Luffy stood in the sky, gazing down at the castle below.
Moria's Thriller Bark was a massive ship.
Shaped like a disk, the outermost layer was a wooden wall. The main entrance resembled a huge, terrifying mouth, and inside was a forest teeming with lurking zombies.
At the center stood a large castle.
At that moment, Luffy slowly descended, as if walking down invisible steps, and entered a deep corridor at the front of the castle.
Facing the wall ahead, Luffy snapped his fingers.
Boom!
The power of the Gura Gura no Mi shattered the obstacle in an instant.
"Moria still hasn't returned?"
Luffy went straight toward the dining hall. After breaking through an unknown number of walls, he finally reached the room where his target awaited.
Inside the dining hall.
Seeing him crash through the wall, Hogback began sweating profusely.
"Straw Hat Luffy… It was her who provoked you! This has nothing to do with me!"
"She tried to escape, but I stopped her!"
Luffy ignored him and walked toward Perona, who was sitting on the floor, step by step.
With pink twin ponytails and a small crown on her head, she sat on the floor crying.
Luffy casually moved a chair, sat down in front of Perona, and crossed his legs.
"Why are you crying? You were awfully decisive when you attacked my crew just moments ago."
Pretending to cry pitifully, Perona secretly glanced at Luffy.
"I was just playing around… woo woo woo."
"Shut up."
The crying stopped instantly.
Perona gave him a pitiful look, slightly fearful.
"What do you want? I'm sorry, okay?!"
"I gave you ten minutes earlier to come here and apologize. But now it's too late."
Perona couldn't hold back anymore—she couldn't even keep pretending. She suddenly jumped up from the floor.
"How did you find this place so fast!? I didn't even have time to run!"
"Hm?"
Luffy stared at her.
Perona nearly had a heart attack from the shock.
"Y-Yeah, sorry, I raised my voice a bit just now…" she mumbled in apology.
"It took less than three minutes to get here from the sky."
Luffy said calmly, "It's too late to apologize. Now I'll give you a chance—crawl around the room ten times while barking like a little puppy."
"Who would do something so humiliating, you idiot!?"
"Seems I'll have to discipline you for Moria."
Luffy gave her a gentle smile, then turned to Hogback and said, "Get out."
Of course.
Hogback didn't dare linger. He quickly stood up and left, terrified of being dragged into the situation.
"Wait! I'll do it! I'll bark like a dog!"
Perona shouted, her face full of despair.
Luffy looked at her expressionlessly.
Nervous under his gaze and on the verge of tears, Perona began crawling across the dining room while letting out soft, whimpering barks.
Luffy nodded in satisfaction and took out a Vision Dial from Sky Island.
This particular Dial was shaped like a camera, capable of recording and replaying video. Nami had purchased it back on Sky Island.
"Your posture's wrong. Your butt should be higher, and your barking louder."
"You pervert!! What are you even recording!?"
"Of course this kind of thing should be preserved and enjoyed ten times a day."
Luffy's tone dripped with sarcasm.
The woman had attacked his crew using a negative ghost. While it hadn't caused real physical harm, the mental damage was still there.
This was his payback—an eye for an eye.
If it could've caused real damage, with his ability to see the future, he never would've given her a chance.
"My crew will arrive here soon. I'll let everyone enjoy your performance."
"No, please!" Perona burst into tears. "It's so humiliating! Please! I was wrong!"
"You were wrong? About what? Tell me."
What kind of question is that!?
Perona was so furious that steam was practically coming out of her head.
"Looks like you still don't understand your mistake. Don't worry, once you've mastered barking, there's more punishment waiting for you. Let's go."
Luffy encouraged her.
(What kind of devilish man is this? He's awful!)
Perona glared at him. If she could beat him, she wouldn't be putting up with this humiliation.
"Don't stop. I'm still recording. Should I use a whip next?"
"Woof~"
After ten full rounds, Perona finally felt relieved. Well, it's already come to this. She said:
"Anything else? Just say it already! Hmph~! I'm not giving up!"
Seeing her suddenly get feisty, Luffy's expression became subtle.
Had he just awakened some strange side of her?
"Wait a minute—where's Moria?"
Hm?
It's over?
Just barking and crawling a bit like a puppy? You think that'll break me?
You've fallen for my acting skills!
You're a genius, Perona!
She kept her smug thoughts hidden and continued lying on the floor like a puppy.
"Lord Moria hasn't returned…"
"He hasn't?"
Luffy frowned slightly.
Thriller Bark wasn't far from Marineford—what was Moria doing?
As he pondered, his Observation Haki suddenly sensed several presences at the entrance.
He stood up at once, focusing his Haki to listen more clearly.
Thriller Bark – Entrance
As the giant mouth opened, a submarine slowly approached.
Absalom helped Moria down from the deck.
"Thank you very much, Trafalgar Law. I'll remember this favor!"
Moria turned to thank Trafalgar Law behind him.
Two days earlier.
After the War of the Summits, he was ambushed by Doflamingo and got into a fierce fight.
In the end, Absalom had saved him using the power of his Devil Fruit.
But his injuries were severe. Fortunately, he encountered a Supernova with excellent medical skills—who saved his life.
"I only found you by chance. No need to thank me," Law replied as he led his crew ashore.
Originally, he had planned to meet Luffy, but by the time he arrived, the war was already over.
"But I am curious—why did the government target you?"
"That… I don't quite understand either. But it's probably… related to that thing."
Moria's expression darkened.
If that were true, he feared he'd become a future target. This ship could no longer stay here—he'd need to find a way to stay out of the government's sight!
Law was about to ask more when—
Suddenly, a voice echoed in their minds.
[Trafalgar Law and Gekko Moria? What a rare combination.]
"Who!?" Law exclaimed in shock.
"That voice… Straw Hat Luffy!"
Moria was stunned.
[I'm inside your castle. Come see me.]
---
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."