On the deck of the Traveler—
Arashi looked at his accumulated Travel Points, hesitating.
Although he had already saved up 7,000 points, it still wasn't enough to upgrade his Observation Haki. To push it to Level 7, he needed a full 20,000.
As for Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki—they were still at Level 5, also not enough to upgrade.
Then there was the Six Powers of the Marines…
He felt a bit conflicted about those.
He had used them before, and at Level 5, they were already more than sufficient for his current strength.
After some internal debate, Arashi decided to keep saving his points and prioritize upgrading his Observation Haki.
In the original story, the strongest Observation Haki user was Katakuri.
But Arashi didn't think that was the ultimate form.
Seeing slightly into the future and predicting an opponent's next move was powerful—but he believed Observation Haki could go even further.
"Mr. Arashi! M-Mr. Arashi!!!"
Just as Arashi exited the system, Robin came running over, her expression pained.
"Perona… something's wrong with Perona!"
"Something's wrong?"
Arashi blinked in confusion, then walked toward the cabin.
To be honest, he still found Perona's appearance rather bizarre.
Robin, being active in the West Blue's underworld, wasn't surprising.
But Perona… literally being "cut out" of a ghost ship?
That was just absurdly comical.
Inside the cabin—
Perona sat motionless in front of the liquor cabinet, her head drooping.
Above her, a ghostly figure identical to her floated silently, shifting shape—growing, shrinking, even phasing through the cabinet and drifting around the room.
"What the—?!"
Seeing the ghost, Arashi was caught off guard.
"This… this is the Hollow-Hollow Fruit?!"
When Mihawk had first brought Perona aboard, Arashi had assumed she hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit yet.
And over the past couple of days, she hadn't shown any abilities, so he thought she was just an amnesiac little girl.
"Heh-heh-heh…"
Suddenly, Perona lifted her head, her smile eerie.
"That's right—I'm a Hollow-Hollow Fruit user!"
As she spoke, the ghost merged back into her body.
"S-so scary…"
Robin instinctively stepped back, hiding behind Arashi after being glanced at by Perona.
Arashi, however, remained unmoved.
Perona's ability might be a nightmare for many—
But to him, it posed no threat.
Not because he was naturally negative, but because he had the strength to keep such negativity from affecting him.
"I want to go home!"
Perona stared at Arashi and said angrily,
"You and that hawk-eyed guy knocked me off the ghost ship, so you have to take responsibility!"
Arashi walked over and smiled faintly.
"In the past couple of days, hasn't Robin treated you well? Better than on that ghost ship, right? If you want to go home, that's fine—but you need to tell us where you're from first."
"I don't care! I just want to go home!"
Perona puffed her cheeks.
"Even if I don't remember where I'm from, you still have to promise to take me back! Otherwise… I-I'm very powerful!"
As she spoke, several ghost projections shot out of her body and flew toward Arashi.
"Hey—are you seriously trying to make me depressed, you little—"
Before Arashi could finish—
Thump!
Robin suddenly dropped to her knees behind him, her face filled with despair.
"I'm not worthy… I'm not worthy to walk beside Mr. Arashi… I'm sorry… I really don't deserve it!!!"
Arashi turned around and immediately understood—
When he dodged, the Negative Hollows had hit Robin instead.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Arashi! I don't deserve to be with you… please… let the Marines arrest me…"
"Heh-heh-heh…"
Perona's signature laugh echoed through the cabin as she saw Robin fall victim to her power.
Arashi, however, was getting a headache.
"Perona. Enough."
Taking a deep breath, Arashi lifted his head, his gaze sharp and unwavering.
"Withdraw your ability. Now."
As his voice fell—
An invisible pressure burst forth.
The cabin fell into dead silence.
Both Robin and Perona felt an overwhelming sense of suffocation.
"Waaahhh! Arashi, you big meanie! I was just playing around! Why are you so fierce?!"
Perona immediately withdrew her powers and burst into tears, sitting down on the floor.
Robin, freed from the effect, blinked in confusion and looked at Arashi cautiously.
"M-Mr. Arashi… what just happened?"
"It's nothing now."
Arashi gestured for her to stand, then turned to Perona with a serious expression.
"Listen carefully. On the Traveler, there's one rule—no matter how strong your ability is, you are not allowed to use it against anyone on this ship."
He paused briefly before continuing:
"This is your first offense, so I'll let it go. But if there's a next time… I'll throw you into the sea to feed the fish."
"I understand…"
Perona nodded, still sniffling.
"I really was just playing… I just wanted to show everyone my powers…"
She wasn't lying.
Ever since coming aboard the Traveler, she had been genuinely happy—especially with how kindly Robin treated her.
And because she liked it here…
She got a little mischievous.
More importantly—
She had always been curious about her own powers.
After all, since gaining them—
She had never really used them before.