Chapter 241In her dream, she was in her own room, with Kumacy and her Ghost Zombies beside her, truly in her element as the Ghost Queen.But suddenly, her Ghost Zombies all disappeared, and in front of her appeared Luffy's face."Yo, you're awake?"A voice came from beside her ear.Luffy leaned in. Perona groggily opened her eyes, then saw him, and her eyes rolled back."Fainted again? She's too timid. After she gets on the ship, Robin will have to properly train her."This would go on forever, so Luffy pinched Perona's nose, cutting off her air supply.Within a few seconds, the feeling of suffocation forcefully dragged Perona back to reality from the edge of her chaotic nightmare."Ugh!!"Perona suddenly opened her eyes and instinctively slapped Luffy's hand away.Luffy let go.Perona gasped for air, her pink eyes misty with fright and recent awakening.This time she didn't faint again, but a wave of grievance and lingering fear instantly washed over her."No, I haven't done anything yet."Luffy raised his hands. Perona's reaction made him seem like an unforgivable criminal.Wait, I'm a pirate.Luffy patted his head.Perona hugged her arms tightly to her chest, curling up her body, her eyes quickly reddening.She stared at Luffy, looking as if she was about to cry, her small nose twitching slightly, as if pearl-like tears were about to burst forth at any second.This was a desolate, uninhabited primitive island, and right now, it was just her and the Straw Hat.A lone man and woman, who knew what terrible things might happen!Perona grew up on Thriller Bark and had never left it.Precisely because of this abundance of free time, she enjoyed reading all sorts of strange storybooks.Didn't this scene perfectly match up?Perona: "What do you want to do?!""I just thought," Luffy said.Then you want to do something!Perona wailed inwardly, why was she so unlucky?She had already escaped Thriller Bark, so why did she run into Luffy again on this strange island at the ends of the earth?Her ghosts were useless against this Rubbermonster. She hadn't dared to forget the painful experience of him scattering her ghosts with three punches.Seeing Luffy standing here completely unharmed, his shadow also safe and sound, an even more unsettling premonition surfaced in her heart.Moriah-sama was probably in grave danger.Otherwise, how could Luffy, the main enemy force, appear here so leisurely?What on earth happened outside?After being swatted away by that hateful Kuma, she landed in this ghostly place teeming with giant plants and beasts. Forget News Coos, she could barely even find a normal-sized living creature, completely cut off from outside information.Why is she so scared?Is she the timid type?But scaring people with ghosts in a place like Thriller Bark doesn't seem to have anything to do with being timid.Luffy completely ignored his own part in this, looking at her with a bewildered expression."You, don't come any closer!"Perona frantically waved her hands in front of her, her voice trembling noticeably, trying to ward off her number one natural enemy."I'm not moving closer."Luffy even moved his body back a bit, returning to his spot by the bonfire, grabbing a piece of sizzling roasted meat, and taking a big bite.His reaction made Perona choke. The expected violence or coercion didn't happen; the other party seemed to genuinely just be eating meat?She collapsed onto the ground, feeling as if she had narrowly escaped death.Stealing a glance at Luffy, Perona couldn't help but ask, "Why are you here?""Same as you," Luffy said, "Kuma sent me here."When he landed, he noticed another print of the same size next to the Bear Shockwave. At first, he thought it was a companion, but it turned out to be Perona.But it's been many days since Thriller Bark, so Perona has been staying nearby all this time?Does she like it here?Perona: "..."You like it!Your whole family likes it!Seeing that Luffy showed no signs of leaving, Perona shifted her feet.Was she really going to have to stay with this guy?She secretly peeked at the fragrant roasted meat in Luffy's hand, then felt her own stomach silently protesting.I'm not hungry, not at all!She struggled to stand up and escape this place.However, her feet seemed to be nailed to the spot by invisible nails, unable to move.The reason was simple: the aroma of the roasted meat was like the most enchanting spell, constantly teasing her hungry nerves and making her whole body go limp."You should sit down first," Luffy said without raising his head."Why?" Perona instinctively retorted.Luffy didn't speak, but merely gestured behind her with the hand holding the meat.As if sensing something, an alarm blared in Perona's heart.She stiffly turned her head little by little.Not far behind her, on a giant tree trunk, a massive, colorful python, thicker than the tree itself, was silently coiling down. Its cold, vertical pupils