In the blink of an eye, Perona fell headfirst, completely unable to react.
The next moment.
"Ahhh!!!"
An ear-piercing scream rang out, "It hurts!!! My nose!!!"
Moses rubbed his ears.
At that moment, a fluttering sound came from the sky. Moses looked up.
The next instant, a whooshing sound approached. Raising his hand, Moses caught a Devil Fruit with a stony hue covered in "arabesque" patterns with a crisp "snap."
[Appraisal]
[Paramecia-Type: Fortress Fruit (A)]
Moses raised an eyebrow, examining the Devil Fruit with curiosity. "I didn't expect it to be this Devil Fruit. So that man earlier must've been that guy, huh."
Flutter~
Crow Dabao landed on Moses' shoulder and looked at Perona, who was kneeling on the ground in an "or2" pose, moaning in pain. He asked curiously:
"What's wrong with her?"
Moses glanced at Perona and sighed.
"She insulted me, so I taught her a lesson."
"Caw caw~ Serves her right. That's how it should be."
Just then, Moses noticed Perona's spirit emerging from her body. He immediately took a deep Breath and entered the State of Oneness. Sure enough, a small hand appeared the next second, and two ghostly dolls surged from its palm.
The translucent white ghosts swiftly passed through the chests of Moses and Crow Dabao.
Immediately after, Crow Dabao tumbled off Moses' shoulder, flopping onto the ground while cawing miserably.
Moses sighed and looked at Perona, reaching out a hand. "Isn't the ground cold? Aren't you getting up?"
He watched as half of Perona's spirit head emerged from her back, tilting up to stare at him silently.
Rubbing his forehead, Moses said helplessly, "You look kinda creepy like this. Pretty scary."
"Do you hate me now?"
"Back when they bullied me, I'd stare at them like this… and then I got isolated."
"At the orphanage?"
"Yeah."
"No wonder."
"Do you hate me too?"
"Not really. I actually find it kinda amusing. Come on, get up. The ground's dirty."
Moses chuckled. He wasn't lying—it really was amusing, like watching a cute little earthbound spirit.
Adorably creepy.
Well, Moses was a sucker for looks.
If she'd been ugly, he was pretty sure he'd have said something very different. Probably.
Assuming nothing went wrong.
"Oh." Spirit Perona glanced at Moses again. Detecting no negative emotions, she obediently slipped back into her body. A second later, she stood up, rubbing her nose.
She lightly brushed the dust off her clothes.
After shooting Moses a glance, she turned her head away with a "hmph!" and then stepped on Crow Dabao with the sole of her foot—not hard, but the insult was undeniable.
Moses sighed and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back.
"Crow Dabao's pretty powerful. Keep bullying him like this, and one day he might fly over your head and drop a present on you."
Perona shuddered at the thought, her eyes widening in horror.
Instantly, she turned to Moses with teary eyes and a pitiful expression. "If I apologize now… is it too late?"
Moses shrugged helplessly and tilted his chin toward Crow Dabao on the ground, signaling her to see for herself.
Perona lowered her head to look and saw the fierce glint in Crow Dabao's eyes, causing her heart to tremble involuntarily. She subtly shifted her body behind Moses, peeking out only her head to observe it.
"I apologize, I'm sorry. Let's make up, okay? How about I treat you to a big meal later?"
Crow Dabao remained unmoved.
Perona, stubborn by nature, felt her legs go weak and sat down with her knees turned inward, resting her head against Moses' leg. Half of her spirit manifested outside her body.
Translucent white bubbles swirled in the palm of her right hand, as tiny, doll-like spirits flickered in and out of existence.
The spirit Perona said expressionlessly, "If we don't make up, it'll be mutual destruction. If you dare to poop, I'll pierce you with my Negative Spirit. Then we'll see who can hold out longer."
"I mean what I say."
Crow Dabao's eyes were filled with explosive anger, its beak opening and closing. Finally, it rasped out a sentence:
"Fine... you win!"
Perona quietly exhaled, her hanging heart finally settling. Her spirit returned to her body, and she opened her eyes, laughing "Hara hara."
She looked like a petty villain who had gotten her way.
This made Crow Dabao's eyes twitch in anger.
Seeing that they had finally reconciled, Moses also smiled and asked, "Dabao, do you want to become a Devil Fruit user?"
Crow Dabao asked in confusion, "Like... Bear Cub... did?"
