Inside the corridor of the massive building, Nami and the others were sprinting down the stairs at full speed, as if something terrifying were chasing them from behind.
"What the hell was that thing just now?!" Nami cried out in panic.
That gigantic corpse—
it had actually been awakened using Luffy's shadow?!
That enormous body had to be dozens of meters tall!
Something that huge could really be revived by a shadow?!
Just how far did Gecko Moria's ability go?!
"You're not getting away!!"
Perona's shadow chased after them from behind as she shouted angrily.
"You actually hid inside Kumashi's body—unforgivable!"
Now she finally understood why Kumashi had been acting strange earlier.
Someone had been hiding inside him!
"Oh no—she caught up!" Usopp's face changed drastically. "Run!!"
He had seen with his own eyes what her ability did.
The moment that ghost passed through Chopper, Chopper became completely depressed—so hopeless he wouldn't even resist being killed.
If Usopp hadn't thrown a smoke bomb in time to disrupt her vision, they wouldn't have made it this far at all.
"You can't escape!" Perona laughed. "Just stay right here!"
As she spoke, her gaze locked firmly onto Merry.
In her mind, she couldn't help recalling what Lord Moria had said earlier.
'Such a cute little girl… want to join me?'
And yet—
that girl had refused?!
Lord Moria rarely invited anyone personally, and she actually said no?!
That irritated Perona.
She decided the girl clearly needed to learn how to properly get along with Lord Moria—
so she wouldn't be so disrespectful after the Straw Hats were wiped out.
"We're not staying!" Usopp shouted, raising his slingshot.
"Only idiots stay behind!"
"Special Attack—Smoke Star!"
Bang!
The pellet exploded on the stairway, instantly filling the area with thick smoke.
"Now—move!"
Usopp turned and bolted.
Unfortunately, smoke meant absolutely nothing to a ghost.
"Horahorahora~"
"Long Nose, your attack is useless!"
Perona laughed as she charged straight through the smoke, raising her hand.
"Negative Hollow — Impact!"
Buzz—
She grabbed a small ghost and hurled it like a cannonball.
Whoosh!
Thump!
It passed straight through Nami's body.
"Ugh…"
Nami staggered, then collapsed into a squat, her shoulders slumped.
"If there's a next life… please let me be poor…"
"…Huh?!"
Usopp stared at her in disbelief.
She actually said something like that?!
But what shocked him even more—
was that right after saying it, Nami suddenly jolted upright.
"Damn it!!"
"I refuse to be poor!!"
In that instant, Nami's mental state surged to its absolute peak.
Usopp: !!!
Perona: ???
Both stared at her in shock.
But unlike Usopp, Perona was stunned for a different reason—
she couldn't believe someone recovered this fast.
Her Negative Hollows were extremely powerful.
Anyone hit should stay depressed for a long time.
Yet this woman—
Who exactly is she?!
"I don't get it, but let's go!" Usopp shouted.
He turned and ran without hesitation.
Nami didn't immediately follow. She spun around and glared at Perona.
"If you dare touch my money—"
"I'll never forgive you!"
For Nami, touching her money was basically touching her life.
Especially her future money.
With that, she bolted off.
Perona: ...
Is this woman insane?
Her obsession with money is so strong she can resist Negative Hollows?!
Just how much does she love money?!
"…I'll switch targets," Perona muttered.
She raised her hand and aimed at Usopp.
Whoosh—!
Thump!
"Usopp!!"
Chopper panicked and rushed toward him.
If Usopp was left behind now, he'd be dead for sure!
As if confirming their fears, several zombies suddenly rushed in behind Perona, snarling viciously.
"Graaah!"
"Horahorahora~" Perona laughed, hands on her hips.
"You've got nowhere left to run!"
She didn't care why that woman resisted her ability.
The zombies could handle the rest.
Chopper ran up to Usopp, ready to carry him—
"…Eh?"
Usopp looked completely fine.
Chopper's eyes widened in disbelief.
Why was Usopp totally unaffected?!
Nami at least snapped out of it because of money—
but Usopp seemed completely immune?!
"I…"
Usopp blinked.
He really didn't feel anything at all.
He glanced down at himself, then looked at Chopper.
"Let's go. Now."
"…What?!"
Perona stared at him in disbelief.
"Why doesn't it work on you either?!"
Unwilling to accept it, she released all five of her ghosts at once.
They passed through Usopp again and again—
but nothing happened.
"Why?!" Perona screamed.
"WHY ARE YOU FINE?!"
That woman was already strange enough—
but this man was outright immune?!
"What kind of pirates are you people?!"
Usopp suddenly stopped and turned around.
"Want to know why?"
"O-of course!!" Perona shouted, her mouth stretched wide in shock.
"What is wrong with all of you?!"
A ninja who could trap her in terrifying illusions.
A woman whose love of money broke negativity itself.
And now—
a man immune to despair?!
"What kind of freak crew is this?!"
Usopp crossed his arms proudly.
"That's because…"
"I'm already extremely negative!!!"
"WHAAAT?!"
Perona's eyes bulged, tears and snot flying everywhere.
This man—negative to the very core—
had dealt her devastating psychological damage.
"You…"
Even Nami and the others stared at Usopp blankly.
They knew he complained a lot—
but who could've imagined that his negativity had reached this level?!
"So your technique is useless against me, Ghost Girl!" Usopp declared.
He looked like a peerless master—
except his power came from being depressed.
The atmosphere turned incredibly awkward.
Even the zombies didn't know how to react.
"…That's kind of sad."
"Yeah…"
"Man, want to join us?"
"Like hell I would!"
