I Am

This scene, so full of déjà vu, startled Mercer, and he quickly guessed her identity in his mind.

"The speed isn't that fast."

Mercer watched the ghost-like thing fly towards him, able to clearly see its flight path.

Mercer dodged to the side, watching the doll-like ghost trail a long tail as it flew past him.

Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he didn't expect the ghost doll to make a U-turn in mid-air and fly towards him again.

"It can control its direction?"

Mercer pondered in his mind.

At this moment, the little girl spirit covered her mouth and giggled merrily, "Har har har, fall down for me."

Laughing merrily, she unleashed another identical ghost doll from her palm, charging towards Mercer.

Seeing this, Mercer stopped playing around. He pushed off the ground and quickly ran towards her position.

Ignoring the ghost doll chasing him from behind, he focused on the other ghost doll in front of him. The moment it was about to hit him, he quickly rolled to the side to dodge.

After dodging, he immediately got up and charged towards her physical body.

Seeing Mercer dodge her abilities several times in a row, the little girl spirit began to panic.

She hurriedly shouted in a sharp voice:

"Don't come any closer! I'm warning you, I still have a Ghost Bomb I haven't used. If you come any closer, don't blame me. I'll blow you to smithereens."

Mercer ignored her and continued to charge forward. He drew Cold Dew from his back waist and, in the blink of an eye, reached her (spirit) and swiftly sliced her neck with the sharp blade.

It passed in a flash.

The little girl spirit swallowed and touched her neck, which felt completely unharmed. She felt a pang of fear, but then remembered that her spirit form was immune to physical attacks, and the corners of her mouth slowly curled up again.

Feeling a little smug, she turned around, and the next moment, panic appeared on her spirit's face.

Mercer looked at her with a smile, sat on the ground, and used the body of Cold Dew to pat the face of her physical body lying on the ground.

"What do you say?"

The next second, the little girl spirit landed on the ground with a plop, like a duck sitting down, and cried out loudly, "Don't kill me, I don't want to die, I was wrong, I apologize."

Seeing this, Mercer laughed and pointed to the two ghost dolls floating around her with his left finger.

"Take them back."

Hearing this, the little girl spirit looked dejected and dispersed the two ghost dolls.

Mercer asked curiously, "What's your name? I heard them say you're an outsider. Why are you staying here? Where are your family?"

The little girl spirit gritted her teeth, anger appearing in her eyes, "Did that group of thieves tell you? I've only interacted with them here. It must have been them."

"Mm, I happened to hear them mention you and got curious, so I came over. Tell me, your story."

The little girl spirit's eyes lit up, "Story? My story? I've become famous too. Har har har!"

Seeing her suddenly become happy, Mercer felt a bit strange. Wasn't she a bit detached?

At this moment, she happily smiled and waved her hand, "I'm not that famous. My name is Perona. I'm an independent woman, currently making my own way."

Mercer looked at her strangely as she began to tell her story.

After a long while, Mercer sat on the ground, eating an apple, and finished listening to her story.

How to put it.

She was an orphan who grew up in an orphanage on another island. One day, she ate a Devil Fruit, and then, after a series of accidents, she was ostracized as a monster. In the end, she hardened her heart and left.

She wandered all the way here.

She temporarily made a home here.

With her Devil Fruit ability, she was doing quite well. She would go out and play pranks stealthily every day. Anyway, she wouldn't starve.

Because she had shared her story, she was also captured. So, Perona was now speaking to Mercer with her physical body.

"Um, I talked a lot. I'm a bit thirsty. Give me an apple."

Perona said softly. Mercer raised an eyebrow, "You're not shy at all."

He said, handing her the last apple. She took it and took a bite with a crunch.

"Mmm, so sweet. Since you're sharing your food with me, I'll forgive you for threatening me earlier."

Mercer was speechless, "Who threatened you? Didn't you make the first move?"

Waving her hand, Perona smiled.

"That's not important. By the way, what's your name? We've been talking for so long, and I still don't know your name. I can't keep calling you 'Hey,' can I?"

"Mercer, that's my name."

"Right, have you always been living here by yourself? Have you thought about what you want to do in the future?"

Perona tilted her head, looking at Mercer with some confusion, "I don't know. I'll live one day at a time. Anyway, I'm quite strong, I won't starve."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You want me to go with you, like those thieves?"

