Under Brook's lead, the group, familiar with the route, quickly arrived at the graveyard.
Zombie Soldiers continuously emerged from the ground like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
Zoro was responsible for one-shotting them, while Brook took care of spraying water into the zombies' mouths. It was all very orderly...
Shadows, one after another, floated away from the graveyard, drifting towards the direction of the Misty Forest.
Afterward, the group continued their journey towards Spirit City Castle.
"Ah…damn it…" Sanji cursed.
Suddenly, Usopp, walking at the very front acting as a scout, let out a shriek of surprise and then collapsed onto the ground.
"What's wrong?" Zoro instantly drew his twin blades, his gaze sharp and vigilant.
"Whoa! It's a Hollow!!"
Nami, as if on cue, once again leapt onto Luffy's back.
Whoosh!!!
A flash of a blade, and Zoro's figure appeared behind the Hollow.
Then...
"Ah…! Why must I appear here? I truly am a lowly bug!!"
Zoro flopped onto the ground, burying his face, not forgetting to use his hands to cover it with dirt.
At this moment, the Hollow, the one from Thriller Bark, floated right past Luffy!
Huh??
Luffy raised an eyebrow, stomping his foot several times instantly!
Swish!
With Nami still clinging to him, Luffy instantly moved to another spot.
"Not good! It's their cadre, Perona, who's here!!" Brook, upon seeing this scene, promptly reminded them.
However, the next moment, another Negative Hollow passed right through his body.
"I reflect on myself, I reflect on myself…! I don't deserve to live in this world!!" Brook flopped onto the ground, forming a large character for '大' (big) with his body, staring blankly at the sky.
Having eliminated other targets, these two Negative Hollows simultaneously floated towards Luffy.
This was the first time Luffy had encountered this ability, so he cautiously and continuously changed his position!
"Horohorohoro…"
From the empty sky, a strange laugh drifted down, instantly attracting Luffy and Nami's attention.
They saw a girl floating in the sky, wearing a crown and sporting 11 pink twin ponytails!
She was holding a wine-red parasol in her hand.
"You two are really agile, my Negative Hollows can't even touch you…!!" Perona said with a cackle as she floated in the air.
"Negative Hollows?" Luffy frowned.
He looked at Zoro, Usopp, and Brook.
Indeed, they seemed to be in a very negative state.
"That's right! I'm a Hollow-Hollow Fruit user, a Hollow Girl, and those are my Negative Hollows. If they touch anyone, that person becomes extremely negative," Perona explained.
"Alright! Thanks for the info!"
Luffy nodded, then released his Conqueror's Haki!
A terrifying pressure condensed into a formidable Conqueror's Haki blast, directly striking Perona!
However, the next moment…
"So strong…?"
Seeing that his Conqueror's Haki had no effect on Perona, Luffy was somewhat surprised!
"This girl can actually resist my Conqueror's Haki's precise attack… Is she really that strong…??"
"Luffy, look out behind you!!"
Sensing two more Negative Hollows coming from behind, Nami hurriedly warned him.
Always evading like this isn't a solution.
Luffy turned to face the two Negative Hollows, attempting to attack them with his Conqueror's Haki!
But then, it had no effect…!
"Quick, dodge! They're about to touch us!" Nami, clinging to Luffy's back, shrieked nervously.
Swish!
Luffy once again created distance from the Negative Hollows! His mind raced with thoughts!
After a moment, Luffy suddenly had an idea!
He turned his head to Nami, who had her chin resting on his left shoulder, and said, "You try using the Slip-Slip Fruit's ability. See if you can make those Negative Hollows slip away!"
Nami paused slightly, "Ah! Do I need to use it? What if it doesn't work?"
"If it doesn't work, I'll think of something else."
Luffy's actions, though seemingly using Nami as cannon fodder, were actually very rational!
Because even if Nami became negative, at least Luffy could maintain his absolute certainty of not being touched by the Negative Hollows!
But if Luffy were to try the Slip-Slip Fruit's ability himself and, by chance, became negative, then Nami would surely not dare to block the two Negative Hollows surrounding them!
Therefore, in the face of this situation, Luffy's approach was completely correct!
Nami also had complete faith in Luffy!
"Alright! Watch me!"
