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Looking at the group of pirates stopped a hundred meters ahead, Merlin sensed that besides the leading Snow Demon, there were two others with decent auras.
However, Merlin's gaze was currently fixed on the leader, Snow Demon Storm. His aura was only a notch weaker than Moria's.
"Ara haha!" At this moment, Storm looked at Merlin and his group with shining eyes, as if discovering some treasure, and began to critique them. "Not bad~ Not bad at all! A group of sweet little desserts ♡ that can let me feast properly."
But as he spoke, he looked around in confusion, then threw a flirtatious wink at Pink. "Sweetheart baby, where is that little blondie Doflamingo? Call him out quickly."
A chill of disgust surged in Pink's heart. His eye twitched, and he simply couldn't be bothered to respond. He turned to Merlin and said, "This pervert is strong. Be careful when dealing with him; the blizzards he creates have extremely low temperatures."
Merlin narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded. "Leave the rest of these lackeys to you guys. There are two whose strength is passable, but I believe in you."
Saying this, Merlin took the lead, stepping forward and unsheathing his sword. With each step, his speed increased. Bang! The snow beneath his feet kicked up behind him as his figure turned into a blur, suddenly appearing in front of Snow Demon Storm.
Zanye, which had turned pitch-black at some point, swung out instantly. A lightning-fast dark ribbon slashed horizontally.
Clang—
Storm crossed his arms in front of him to block, horror in his eyes. But under the explosion of immense power, his eyes widened as he was blasted backward.
Bang bang bang!!!
Ahhhhhhh...
Storm's figure smashed through his own underlings behind him, flying back more than two hundred meters before crashing headfirst into the snow.
Merlin stomped his foot, his figure shooting toward Storm's direction.
At this time, seeing the guy who gave her the creeps getting sent flying by Merlin, Perona suddenly felt confident again. Wave after wave of Negative Hollows flew from her hands.
Hollow~ Hollow!!!
Hollow~ Hollow!!!
Several Negative Hollows, accompanied by Perona's unique and highly recognizable cheerful laughter, shuttled rapidly through the crowd.
Soon, over a hundred people knelt on the ground in unison, collectively voicing extremely negative and hilarious laments.
"I might as well just die!"
"My existence is a mistake!"
"Mom~ I'll never run away from home again, the outside world is too dangerous!"
"Everyone listen, absolutely do not let those weird white spirit bodies touch you!"
At this moment, the First Mate of the Snow Demon Pirates shouted loudly after dodging a Negative Hollow. He exchanged a glance with the Second Mate, both seeing the solemnity in each other's eyes.
Immediately moving in a serpentine pattern, they rushed quickly toward Monet and Pink.
Seeing this, Perona gave Monet and Pink a smug look. "Do you need me to help you?"
Monet drew her sword, staring at the First Mate charging with his blade, and spoke rapidly. "Just keep the other pirates from disturbing us, then you're free to do whatever."
As she spoke, she had already rushed out. Clang! Sword and blade collided, and the dull sound of metal on metal rang out.
Pink kicked off the ground, rushing toward the incoming Second Mate. In an instant, the two began exchanging heavy blows, fists meeting flesh with bang bang sounds.
Very manly.
Perona watched them fight, sensing the abundant power within her spirit body.
Because a part of Merlin's shadow was fused within her main body.
Excitement appeared in her cunning eyes. Waving her hands wildly, wave after wave of Negative Hollows mixed with Mini Hollows (Ghost Rap) surged out.
Accompanied by the sound of snapping fingers.
Boom boom boom boom boom!!!
Instantly, powerful shockwaves triggered by the explosion of ghosts roared through the snowfield.
Screams rang out one after another.
Merlin arrived ten meters in front of Storm, who was standing up from the snow. Sensing the battle of his companions not far behind, he looked at Storm calmly. "It seems your subordinates aren't much either!"
Storm's appearance had changed drastically. The originally rugged lines on his face had become feminine, and his curly black hair had turned snow-white.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Merlin said softly, "A Zoan ability user?"
Storm glanced at the bloodstains on his arms and stared solemnly at Merlin. "Who exactly are you? When did a character like you appear in the Donquixote Family of the North Blue?"
Since Merlin was with Pink, Storm had automatically categorized him as part of the Donquixote crew.
Merlin sized him up. Storm was emitting a cold aura, and ice and snow condensed on his body surface, forming a frost-white armor.
At this moment, Storm sneered. "Giving me time to prepare... in this world of ice and snow, it is impossible for you to defeat me."
