"Hey, little girl… can that ghost of yours really make people sink into negativity?"
"!!!"
The moment the voice brushed against her ear, Perona's smug smile froze solid, her triumphant expression locking in place as if carved from stone.
At the same time, the zombies hauling treasure trembled and screamed in panic.
"Lady Perona, y-you… you've got someone behind you!!"
"Run for your life!! Lady Perona!!!!"
Hearing the frantic shouts, Perona sucked in a sharp breath. Her neck turned—slowly, stiffly—toward the source of the sound.
And when she finally saw who stood behind her, her eyes flew wide open in pure terror.
Because these two men—zombies might not recognize them, but she absolutely did.
The zombies cried out again in sheer panic:
"Lady Perona, be careful! These two aren't normal at all!
They just walked straight through here—didn't do anything—and our brothers dropped unconscious one after another!
No resistance! None at all!"
Perona swallowed hard, her voice trembling.
"Of course they're not ordinary…
One of them is the Marine Headquarters Admiral who shook the world again two years ago after defeating the Red-Haired Emperor's crew—'White Qilin,' 'Heaven-Shaking' Gern Reginald Sigmar!!
And the other is… the world's strongest swordsman—'Hawk-Eye' Dracule Mihawk!!
They're not even on the same level as Lord Moria.
To put it another way… Lord Moria doesn't even have the right to stand in front of them."
The instant those words left her mouth, the zombies erupted into chaos and fled in all directions.
In their minds, Moria was the strongest being there was.
And if even the mighty Lord Moria wasn't worthy of standing before these two…Then just how terrifying were they?!
"O-oh my god…"From the raised platform nearby, Nami clapped a hand over her mouth as she stared at Gern's familiar face, shock written all over her features.
Back in front of the Thousand Sunny, Gern straightened slowly, looking down at the frozen Perona from above.
Despite the overwhelming pressure he radiated, his face wore a strangely gentle smile—one completely at odds with the fear he inspired.
"Has Gecko Moria already been defeated by the Straw Hat kid?" Gern asked calmly, as if he were merely confirming an unimportant detail.
Perona stared at the two men who should never have been here, her mind racing at breakneck speed.
That pressure… it's terrifying! Especially this smiling one…I only followed Lord Moria because it seemed fun. If my life's actually in danger, there's no reason to stay here at all.
Survival instinct crushed everything else in an instant.
Perona immediately put on an expression that screamed I barely know that guy, planting her hands on her hips and trying to look righteous.
"Hmph! Whether that useless Moria wins or loses has nothing to do with me!
I cut ties with him a long time ago!
Right now—this instant—I'm leaving this dump!
I have absolutely nothing to do with Gecko Moria anymore! Got it?!"
Her words came out sharp and decisive—far too eager to distance herself.
Gern's smile only deepened.
"Oh?" He deliberately drew out the word, a hint of playful amusement in his voice."That's what you said~"
Then he casually turned his head and patted the shoulder of the man beside him.
"Mihawk, this girl's interesting. Quick thinker, too.
I like her. I'm taking her with me.
Keep an eye on her for me—don't let her run."
The moment those words fell, the entire scene plunged into an eerie silence.
Mihawk: "?????"
For once, the world's greatest swordsman's eternally impassive face cracked—just slightly.Blank disbelief flickered through his golden eyes as he looked at Gern, as if checking whether he'd misheard.
"…You want me to watch this child?"
Perona: "?????"
Her mind went completely blank.
Take me… with him? He likes me?
This dangerous man wants to abduct me—and have the world's strongest swordsman guard me?!
Even the zombies who'd been too terrified to run froze on the spot.
One zombie holding a treasure chest loosened its grip, gold coins spilling across the ground—but it didn't even notice, muttering dazedly:
"W-What… why did this turn into casual conversation?
Is the Navy… recruiting Lady Perona?
What is even happening?!
Isn't this plot development a little too abrupt?!"
Perona snapped back to her senses, pride blazing as the "Ghost Princess."
"What do you mean, take me with you?!" she shouted, twin-tails practically bristling as her delicate face flushed red."You self-important bastard! Who'd ever go with a dangerous guy like you?!
I'm not going anywhere with you!"
Living for so long in the isolated hellscape of Thriller Bark—combined with absolute confidence in her Negative Hollow powers…
After all, even monsters like Straw Hat Luffy couldn't withstand them.
Perona now brimmed with reckless confidence, fearless like a newborn calf.
No matter how terrifying his aura is—if my ghost passes through him, he'll collapse all the same!
"Take this!" she cried, flinging her arms forward."Negative Hollow!!"
Dozens of translucent white ghosts cackled with eerie laughter—"Yohororororo!"—as they surged straight toward Gern!
Beside him, Mihawk didn't even bother lifting his eyelids, arms crossed, showing no intention of intervening.
"Hah. That level of interference could never—"
In his eyes, a purely mental disruption like this had no chance against someone of Gern's caliber.
It wouldn't even get close.
Nami, watching nervously from afar, thought the same.So did the dumbfounded zombies.
This was a man who could grievously wound an Emperor of the Sea!
There was no way—
And yet…
Just as everyone—everyone except Perona herself—expected the Negative Hollows to be blown away by invisible Haki or sheer presence…
The unthinkable happened.
"Bang!"
Gern didn't defend.He didn't dodge.
He simply stood there, allowing the leading Negative Hollows to pass straight through his body.
Then—under Mihawk's suddenly frozen stare, Nami's jaw dropping open, and the zombies' collective disbelief—
The fearsome "Heaven-Shaking" Gern's legs buckled.
"Thump!"
He collapsed face-first onto the cold ground in a perfect Orz pose.
He even weakly pounded the ground with his fist, lifting a face drenched in utter despair as he wailed miserably:
"Damn it… why am I so strong…
Why do I have to carry so many responsibilities… so many expectations…
What's the point of living like this…"
"I wish I weren't this strong…
If I were just an ordinary fisherman, soaking up the sun, catching fish every day…
How easy that would be…"
"I'm so useless…
I can't even make myself weaker…
I'm completely worthless~"
For a long moment, Mihawk's crossed arms hung stiffly in midair, his eyes filled with confusion—and an overwhelming urge to complain.
He stared at Gern sprawled on the ground, drowning in negativity, veins threatening to pop on his forehead.
What the hell?!
You dropped in one hit?!
Are you messing with me right now?!
The shock ripping through the world's strongest swordsman at that moment far surpassed anything he'd felt facing a powerful enemy.
Perona stood there, stunned, staring at the utterly broken Gern, whose negativity exceeded anything she'd ever inflicted before.
Her small mouth hung open.
"Th-this… isn't the effect a little too good?
Even a Marine Admiral can't handle it?!
Is my power actually this incredible?!
I—Perona—am stronger than a Marine Admiral?!"