were locked onto her, and its crimson tongue flickered in and out, emitting a chilling hiss."Aaah!"Perona was scared out of her wits, her survival instinct instantly overriding everything else. Without thinking, she activated her ability, "Negative Hollow!"Several white, translucent ghosts flew out from her body, making strange 'whoo-hoo-hoo' laughs as they passed through the giant python's body.The giant python, which had been so menacing just moments ago, instantly seemed to have all its spirit drained. Its massive body flopped softly from the tree, collapsing onto the ground, its head buried in the fallen leaves, emitting an indecipherable, low hiss."I'm sorry for being a snake.""I can't even catch a rabbit, I'm such a good-for-nothing.""Can someone please let me die?"Luffy could understand what the giant python was saying. Since the giant python itself said so, he would grant its wish.He stood up, deftly removed the wild boar carcass, which still had most of its meat, from the grill, and then walked over to the giant python, which was in a state of deep negativity.With a swift chop, his Armament Haki-covered hand-blade precisely ended its suffering.He began skillfully processing it, placing this new, self-delivered ingredient onto the bonfire."Your ability is quite convenient," Luffy said.Perona was so scared her legs went weak, and she plopped back onto the ground.She didn't hear a word Luffy said.The food chain in this forest is too terrifying!She had to escape here quickly.But soon, her attention was once again drawn by the rekindled bonfire and the delicious snake meat being roasted over it.The sizzling sound of fat dripping into the fire, mixed with the strange aroma of unknown spices Luffy had found earlier, created an irresistible temptation.Who could resist such a temptation?Especially for someone who had been gnawing on sour wild fruits and was starving for days.Perona quietly swallowed, her eyes fixed on the snake meat that was gradually turning golden.While Luffy seemed focused on flipping the meat, she stuck out her tongue, blinked, and cautiously reached out, trying to secretly break off a small piece.Slap!Her hand was lightly but firmly slapped by Luffy, immediately turning a little red.Perona froze, looking at Luffy in disbelief.He was clearly facing away from her, how did he notice?Feeling indignant, she increased her movement slightly and tried again.Slap!She was accurately slapped away again, and this time the force seemed a bit stronger.Only then did Luffy turn his head.Looking at Perona, who was on the verge of tears, pitifully clutching her hand, he asked knowingly, "What do you want to do?"Perona pouted, trying to hold back her tears, and attempted to reason, "I had a part in subduing this giant python, didn't I? What's wrong with me eating a little bit?"She looked at the huge snake body and felt this reason was very sufficient."Hmph, don't try to join in, Ghost Girl."A voice suddenly came from beside them, startling Perona.Only then did she notice that a white raccoon was sitting next to Luffy, holding a piece of meat larger than its body, gnawing on it with grease dripping from its mouth, and casting a disdainful glance at her.Am I actually worse than a raccoon?Perona felt a ton of strike to her self-esteem."These beasts are all a buffet he deliberately lured over with the smell of meat. It wouldn't have made a difference if you were there or not."Nika tore off a large piece of meat and mumbled, "Find a better excuse."Perona's big eyes darted around, realizing that neither snatching nor reasoning seemed to work, so she decided to change her strategy.She cleared her throat, forced out what she thought was a sweet smile, and added a hint of coquetry to her tone:"Um, Straw Hat, you see, we were both sent flying to this deserted island by that Kuma guy, so it's a kind of fate, isn't it?As the saying goes, meeting is fate, so sharing some food is only right, isn't it?"As she spoke, she secretly gathered several miniature Negative Hollows in her hand behind her back.She planned to hit Luffy when he wasn't looking, let him taste the feeling of negativity, and then she could feast to her heart's content!However, just as her ghosts took shape, Luffy, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, didn't even turn around. He simply delivered a precise Gum-Gum Pistol with a backhand.With a soft 'bang', those miniature ghosts were directly scattered in the air."Behave yourself."Luffy retracted his hand, and casually flicked Perona's forehead with his finger, making a crisp 'da' sound."Wuwuwu,"Perona clutched her slightly red forehead. Her last glimmer of hope was completely shattered. It didn't hurt much, but the feeling of being completely seen through made her incredibly frustrated.She truly had no more fight left in her.But she couldn't figure out what Luffy wanted to do at all.
