Chapter 239: I thought you were strong, but you were defeated in one move? Is that all?
At 4 in the morning, Ren, who had just finished his activities and fallen asleep not long ago, was awakened by a series of notification sounds. After he cleared his head, he realized that someone in the Chat Group was frantically @ing him. Ren merely moved his body slightly, waking Haruno, who was completely sprawled on him.
At Haruno's request, she wouldn't let him take out his 'weapon' even after they finished. He couldn't help it; he spoiled his girlfriend. Since Haruno said so, he did so. His 'weapon' in its normal state was enough to make Haruno sigh in admiration.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Ren?" Haruno's eyes were hazy; she naturally felt Ren taking out his 'weapon'. Ren gently moved Haruno to his side and apologized, "I might have something to do; you should get some good sleep first."
Haruno was very understanding and lay down obediently beside him. Today, Kanae and the cat had specifically stayed in the guest room to make way for her, so what more could she ask for? Moreover, she was truly exhausted now, her head felt heavy, and she had lost count of how many times this had happened. Just lying on her side, Haruno closed her eyes deeply, and her breathing became even. Ren smiled faintly; Haruno was indeed very tired.
He opened the Chat Group. The person who had @ed him was Nami.
Nami: "Ren, Ren, are you there?"
Aqua: "Wow, aren't you sleeping at this hour?"
Rory Takakura: "Um, the time in different worlds is different, you know."
Aqua: "Oh, right, it is."
Furina: "Does Miss Nami have something urgent?" Wrapped in her blanket, curled up like a caterpillar, Furina smelled the scent of drama, her sleepiness completely gone, full of energy.
Ren: "I'm here. What's up? Tell me."
Nami: "Ren, you're here! That's great."
Nami: "It's like this: we've already entered the Grand Line. We departed from Alabasta and entered the Thriller Bark."
Nami: "We originally thought we could just sail out by following the Log Pose, but something unexpected happened. Our ship was pulled into a very large ship that didn't look like a ship at all."
Nami: "Tsk, we only found out after exploring that this is the Thriller Bark, the ship of the Shichibukai, Gecko Moria."
Ren: "Moria?"
Esdeath: "A Shichibukai like Crocodile?"
Vivi: "Uh-huh, he's a person with a very long neck, who looks like a monster, and he can control zombies."
Emilia: "Did you encounter any danger?"
Vivi: "Uh… that, well, we didn't encounter any danger."
Vivi: "All those zombies were defeated by us, and Gecko Moria was also defeated… uh… killed by Nami."
Shinobu Kocho: "Killed?"
Nami: "Well, I didn't expect him to be so weak, for a Shichibukai. I didn't hold back and just finished him off."
Esdeath: "..."
Tendo Kisara: "You've already handled it, and there's no danger, so why are you looking for Ren?"
Nami: "Robin said that killing a Shichibukai has a big impact, so I wanted to ask for your opinion, Ren."
Ren: "Hmm, I'll come over to your side and take a look."
Nami: "Okay."
"Mm-hmm, Ren is coming right away." Nami clapped her hands, glanced at the charred corpse on the ground, and muttered, "He's a Shichibukai, so why is he so weak?" Robin, standing nearby, heard her and was speechless. It wasn't that he was weak; it was that you were too strong.
"It really is Gecko Moria." Ren appeared silently beside Robin. His sudden words made her body stiffen because in this eerie area, it was quite frightening.
"Ren." Nojiko's eyes lit up when she saw Ren, wanting to pounce on him. With just 1 encounter, Nojiko had been conquered by Ren's gentleness and strength. However, she still forced herself to stop, because Nami had already pounced on him before her.
"Ren, I missed you so much." Nami greedily inhaled Ren's scent. And then, standing on her tiptoes, she engaged him in a passionate kiss. This behavior, disregarding others' gazes, made Vivi blush intensely. Robin, however, wasn't shy; she simply politely averted her gaze.
A few minutes later, Nami finished, and Nojiko ran over to take her turn. After a while, Ren finally had time to examine Gecko Moria's… ashes? Hmm, he died a miserable death, charred like cinders.
Ren felt confused. "Nami, how did he offend you?"
Nami said irritably, "It wasn't him, it was 1 of his subordinates. A strange man who seemed to be stitched together with many animal limbs and muscles, and he could also turn invisible. He seemed to want to sneak onto our ship to spy, but I found him and electrocuted him directly."
"Then this Moria came out with his zombie army, and Nojiko and the others dealt with the zombies and his subordinates."
"I originally thought all Shichibukai were strong, so I used my full power, and then this happened."
"..." The stitched monster should be Absalom, Gecko Moria's subordinate, the user of the Clear-Clear Fruit. Ren sensed around. There were still many people on this huge Thriller Bark. They were all people who had survived after Gecko Moria's death caused the Shadow-Shadow Fruit's power to cease, and their shadows returned to their bodies.
Now, these people were looking for a ship or building one to escape the Thriller Bark. He couldn't be bothered with these people. However, there was a thought in the castle that interested him.
Ren snapped his fingers. A crying girl appeared in front of him. "Waaah, waaah, Moria-sama was killed…" Perona sat curled on the ground, clutching a strange doll and weeping. Her attire was also very peculiar. She had pink twin pigtails, wore a crown, and had a burgundy umbrella beside her.
The 5 of them quietly watched her cry. A moment later, she finished crying. Finally, she wiped away her tears. "I need to escape! Moria-sama was killed; she had to escape quickly. I need to be strong!" After giving herself a pep talk, she looked up.
"..." She saw 5 strangers. One of them was the woman who had killed Moria-sama.
"Eh!!!" After a second of being stunned, Perona let out a piercing scream. The shrill scream lasted for a full 10 seconds before stopping. She looked around in a daze. "How did I end up in a forest? Am I sleepwalking?"
"Hoh hoh hoh hoh, I knew it, Moria-sama wouldn't be in trouble. So I was dreaming." Perona felt she had guessed correctly, and her whole body floated up, literally floating in mid-air.
"It's a pity you're not dreaming. Moria is dead; his body is right there." Ren pointed to a pile of charred remains on the ground with an understatement.
... Perona looked at the charred remains on the ground, fell silent, and tears began to well up in her eyes again.
Nami didn't want to hear crying anymore, so she asked Ren, "This person is Moria's subordinate, right? What should we do with her?"
Ren pinched his chin. "Perhaps you can talk to her. She is still a special ability user." The Paramecia type Horo Horo no Mi. A very peculiar and interesting ability. Of course, her cute appearance was also an important factor that made Ren consider her valuable. Well, that's Ren's 'judging people by their face' principle.
Robin's eyes flickered. She understood Ren's hidden meaning: he wanted them to try and recruit Perona. So after saying a few words to Nami, Nojiko, and Vivi, they tried to talk to Perona. Ren did not interfere. Moria was not killed by him. Perona was picked up and raised by Moria, and Ren wasn't sure if they could recruit her; that would depend on their own abilities.