Moses nodded. "Similar."
"Which... ability?"
Crow Dabao was no longer a country bumpkin. It had some understanding of the miraculous existence known as Devil Fruits.
"This... fruit?" Crow Dabao opened its beak to ask, "Ability... what?"
"The Castle-Castle Fruit. After eating it, a massive castle will form inside your body, and you'll be able to freely manipulate the layout within it."
"Not only that, but your body can also transform into a castle, gaining the defensive capabilities of one."
"Do you want to eat it?"
Crow Dabao's eyes lit up, and it blurted out almost instantly, "Crow's... body... becomes... home... for girl?"
"Yes."
"Then Crow eat!" Crow Dabao hurriedly nodded, flapping its wings and flying up as if afraid Moses would change his mind.
It landed on Moses' right forearm and immediately pecked at the fruit with its beak.
Moses didn't dodge, letting it eat freely.
With one peck, it took a small piece of the fruit, swallowing it with its beak wide open.
At that moment, Crow Dabao's face visibly twisted in disgust.
"So... disgusting."
Perona laughed "Hara hara." "You dumb bird, Devil Fruits are already as disgusting as poop."
Crow Dabao rasped disdainfully, "You... eaten?"
"Of course! What a dumb bird. I'm already a Devil Fruit user, so of course I've eaten one."
Moses chuckled and looked at Perona. "Pepe, is there a chance Dabao was asking if you've eaten poop before?"
Perona's face darkened as she looked up at Moses. After considering Crow Dabao's tone earlier, her eyelids twitched violently.
"Stupid bird."
Moses smiled and lifted the Devil Fruit toward Crow Dabao. "Finish it."
Moses didn't explain why it needed to finish the fruit, and Crow Dabao didn't ask anything either.
It just stiffened its neck, widened its eyes, and began pecking rapidly, shocking Perona.
Ten seconds later.
It even swallowed the stem.
Crow Dabao gagged with its beak open, its eyes rolling back as it muttered:
"For the girl, Crow endured."
Moses smiled, "How does it feel? You should be able to use your ability now, right?"
At this question, Crow Dabao stopped feeling nauseous, tilted his head to look at Moses, and then opened his mouth to peck at him.
At the same time, as the bird's beak approached, Moses felt a pull and did not resist; soon his body began to shrink and was swallowed whole by Crow Dabao.
Perona watched in shock as Moses was eaten by Crow Dabao, her eyes widening and her mouth opening as if to scream, but Crow Dabao would not give her the chance. Flapping his wings, he flew in front of her, opening his beak wide.
In the next moment, her body shrank as well and she too was swallowed by Crow Dabao.
Like a shift in space, Moses found himself in a completely new environment, surrounded by six granite-like walls.
At that moment, the ceiling rippled, and Crow Dabao's body emerged from it, identical to his outer form, flapping his wings and landing on Moses's shoulder.
"Ah~ this is Crow's castle, space."
Moses tapped his feet on the ground, walked over to a window, and touched the windowsill, "So what is this window?"
"Crow's eyes."
Looking around the simple interior structure that only had walls and windows, Moses chuckled:
"It seems I need to enroll you in an architecture course; the layout of your internal castle needs some improvement."
"By the way, Dabao, since you're here inside, can your outer body still be controlled?"
Crow Dabao cawed with laughter, a hint of human-like excitement on his bird face, "Moses, it's amazing! Crow's vision has become two, but it's a bit dizzying, seeing two images."
Moses began to ask detailed questions about Crow Dabao's ability, and after a while, he had a basic understanding of it.
"Is it a bit confusing to see two images at once? That's fine; just practice more, and you'll get used to it."
"Can the outer body be partially castle-ified? That's great! It's also good practice; then you can use partial castle-ification to enhance your attack and defense."
"Don't know how to layout the internal castle space? No problem, just divide it into four floors, and layout the rooms on each floor. When you have time, check out the inns here and see how those places are arranged; you'll naturally figure it out."
After working with Crow Dabao to develop the layout of his internal space, Moses suddenly remembered something he seemed to have forgotten.
"By the way, where's Peipei?"
Moses tapped his forehead and asked.
Standing on Moses's shoulder, Crow Dabao's bird eyes looked vacant, "Ah~ you, come with me."
As he spoke, the ground beneath Moses's feet rippled, and a marble staircase leading underground appeared.
"Moses, let's go."
