Chapter 387 - The Lost Loli in the Devil's Lair

Wood pushed open the door to the captain's quarters, taking a much-needed deep breath of fresh air. He made his way over to Robin and Ruth, making sure they could see him, and inquired about any recent updates from the sea.

Robin knew very well that the movements of the "Straw Hat Pirates" were Wood's top priority. So, as soon as he stepped out, she handed him the gathered news.

Big Mom and Kaido, two of the Four Emperors, were at each other's throats after the recent tea party incident. Pirates across the sea were on edge, watching these two formidable forces clash.

Of course, many pirate crews saw this as an opportunity. They chose sides, hoping to take down one of the Four Emperors and elevate their own status.

One of them was none other than Gecko Moria, the captain of the Thriller Bark and a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Everyone knew that Gecko Moria held a deep grudge against Kaido of the Beasts. Moria had once been a promising rookie on the seas, leading his crew to challenge Kaido head-on.

Unfortunately, Kaido's overwhelming strength completely destroyed Moria's crew, leaving Moria as the sole survivor.

Devastated, Moria transformed from a powerful pirate into a lazy, overweight shadow of his former self. His once grand ambitions were utterly shattered by Kaido.

After losing his entire crew, Moria became convinced that "living only brings loss." He then partnered with the brilliant surgeon Hogback to create his zombie army.

When Moria heard news of the impending clash between Big Mom and Kaido's pirate crews, he thought his chance had finally come.

Moria knew his zombie army alone couldn't handle the Beasts Pirates, but with Big Mom's crew in the mix, the odds started to look different.

His zombie army wasn't enough to take on the Beasts Pirates head-on, but it could certainly beat down an opponent once they were vulnerable.

The grudge from 23 years ago in Wano Country still burned within Moria—he vowed to finally settle it with Kaido.

Just as Moria gathered his forces and prepared to set sail under the cover of darkness, an unexpected group entered the Devil's Triangle and boldly stepped onto Thriller Bark.

At first, Moria didn't think much of it, assuming they were just small-time troublemakers. He was about to send his subordinate, Absalom, to deal with them when he realized it was none other than the rising "Straw Hat Pirates."

Seeing Monkey D. Luffy's "Gomu Gomu no Mi" ability and remembering the corpse of the giant Oars lying in the freezer, Moria suddenly had an idea.

Since he was about to go up against Kaido, why not aim even higher and take over Kaido's position among the Four Emperors?

Gecko Moria had apparently forgotten that he was no longer the pirate supernova he was 23 years ago. He had since become an overweight slob.

Now, as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Gecko Moria was indeed a noteworthy figure on the seas. Among the forces that could match the Seven Warlords, only the Navy Admirals and the Four Emperors were of equal standing.

The Seven Warlords were already considered top-level pirates, and the next step up was the Four Emperors. Gecko Moria had been a Warlord for many years, and Kaido had held his position as one of the Four Emperors for just as long. Now, Gecko Moria thought it was time they swapped seats.

If it were in the past, Gecko Moria wouldn't have been so arrogant. But when he saw the Straw Hats stepping into Thriller Bark, his confidence grew.

Using the power of his "Shadow-Shadow Fruit," he would take Luffy's shadow and implant it into Oars, creating the ultimate zombie!

With Oars on his side, Gecko Moria thought he could dream about claiming Kaido's position—maybe even play the two crews against each other and benefit as a bystander.

Thus, Gecko Moria delayed his confrontation with Kaido and set his sights on the Straw Hat Pirates now wandering through Thriller Bark.

However, the story unfolded almost identically to the original version—except Robin wasn't there this time. The Straw Hat Pirates steamrolled through Thriller Bark.

The perverted Absalom, capable of turning invisible, was caught peeping on Nami while she bathed and was promptly kicked into oblivion by an enraged Sanji.

The genius surgeon Hogback, whose ideals were incompatible with those of the Straw Hat mascot Chopper, ended up as nothing more than a mosaic smeared on the wall.

Perona, the final officer, managed to defeat three of the Straw Hats' strongest fighters, making them collapse in despair—only to be completely defeated by the trickster god Usopp, who was immune to her abilities.

While Perona was preparing to escape with a stash of loot, she had the misfortune of running into Bartholomew Kuma, another Warlord of the Sea, who was supposedly there to keep an eye on the Straw Hats, but was really just playing the role of a babysitter. Perona was swatted away with a single paw-shaped strike.

Thriller Bark's ultimate boss, Gecko Moria, did successfully obtain Luffy's shadow and resurrected Oars.

However, he greatly overestimated his own strength after years of inactivity and underestimated the protagonist's plot armor. In the end, Luffy almost broke Gecko Moria's bulging neck.

After defeating Gecko Moria, the Straw Hats were pretty much spent, but the tyrant Bartholomew Kuma, who claimed to be sent by the World Government, merely made a token appearance when he could have wiped them out completely.

Seeing Luffy's grinning mugshot on the newspaper, alongside the three-hundred-million-Belli bounty, Wood knew that Gecko Moria, with his bulging thyroid, was done for.

Of course, the newspapers didn't explicitly report Gecko Moria's defeat. After all, the "Seven Warlords of the Sea" were officially recognized by the World Government and represented their power and authority on the seas.

Two of the Warlords being simultaneously defeated by a rookie pirate was hardly a respectable piece of news. Naturally, they covered it up as much as they could.

"How do you guys know so much about what happened on Thriller Bark? Did we already plant agents even in the Devil's Triangle?"