"I am the controller of ice and snow."
Information flashed rapidly through Merlin's mind. At this moment, he looked at Storm with a subtle gaze. "Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Snow Demon (Yuki-Onna/Yuki-Otoko) Model?
"A powerful fruit that grants the ability to control ice and snow after eating it."
Storm's eyes flashed with apprehension. He didn't expect Merlin to see through the details of his ability in just one encounter.
In this instant, a dark halo spread over his entire armor in the blink of an eye. Bang! The snow beneath his feet exploded. In a flash, Storm rushed to Merlin, his fist glowing with a frost-white freezing aura.
At this moment.
The shadow beneath Merlin's feet writhed. Instantly, a shadow spike with a sharp tip thrust out from under Merlin, carrying a ring of atmospheric pressure. Clang! Under this immense force, Storm was hit heavily in the abdomen by the shadow spike. In the blink of an eye, he was blasted away.
Immediately after, Merlin's shadow rushed toward Storm, sticking close to the ground. As soon as Storm landed, the shadow merged into the shadow beneath his feet.
In this instant, Merlin's gaze sharpened. He controlled the materialized shadow on the ground to become static. Instantly, Storm's figure became immobile.
However, Merlin sensed a massive struggling force coming from his own shadow. With a flash in his eyes, his figure suddenly appeared in front of Storm.
Zanye in his hand was wrapped in Haki. A dark red blade ribbon flashed. At this moment, Storm's eyes widened, mobilizing his full-body Haki to struggle with all his might.
Shing!
"Ahhhhhhh!" A miserable scream rang out abruptly. Storm's right arm was severed at the elbow, a section of forearm flying into the air.
Dozens of meters away, clutching the stump of his right arm with his left hand, frost-white light froze the wound.
Panting heavily, having used an excessive burst of Haki to break free from Merlin's shadow binding, Storm stared at Merlin with bloodshot eyes. "The Shadow-Shadow Fruit's ability... how do you have it? Where is Gecko Moria?"
Merlin looked at him calmly. The blood on Zanye had already been absorbed clean by the blade.
He didn't reply. Instead, he looked at the shadow beneath his feet, feeling a dull pain from within his body.
The opponent's Haki impact had broken his shadow binding, but simultaneously, the shock to the shadow had affected his own body.
However, in just a few breaths, the discomfort in Merlin's body vanished.
At this time, the shadow beneath his feet expanded, spreading out in all directions. In the next moment, it assimilated and dominated the shadows of all the surrounding trees.
A pitch-black ground covered by shadows with a diameter of several hundred meters appeared.
Suddenly, a black shadow drilled out from the ground behind Storm. Storm reacted with extraordinary speed, turning around and smashing a fist out.
Clang!
Merlin, having swapped places with the shadow, swung his sword. Instantly, the ear-piercing sound of metal collision rang out.
Under the collision of immense force, a shockwave of wind spread out instantly.
At this moment, a shadow spike suddenly pierced out from the ground behind Storm.
Splurt! The sharp shadow, wrapped in Haki, pierced through his ice armor and stabbed into his lower back.
Storm grunted in pain, madness flashing in his eyes. A terrifying cold current suddenly erupted from his body. The ground beneath his feet crackled, freezing into ice. The surrounding weather changed, and heavy snow began to fall.
At this moment, Merlin's eyes moved. Blinding blue-white electric light erupted from his body surface.
Bzzzz crackle crackle—
Boom crack—
A compressed sphere of lightning ten meters in diameter suddenly bloomed. Under the impact of high-voltage current, Storm's ice armor was shattered, and the snow around him melted.
In a breath, the lightning dissipated.
Merlin and Storm's figures reappeared in the field. At this moment, Storm, charred black and flesh torn open, puffed wisps of black smoke from his mouth, his whole body stiff and immobile.
Not only paralyzed by the electricity, but the shadow beneath his feet was once again controlled by Merlin.
Binding his body.
He looked at Merlin with horror in his eyes. At this time, shadow spikes emerged from the shadow beneath Merlin's feet, instantly piercing into his body.
"Ahhhhhhh!!!"
Miserable screams rang out in succession. But at this moment, Merlin moved. Zanye, rising with black flames, smoothly pierced through his chest.
At this moment, black flames spewed out.
The surrounding shadows transformed into a shadow curtain, shrouding them.
A mottled white color erupted from within his body. In an instant, the defenseless Storm turned completely mottled white, his consciousness sinking into a hazy chaos.
