After making a pinky promise with El, Perona felt most of her fear toward him melt away.
At the same time, the discomfort she had felt about being "forced" to join his crew disappeared as well.
In its place grew a strange but sincere sense of mission.
Joining El's crew was no longer just for herself.
It was also to protect Moria-sama—to help him if he ever faced an enemy he could not defeat.
As that thought took shape, Perona—whose way of thinking had always been a little peculiar—felt an inexplicable surge of pride and satisfaction.
Seeing the change in her emotions, El smiled inwardly.
As expected… the girls around me are never simple.
Fortunately, Perona had been taken in by Gecko Moria when she was still a child.
Now, she had been "kidnapped" by him instead.
If she had fallen into the hands of someone else, she might have been sold off—
and still helped count the money afterward.
With Perona's addition, the crew officially expanded from four to five members.
A little over a year had passed since El first went to sea.
In just that short time, he had gone from traveling alone to becoming a pirate with a 250 million Belly bounty, accompanied by four Devil Fruit users—
two high-level elemental users
and two top-tier Paramecia users
If not for the fact that El would only be ten years old in a few months, he would already qualify as a true "winner in life."
To help Perona settle emotionally, El carried the unconscious Gecko Moria back to his room in the castle.
He then found the genius surgeon Doctor Hogback, who had been hiding, and ordered him to treat Moria's injuries.
After that, El deliberately left Perona some private time to say goodbye.
Finally, the four of them cremated the body of Shimotsuki Ryuma.
Throughout the process, El never told Kuina that the corpse belonged to her ancestor.
Since Koushirou had never told Kuina about their connection to Wano, El had no intention of speaking out of turn.
When they eventually returned to East Blue, he would have a proper talk with Koushirou.
After Ryuma's cremation, El and the three girls went to the treasury and took all the wealth Gecko Moria had accumulated over a year in the Florian Triangle.
Just as El had told Perona—
In the pirate world, the winner takes everything.
If both sides were evenly matched, El wouldn't have minded trading treasure for Shusui.
But Gecko Moria simply didn't have the strength.
Now that he had been defeated, his fate—and the fate of his fleet—was entirely in El's hands.
If El wished, he could execute him.
If he didn't, Moria would live.
In exchange for his life, El took Perona and the treasure.
After emptying the Gecko Pirates' treasury, Perona bid farewell to her former companions.
She left a letter beside the still-unconscious Gecko Moria, packed a suitcase of clothes and shoes—
And quietly stepped into a new life.
After returning to the Pegasus, El and the four girls sailed out of Thriller Bark and headed back toward Water 7 along their original route.
Nami and Kuina took the helm.
Meanwhile, El and Carina brought Perona up to the upper deck and let her choose a room.
Back in Alabasta, El had already considered the possibility of recruiting someone like Nico Robin in the future.
Naturally, the ship had been designed with expansion in mind.
The upper deck contained:
five separate rooms, and
several connected luxury suites
El and the three girls—accustomed to staying in luxury suites whenever they landed on islands—naturally chose to live together.
They were already used to sleeping in the same suite, and whenever they woke up separately, they would simply wander into El's room and cause trouble.
Perona, who had yet to fully integrate into the group, didn't dare choose the large suite.
She picked a separate room instead.
By the time the Pegasus left the Florian Triangle, dusk had fallen.
After settling her belongings, Perona stepped out onto the balcony.
Below on the deck, she saw the four of them barbecuing together.
"Perona—come over," El called out.
"Let's get to know each other properly."
Sensing Perona's presence, El—who was slicing meat with Kuina using impeccable knife skills—waved at her.
"O-Oh… okay!"
Perona replied blankly, then hurried down the stairs.
When she reached them, El set down the knife and began introducing everyone.
"My name is El."
He pointed in turn.
"The one cutting meat is Kuina.
The purple-haired girl stringing the meat is Carina.
And the orange-haired one tending the fire is Nami."
"Hehe—please take care of me in the future, Perona," Carina said warmly.
"Same here," Nami added with a bright smile.
Kuina, ever straightforward, also put down her knife and smiled.
"I'm sorry if I scared you earlier."
"N-No… it's fine."
Looking at the sincere expressions of the three girls, Perona felt warmth spread through her chest.
Back on Thriller Bark, she had never truly had friends her own age—
not even with the Moria she respected most.
The unfamiliar feeling left her momentarily speechless.
But deep down…
She didn't hate it.
"P-Please take care of me… from now on."
Perona bowed politely to the three girls, smiling for real this time.
She hadn't questioned how they already knew her name.
Obviously, they must have learned it from Absalom or Gecko Moria.
After all—
No one here knew that the boy beside them possessed the ability to read memories.
With the introductions complete, a special welcome banquet for Perona officially began.
Author's Note
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