Following Crow Dabao's guidance, Moses descended, and soon a stone door appeared before them. With a series of "clicks," the door opened.
Moses and Crow Dabao entered together.
In the next moment, Moses's eyes twitched as he saw two Peronas appear before him.
One was floating in the air with an angry expression.
The other had her eyes closed, head bowed, and was fixed in a large letter 'T' against the stone wall, with her wrists, ankles, neck, and waist shackled by protruding marble-like restraints.
Upon seeing Crow Dabao, Perona's spirit form screamed, palms aimed at him, and shouted angrily, "Negative Spirit!"
Biu~
Four Negative Spirits soared through the air like white, translucent ribbons, darting straight toward Crow Dabao.
The bird's eyes widened in alarm as Crow Dabao let out a low cry, "Gah~"
Instantly, the ground in front of him began to warp, and two thick stone pillars rose to block the path of the Negative Spirits.
Yet, in the next moment, the Negative Spirits phased right through the pillars as if they weren't there, passing through Crow Dabao's body as well.
Watching Crow Dabao collapse to the ground, his voice filled with utter despair:
"Crow is a petty crow, unworthy of living in this world. If there's a next life, crow wants to be a chicken."
Moses silently stepped away from him, observing as Perona's spirit form continued to unleash Negative Spirits.
One pass, two passes, three passes...
Moses' eye twitched as he walked over to Perona's physical body, which was pinned to the wall. Leaning against the wall, he suddenly felt the urge to smoke.
A faint sense of melancholy washed over him.
For Perona right now, Crow Dabao's Devil Fruit ability was actually a decent refuge.
But now, the moment the two met, they clashed—neither willing to back down, each capable of tormenting the other with their Devil Fruit mechanics.
"In the end, Crow Dabao is definitely the one who'll suffer in the future."
Having vented her anger and stopped using her ability, Perona had just approached Moses when she overheard this and asked curiously:
"What do you mean, Moses?"
"I read in a book that Ghost Fruit users, at a certain stage (awakening), will likely gain the ability to apply their spirit effects to physical bodies."
"In other words, once you reach that point in the future, Crow Dabao will truly have no way to counter you—he has no means to attack spirits."
Moses cast a pitying glance at Crow Dabao, who was just recovering:
"He can only bully you now. Well, unless you never reach the stage I mentioned, then he'll be fine."
Perona's spirit form suddenly laughed, cheerfully chanting, "Hara hara~"
Crow Dabao's bird face twisted into a human-like expression of indignation as he looked at Moses bitterly:
"So... she'll be... invincible?"
"Not invincible," Moses chuckled lightly. "This world still has Hegemony. As long as one masters Hegemony, they can resist Devil Fruit abilities."
Crow Dabao's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Mo—I—want to learn."
"When I master it, I'll teach you."
"Deal."
Seeing the renewed vigor in Crow Dabao's eyes, Moses didn't have the heart to tell him:
Hegemony also has tiers. Low-tier Hegemony might not be enough to block the Ghost Fruit's spirit penetration.
At Moses' signal, Crow Dabao released Perona.
He caught her as she fell.
Then, her spirit returned to her body.
Perona opened her eyes and looked at Moses in confusion. "Hegemony? It can really block my spirits?"
"Yes, Hegemony can. There's even a saying in this world—though no one knows how accurate it is—'Only Hegemony can stand above all else.'"
"See? Whether it's true or not, since it's been passed down, there must be some truth to it."
"Then I want to learn Hegemony too," Perona said solemnly, staring at Moses. "If you're teaching him, you have to teach me too."
Watching as the human and the bird began competing, Moses' lips curled slightly. He reached out and patted Perona's head.
"Alright, but I'm afraid you might not be able to endure the hardship. Learning Hegemony is no easy task."
"Crow not afraid. Crow will definitely learn it."
At this, Perona glared and declared firmly, "I'm not afraid either. I won't let a bird boss me around."
"Fine. I'll start teaching you in a few days. If you want to master Hegemony, you'll need to lay the foundation now."
"Mm."
Perona nodded heavily.
Moses noticed there was still a window in the room and walked over, leaning on the windowsill. "Dabao, where on your body is this window located?"
"Leg."
Moses nodded, gazing at the ruins outside. "Take us for a flight. I want to see a different view."
The next moment, the scenery shifted as Crow Dabao soared into the sky, and the ruins outside the window grew smaller and smaller.
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