Life returned to a peaceful state. Rhett watched Perona floating aimlessly around the deck, always feeling like something was missing. These days, Perona spent her time riding Laboon, running all over the ship.
Homework!Studying could enlighten the mind.
Perona was only six years old — how could she not be studying? That wouldn't do. Luckily, Ohara was still around, so he could send her there for a while.
With a grand wave of his hand, Rhett commanded the entire ship to set course for Ohara.
"Rhett-sama, what's Ohara like? Are there fun things there?" Perona asked.
Rhett couldn't suppress his grin. "It's a very exciting place."
But Laboon, innocent as he was, sensed that things might not be so simple.
Five years of mock exams, seven years of past papers... Wouldn't that terrify you?
Of course, he definitely wasn't going to tell Perona about that.
And so, not long after...
The transition: thud! Clash! Clash! Clash!
As the Dawn Phoenix slowly docked...
Perona leaned against the ship's railing, her pink twin tails swaying gently in the sea breeze. "Rhett-sama~ Is that big tree the library? It's so huge!"
Rhett looked at her. "Do you like it? Remember, here you have to call them 'teachers.'"
"Huh? Why?"
"Because..." Rhett suddenly flashed a devilish smile, "starting today, you'll be studying here for a while."
Rhett figured that if they were locked up in a dungeon for a few months, they'd confess to anything.
Enel watched coldly from the sidelines. "Boring."
When this group of uninvited guests entered the library, Director Clover adjusted his glasses. "Pirates? We don't..."
Rhett casually tossed out a bag of gold coins. "Sponsorship fee."
The bag landed on the table with a dull thud, and the scholars' eyes immediately lit up — recently, the World Government's scrutiny had grown stricter, and the institute was indeed in need of funds.
"Ahem... Welcome to Ohara." The director's attitude instantly warmed. "What subject would this young lady like to study?"
Perona hid behind Rhett, peeking out with half her face visible. "I-I want to learn the most powerful ghost magic!"
"This is a sanctuary of knowledge." Rhett lifted her by the collar and pushed her forward. "You just need to teach her basic literacy."
A brick-thick tome was slapped onto the table, and Perona's ghosts collectively fainted.
"This is too much!" Perona sat by the fountain, kicking her little legs. "Those squiggly lines are impossible to understand!"
Suddenly, a small pebble hit the back of her head.
"Hahaha! Look at that pink-haired freak!" A group of older kids laughed mockingly in the distance. "She's actually reading! Is that a ghost? She's a devil!"
Rhett and Moriah's auras instantly shifted. "Looking to die."
Perona's eyes welled up with tears, her negative ghosts about to be unleashed—
"Thud!"
A slender figure suddenly stepped in front of her. A black-haired girl with glasses spread her arms like a protective hen. "Don't bully people!"
The three older kids' faces instantly paled. "It's the monster! Run!"
The crowd scattered instantly, leaving only a mess of lunch boxes on the ground.
Perona stared blankly at the girl who was even shorter than her. "You... why did you help me?"
Robin patted her clothes and picked up the spilled lunch. It was the director's meal — if she didn't eat it, she'd go hungry tonight, as her aunt wouldn't give her anything else.
But that didn't stop Robin from smiling warmly. "A friend once told me that if you want to make friends, you have to take the first step boldly. Would you like to be my friend?"
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the two little girls.
No one noticed the three pools of blood left in the distant forest.
Rhett noticed. Robin's friend, Saul, has already arrived, huh?
What terrible luck. Kuzan's transformation from a passionate youth to a lazy slacker — this time, Rhett planned to enjoy Kuzan's misery. He had no intention of saving these scholars.
Rhett felt it was all their own fault. They had no real strength yet dared to study ancient texts, and they didn't even hide it properly — instead, they made sure the whole world knew they were researching ancient scripts.
While their spirit of exploring the unknown was admirable, their actions were utterly foolish. Robin, Perona's friend, turned out fine, didn't she? As the saying goes, though she suffered greatly, her ending was good.
And so, Perona endured the darkest days of her life. Since Rhett had paid generously, the director taught with utmost dedication, and Perona experienced a few days of high school life — those bitter days were truly inhuman.
A few days later, Enel found Rhett and informed him that Navy ships were approaching Ohara. Enel could now function as a human radar — Enel's utility +1.
Rhett found Perona, who was scratching her head in frustration. "Time to go, little Perona."
Although Perona had just made a new friend in Robin, life was simply too painful. Sorry, Robin!
As Perona lost herself in her fantasy world...
Today, Rhett had to thoroughly mock Kuzan. After all, when Garp was chasing Roger, it was always king versus king, general versus general.
The passionate youth Kuzan was truly his lifelong nemesis — mainly because he was so annoying. You couldn't just kill him, and Kuzan would always come at him. Before Rhett could turn into mist, Kuzan's Devil Fruit power had made Rhett suffer for a while.
And so, they waited beneath the Tree of Knowledge. Rhett remembered that Spandine would bring Robin's mother — if he could help, he would.
From a distance, the sound of hurried footsteps approached. Spandine's laughter pierced their eardrums as his subordinates dragged a woman forward.
Robin's heart clenched as she saw the woman who resembled her.
"Mom..." Robin's voice was almost inaudible, but her mother — Olvia — suddenly looked up, tears instantly filling her eyes.
"Robin..." Olvia's voice trembled, guilt and pain intertwining in her expression. She didn't say more.
Spandine smugly lifted his chin, sneering, "Look at this touching mother-daughter reunion! Too bad — your time is almost up. The Buster Call is about to—"
"Smack!"
The slap echoed.
Before Spandine could react, everything went black. He collapsed.
Don't ruin my mood. When watching anime and encountering such villains, daring to act up right in front of me—
Rhett had now reached a level of power where he could do as he pleased. Don't prance around in front of me — if I dare kill Celestial Dragons, what's a small fry like you?