"Find something to replace it, huh."
Franky looked around and said, "I'll go search and see if there are any barrels or something like that."
Although a barrel might not necessarily restrain the opponent, it could at least temporarily lock them up, which would be enough.
"Oh, then I'll leave it to you!" Luffy laughed.
Hearing this, Franky smiled and then headed toward the wreckage of the warship nearby, intending to see if there was anything useful.
"Hey, hey, hey, Straw Hat Boy, wait a minute!" Several Marines from the G-5 Branch rushed toward Luffy, saying, "Caesar should be arrested by us, the Marines!"
"That's right, we still need to find out the whereabouts of Vice Admiral Vergo from this guy, so we absolutely cannot hand him over to you!"
"Exactly!"
"Straw Hat Boy, prepare yourself!"
Seeing the Marines charging toward Luffy, Perona immediately frowned.
"Are you trying to steal our victory?"
As she spoke, Perona flew up, blocking the path of these Marines.
Then, Perona summoned some Explosion Ghosts, making them float around her, creating an overwhelming sense of pressure. "Damn it, this Ghost Woman..."
The Marines' expressions immediately turned grim at the sight, but they didn't dare to charge forward anymore.
After all... this woman was as troublesome as a Logia type!
Seeing this, Perona mocked, "Looks like you're not as tough as I thought."
"Hara hara hara~"
The mocked Marines' expressions turned even uglier.
"Damn it, if only we had brought Sea Stone with us..."
If they had known the enemy would be this troublesome, they would have brought Sea Stone when they left the warship!
Damn it, damn it!
"Luffy, leave these guys to me," Perona said without looking back. "You just focus on restraining that guy."
But what puzzled Perona was that this time, she didn't get a response from Luffy.
Perona: ??
What's going on? Why isn't he answering her?
As she wondered, Perona glanced back to check the situation, and her expression immediately changed.
From her perspective, Luffy was clutching his neck, his face twisted in extreme pain.
"Luffy?!"
"Hey, Luffy, what's wrong with you?"
Why did Luffy suddenly become like this?
Could there be another enemy here?
Thinking this, Perona scanned her surroundings, trying to find the hidden foe.
"Shurororororo~"
"I really am being underestimated."
"Was it you?!"
Hearing Caesar's voice, Perona said with a grim expression, "What did you do?"
"Shurororororo~"
"Of course, it's the power of science!" Caesar smirked.
The Gas-Gas Fruit might only be a poison gas ability in someone else's hands, but in his hands, it becomes a deadly weapon!
Shurororororo~
"Damn it, we still underestimated him." Franky, who had arrived at Perona's side with Nico Robin, said with a grim expression, "Move! Get Luffy out of there!"
"Right!"
With that, the three of them quickly charged toward Caesar, clearly intending to rescue Luffy.
"Shurororororo~"
"Do you really think I'd let you succeed?" Caesar sneered.
As he spoke, he slowly raised his hand toward Franky and the other two.
"Don't even think about it!" Perona shouted.
As her voice fell, several Negative Spirits flew out from around her, heading straight for Caesar high above.
"Tch."
Seeing this, Caesar spat in annoyance, then transformed his body into gas and shot upward, dodging Perona's attack.
"Now's our chance!" Franky's eyes lit up.
With that, he and Nico Robin rushed to Luffy's side, hoisting him onto their shoulders.
Seeing this, Perona breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You two get Luffy out of here. I'll hold this guy off."
After speaking, Perona fixed her gaze firmly on Caesar hovering in mid-air, preventing him from attacking Franky and the others.
"Shurororororo~"
"I admit your ability is quite troublesome, but..." Caesar, clenching his fist, looked mockingly at Perona and said, "Aren't you underestimating me a bit?"
Thinking you can stop me with just your Ghost ability?
Don't be ridiculous!
"I'm not underestimating you," Perona stared intently at Caesar and said, "It's just that I..."
Thud~
Thud~
Before Perona could finish her sentence, two dull thuds echoed.
And those sounds came from Luffy's direction!
As if realizing something, Perona's expression changed. "Robin?"
