless Oda is somehow retconning Moriah's ability or making some special exception for Weevil, it doesn't seem possible. Also WB seemed to die in a relatively natural way, as opposed to the top-down dissolving that zombies exposed to light would.

 

[hokageji]

There was even some speculation that BB and Moria were in cahoots during Marineford- BB would steal WB's devilfruit, and Moriah would get WB's shadow.

You cannot hav the shadow of the person after they are dead. Cindry's shadow returned to Margret who was alive, same goes with a lot of the other users.

So if BB indeed worked with Moriah, it would've to be for the corpse and now the shadow. Moria would have to dig it out of WB's grave for that and we know that is unlikely since he was attacked by Mingo.

But there's the big reason he's not a zombie: he walks around under the sun. Unless Oda is somehow retconning Moriah's ability or making some special exception for Weevil, it doesn't seem possible. Also WB seemed to die in a relatively natural way, as opposed to the top-down dissolving that zombies exposed to light would.

No, Weevil isnt a zombie. But he could have parts from WB's body, like arms or torso.That isnt as strange considering how disproportionate his body is and also all the scars are. He could have multiple shadows in him, specially of WB pirates who were taken down by him.

I dont see how Moriah's ability with Weevil would be a retconn either. Moriah can swap his body with a shadow at will and also extract other people's shadow. It wouldnt be a surprise if Moriah can actually hide himself inside someone's shadow. If Moriah is doing with with Weevil, that'll make Weevil not only more powerful, it might explain his quick success too. Moriah is not weak inspite of having lost to Luffy, but his DF ability would work best from the shadows (pun intended). If Moriah is actually hiding inside Weevil's shadow, he could extract Weevil's opponent's shadow weakning'em for a quick and easy blow.
Also, i consider it this way:
Moriah entered new world, lost half of his crew to Kaido.. his lesson learnt: build an army of Zombies so you get a loyal, painless followers.. while the zombies dont feel the pain, Moriah doesnt feel the pain of losing more crewmembers...
From Doflamingo's attack, Moriah realized that the WG are wanting to hunt him down too. Considering how he cannot even trust his counterparts, its best to hide completely and exist. Moriah might be seeking refuge in Weevil's shadow...

Coming back to the Kaido argument, Moriah stealing his shadow will clearly not be enough to take down Kaido... but may he the first blood you need to draw in taking him down...