Chapter 243He only seemed to have heard about things like kingdoms from Crocodile's mouth, like something similar to the Utopia Kingdom."It's not that kind of thing at all!" Perona couldn't help but raise her voice.She's so agitated.It seemed understandable, though.Luffy felt that anyone questioning his dream of becoming the Pirate King would make him quite agitated as well.So he looked at Perona with an encouraging expression.Noticing Luffy's sudden change in gaze, Peronaactually felt a bit embarrassed, and she explained in a low voice,"A Dream Kingdom is where all the cutest animals in the world are turned into zombies, and then I make them follow my orders to build my zombie kingdom!"Speaking of her dream, Perona's eyes sparkled slightly.Luffy looked at her with a strange expression, and after a few seconds of silence, he commented, "I think that's fine."Turning cute animals into zombies?Too cool!Perona was stunned for a moment; this was the first time anyone had ever commented on her dream like that.It was like finding a kindred spirit, and even Luffystarted looking much more agreeable to her!She began to chatter incessantly."But dreams are realized by oneself," Luffysuddenly interrupted her."Only dreams achieved by your own hands give a sense of accomplishment and make you feel happy. Just like how I'm going to become the Pirate King, I'll use my own fists to carve out a path."He paused, looked at Perona, and grinned. "But, if this is your dream, as your crewmate, we will support you from behind."It was the first time Perona had heard such a thing.Under Moriah, Moriah would always say:"Perona, as long as I obtain the strongest shadow and create the world's strongest zombie army, I'll help you realize your dream then."He never said she should realize it herself; it was more like a superior making empty promises to a subordinate.With understanding on one side and empty promises on the other, the scales suddenly tipped toward one side.She hesitated for a while, an internal struggle raging within her.Soon, Perona looked up, trying hard to maintain a tsundere expression that said she wasn't doing this willingly, and snorted."Fine then, I accept your invitation.""Really?""Let me clarify beforehand, I'm not agreeing because I'm too hungry. It's because you've caught this Princess's eye, so this Princess is reluctantly giving you some face!"As soon as she finished speaking, her traitorous stomach let out a loud, rumbling protest again, sounding exceptionally clear in the silent forest.Perona's face flushed bright red instantly, and she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.Luffy laughed loudly.It was a success!Almost the moment Perona agreed, the third-stage punishment that had been tormenting him like constant background noise finally entered a 24-hour removal countdown!"A countdown isn't bad either."Luffy finally breathed a sigh of relief.When the third-stage punishment was active during a fight with others, it really was a case of 'injuring the enemy by a thousand while losing two thousand oneself.'It hurt too much.Wait, another question occurred to him.After the third-stage punishment disappears, will it revert to the second stage?Luffy couldn't help but think of Robin.She should be in the East Blue right now, right?"Hey, it's about time you let me go," Peronashouted."Oh, hold on."Luffy quickly set Perona down, only to see her dive toward the skewered roast beef like a starving hamster as soon as her head was down, biting into it greedily without any concern for her image.She ate until her cheeks puffed out, her face overflowing with a glow of happiness and satisfaction, as if all her previous grievances had vanished into thin air along with the food.Nika, standing nearby, witnessed the whole process and couldn't help but roll his eyes, complaining, "Tsk, weren't you acting all tough just now, saying you wouldn't admit defeat and wouldn't betray Master Moriah?"And you were bought off by a single piece of meat?Where is your dignity as the Ghost Princess!"I told you, no one in the world can refuse meat," Luffy said with full confidence.Perona was currently focused only on burying her head in her food; she had neither the time nor the inclination to refute Nika's complaints or Luffy's fallacies.Dignity?What's that?Can it compare to this fragrant roast meat in front of me?She even felt that this was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten in her life!It's not like they had some deep-seated hatred for each other anyway.Soon, she finished off that sizable piece of roast beef, even licking the grease off her fingers clean.Seeing her look like she wanted more, Luffy smiled and handed over several giant fruits with enticing colors."Here, have these too, to cleanse your palate."Looking at the succulent fruit, Perona almost cried from emotion.There's meat to eat, and even fruit to cleanse the palate after the meal!This treatment seemed even better than when