As she spoke, Perona sized up Mercer and suddenly covered her mouth, giggling. "You're so small, are you alone?"

"No, I just came here today and was wandering around idly. Then I heard about you and came to see."

"You're right, I think you're quite interesting. Want to come with me? You don't have anything to do staying here alone anyway. It's boring to be alone, isn't it?"

"No." Perona pouted. "I don't want to. I'm fine by myself. No one calls me a monster, and I can support myself.

It's just like those thieves. They said they wanted me to go with them and be their partner, but their eyes were full of fear. They thought I was a monster.

They say nice things, but who knows what they're thinking? Their spirits exude deceit, just like those people at the orphanage."

Perona sat up hugging her knees, lowered her head, and mumbled:

"I wasn't born a monster. Who knew I'd become like this after eating some strange fruit back then."

"Um," Mercer chuckled lightly. "Didn't I tell you?

The fruit you ate is called a Devil Fruit. After eating it, you gain strange abilities.

Creatures that eat it are called Devil Fruit users, right?"

Perona suddenly raised her head, disbelief on her face. "Really?"

"You're not lying to me?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Mercer said speechlessly. "This kind of information has been circulating on the high seas for a long time."

"Like when I was little, I got two. I gave one to my panda."

"After eating it, he became very magical. His mouth could open incredibly wide, and he could eat anything. After eating me, we could even fuse and play together."

Perona shivered, her eyes suddenly lighting up. "Panda?"

"Is it the chubby, round, black and white kind? With fur on its face like a black balaclava, like a bandit?"

"No."

Upon hearing this, Perona pouted. "So it's not. You liar."

"You're talking about a Red Panda. Those aren't good-looking. I'm talking about a Panda. The fur colors are the opposite of a Red Panda.

It has black eye circles, a black nose, black ears, black limbs, and the rest of its body is white. Those are the good-looking ones."

Perona asked suspiciously, "Really? Isn't the kind you're talking about fictional? Does it exist in reality?"

"Believe it or not."

Mercer pouted. "Just like before you ate the Devil Fruit, if someone told you something like this existed, would you believe them?"

"I wouldn't," Perona blinked, then realized. "Do you really have that kind of panda?"

"Yes."

"Can you bring it to me?" Perona looked at Mercer with anticipation.

"I want to see it. I really like bears."

"Dream on. Whether I'll come back here again is another question, and I don't have the time to bring a Bear Cub for you to see. Who do you think you are?"

"Bear Cub?"

"That's his name, nickname Bear Cub, given name Winter."

"Winter?"

"Yeah, it's a homophone for 'winter'."

"Wooo~" Perona rolled excitedly in the grass, her face flushing. "A panda? Bear Cub? He even has a name. I really want to meet him, I really want to meet him."

"If you want to meet him, then come with me?" Mercer's lips curled into a wicked grin. "Otherwise, you'll have to find him yourself later."

"You're lying to me, aren't you?" Perona suddenly felt like Mercer was always trying to tempt her, and looked at him suspiciously. "Do you really have a panda?"

Mercer was about to speak, but suddenly looked up at the sky. A black and white bird fell from the sky.

Mercer raised his left arm, and Karasu landed precisely on his arm. The bird's eyes were excited, and it squawked, "Mei! Guess what I found out?"

"Huh?" Perona's eyes suddenly widened, her mouth agape in disbelief. "A crow is talking?!"

Karasu shook its head vigorously, glanced at Perona, and said to Mercer:

"Who is this idiot? Is she stupid?"

Perona blinked, a trickle of snot running down her nose. She pointed at Mercer, then at Karasu.

"It cursed me? It actually cursed me? I'm angry."

Saying that, she fell backward, but a perfectly identical Spirit remained in place. The Spirit's palm opened, indistinguishable from the physical body.

"Negi-negi Ghost."

A ghost doll suddenly surged out and passed through Karasu at close range. Instantly, Karasu fell from Mercer's arm onto the grass.

The bird's legs knelt on the ground, its wings supporting its body, its beak opening and closing.

"Caw, stinky crow's beak, crows really aren't good birds."

"Hahaha~, you have a stinky mouth, reflect on yourself properly, you stinky crow. Negi-negi Ghost. Negi-negi Ghost Negi-negi Ghost."

"Ugh~ I'm so sorry for being alive."

"Wow~ I want to be a piece of wood, just staying still until I rot and die."

"Caw~ If there's a next life, I want to be a lump of bird droppings."

