The Snow Woman glanced at Luffy in surprise.
This man had actually resisted her charm.
He'd even demanded 10 tons of meat before he'd consider her proposal to have children.
Was he even human? With his strange clothing and extraordinary physique, perhaps he was one of those demon exterminators?
She glanced at Sanji, who had already reached her, hearts practically spinning in his eyes.
For safety, she decided to lead him toward her small cabin deep in the mountains.
The moment the Snow Woman left, Nami regained her mobility.
She'd heard the enchanting song; she knew exactly why Sanji had fallen under the spell.
The woman's magic, however, was tinged with a sharp jealousy and hatred for other women.
She hadn't charmed Nami, only immobilized her, planning to eat her later.
Though aware of the woman's intention to devour her, Nami's determination to rescue Sanji won out over her fear.
"Sanji is in danger!" she yelled at Luffy. "Let's follow them!"
"Yeah, I also think that woman is no good." Luffy's first thought, seeing her peculiar abilities, was to recruit her.
But her tone was all wrong.
He sensed nothing but killing intent and another strange emotion.
(If Ray were here, he would have identified it as resentment.)
"Luffy, stand in front of me and block the wind and snow!"
"Okay."
Nami hid behind Luffy as they cautiously advanced in the direction Sanji had disappeared.
However…
"It's so cold!" Nami wailed, her voice trembling. "I wish Chopper, Chouchou, and Ray were here."
Dressed for an adventure, not a blizzard, the two were freezing in the magical snowstorm, their noses running.
They dearly missed their furry companions.
...
Meanwhile...
In a mountain range far from the snowy area, another group dressed in stark contrast to the local customs was running frantically.
Suddenly, a man riding a fire wheel, his ears pointed like an elf's, swooped down from the sky.
He wielded a sparking Thunderstrike Blade and aimed it at the only woman among them.
"Hahaha! This human woman with strange powers must come with me today! Hiten-sama needs your strength for his plans!"
Just as the blade was about to strike Robin, a green figure intercepted it.
"Three Sword Style: Extreme Tiger Hunt!" (Tora Gari, do you prefer it in japanese or english?)
The attack, imbued with Armament Haki, resembled a proud white tiger soaring through the sky, clashing with the Thunderstrike Blade.
After a stalemate of several seconds, Zoro grit his teeth.
His muscles were already seizing up, paralyzed by the electricity. He was forced to leap back, creating distance.
Behind them, another yokai with rat-like features and a completely bald head came riding on a cloud.
"Hiten, I tricked that stupid dog demon into the Black Lake where he's now fighting the old Dragon monster! This way, these humans and the Deer Demon are sure to fall into our hands!"
Hiten, holding the Thunderstrike Blade, revealed an excited, cruel smile.
"Manten, I still have use for this woman. After I'm done with her, you can have her to make hair growth cream. As for the two men and the Deer Demon, just eat them. Remember to preserve the Deer Demon's fur properly—we've just been revived and need some cold-weather clothing."
"Understood, Brother Hiten. Hehehehe."
The ugly, bald yokai Manten grew equally excited.
He remembered that boiling tender human women made an excellent ointment for application on the head, and was very effective for hair growth.
With that, he opened his large mouth wide, gathering massive amounts of lightning energy.
In an instant, yellow thunder filled the sky as it surged downward toward Zoro, Robin, Usopp, and Chopper.
Zoro's Armament Haki flared again, his enhanced Three Thousand Worlds stance ready.
Robin activated her Flower-Flower Fruit ability, forming hundreds of hands into a rotating defensive shield in front of the terrified Usopp and Chopper, who looked to be on the verge of fainting.
...
Meanwhile, Ray was walking slowly with Rin, Jaken, and a two-headed ox demon called Moomoo.
Ever since regaining her ability to speak, Rin had become quite chatty, either singing or bothering him constantly.
"Sesshomaru-sama, I picked a flower for you."
"Sesshomaru-sama, that rock looks so interesting."
"Wow, Sesshomaru-sama, that leopard wants to eat me."
Thus, Ray now had a small yellow flower tucked over his shoulder, Moomoo's back carried a peculiarly shaped rock, and their last dinner had been roasted leopard meat.
'Sigh.' Ray sighed inwardly.
It really felt like taking care of a child.
But he could also clearly feel this body's own care, tolerance, and special affection for Rin.
Ray was actually quite conflicted.
Having transmigrated from modern Earth, he still found it difficult to accept such a special emotional relationship, especially with such a large age gap.
Rin was only about ten years old.
This was purely criminal territory.
Unfortunately, he wasn't just controlling Sesshomaru's body; his emotions were also being shared.
Given time, would he also fall in love with Rin? That was supeeeeer terrifying.
But from another perspective, he was only staying here for three months.
After that, it would still be Sesshomaru interacting with Rin.
So Ray decided to go with the flow, simply following his emotional feelings when interacting with Rin.
He just didn't know whether Sesshomaru would inherit his memories of these three months after he left.
If Sesshomaru learned that his body had been controlled by an unknown consciousness for three months, would he break down and commit suicide? Or perhaps, in Sesshomaru's memory, these three months would simply feel like his own experiences.
Thinking of this, Ray actually developed a rare, somewhat wicked thought.
'You, Sesshomaru, made me suffer so much and nearly assimilated me completely. Shouldn't I make you pay some price for that?'
After all, Ray wasn't one to willingly accept losses.
The pain from those times Inuyasha slashed him remained vividly etched in Ray's memory.
Especially after Sesshomaru was wounded by the Wind Scar, when Ray's own consciousness was trapped in a small dark room.
At that time, Ray truly thought he was about to vanish and nearly self-destructed within Sesshomaru's consciousness.
"Then over these three months, I'll leave you with some lasting impressions."
[Epic Drama: Ray's Revenge Against Sesshomaru] - Script pending, stay tuned.
Of course, Ray wouldn't deliberately go against his own habits just to get back at Sesshomaru.
If he were to do anything, he'd wait until he had a chance to meet Inuyasha again.
As for the other culprit, the system, Ray believed he would eventually find a way to deal with it.
The most important thing now was to ensure the safety of the Straw Hat Pirates.
"Jaken, find some Earth Demons and ask if they've seen these people."
Ray then described the appearances of the Straw Hat Pirates to Jaken.
Though Jaken was puzzled why Sesshomaru would be searching for several oddly-dressed humans, he would definitely comply.
(Naturally, Jaken had no doubts about Ray's search for Chouchou, since he was a fellow dog demon.)
"Understood, Sesshomaru-sama. I'll go find them right away."
"Hmm."
The little yokai Jaken took his staff and headed into the forest.
Ray remained by the riverside path.
"Rin, we'll have fish tonight."
"No problem, Sesshomaru-sama!"
Ray then sat under a large tree, watching Rin catching fish in the stream, entering a state of mental emptiness.
He carefully examined Sesshomaru's memories from childhood to adulthood in his mind.
Although these memory images were clear, Ray could distinctly recognize that they weren't his own memories.
They felt more like watching a movie.
Only the experiences of these past few days were something shared by both Sesshomaru and Ray.
Looking at the lively Rin ahead, Ray sighed.
The desire to protect Rin belonged to both Sesshomaru and himself.
Of course, the number of people Ray wanted to protect was somewhat larger than Sesshomaru's.
---------
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