This time, she received no response.
"Shurororororo~"
"I told you," Caesar sneered, glancing at the three fallen figures. "You underestimated me too much!"
Against a genius scientist like him, that level of strength simply isn't enough!
Shurororororo~
"You bastard, what did you do?!" Perona roared angrily.
Why did her three companions collapse so inexplicably?
Why?
Were they poisoned?
If that's the case, they'd need to find Chopper or Meiser.
After all... she couldn't cure poison!
"Shurororororo~"
"Nothing much, just removed the air around them," Caesar said with a smirk. "And now... it's your turn!"
As his words fell, Caesar clenched his hand fiercely toward Perona!
In the next moment, all the air in the area where Perona stood was sucked away, turning it into an "airless world"!
The Marines from the G-5 Branch, sensing the change in the environment, immediately clutched their throats, their expressions gradually contorting.
"This..."
Glancing at the changes in the people around her, Perona's pupils contracted. "Is this the result of removing the air?"
No wonder Luffy and the others suddenly clutched their throats and collapsed—it was because there was no air left!
"What a terrifying ability..."
"Hmm?"
Seeing Perona completely unaffected, Caesar's smile instantly froze on his face.
Then, he asked in disbelief, "Why are you unharmed?"
He had removed all the air from the entire area!
Why wasn't that woman suffocating?
Even if her ability allows her body to become ghostified, she should still need to breathe, right?
But now... What exactly is going on?
A trace of confusion also appeared in Perona's eyes.
Yes, why is she unaffected?
Clearly, the Marines from the G-5 Branch nearby have fainted due to the lack of air, yet she...
What exactly is going on?
At this moment, Perona's heart was filled with doubt.
"Wait a minute..." Caesar's pupils suddenly contracted as if he had realized something. "Could it be that when you turn into a ghost state, you not only remain unaffected by the physical world but also don't need to breathe?"
"Breathe?"
Perona was stunned for a moment, then said with some surprise, "I really hadn't noticed that until you mentioned it..."
""
Thinking about it carefully, when she is in her ghost state, it is indeed different from usual.
It's just that she had grown accustomed to it before, so she didn't pay much attention.
"Damn it, how can there be such an absurd ability in this world?!" Caesar exclaimed in frustration.
Ignoring physical limitations is one thing, but not needing to breathe... Isn't that invincible?!
"Hara hara hara~"
"My ability is still quite impressive, isn't it?" Perona said with a smug smile. "It seems... there's nothing you can do about me."
Great, now she can defeat him!!
"If I had known your ability was this absurd, I would have dealt with you first," Caesar said with a grim expression.
Now, his ability is basically useless against this person.
As for Haki?
He doesn't know how to use it!
Sea Stone could target this person, but the problem is he wouldn't carry something that counters him!
Thinking of this, Caesar's expression grew even uglier.
Just then, a few Half-Goat People took out several long spears and slowly walked toward Perona.
Seeing this, Caesar's eyes flickered.
That weapon is... a Sea Stone Net!
Heh, it seems these useless creatures still have some use after all.
Understanding what they intended to do, Caesar suddenly laughed and said, "Woman, although my ability can't do much to you, your ability can't kill me either."
"How do you know I don't know Haki?" Perona retorted. "What if I'm a Haki expert?"
"If you truly mastered Haki, you would have already charged at me by now," Caesar sneered.
His ability couldn't restrain her, which meant she could rush up to him at any moment!
So why hadn't she done it?
Simple—she didn't know Haki!
Only then would she dare not recklessly charge at him to attack, because she knew her attacks would be ineffective!
As for that Negative Spirit?
As long as he wasn't restrained by Haki, he could turn into air to dodge it, so he didn't need to worry about that thing.
Perhaps she had realized this, which was why she wasn't in a hurry to attack.
Yes, Perona was indeed thinking exactly that.
But Perona was thinking even more than Caesar!
She was thinking that she needed to buy enough time so that the three of them—Luffy and the others—might wake up.
And also... Meiser and the others could appear here at any moment!
So she had no intention of fighting this Caesar guy to the death—she'd drag it out as long as she could.