Merlin's gaze moved slightly. His left hand grasped at the empty air, and the Clear-Clear Fruit appeared in it.
Storm's figure disappeared. A moment later, the origin of the Human-Human Fruit, Snow Demon Model, was stripped out.
As Storm reappeared in the outside world, a lightning-fast shadow blade sliced through his neck, sending a head flying.
At this time, the Clear-Clear Fruit in Merlin's hand dropped to the ground and was dragged into the shadow beneath his feet, disappearing.
Although the shadow didn't possess spatial storage properties like a dimension, due to its shape-shifting effects, it could store some small items.
However, after storing things inside, the shadow could no longer turn into a flat virtual image; it could only spread on the ground as a solid entity like thin paper.
But it wasn't a big problem.
The surrounding black flame shadow curtain dissipated, and Merlin's figure reappeared.
He glanced at Monet and Pink not far away, who were still locked in a fierce battle with the First and Second Mates. Then he looked at the pirates kneeling on the ground further away.
With a thought, the shadow beneath his feet spread rapidly, splitting into numerous black shadow hands. After grabbing the shadows of those pirates, he pulled violently. Rip! The sound of tearing fabric appeared.
As the shadows returned, the pirates were dragged along with their shadows. Merlin's eyes moved slightly, and blade lights slashed out. Shadows were separated from them one by one.
Soon, under the dim sunlight, the group of pirates who lost their shadows spontaneously combusted, turning into flying ash and vanishing completely.
"Eek!!" Perona came to Merlin's side somewhat timidly. "Is the Shadow-Shadow Fruit really this creepy?"
Merlin just smiled. Then he looked at Monet and Pink; their opponents were already panicking and couldn't defeat them.
So.
Looking at Perona, Merlin said, "Let's go! Take me to see their lair."
"What for?"
"To find their treasure. Barring any accidents, their treasure will be stored in the lair."
Hearing this, Perona's eyes lit up, and she laughed cheerfully, "Hollow hollow! Okay. Let's go! This lady will take you there right now."
Before long, the two arrived at the cave entrance halfway up the mountain. Merlin and Perona walked in.
Arriving at the clearing in front of the palace, surprise flashed in Merlin's eyes. "It looks like this place wasn't built in a day or two."
Perona flew around Merlin, impatiently volunteering and raising her hand. "Search now?"
"Search. Why? Do you have a good method?"
Perona smiled happily, spreading her gloved little hands to both sides.
Ghosts flew out from her palms.
And quickly disappeared into the palace.
"The ghosts I create can share vision with me, so I'm the best at finding treasure."
She lifted her head smugly, with an expression begging for praise. Merlin couldn't help but smile. "Good, good, good! You're the best."
Merlin stepped forward, walking into the palace. Perona followed. Soon, the two entered the main hall. Looking at the few pirates kneeling on the ground who had stayed behind, Merlin's gaze was calm. Shadows spiked and pierced, instantly killing them.
"Eh? I found it."
At this moment, Perona beside him lit up, waving excitedly at Merlin. "Quick, come with me!"
Led by Perona, Merlin stopped in front of a steel door on the top floor of the palace. Perona's upper body was submerged in the door, her perky bottom sticking out and legs kicking as her excited voice came through. "Wow! So many chests inside."
Saying this, she pulled her upper body out and said to Merlin, "Shall we go find the key?"
Merlin smiled, drew his sword, and slashed three times in succession. Bang! The steel door instantly fell apart.
Perona looked at Merlin in awe. "Your swordsmanship is so strong, it makes me want to learn it too."
"Up to you. If you want to learn, I'll teach you."
"Forget it then. I'm busy enough with Taijutsu. If I practice swordsmanship too, it'll kill me."
She put on a lazy look.
Merlin's gaze was profound. It seemed he would have to train this lazy girl properly later.
Entering the treasury.
The first thing that caught his eye were six treasure chests, two meters in diameter, filled with gold and treasure.
Merlin walked past them one by one, his expression calm. The total value was probably close to two billion Berries.
At this moment, Perona exclaimed, "Lord Merlin, come quick! This is definitely a Devil Fruit, right?"
Merlin looked over. Perona was standing next to a neatly stacked pile of jewelry, pointing at a snow-white melon-shaped fruit stored in a sealed glass container, mostly buried by jewelry. It was covered with dense snowflake-shaped arabesque patterns.
Merlin recognized the true identity of this Devil Fruit at a glance.
Logia - Snow-Snow Fruit (Yuki Yuki no Mi).