Nami placed both hands on Luffy's shoulders, and with a whoosh, she slid right past the top of Luffy's head!
"..."
Luffy rolled his eyes, utterly speechless at Nami's childish behavior.
"Slip-Slip, Evil Slip Away!!"
Standing in front of Luffy, Nami directly spread her arms, welcoming the arrival of the two Negative Hollows!
The two chubby Negative Hollows directly slammed into Nami's body.
Then… shhhliiiiip, they slid right past Nami's body, going sideways!
Grumble grumble
Grumble grumble
The two Negative Hollows instantly took a huge tumble, their chubby faces showing expressions of human-like grievance…
"Oh? It worked!!"
Seeing the two Negative Hollows slip away with her own eyes, Nami was instantly overjoyed!
Although she had been taught how to use the Slip-Slip Fruit's ability by Luffy, she had never actually used it in real combat against Hollows!
This first combat application of the Slip-Slip Fruit against Hollows elevated Nami's understanding of the Slip-Slip Fruit's ability to a new level.
"It really works…"
Seeing the effect, Luffy pointed at himself and said, "Give me one of those sets too!"
"Alright!"
Nami instantly stepped in front of Luffy, placed her hands on his head, and chanted, "Slip-Slip, Evil Slip Away!!"
"So childish~~"
Luffy, speechless, took Nami's hands off his head. He knew that Nami's ability from the Flower-Flower Fruit didn't necessarily have to be used on the head; other parts of the body were also fine.
"Nani?? The Negative Hollows didn't work??"
Perona's mouth dropped open, instantly dumbfounded!
Luffy looked at Perona and said, "I understand now. What's in front of me isn't your true body, but your soul…??"
"What soul? These are my Hollow clones! No matter what method you use, you won't hit me…!! Humph!"
Seeing that her Hollows had no effect, Perona was extremely displeased.
"They're Hollows, huh…" Luffy nodded, then said to Nami, "Did you hear that? Now try using the Slip-Slip Fruit on her Hollow body to see if it works."
Perona gasped instantly upon hearing this, "Evil!! You're tricking me for information again!!"
Luffy waved his hand, "Look at what you're saying. How can things on the battlefield be called trickery? I'm just trying to get the other party to voluntarily reveal information~"
As he spoke, Luffy's foot moved!
Swish!
Moonwalk!
Luffy's speed was extremely fast; in an instant, he arrived in front of Perona!
This sudden appearance startled Perona!
Nami, without hesitation, slammed both hands onto Perona's wrist, activating her Devil Fruit ability: "Slippery Hollow! —"
Once this ability was activated…
"Ah…!!"
Three surprised cries simultaneously echoed in the sky over this shadowy land!
What Luffy and Nami hadn't expected was that the Slip-Slip Fruit's ability was effective! And the effect was astounding!
Perona's Hollow body instantly became a slippery Hollow with zero friction!
As a result, her small wine-red parasol, her crown, her red leather boots, her black and white striped socks…
At this moment, everything lost all traction and clattered to the ground.
Usopp: "Nani?? Could it be…?"
Sanji: "Mama! Those damn Luffy and Nami, you two are blocking the camera! Ah ah ah ah! Move aside…!!"
Suddenly seeing this scene appear on the screen, Sanji was practically going crazy.
Seeing the parasol, shoes, socks, and clothes falling from mid-air, even an idiot would know what happened.
However, the playback camera on the screen at this moment was from the perspective behind Luffy and Nami, which led to Luffy and Nami completely blocking Perona's severe exposure.
Roronoa Zoro: "Oh? My face is buried in the ground over there, I guess I didn't see anything."
Usopp: "My side suffered a huge loss! I actually didn't come along! What a loss for my future wife…!!"
Brook: "My side is the most important! At such a crucial moment, I was actually looking negatively at the other side of the sky? I estimate I'll be depressed when I find out the truth later~~"
Nami: "That Zoro is also lying on the ground, burying his head. He didn't see anything either. It seems only Luffy and I saw it."
Nico Robin: "Ahahaha, it doesn't matter if Nami saw it; it should be said that only Luffy got the full benefit~"
Marshall D. Teach: "Too much! They actually blocked us from seeing this! Let Luffy enjoy it all alone, too much!"
Kali Bege: "Yes, truly too much!!"