The newspapers hadn't reported anything about the Straw Hats' victory over Gecko Moria. Wood knew the story because he was a transmigrant with knowledge of the future, but what puzzled him was how Robin and the others knew so much.

"It's simple. We have someone from Thriller Bark on the island right now. All the information about the Straw Hat Pirates came from her."

Trailing behind a fish-man, Perona was feeling very uneasy. She was about to meet an incredibly dangerous man.

He was known as one of the "Ancient Weapons," a figure feared throughout the seas, commanding influence across the underworld, and even recently, Perona heard he had fought Big Mom and Kaido and managed to leave unscathed.

Heaven help her, Perona had no intention of messing with such a terrifying figure, nor did she want to meet him at all. She would rather stay in her room hugging Kumashi and be a shut-in.

But, alas, she had no choice in her current predicament...

A few days ago, Perona was slapped away by Bartholomew Kuma. She thought she was done for.

Unexpectedly, she ended up being carried across the sea by that giant paw bubble, finally landing on this island.

Initially, Perona was ecstatic to realize she had not only survived but escaped Thriller Bark. But her joy quickly faded when a patrolling fish-man found her.

Fish-men weren't uncommon on the seas, but an island populated with many fish-men and even mermaids could only mean one thing besides Fish-Man Island—the other option wasn't good news...

At first, Perona still hoped it was all a coincidence, and she used her abilities to turn several of the fish-men into loafing slackers on the beach.

But then Robin showed up, and Perona recognized the infamous "Devil Child" at once, completely dispelling any hope she had.

Nico Robin, the Devil Child—anyone with a bit of knowledge on the sea knew she was the number two of "Wood's Weapons Company," and with so many fish-men around, it wasn't hard to guess where she had ended up...

The Island of Darkness, also known as "Dark Abyss"—the world's largest weapons factory and home to the underworld's most powerful organization.

Although Perona had never met Wood, she had heard plenty about him from her captain, Gecko Moria.

According to Gecko Moria, the Marine traitor Wood was the most ambitious person he had ever met. Though Wood wasn't an Emperor, his network, power, and strength were enough to rival one.

Finding herself suddenly on one of the most dangerous islands in the world, Perona naturally panicked. She wanted to escape, but all around her was the endless sea.

Even if she weren't a Devil Fruit user and thus a complete non-swimmer, there was no way she could outswim the fish-men and mermaids on the island.

Trying to save herself, Perona had a quick idea and, upon seeing Robin, immediately declared herself as an envoy from the Seven Warlords, here to talk business.

She thought that while Wood was indeed powerful, the Seven Warlords were also formidable figures. Surely, he wouldn't dismiss her offhand.

Too bad for her, she had run into Nico Robin. Due to her childhood, Robin had survived on countless lies. Perona's little fib wasn't anywhere near convincing enough for someone as experienced as Robin.

After Robin exposed her, Perona, with nothing left to lose, used her "Negative Hollow" attack, putting every fish-man present into a state of "amnesia."

When asked about that day, every fish-man would shake their heads so vigorously they looked like bobbleheads, insisting they heard nothing, saw nothing, and knew nothing!

After all, seeing Robin's black history was even worse than seeing the boss Wood's.

It was well known that Wood had little dignity to speak of in many situations, but Robin, as the poster girl of the weapons company, was always very particular about her image.

Everyone on the island knew that Robin could be very black-hearted and vengeful. If you got on her bad side, you'd be in for a world of trouble. The fish-men present understood this well, but poor Perona did not, which led to her being on the receiving end of Robin's "hospitality" for days.

If it weren't for the fact that Perona was one of Gecko Moria's officers and Wood had yet to step out, it was uncertain whether she would ever get to meet him...

Seeing the man before her, who seemed to be in his thirties with a determined yet gentle face that belied any impression of severity, Perona found it hard to believe that he was the infamous Wood—the underworld boss known as one of the "Ancient Weapons."

"So, you're the Ghost Princess Perona? Gecko Moria must've fallen by now, hasn't he? How about you join me instead?"

Wood looked at the pink-haired girl, who, though 23, still looked like a teenage loli, and casually extended the offer.

The Hollow-Hollow Fruit's power was impressive. Up until now, it seemed that only Usopp could counter it. No one else had managed to resist her abilities.

After all, even Zoro, known for his pride, had submitted multiple times before Perona's power, turning into a "slacker."

Perona had been one of Wood's favorite female characters back when he watched the anime. With the island still lacking sufficient fighting strength, he certainly didn't mind having another beautiful girl around.

Wood knew that Perona's current delinquent-like appearance was entirely due to Thriller Bark's dark atmosphere.

But once she moved to Mihawk's place for two years, with better food and nutrition, she would quickly transform from a delinquent into a chic urban lady. Not only would her looks drastically improve, but her modest figure would also grow to an impressive 36D.

Why would a 23-year-old still have room for growth? Maybe Mihawk had some special massage technique?

In any case, Wood thought, if Mihawk, another great swordsman, could raise a loli, then why couldn't he?

Hearing how easily Wood seemed to trust her and accept her into his crew, Perona was left dumbfounded.

The major factions on the sea weren't something just anyone could join. To even become a mere subordinate in a Yonko's crew, one needed a bounty of at least tens of millions of berries.

Even though Perona had been an officer under a Warlord, she had never been given a bounty, having spent all her time confined to Thriller Bark. Yet here she was, seemingly accepted into one of the top factions on the sea?

"Captain, isn't this a bit too hasty? She used to be an officer under Gecko Moria. Can we really trust her to join us?"