After handling these matters, Hera returned to Marineford. For her at this moment, spatial distance was no longer an issue; space itself held no more secrets in her eyes.
Hera thought to herself, 'I'm already this strong, so do I really need the Door-Door Fruit or the Through-Through Fruit? It feels a bit awkward to absorb the fruits of my own subordinates.'
'Forget it, I'll talk to them first and see if the ability needs it then. Besides, Big Mom seems to have a Mirror-Mirror Fruit; choosing one of these three should be enough.'
In fact, in Hera's heart, she felt that the Mirror-Mirror Fruit had a higher priority. On one hand, traveling through mirrors had better compatibility with her own nature.
She could already travel through the shadows of the City of Devouring Time; if combined with her own abilities, there might be unique changes.
Hera shook her head, clearing these trivial matters from her mind. Now was not the time to think about this.
Returning to her residence, Hera pushed open the door and habitually said, "I'm back." However, she didn't hear Kuina's response; waiting for her instead was another member of the Argo.
Perona, holding her little bear plushie, sat on the sofa. Seeing Hera walk in, she angrily threw the plushie at her.
"Hmph, so you finally remembered to come back? I've been waiting for you here for ages."
Hera reached out and caught the bear Perona threw. She sat down next to Perona, naturally leaning her upper body onto Perona's lap while hugging the bear.
"I had some things to handle. Didn't I come back the moment I finished? Why are you here? Where is everyone else?"
Perona picked up a tangerine sitting nearby and started peeling it, then forcefully stuffed a segment into Hera's mouth. "Kuina isn't coming back tonight. It's just the two of us here tonight."
In the room right next door, separated only by a wall, Kuina, Nami, Ain, and Vinsmoke Reiju were pressing their ears against the wall, seemingly listening to the movement next door.
Nami was still a bit hesitant. "Is it really okay for us to do this? We'll be discovered by Hera's Observation Haki, right?"
Kuina explained, "Don't worry, Hera and I have an agreement not to use Observation Haki at home. It only turns on automatically if a threat is perceived."
Nearby, several clones that Hera hadn't recalled yet also pricked up their ears, listening to the activity next door.
"I bet the main body definitely won't last an hour this time," a Little Hera jumped onto the table and made a solemn vow.
Another Little Hera shook her head and countered, "I don't believe it. The main body has been through countless battles." She then held up two fingers. "She can definitely last two hours."
Another Little Hera wearing glasses said with absolute certainty, "According to my calculations, the main body will definitely surrender in less than an hour. Don't forget, the main body's spirit crystal has grown a bit larger again."
The other Little Heras nodded, seemingly agreeing with what the glasses-wearing Little Hera said.
The other Crew members of the Argo flushed red upon hearing the clones' words. They couldn't help but think of various expressions Hera had made.
Reiju quickly ushered the Little Heras into another room. "You guys are still small; you can't listen to this. Good children should be sleeping at this hour."
The leading Little Hera raised her hand and said, "We aren't small! Only our bodies are a bit smaller, that's all. Don't underestimate us!"
But their protests were futile as Reiju herded them into the next room. Reiju only left after watching them get into bed and pull up the covers.
Although Hera's clones claimed they weren't small, they couldn't hide the physical effects of their forms. In a short while, they all fell fast asleep.
Regardless of the commotion in the next room, here, things were progressing between Perona and Hera.
Hearing Perona say that no one else was coming back, Hera pouted dissatisfiedly. "Really? I specifically moved out of Grandpa Garp's place to live with everyone, and yet no one comes back."
She then rubbed against Perona's lap a few times, adjusting her position.
Perona stroked Hera as she lay on her lap, her voice suddenly trembling slightly as she spoke. "What's wrong? Am I not enough on my own?"
Hera sensed the strangeness in Perona's voice and hurried to adjust her position, trying to sit up, but Perona held her down against her lap.
Perona's voice came in a whisper, "Hera, you liar."
Hera felt a wet sensation on her hair; it was Perona's tears dripping onto her.
Perona gently pressed down on Hera's head, preventing her from turning around to look at her.
"You were the one who snatched me away from Moriah's side back then, but now you never take the initiative to find me. You promised we would always be together."
"I was clearly one of the first few people to join the ship, but now..."
A wave of sadness carried through Perona's voice as she involuntarily wiped away her tears with her hands.
Free from the restraint, Hera quickly got up and sat on Perona's lap, facing Perona who could no longer hold back her tears.
Hera helped Perona wipe her tears away. Thinking back on everything that had happened on the ship, she realized she really hadn't been alone with Perona for a long time, and she couldn't help but feel guilty.
Hera took Perona's head and pulled her into her embrace, slowly soothing her emotions.
Perona gradually recovered from her emotions. Before Hera could say a word of comfort, Perona had already lifted her head, her gaze turning fierce as she stared at Hera.
"But now I understand. If you want something, you have to fight for it yourself, especially the most precious things."
Perona's sudden change caught Hera a bit off guard. Without a doubt, Hera liked Perona; as she had said before, she had liked Perona far longer than Perona could imagine.
As early as her previous life, she had liked this somewhat tsundere 'big loli'. This time spent in the world of the Pirate King felt more like a dream-like scene.
But as Whitebeard had said, Hera was still just a child. In her previous life, she had hit the 'big luck' before ever being in a relationship; regarding emotions, she had always been pushed along by others.
Perona looked at Hera sitting on her lap and reached out to stroke Hera's face, the corners of her mouth curving into a dangerous arc.
"Looking at the Captain like this today, I've realized that the Captain is actually such a small person. It seems the little Captain needs an adult like me to be a bit more proactive before she understands some things."
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