Scratchmen Apoo: "Concur! Ah ah ah ah ah ah…!!"
"Ah…!!"
Perona shrieked in surprise, instantly crossing her arms and hugging herself.
Nami was incredibly embarrassed: "Oh! I… I'm so sorry… I didn't know it would have this effect!"
"Ghost Rocket!"
Perona had no time to consider whether Nami had done it on purpose. She instantly transformed into the shape of a spray-like aircraft and shot off into the distant horizon!
"Still looking! You're not allowed to look!"
Noticing Luffy was still staring in Perona's direction, Nami instantly covered Luffy's eyes with her two small hands…
Luffy explained, "No, I'm calculating the distance. I want to see if his ability disappears once it reaches a certain distance?"
"Alright then~~" Nami released her hands again~~
After Perona's Hollow form completely vanished from sight, the giant parasol on the ground began to stir noisily...
"The maximum effective range is about three thousand meters; after that, the Negative Hollows' effect will disappear~~" Luffy calmly analyzed.
"Ah! Damn it!!! What was I doing just now…? To actually have such ridiculous thoughts…!!!"
Wiping the dirt off his face, Zoro was completely bewildered.
That state of utter lack of fighting spirit just now was absolutely terrifying for him!!!
As a swordsman, that should absolutely never happen!!!
"Why did I suddenly lose all my fighting spirit and just fall to the ground?" Lucci 377 asked, confused, looking at his posture. This kneeling pose was a bit unexpected~~
At this moment, Brook crawled up from the ground, letting out a long sigh: "Phew…"
"…!! I've recovered!!! Negative Hollows are truly terrifying, they instantly dismantled our fighting spirit!"
"Negative Hollows? What are those?"
Lucci 377 was ambushed, so he hadn't even seen what the Negative Hollows looked like.
"They look like Hollows. When they touch us, we instantly become very negative!" Brook said.
"Wait!! Where are those Hollows? How did they disappear?"
Zoro looked around, asking confusedly~~
"Hmph hmph…!! Of course, it's because this Young Lady's Slip-Slip Fruit ability is too powerful, defeating both the Negative Hollows and their ability user!!!"
Nami patted her chest, saying proudly~~
"Hey! What's that! Where did those women's clothes come from?"
Suddenly, Zoro pointed to a spot not far away. On the ground there were clothes, socks, skirts, and so on, but they looked like energy constructs, not physical objects!!!
"What? Women's clothes…? Let me see if there are any nice panties…!!!"
Upon hearing this, Brook instantly perked up!!!
However… just as he cast his gaze in the direction Zoro pointed, those few items, which looked like energy forms of clothing, instantly vanished~~~
On the other side~~~
In an attic somewhere in Spirit City Castle, Perona, not a leaf touching her, escaped back through a window~~
The moment her Hollow form returned to her main body, those few Hollow-formed clothes also returned…
"Ah! Those hateful bastards!! I actually… I actually got… exposed…"
"Ahhhhhh!!!"
Perona's main body sat on the bed, her two small fists tightly clenched, as Perona frantically pounded the covers~~
She had originally planned to use her Negative Hollows to mess with Luffy and Nami!!!
But now… she had directly exposed all her secrets in front of Luffy and Nami!
The mere thought of her fleeing in such a disheveled state made Perona's cheeks flush instantly!!!
"Damn it, damn it!! How am I supposed to face them now…!!!"
Now, as long as she saw Luffy and Nami again, Perona would wish she could burrow into a hole in the ground. How could she possibly exert any combat power then~~
"No way! One of those two is so fast, and the other's Devil Fruit ability counters mine. I can't just sit here and wait to die!!"
Perona hurriedly got up from the bed and dragged a large treasure chest from the corner of the wall.
"My cooperation with Lord Moria was originally because there were many fun and scary zombies here. Now that there's a potential risk to my life, I'll retreat to a safe zone first!"
Perona no longer hesitated, swiftly taking a large chest of treasure and heading towards her small boat.
"Oh, right, I should leave a few Monitoring Hollows here. If that group of people is defeated by Lord Moria, I'll come back then!"
Halfway there, Perona released several small Monitoring Hollows, which flew towards various parts of Ghost Island…
Afterward, she boarded her personal small boat and sailed into the mist~~~
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