Chapter 149: Perona
"Bad news! Bad news!"
"Lord Moria!"
Three small zombies scrambled into the room, rushing to Moria and half-squatting, panting heavily as they looked up in panic.
"Lord Absalom, his Zombie Generals, they've been completely wiped out!!!"
"And also, their captain, Straw Hat, is about to fight his way here!!"
"Those bastards!"
Moria's expression was furious, his eyes seeming to flash with fire. "A bunch of brats who haven't even fully matured! To think they made me lose so many subordinates! I absolutely won't forgive them!"
"I told you, Moria. Did you think I came here to reminisce with you?"
Beside him, a deep, heavy voice spoke, its tone cold and devoid of any emotion.
"Shut up! They're just a bunch of fledgling brats!"
Moria looked dissatisfied, yelling at the imposing figure before him, "A bounty doesn't represent everything! I'll personally show them just how cruel this sea truly is!"
The man before him wore a white hood with two bear ears sticking out, and a mass of fluffy, curly hair draped over his shoulders.
He wore gloves and held a book to his chest. Beneath his sturdy frame, he wore white pants printed with paw prints.
Shichibukai – Bartholomew Kuma!!
"Stop acting like a good guy here, Kuma."
Moria looked down with a disdainful expression. "Has the World Government become this useless? They have to dispatch two Warlords just to deal with one Straw Hat pirate crew."
"Don't misunderstand. The orders I received were not to team up with you. The World Government doesn't want another Warlord to fall to the Straw Hat crew. If you fail."
Kuma spoke coldly, his face expressionless, "I'm just here to ensure that this news doesn't spread."
"What do you mean, bastard!"
Moria grabbed Kuma's collar and roared, "You also think I'll lose to a rookie pirate?!"
"The ways of the world are unpredictable. Just like no one could have predicted that Whitebeard's second division commander, Portgas D. Ace, would be stepped on by someone with a zero bounty to rise up," Kuma said faintly, looking at Moria.
"Tch! Then you just watch closely with your eyes wide open! Whether it's Straw Hat Luffy or Black Snake Reiner, I'll take them down one by one and turn them into my prized zombies!"
Moria forcefully flung Kuma's collar away, turned, and walked towards the door, his face ferocious as he ordered the three small zombies:
"Have Perona go and meet them first! A bunch of arrogant bastards! I'll personally make them pay the price!"
"Yes, Lord Moria!" The three small zombies shouted and immediately ran out the door.
At this moment, outside the mansion, on the bridge connecting the two front buildings, Reiner and the others were heading towards the last building.
"I see. So this building is actually a giant mast."
Robin tilted her head and looked up. In the gradually dissipating, thinning fog, a canvas painted with a giant skull was revealed high above.
"This must be the true form of Thriller Bark. Such a massive ship, how on earth was it built?"
"This island has been here for ten years. It drifted over from the West Blue. No one knows what kind of story lies behind it," Brook followed them, his cane sword hanging from his hand.
"You seem to know a lot about this place. Speaking of which, Brook, you've been drifting in this sea since you died, right? How long have you been here?" Nami couldn't help but ask.
"Emmm, I died in my thirties, so it's been about fifty years now. I can't remember clearly, yohohohoho~~"
Brook's skeleton face cackled. "The years flow by mercilessly, and the memories in my mind also disappear bit by bit. Though I am a skeleton and have no brain, yohohohoho~~"
"Fifty years!!"
"It's been that long?!!"
Everyone was extremely shocked by this. They hadn't expected him to have spent such a long time here!
Reiner also couldn't help murmuring, "Fifty years ago, huh? At that time, I wonder if Gol D. Roger had even set out to sea yet."
"Roger, eh? Such a familiar name."
Brook chuckled. "I seem to have heard of such a rookie, and then again, maybe not."
"Ro-rookie..."
What he said... didn't seem wrong... For a moment, everyone didn't know what to say.
Reiner couldn't help but imagine a scene.
Brook asks Big Mom, "May I see your panties?"
Then Big Mom draws her sword and roars, "Remnant of an old era! There's no ship in this new era that can carry you!"
"Everyone! You're all here!"
Just as they were crossing the bridge, an excited shout came from afar, getting closer.
"Gomu Gomu no... Rocket!!"
Hearing this familiar voice, Reiner and the others felt their hearts skip a beat!
They whipped their heads around to see a figure with a grinning face flying towards them at an extremely fast speed, like a rocket.
Everyone's face turned ashen. They turned and ran for their lives!
"Hey, wait a minute!"
"Run!!"
Bang!!!
A huge commotion erupted. The strong impact sent them sprawling, and dust flew everywhere.
Zoro, lying on the ground, had veins popping on his forehead as he growled through gritted teeth, "I'm definitely going to kill you!"
"Hahaha, I was just about to look for you guys."
Luffy grinned broadly, standing with his hands on his hips, completely oblivious to the she-devil standing behind him at that moment.
