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....
Perona's ghosts passed through Noir repeatedly, but Noir silently issued a command to the system.
"Do not absorb this external ability, no matter how many times it appears."
Perona stared at Noir in disbelief, stuttering, "W-Why aren't you becoming depressed?"
Noir casually responded, "Maybe it's because I'm a deep and mysterious man?"
Perona's mouth dropped open, and she clutched her head in frustration, exclaiming, "Why is this happening?"
As they were speaking, Lucci suddenly appeared behind her and delivered a swift strike to the back of her neck. Perona immediately fainted, and Robin, along with Conis, quickly supported her.
"She is very loyal to Moria. Let's keep her under house arrest for now."
Having more subordinates certainly brought advantages. Since taking over the Thriller Bark, Noir hadn’t had to lift a finger against anyone other than Moria. With a single command, there was always someone to execute it, this is what it means to be in a position of power.
As the new user of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, Noir quickly took control of all the zombies on the ship, firmly establishing his authority over the Thriller Bark.
Though the zombies weren't exactly impressive in appearance, they were products of the Devil Fruit and displayed absolute loyalty to Noir.
Just as Noir found some time to relax again, Blueno opened another door in front of him.
Poor Blueno, due to his Door-Door Fruit ability, had been reduced to a mere messenger by Noir.
Blueno, emerging from the door and visibly winded from repeated use of his powers, reported, "Captain, someone wants to see you!"
Noir looked at him in surprise and asked, "There are others on the island?"
Scratching his head and gesturing vaguely, Blueno described, "It's an ugly woman with a big head and lipstick."
"It seems Moria took their shadows, so they've been hiding here."
Noir suddenly understood. He remembered now; the woman on the ship was Lola, wasn't she?
Lola, one of Big Mom's numerous daughters, had caught the eye of the Giant Prince, leading her delighted mother to arrange a marriage that would improve relations with the Giants.
But who would've thought that, despite her unremarkable appearance, Lola had a gutsy personality. She dared to defy Big Mom's orders, fleeing the New World and enraging both Big Mom and the Giants.
Noir nodded and said, "Bring her to me."
Soon after, an unattractive woman and her followers were brought before Noir.
She was indeed hard on the eyes...
Seeing Noir, Lola respectfully greeted him alongside her subordinates, "Greetings, Noir. new user of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit."
Noir nodded and got straight to the point, "You want your shadows back, right?"
Lola hesitated for a moment, then, with difficulty, said, "Moria, one of the Seven Warlords, took our shadows. We haven't seen sunlight in years..."
Noir raised his hand, cutting her off, "I can return your shadows, but I have conditions."
Lola was taken aback but quickly became overjoyed, "That's wonderful! We'll do our best to meet your conditions."
Noir shook his head and pointed at Lola, saying, "It's nothing major. I just need you to give me your mother's Vivre Card."
Lola was puzzled, how did Noir know she had a Vivre Card?
But it wasn't a bad deal. She didn't have much affection for her mother anyway, and she doubted this man could do anything to threaten the formidable Big Mom.
Obediently, she handed over Big Mom's Vivre Card, and Noir kept his promise, returning her and her subordinates' shadows.
There weren’t many of them, so losing a few shadows wasn’t much of an issue.
After Lola and her people left, Lucci, who had been silent until now, finally spoke, "Why bother negotiating? We could have just killed them and taken what we wanted."
Noir lazily reclined on the couch his subordinates had brought over and replied, "If a few words can solve the problem, why resort to violence?"
Although Noir had killed many, he wasn’t one to kill indiscriminately.
Lola had shown the proper respect and politeness befitting her strength, so Noir was willing to exchange a few words with her.
Sure, crushing her would be as easy as stepping on an ant, but who has time to go around killing every ant they see?
In his previous life, such behavior would either mark you as a budding serial killer or a troubled child...
Days passed, and Noir continued to send people to search for the skeleton Brook, hoping to copy his Revive-Revive Fruit ability.
Having an ability that grants extra lives was too valuable to ignore.
However, the Devil's Triangle was vast, and even after a considerable amount of time, they hadn't seen a single ship, let alone found any trace of Brook.
As time slowly slipped by with no sign of Brook, Noir grew weary of waiting.
With no other choice, Noir returned to the Maxim, preparing to head to Sabaody and make plans to seize the Heavenly Tribute.
Of course, as the first territory Noir had claimed, the Thriller Bark couldn’t be abandoned.
Noir left behind members of the CP9 team, taking only Lucci, Kalifa, and Blueno with him.
As for Perona, ever since learning that Moria had been slain by Noir, she had secluded herself in the castle, refusing to eat or drink, leaving Noir with little recourse.
Perona had been taken in by Moria as a child, and her loyalty and affection for him couldn’t be easily swayed by an outsider like Noir.
As for Hogback, though he was equally loyal, his medical skills were the only reason he hadn’t been executed already.
Both of them were to be kept under guard for now; they might prove useful later.
With the few people left to take care of things on the Thriller Bark, Noir felt much more at ease. There weren't many in the first half of the Grand Line who could challenge them.
Before departing, Noir specifically instructed Kaku to report immediately if they found any news about Brook.
What puzzled Noir the most was how Moria managed to sail the Thriller Bark to the New World and back again.
A ship as large as an island would need an enormous coating to pass through Fish-Man Island...
The Maxim swayed gently as it sailed out of the mist, and the long-lost sunlight once again bathed their faces.
Noir stretched leisurely, enjoying the warmth, and remarked, "It's so much better with sunlight."
Robin, smiling as she flipped through the charts, added, "We're finally nearing the Sabaody Archipelago."
Conis, curious, asked, "Is that island special?"
Robin nodded, patiently pulling out a small blackboard and explaining, while Conis and the others sat attentively, listening.
"When entering the Grand Line, there are seven routes to choose from, but to move from Paradise to the New World, if you can't pass through Mariejois atop the Red Line, your only option is to go through Fish-Man Island."
"And since Fish-Man Island is 10,000 meters under the sea, ships must be coated on the Sabaody Archipelago to dive into the deep."
Enel exclaimed in amazement, "Skypiea is 10,000 meters in the sky, and Fish-Man Island is 10,000 meters underwater, what a difference!"
Conis, full of wonder, added, "So there really are Fish-Men in the world!"
Seeing everyone so eager, Noir also felt a bit excited.
The island where the seven routes converge again was also where Noir and Ace had agreed to meet.
He had to get there quickly, they had a meal riding on it!
...
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