Wright watched with amusement as Perona and Mihawk bickered.
Hawkeye, that guy, was the reserved type, but if he truly held any hostility toward Perona, he would have cut her down with a single strike. The fact that he tolerated her antics here…
Had he finally grown bored of living in this eerie castle?
"Wright, I was originally planning to go find Red-Haired, but since you called, I decided to stay. And now, I have to deal with this noisy little ghost girl…"
Mihawk glanced at Wright. "So? What's going on? You actually came all this way to deliver a message in person?"
"Well… This all starts with Moria…"
Wright recounted the situation with Moria, the upcoming battle against Whitebeard at Marineford, and the Navy's preparations.
"Huh? Lord Moria has lost his Warlord status? You're not here to capture me, are you?!"
Perona suddenly realized that the man casually conversing with Mihawk was, in fact, a Marine Admiral!
"Ahh! And Hawkeye is a Warlord too! You're not here to take him in as well, are you?!"
"…Nope."
Mihawk and Wright shook their heads in unison.
"No interest."
"…What's with you two?!" Perona pouted. "Since when did the Navy and the Warlords get so chummy?!"
"Fought our way to mutual respect."
Wright chuckled. "Is that so hard to believe? Give it some time, and if a certain moss-headed swordsman—"
BOOM!
"…ends up landing on this island, your worldview might just shatter."
"What was that sound?"
Perona floated up, peering toward the door.
"Something seems to have crashed… Hey! Navy guy! You don't mean—"
"Why don't you go check?"
"Hmph! As if I'd fall for that!"
"Maybe it's a new servant for you?"
"Really?! I do need a servant! This place is so boring!"
Perona excitedly floated out, but before leaving, she turned to Wright and Mihawk, making a playful face.
"You two are so dull! Just wait—I'll show you how wonderful life is with a servant at your beck and call!"
Watching Perona float away, Wright turned to Mihawk, who was already shaking his head.
"That girl was sent here by Kuma. And judging by that crash… it looks like Kuma just sent someone else."
"I see."
Mihawk's sharp eyes flickered. Someone Wright personally entrusted to him…
"We'll discuss that later. If they fail to pique my interest, I won't bother."
"Fair enough. But my main purpose here is the mandatory Warlord summons."
"I see. A war… to send off the World's Strongest Man. I take it you expect me to attend?"
"Whitebeard…"
Mihawk's keen gaze sharpened momentarily before he sighed and shook his head.
"Such a shame. Whitebeard… has grown old."
"Even compared to us, he still holds overwhelming strength, but he's no longer as untouchable as before."
Wright swirled his wineglass before downing it in one gulp.
"This time, you're wrong, Mihawk."
Mihawk raised an eyebrow.
Wright placed his empty glass down with a firm clank.
"Whitebeard has recovered more than ninety percent of his peak strength. For him, that's close enough to full power."
"To defeat him—to kill Whitebeard at his peak, to seal away such a mighty legend in history—is exactly what the Navy intends to do!"
"This time, Marine Headquarters will bring forth its absolute might, in the most direct, most violent, most dominant fashion—to suppress the entire sea!"
Mihawk was momentarily stunned. Then, after a long pause, a grin slowly crept across his face before it evolved into hearty laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHA! Excellent! I never thought I'd get to see Whitebeard in his prime again!"
"The World's Strongest Man at his peak… This is a battle I must witness!"
Draining his own glass, Mihawk set down his newspaper.
"I can hardly wait…"
Just as Wright was about to respond, Mihawk's piercing gaze locked onto him.
"But before that—since you're here, and since the Navy is confident enough to challenge Whitebeard at full strength…"
"Before the war begins, I'd like to see for myself where that confidence comes from!"
Wright met Mihawk's intense gaze, then grinned widely.
"Perfect. I was thinking the same thing."
...
Perona drifted toward the source of the crash, guided by her ghosts, who had already scouted ahead.
"Haraharahara~ I wonder what kind of servant I'll get~"
"Hm~ If they were sent here by Kuma, they must be cute… and adorable… and…"
Perona froze, staring in shock at the massive bear-paw-shaped crater.
At its center lay an unconscious, green-haired swordsman.
She screamed.
"EH—?! WHY IS IT HIM?!"
"Why did he get sent here by Kuma?!"
"This stubborn idiot is not cute at all! I don't want such a boring servant!"
She turned and floated away—but hesitated mid-air.
"Ugh… But even an uncute servant is better than no servant at all…"
Drifting back, she scowled down at Zoro's unconscious form.
"…And he's injured this badly. He might die if I just leave him here."
"Hmph! He's the crewmate of the brat who defeated Lord Moria! If he dies, so be it! Not kicking him while he's down is already proof of how kind and adorable I am!"
Perona clasped her face, basking in self-praise—before suddenly jolting.
"Wait, wait! That Marine Admiral said my worldview would shatter because of this guy?!"
"As if! There's no way! I refuse to believe some half-dead swordsman could do anything that shocking!"
She floated in circles around Zoro, chin in hand.
"I'll prove it! There's no way this boring guy can do anything world-shattering!"
…Half a day later, Perona was in shock.
For hours, the eerie island had been shaking like a relentless thunderstorm, booming without end.
After bringing Zoro back to the castle and treating his injuries, Perona had tried sneaking a peek—but couldn't even see the fighters' figures before being overwhelmed by their sheer aura.
Meanwhile, Zoro—whose physical endurance far surpassed his original story self—had recovered quickly thanks to Perona's treatment.
And as soon as he awoke, his first instinct, naturally, was to reach for his swords.
But all three of them had already been hidden away by Perona.
So his very first act… was to demand them back. Not politely, of course.
"…Sorry for yelling at you."
"You bastard!"
"…Apologies for my rude tone."
"The hell are you—"
"…I shall call you 'Master.'"
"WHO THE HELL WANTS THAT?!"
"…Forgive me for being so disrespectful…"
After being bombarded by Perona's Negative Hollows, Zoro was beginning to question his very existence.
And while Perona had planned to keep torturing him, his unwavering determination to return to Sabaody somehow softened her resolve.
So, she finally told him where his swords were hidden.
…And then—
"Damn it! Which room is it?! IS THIS PLACE A MAZE?!"
Floating aimlessly on the first floor, Perona sighed.
Zoro had nearly explored the entire castle.
"…What am I even doing?"
"My original plan was to use Hollow Despair on him once he found his swords…"
"But it's been two whole days since I told him where they are…"
"And he still hasn't found them!"
"Ughhh~"
Watching Zoro stumble into her sight yet again, Perona finally lost it.
Tears welled up as she covered her mouth in despair.
"It's literally just up the stairs! No matter which way you go, you'll get to that room!"
"WHY ARE YOU STILL LOST?!"
"Did taking away his swords turn him into a complete idiot?!"
"Watching him struggle like this… my heart can't take it~"
"So tragic~"
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