Nami, her face furious, veins bulging on her forehead, seemed to be burning with a raging fire as she raised her fist and gave him a sound thrashing!
"Look for my foot! Go to hell, idiot!!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A moment later—
"Sowwy, I was wong."
Luffy lay on the ground, his face bruised and swollen, with several large bumps on his head, muttering pitifully in a muffled voice.
Nami grabbed his cheek and pulled, yelling with bared teeth, "Idiot! Where did you go? Did you cause any big trouble for us!"
While these two siblings were having their "talk," nearby...
"Chopper... help me..."
Reiner, face down, uttered a half-dead voice, his entire body sprawled motionless on the ground, blood seeping out and staining his bandages red.
Chopper was instantly terrified, his face turning pale. "Reiner! Reiner, are you okay? Don't die!"
Before long, the group set off again, dragging behind them Luffy, who had been beaten black and blue by everyone.
As they walked, they chatted sporadically. Luffy shared his adventure, mentioning a severely injured old man.
Brook explained about the group of victims still hiding in the forest.
Franky and Chopper also told Luffy about their experiences. Upon learning that Zoro and Sanji had their shadows stolen and made into zombies, Luffy was instantly intrigued.
But when he heard they had already resolved it, he suddenly looked disappointed. "What a pity! I didn't even get to see your zombies! Damn it!"
Luffy shouted indignantly, "Why didn't they come and steal my shadow! I really want to see what my zombie would look like!"
"..."
Sanji was completely speechless. What was there to look forward to in something like that?
The inside of the ancient castle was very spacious. The ground was covered in dark gray flagstones, and stone pillars supported the high ceiling.
"It's too quiet in here. We've been walking for so long and haven't encountered a single zombie?" Franky looked around.
The surroundings were completely empty.
Suddenly, a white figure floated past them.
"Tha-tha-tha, what's that?!"
Chopper's teeth chattered as he pointed fearfully at the shadow in the distance.
The figure floated in mid-air, one hand waving up and down as if greeting them.
Usopp pointed at it and exclaimed loudly, "A ghost! That's definitely a ghost!"
Robin, however, had a grave expression. "We've encountered them before. They're very strange. Once you touch them, you suddenly become dejected and lose the ability to resist."
"What's more troublesome is that those things have no physical form. Even using Haki, you can't hit them. They're very difficult to deal with," Sanji said with a serious face.
It was because these things appeared earlier that he got caught. Otherwise, those Zombie Generals were no match for them.
"Can't hit them? Doesn't that mean we're completely helpless against them?"
Nami couldn't help but glance at the figure floating in mid-air, which made her skin crawl.
"Negative! Negative! Negative!"
The white ghosts suddenly split into two, then two into four, lining up in the air and emitting a sinister, cold voice.
"Horohorohoro~~"
A crisp laugh suddenly rang out. A girl with pink twin-tails phased through the ceiling and floated down from the air.
The girl wore a crown and a cape. Under her red short skirt, she wore black and white striped stockings – a gothic lolita outfit.
"So it's you intruders."
Perona pointed at them, frowning and saying in a low voice, "To think you'd destroy my cute animal zombies to such an extent!"
"Could it be! She's the ability user controlling these ghosts!"
Looking at Perona, surrounded by ghosts and floating in mid-air with them, Sanji's eyes widened, and he stood there stunned, his face full of disbelief:
"I don't believe it! How could it be? How could it be such a cute girl!"
"Is that the point, idiot!!" Everyone yelled, baring their teeth!
"Hey! Don't underestimate this one!"
Zoro stared intently at Perona. "Those ghosts are tricky. Although they don't have much attack power, if you get touched by them, you'll instantly lose your will to fight."
"Until we figure out a way to deal with her, we can only avoid fighting for now," Robin said gravely.
Although Nami and the others hadn't encountered her before, seeing their comrades' attitudes, they knew these things were definitely not easy to handle.
"Horohorohoro, even if you know my ability, it's useless."
Perona covered her mouth with her fingertips and giggled. With a wave of the red umbrella in her hand, the four ghosts dived down.
"Because my ability is unbeatable! Go, Negative Hollows!"
"Negative! Negative! Negative!"
The white ghostly figures swayed, drawing an arc in the air as they rushed towards the group at high speed.
"Swallowtail Comet!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Usopp hurriedly fired several pellets with his short gun, but the bullets passed straight through their bodies. "Damn it! It really is useless!"
"Quick, scatter—"
Zoro shouted urgently. Before his voice faded, a ghost passed straight through his chest!
Bang!
The next moment, Zoro collapsed to his knees with a thud, his hands on the ground, his head lowered in dejection:
"...Such a failure."
"...In my next life, let me become seaweed."
"Hmm? What's wrong with Zoro?"
Luffy stood there, tilting his head, looking puzzled. The next moment, a ghost slammed into his abdomen and passed right through—
"I'm sorry..."
Bang!
Luffy collapsed with a thud, kneeling beside Zoro, his face utterly dejected.
"...In my next life, let me become a turtle."
(End of chapter)
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