A girl with pink hair and twin ponytails, dressed in a Gothic lolita outfit, floated down from the sky. Four eerie ghosts swirled around her, a clear sign that she was the one who had just attacked them.
"Holo, holo, holo! I thought the Five Emperors were supposed to be so powerful, but you were so easy to knock down!" she chirped with a happy grin. "I'm one of Lord Warlord Moria's subordinates, Perona! I ate the Ghost-Ghost Fruit, so your normal attacks can't touch my ghosts!"
"You're so annoying! Get outta here!" Luffy yelled, swinging his arm back. He launched a Rubber-Rubber Pistol at her, but Perona just stood there and let the rubber fist pass right through her body without a single scratch.
"Negative Ghosts!" she cackled. The four ghosts zipped forward and passed through Luffy's body. The moment they did, Luffy's lively energy vanished. He dropped to the ground, utterly depressed.
"I wish I was a caterpillar in my next life," he mumbled, his face dark with despair.
Even though Luffy was strong, he couldn't handle this strange ability. But he snapped out of it quickly. Another ghost was heading his way, so he dodged it. The ghosts were fast, but they couldn't keep up with Luffy. Just like him, Sanji, Usopp, Nami, and Chopper all easily avoided the floating spirits.
After a few minutes, Perona started to get impatient. "Super-sized Ghost! Kamikaze Bomb!"
A gigantic ghost appeared, its mouth wide open as it swooped down to swallow Luffy and his crew. They quickly scattered, with the giant ghost relentlessly chasing them under Perona's command. Finally, the massive ghost slammed into the ground right in front of Luffy, causing a violent explosion. Of course, the explosion did nothing to harm Luffy.
"Hey! Luffy, Sanji! Find a way to deal with her!" Nami shouted, frustrated.
"Nami-san, you know I can't kick a woman," Sanji said, throwing his hands up in a helpless gesture.
It all came down to Luffy now. He was getting annoyed. He couldn't figure out how the Ghost-Ghost Fruit worked, and the fact that none of his physical attacks were working on her was infuriating.
Luffy finally lost his patience. "That's enough!" he roared, his eyes wide. "I won't hold back if you come at me again!"
As he spoke, a wave of Conqueror's Haki burst out from him. Perona's body shuddered, and then she and her ghosts started to fade, blurring until they vanished completely. It wasn't just Perona, either. The nearby zombies also froze, stunned by Luffy's powerful presence. Even though they were just corpses with shadows, they still had enough consciousness to be affected by his Haki.
"Huh? She's gone?" Luffy tilted his head, confused.
"I think that wasn't her real body," Usopp guessed. "Her real body must be hidden somewhere, and your Conqueror's Haki knocked her out. That's why the ghosts and the clone disappeared."
Sanji's eyes lit up. He instantly used his Observation Haki and located Perona. He walked over to a nearby wall, kicked a massive hole in it, and there she was, lying on a bed, completely unconscious. Usopp's guess had been right.
"Hahaha! So that's what happened!" Luffy laughed, a big grin spreading across his face. "Even though I still don't get it, I won, right?"
Sanji and the others just shook their heads. It was a good thing Luffy's Conqueror's Haki worked, because otherwise, Perona would have been incredibly tough to beat.
"Usopp," Nami commanded, "put a Seastone bracelet on her. We're going to get some information out of her about Moria's treasure!"
Without a second thought, Usopp pulled out his bag. Because of their abilities, only Luffy could safely touch the Seastone bracelet.
Luffy took the bracelet, put it on Perona's wrist, and then tried to wake her up by patting her face. But no matter how hard he patted, she wouldn't stir. He kept going, until the girl's face was red and swollen.
Sanji kicked Luffy away. "Don't be so rough with a lady!" he snapped. He knelt beside the bed and looked at Perona. The little girl was actually quite pretty. She was a bit young, so her body hadn't developed yet, and her dark makeup hid her natural beauty.
"I didn't expect a sleeping beauty to be under all that makeup," Sanji said with a soft smile. "It's time for the beautiful lady to wake up."
Perona's body shivered as if she'd gotten goosebumps. She opened her eyes, saw Sanji, and screamed in terror. "Get away, you creep!"
Sanji's face instantly went dark. Who was she calling a creep?!
Perona soon realized she had no strength and that her Devil Fruit ability was gone. She looked at the bracelet on her wrist and knew at once it was made of Seastone. She was a prisoner now.
"Wha-what are you going to do?" she stammered, covering herself. "Don't get any ideas! Even though I'm a super-invincible girl, I'll never give in to you evil guys!"
"What are you even talking about?" Nami said, pushing Sanji aside. A smirk appeared on her face. "Listen up, little princess. Tell us where Moria's treasure is, and I'll think about letting you go."
Perona looked at her, then shook her head defiantly. "So you're after Lord Moria's treasure? I'll never tell you!"
"If you don't talk, I'll get rough!" Nami threatened.
"I'll die before I talk!" Perona insisted. "Lord Moria has always been kind to me! I would never do anything to betray him!"
Nami was a little surprised by her firm loyalty. This was going to be difficult.
"Nami," Luffy said softly, pulling his straw hat down. "If that's the case, let's just find it ourselves."
"But that's going to waste so much time..." Nami protested.
"We can't just force someone to betray the person who was kind to them," Luffy said. "We can't ruin someone's loyalty."
Since Luffy had put it that way, Nami had no choice but to drop it. The ship wasn't that big, and finding the treasure wouldn't be impossible. She decided not to be too hard on the girl.
Perona stared at Luffy, stunned. She'd expected the Five Emperors to be easy to beat, but she'd been knocked out with a single attack. Now, she was even more surprised by his mercy. She realized she had seriously underestimated him. Even so, she was worried about Moria.
"Umm, Straw Hat Luffy," she said nervously. "Could you please spare Lord Moria's life?"
Luffy just smiled. "Like I said, I'm just here for his treasure. But if he's a bad guy, then I'll beat him up with my own two hands!"
"No one's worse than the Five Emperors!" Perona thought.
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