she was the Ghost Princess on Thriller Bark.What had she been eating before?!All of it was cold food, and she didn't even know what some of it was made of.It seemed that following this unreliable-looking Captain wasn't such an unacceptable thing after all?She took the fruit and ate it in small bites.The sweet juice burst in her mouth, making her squint her eyes in happiness.While eating, Perona finally had the leisure and curiosity to start asking about some things she had always wanted to know."Hey, Straw Hat, you're so powerful that you even defeated Master Moria... Moriah. How did you get sent flying here by Kuma? Couldn't you beat him? You're both Shichibukai."She paused, then asked again, "Also, what about your crewmates? Where's that fierce-looking, big-chested Navigator with the orange hair?"Fierce-looking, big-chested Navigator?That description was quite apt.Nika almost burst out laughing.If Nami heard that, she would very 'amiably' pull Perona aside for a good long talk."It's a long story, so I'll keep it short."Luffy sat cross-legged opposite her, eating fruit while telling her roughly what had happened at the Sabaody Archipelago.*Pfft, cough, cough, cough...*Perona almost choked to death.Kidnapping Celestial Dragons to trade with the World Government?Clashing with Admirals Kizaru and Aokiji?A fierce battle with the Navy Hero Garp?And even the appearances of the Shichibukai Bartholomew Kuma and the former First Mate of the Roger Pirates, Rayleigh.How on earth did all these unrelated people end up together!Perona tried to slot Moriah's name in, but found it completely out of place!These legendary figures who usually only existed in rumors and stood at the top of the world—Straw Hat had actually encountered almost all of them in a single day and even fought with them."No, wait! Let me process this."Perona felt her head spinning.The information was too much to digest all at once.Just what kind of pirate crew have I joined?!She would believe it if someone said this lineup was a Four Emperors-level conflict!Perona even wondered if Luffy was lying to her, thinking she was easy to fool just because she had always stayed on Thriller Bark.Seeing Perona's terrified expression, Luffy found it a bit amusing.He switched to a lighter topic and asked, "By the way, Perona, what's your bounty?"After this incident, the World Government would likely give their crew's bounties a massive increase.At the mention of her bounty, Perona suddenly became hesitant.Facing Luffy's gaze, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes darted around; she couldn't say a word for a long time.Did she even have a bounty?After all, she had always stayed under Moriah's protection and rarely participated in major external events personally; the World Governmentprobably hadn't noticed someone like her at all.Seeing her embarrassed state, Luffy understood immediately."So you don't have a bounty yet. You've got to work hard, Perona; even Nika has a bounty of a hundred Berries," Luffy laughed."Bullshit!"Nika, who was dozing off, immediately bristled upon hearing this. He jumped up and screamed, "Don't you dare mention those hundred Berriesagain! It's just that those idiots in the World Government with eyes in their asses don't know quality! How could this Ben's value be worth only a hundred Berries!"Perona watched Luffy and Nika bickering over the bounty.One was laughing heartily, and the other was jumping with rage.For some reason, the turbulence caused by those earth-shattering news earlier gradually subsided.It was magical.The corners of her mouth even involuntarily curled up into a relaxed smile.This seems okay, doesn't it?At least it's not so lonely anymore.Is it because I've become his crewmate that he doesn't seem so terrifying anymore?Or is it that this noisy, lively atmosphere is actually quite warm?Having eaten her fill and heard the fantastical stories from Luffy's mouth, Perona felt her strength return and her spirit relax quite a bit."Eww, this is too dirty."Perona looked at herself, at the Gothic Lolita dressthat had become filthy after several days of being on the run.She felt sticky, and there was a strange smell she couldn't ignore.Naturally, after eating and drinking enough, one considers such things; back in the cave, Peronaonly cared about having something to eat!She thought it over, acted fidgety for a while, and then with hands on her hips, habitually struck her proud pose as the Ghost Princess and said to Luffy, "Hey! Straw Hat, as the Captain, you have an obligation to do something for a new crewmate who just joined, right?"Luffy was poking the campfire with a branch. Hearing this, he looked back at her without saying a word.Perona's heart tightened under his gaze, and she quickly lowered her hands in fear. "A small thing! It's a very small thing! I definitely won't make it difficult for you!"Her posture instantly shifted from an arrogant princess to a guilty little girl."I mean,"
