"Captain, we've restrained all the pirate-looking guys."
"Good work. From the ship... ah, I've also mostly recovered the spoils of war other than the plunder from this island."
Now that the combat that also served as training was over, Daz and I had finished restraining all the pirates who had controlled the island and recovered what we were after.
"So then."
"Mm?"
"I'd like an explanation soon."
"...I'd think you'd catch on quickly, considering."
After all, you're someone who ate something incredible.
"It's a Devil Fruit ability. Probably."
"...There are things like this too?"
"That's right. Everyone being listless—listless? Or rather, in a depressed state, is because when you touch these ghosts..."
Poof
"If I could be reborn, I'd want to be a sea cucumber... I want to become a sea cucumber and sink to the bottom of the ocean to live quietly."
"Why did you deliberately touch it, Captain?"
Gasp! Th-that was dangerous, I was completely down. Thanks to Daz shaking me, I managed to recover somehow. No, I thought hands-on experience would be fastest, but this is way harder to resist than I expected.
As expected from a woman who could completely shut down the Straw Hat crew if only Usopp wasn't there. Too dangerous. Let's recruit her.
"H-Hey, you touched that curse but are you okay now?"
"Curse? Ah, well... if I get stimulation from outside, I can manage somehow. ...What about you?"
If I let my guard down I might get a bit negative again, but I can endure it somehow. ..However, in a one-on-one situation or if the other members were all wiped out, I'd probably be done for.
I can only see a future of being easily captured or killed.
"I'm the one who serves as this village's leader. Sorry, thank you for restraining the pirates... we're saved thanks to you."
"It was a devil fruit user who defeated them, right? Where are they? I'd like to thank them for saving us the trouble."
I don't know Kuro's actual age in the series, but he should be over his mid-twenties. And if I'm about 13 now, that's at least 10+ years before the original story. Perona is... how old is she supposed to be? Well, assuming she's a teenager, she'd be a child now.
I thought recruitment would be tough, but...
Curse, huh
It might be difficult to recruit her in a different sense.
"Don't bother! You shouldn't meet that kid!"
"Nothing good has happened since that girl was cursed!"
At the villagers' chorus of criticism, Daz raises his eyebrows slightly. Stay, stay Daz.
I thought it would be more well-known compared to the East, but prejudice against Devil Fruit Users is still strong
The translucent ghosts. Were they called Negative Ghosts? They've been staring at us while muttering "negative, negative" this whole time.
No intention to attack. Despite that, earlier not just the pirates but the villagers were also affected...
"I have a question. Answer me."
"Wh-what is it, mister?"
"Besides money and food, what else did the pirates demand from you people?"
–
I managed to get just the location out of them. On the back side of the island, in a hut in a small mountain—that's where she lives—it was indeed Perona—so we were doing some hiking.
The base establishment I had originally planned is out of the question. These people would probably flip their agreement later even if they agreed to negotiations.
"...I see, a haunted house."
Seeing its ramshackle state, Daz mutters as if he couldn't help himself... yeah... that's right. As expected from a woman whose hobbies were completely devoted to the occult. Living in a house like this would lead to such hobbies... would it?
I knock as gently as possible on the door that looks like it might collapse if I knock too carelessly. ...There's no response.
"You know from watching with that ability, don't you? I'm the one who landed on this island earlier."
Hmm, having absolutely no response is troublesome. Should I keep talking?
"Captain."
Daz speaks with a slightly panicked voice.
"Don't worry about it. From her perspective, being cautious is only natural."
Before I knew it, we were surrounded by an incredible number of Negative Ghosts. However, this is naturally something I was prepared for.
Perona is worth taking this level of risk for.
"First, let me thank you. They were originally the guys we were targeting, but thanks to you, we saved a lot of trouble."
The main objectives of practical training and gaining fame are no longer possible, but oh well. There'll be other chances.
"On top of that, I have a proposal. Won't you come out to sea with us?"
Ghosts, there are so many ghosts. They keep increasing at an incredible rate. If it's just getting depressed, you could say it's not really a problem, but that rap is scary.
"Earlier, you attacked not just the pirates but the villagers too—you must have heard it, right?"
"How the villagers didn't hesitate to try to hand you over to the pirates who demanded you."
The door that had remained closed slowly creaked open.
"...Come in."
A small, young girl's voice spoke.
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