"Damn it, if only I knew Haki," Perona grumbled inwardly.
If she knew Haki, she wouldn't need to go through all this trouble—she'd just charge right at him!
"You're stalling for time, aren't you?" Caesar said, narrowing his eyes.
The moment he said that, Perona's pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints.
She'd been found out!
"Shurororororo~"
"Seems I was right~" Caesar smirked.
With that, Caesar landed not far from Luffy and the others, raised the castanets in his hand toward them, and said, "What do you think will happen if I attack them now?"
"Shurororororo~"
As soon as he finished speaking, Caesar slowly raised a finger, looking as if he were about to ignite the gas around them.
Seeing this, Perona charged toward Caesar without hesitation, shouting, "Stop right there!"
"Negative Swarm!"
"Bzzz~"
In the next moment, a swarm of Negative Spirits rushed toward Caesar.
If even one of them touched him, she was confident she could make him kneel obediently!
"Tch, what an annoying ability."
Caesar, who had seen Perona's Ghosts with his own eyes, spat in disgust before vanishing into thin air.
Seizing this opportunity, Perona quickly appeared beside Luffy and the others.
She then turned to stay alert for Caesar's next move.
But before she could fully turn around, she heard the sound of cannons firing.
"Dammit!"
Without a second thought, Perona immediately released an Explosion Ghost, hurling Luffy and the others away to prevent them from being injured by the cannonballs.
Then, Perona confidently turned and said, "You just wait..."
Before she could finish her sentence, she realized something had struck her.
Perona: ??
She... had been hit?
Pinned to the ground by the Sea Stone Net, Perona's face was full of question marks—she never expected to be caught like this.
Then, a wave of weakness washed over her, making her realize what had just happened.
"Sea... Sea Stone?"
Growing weaker by the second, Perona glared at Caesar in the distance and said, "Hmph... How despicable..."
She never expected them to attack with a Sea Stone Net this time.
"Despicable?"
"Shurororororo~"
"Woman, you're a pirate," Caesar mocked, looking at Perona. "As a pirate yourself, isn't it a bit hypocritical to call me despicable?"
Being a pirate is a despicable profession in itself!
And now she had the nerve to call him despicable... How laughable!
"The master is right!" a living goat-man chimed in. "A pirate has no right to say such things!"
"That's right, that's right!"
Hearing those words, Perona's expression instantly turned even uglier.
She'd been careless...
Who would've thought these guys had a Sea Stone Net?
That's just cheating!
"Damn it, just you wait!" Perona gritted her teeth.
"Wait?"
Caesar sneered. "You don't actually think I'd give you a chance to escape, do you?
"Don't make me laugh!"
After a cold laugh, Caesar clenched his hand toward Perona, using his ability to strip the air from the area where she was.
"Urk..."
Feeling the air vanish, Perona's face gradually turned pale.
Now she understood why Luffy and the others had fainted.
Damn it... Zoro, hurry up and save us...
With that thought, Perona lost consciousness.
"Shurororororo~"
"What an interesting fight~" Caesar laughed.
"Master, how should we deal with them?"
"Tie them all up," Caesar said. "Use Seastone Chains to restrain the Devil Fruit users."
"Aren't we going to kill them?"
"Of course not~" Caesar smirked. "These are all excellent experimental subjects~"
He would use their lives to demonstrate the power of his weapons!
Shurororororo~
"What about these Marines?" a goat-man pointed at the G-5 Branch Marines nearby. "What should we do with them?"
Hearing his words, the G-5 Branch Marines immediately tensed up. Were they going to be killed by this guy too?
Damn it...
Lieutenant Commander Vergo, where on earth have you gone?!
"Marines...
"Tch."
Caesar glanced at the G-5 Branch Marines and sneered. "Ignore them. They won't last much longer."
"Alright, take these guys back now to avoid any danger."
"If anything happens to you, I'd be devastated~"
"Shurororororo~"
"Yes, Master!"
Watching the man standing there laughing wildly, the soldiers under Caesar's command couldn't help but shed tears.
This was their savior!