"T-try your best…" Perona muttered weakly.
"What?"
"TRY YOUR BEST!!" she cried, tears streaming.
"Don't give up on life, Long Nose!!"
"Don't encourage me!!" Usopp screamed back.
This negativity was his greatest defense—he wasn't about to lose it!
"Enough! Ignore them—let's find Luffy and Jin first!" Nami shouted.
"Yeah!"
Chopper, carrying Merry, ran after her.
Usopp glanced back at the zombies.
"You guys…"
"Mm?" they replied eagerly.
"…Bye!!"
"WHAT?!"
The zombies stared in disbelief.
"Hey! You're just leaving like that?!"
They'd tried so hard to encourage him!
Perona finally snapped out of it and took a deep breath.
"After them! Don't let them escape!"
That long-nosed man was pitiful—
but that didn't mean she'd let them go.
Everyone except the little girl would become zombie materials!
"ROAR!!"
The zombies charged down the stairs—
then suddenly screamed and turned back in terror.
"Huh?" Perona frowned. "What's wrong?"
"I-it's that man who breathes fire!!" a zombie screamed.
They were survivors from the front gate.
They knew better than anyone how terrifying that ninja was.
"…Eh?!"
"The fire guy?!"
Perona's face went pale.
"That means… that ninja is here?!"
Her body floated downward slightly as she cautiously peeked ahead.
The moment she saw Jin—
her face turned green.
"It's you again!!" she shrieked.
"You demon!!"
Her gaze met his blood-red eyes.
In her vision, those eyes rapidly expanded—
and in the next instant, she saw something unimaginably horrifying.
"AAAAH!!!"
"GIANT COCKROACHES!!!"
"PLEASE STOP CHASING ME!!"
Perona burst into tears and fled without looking back.
As for the zombies—
the instant they saw Jin, all thoughts of fighting vanished.
They ran even faster than her.
"…What's her problem?" Chopper muttered blankly.
That terrifying ghost girl had been scared away by a single glance?
"Probably illusion," Nami guessed.
She knew Jin could use genjutsu.
Against ghosts, his abilities might be a perfect counter.
"With Jin here, we're safe," Usopp sighed in relief.
Jin's strength was something he trusted completely.
"So she's the one controlling the ghosts," Jin said thoughtfully.
"She doesn't look like a kid, though."
If anything, she seemed about the same age as Nami.
Then why was she terrified of cockroaches?
She wasn't even afraid of zombies…
Maybe growing up around zombies because of Moria made her immune to them?
That explanation oddly made sense.
"A scary ability user who's afraid of cockroaches…" Lola said in surprise.
"That's unexpected."
"She's probably Moria's daughter."
"Eh?!" Lola gasped.
"That terrifying Moria actually has a daughter?!"
Thinking about it—
it did explain why a decent-looking girl existed here at all.
"Who are they?" Nami asked, looking at Lola's group curiously.
She didn't recognize a single one of them.
"Friends I met in the forest," Jin replied.
"They're the ones who told me about Moria."
"This is Lola, Aiko, Bucktooth…"
He introduced them briefly.
"Lola, these are my companions—Merry, Usopp, Nami, Chopper."
"Nice to meet you!"
"Uh… hi…" Nami replied hesitantly.
Something about that voice felt familiar.
"…Ahem."
Lola suddenly cleared her throat and walked solemnly up to Usopp and Chopper.
Jin immediately covered his face.
"…W-what is it?" Usopp asked nervously.
"I want to ask you two something."
She straightened proudly.
"Which one of you will marry me?"
"WHAT?!" ×2
Usopp and Chopper shouted in unison.
"Who would marry you?!"
"And I refuse!"
First meeting and straight-up proposal?!
That's insane!!
"Hahahaha—Captain's 4,446th proposal failure!"
"WHAT?!"
Usopp and Chopper stared in shock.
She'd proposed 4,446 times?!
And all were rejected?!
"That's… unbelievable…"
"…Why is everyone rejecting me…" Lola sighed.
"Even a gorilla turned me down…"
"I'M A REINDEER!!" Chopper yelled, transforming back to normal size.
"I'm a reindeer, damn it!!"
"Oh?!"
"A reindeer?"
"Then may I—"
"AT LEAST FIND A HUMAN!!" Chopper screamed.
Nami suddenly frowned.
"Wait… proposal…"
"That's why your voice sounded familiar."
"We saw a zombie earlier shouting about proposing to Absalom."
"That was your shadow, wasn't it?"
She glanced down.
Lola had no shadow.
Lola blinked.
"Really?"
"I think that's very likely."
"Same here."
Aiko and Bucktooth nodded knowingly.
"Enough—this isn't the time!" Usopp interrupted urgently.
"Jin, we need to go back to the ship—now!"
"Eh?"
"Luffy's already back on the ship?" Jin froze.
They'd checked the Sunny earlier—no one was there.
That's why he brought Lola's group to storm Moria's base.
And now—
they'd gone back?
"So we missed them again?!"
"Yes," Nami nodded.
"Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji lost their shadows."
Jin: "..."
"What are those three idiots even doing?!" he muttered.
Normal zombies shouldn't be able to take them down.
Unless—
there were even stronger ones.
"…We'll talk later. Let's go back first," Nami said.
Finding the others was the priority.
She grabbed Jin's arm and hurried him along, signaling Lola's group to follow.
"To meet Straw Hat Luffy…" Lola said dreamily.
"Do you think he'll accept my proposal?"
Everyone stumbled at once.
"Captain, good luck~"
"Hahaha! I'll do my best!"
"Quit messing around and hurry up!"
"Yeah!"
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