Watching himself being pierced through the body by the ghost dolls one after another, the negativity emanating from the entire bird seemed to overflow. Mercer's mouth twitched:

"Uh, that's enough, isn't it? If this continues, I'm afraid it will beat you up when it wakes up."

Perona heard this, her eyebrows shot up, and a wicked smile curved her lips: "It wants to beat me up later? Do you believe I can make it so negative that it dies?"

"I don't believe it," Mercer said calmly. "Using Devil Fruits consumes stamina. I don't believe you can keep using it non-stop. mere negativity won't kill a bird.

Besides, I won't let you keep doing this."

As he spoke, Mercer glanced at her, unhurriedly entering the Unity of Heaven and Man state, his face serene as he looked at her.

The Unity of Heaven and Man state was also a state of mind, a psychological state that allowed Mercer to maintain a tranquil mind and complete focus.

At this moment, Perona looked at Mercer, at Mercer who was only one step away, close at hand, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

"Negi-negi Ghost."

A ghost doll gushed out from her palm, took a turn, and with a "Biu," pierced through Mercer's chest.

"Hahaha, serves you right, let's see if you still believe it now."

Perona looked at Mercer with expectant eyes, eager to see what embarrassing display he would make.

A faint sense of negativity arose in his heart. Mercer experienced it with some curiosity, but it was only a little, and it didn't affect his mental state.

Although the Negi-negi Ghosts created by users of the Ghost Fruit can greatly affect a person's negative emotions and mental state, this influence is not absolute.

For those who are already extremely negative, the effect is minimal, and it might even backfire and affect their own Spirit due to the connection with the ghost.

At this moment, seeing Mercer's calm and indifferent expression, Perona tilted her head, looking bewildered. She then pointed her palm at Mercer, "Negi-negi Ghost. Negi-negi Ghost Negi-negi Ghost."

Three consecutive shots.

They pierced directly through Mercer's chest.

"So, your Devil Fruit ability isn't absolute either. It doesn't have much effect on me."

Mercer looked at her calmly. Perona sniffled a trickle of snot, looking at Mercer blankly, muttering:

"You monster, you can't feel negativity? How is that possible? I've never met anyone like this."

After speaking, Perona's Spirit retreated and re-entered her body, and then she suddenly sat up.

She performed a dogeza (prostration) orz.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong, don't hit me."

Mercer's mouth twitched as he looked at her. He grabbed her head with his right hand, his five fingers pinching it. "You're really feisty. I'm starting to feel like hitting you."

"Caw~ Mei, get revenge, beat her up. I'll fing f, caw~ caw ugh!"

Karasu finally reacted, remembering his embarrassing situation. His beak spat out a torrent of profanity, and he flapped his wings furiously, cursing Perona.

Mercer's eye twitched. He looked at Karasu helplessly, "Who did you learn from? Why is your mouth so venomous?"

He had no choice but to slap Perona on the head, giving her a "hat."

"Waaah! That hurt."

Perona cried out with her mouth open. Mercer looked at her speechlessly; he hadn't even used any force, why was she acting?

Too lazy to bother with her, he turned back to Karasu, "What's the matter? What did you discover? You looked very excited."

Karasu glared fiercely at Perona, then said excitedly:

"I discovered a group of gangsters preparing to make a transaction. They were talking about the Ishu Family, a transaction, and a Devil Fruit.

The location is in the eastern ruins, right there."

New author, new book! Please follow!

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PS: Perona was born in West Blue and was picked up by Moria in her childhood. The place where she was found is unknown. Ten years before Moria went to the Thriller Bark area in the original timeline, he appeared in West Blue to dig graves, so this is a secondary setting, trying to make it reasonable.

In this book, the Ghost Fruit's setting is that Perona is currently only eight years old, her stamina is limited, and her abilities are not skillfully developed. Most of her ability releases are used by her Spirit after leaving her body to use the abilities normally. When she gets older and her abilities are skillfully used, she will be able to release ghost abilities with her physical body. As for further advancements, such as her physical body gaining Spirit Form, flight, giantization, and other abilities, that will require Awakening the fruit. (The original description of the Ghost Fruit is a bit messy, so this book uses its own setting.)

In this book's setting, Panda and Red Panda are different classifications of the same species. Pandas are rare (black eye circles, cute), while Red Pandas are common (bandit masks, ugly).