Castle-Solid!

In the blink of an eye, Perona plunged headfirst downward, with no time to react.

The next moment.

"Ah!!!"

A deafening, piercing scream rang out. "That hurts!! My nose!!!"

Mercer rubbed his ears.

Just then, the sound of wings flapping came from the sky. Mercer looked up.

The next moment, a whoosh cut through the air. He raised his hand, and with a slap, caught a rock-colored Devil Fruit covered in "Karakusa" patterns.

[Appraisal]

[Paramecia: Castle-Solid Fruit (A)]

Mercer raised an eyebrow and examined the Devil Fruit curiously. "I didn't expect it to be this Devil Fruit. Then that man just now really was that guy, huh?"

Flap, flap~

Karasu landed on Mercer's shoulder. Looking at Perona, who was kneeling on the ground in an OR2 pose and groaning in pain, he asked curiously:

"What happened to her?"

Mercer looked at Perona helplessly.

"She insulted me, so I taught her a lesson."

"Caw, caw~ Serves her right. That's what she gets."

Just then, Mercer saw Perona's spirit rise out of her body. He immediately took a deep breath and entered a state of Unity of Heaven and Man. Sure enough, the next moment, a small hand appeared, and two little ghosts burst from her palm.

The transparent white ghosts shot through Mercer and Karasu's chests.

Immediately afterward, Karasu fell from Mercer's shoulder and lay on the ground, cawing.

Mercer looked at Perona helplessly and reached out to her. "Isn't the ground cold? Aren't you getting up?"

The upper half of Perona's spirit's head poked out from her back and lifted up, silently staring at him.

Mercer put a hand to his forehead and sighed. "You look pretty freaky like this. It's kind of scary."

"Do you hate me now?"

"When they used to bully me, I'd just stare at them like this, and then they'd all shun me."

"Was that at the orphanage?"

"Yeah."

"That explains it."

"Do you hate me too?"

"Not really. I actually think it's pretty interesting. All right, get up. The ground's filthy."

Mercer smiled. He wasn't just saying it; he really did find it pretty interesting. She looked like a ghost bound to the ground.

And kind of cute.

Yeah, Mercer was a sucker for pretty faces.

If she were ugly, he was sure he'd have said something in a completely different tone. Probably.

Assuming everything went as expected.

"Oh." Perona's spirit looked at Mercer again. Not sensing any negative feelings from him, she obediently slipped back into her body. The next moment, she stood up, rubbing her nose.

She patted the dust off herself.

She glanced at Mercer, turned her head away, and snorted. Then she used the soles of her feet to step on Karasu, who was lying on the ground. She wasn't putting much force into it, but the insult was unmistakable.

Mercer sighed helplessly and grabbed her by the shoulder, pulling her back.

"Karasu's really strong. If you keep bullying him like this, watch out—one day he'll fly over your head and poop on you."

At that, Perona shuddered. Imagining that happening, she couldn't help looking frightened.

In an instant, she turned to Mercer with a pitiful look, tears welling in her eyes. "If I apologize now, is it still in time?"

Mercer spread his hands helplessly and nodded toward Karasu on the ground, gesturing for her to see for herself.

Perona looked down and saw the fierce glint in Karasu's eyes. Her heart gave a little tremble, and she quietly moved behind Mercer, peeking at him from there.

"I'm sorry. Please, let's make up. Um, how about I treat you to a big meal later?"

Karasu was unmoved.

Perona was stubborn too. She let her legs buckle and sat down with her knees turned inward, resting her head against Mercer's leg. Half of her spirit emerged from her body.

A translucent white bubble churned in her right palm as the tiny spirit, like a little ghost doll, flickered in and out of existence.

Spirit Perona spoke expressionlessly. "If we don't make up, we'll both go down together. If you dare poop on me, I'll send a Negi-negi Ghost through you. Then we'll see which of us gives in first."

"I mean it."

Karasu's eyes were full of fury. His beak opened and closed, but in the end, he rasped out a single line:

"Fine, you win!"

Perona quietly let out a breath, her hanging heart finally settling. Her spirit returned to her body, and she opened her eyes and laughed, "Hara hara."

She looked like she was gloating.

Karasu's eyes twitched with anger.

Seeing that they'd finally made up, Mercer smiled too. "Da Bao, do you want to become an ability user?"

Karasu asked in confusion, "Like Bear Cub?"

Mercer nodded. "Something like that."

"What kind of ability?"

Karasu was no longer a country bumpkin. He understood the existence of the wondrous Devil Fruits.

"This fruit?" Karasu asked, opening his beak. "What ability?"

"The Castle-Solid Fruit. Once you eat it, a huge castle will form inside your body, and you'll be able to freely control its layout."

"Not only that, you'll also be able to transform your body into a castle, giving it the defensive power of one."

"Do you want to eat it?"

Karasu's eyes lit up, and the words escaped him almost instantly. "Will Karasu's body become the little miss's home?"

"Yeah."

"Then Karasu will eat it!" Karasu nodded urgently, then flapped his wings and took off as if afraid Mercer might change his mind.

He landed on Mercer's right forearm and immediately pecked at the fruit.

Mercer didn't dodge. He simply let Karasu eat.

With each peck, Karasu tore off a little piece of flesh and swallowed it.

Just then, Karasu's face grew visibly unpleasant.

"It tastes so bad."

Perona laughed, "Hara hara." "You stupid bird. Devil Fruits taste like crap."

Karasu rasped contemptuously, "You tried it?"

"Of course. I'm an ability user, so I've obviously tried one."

Mercer looked at Perona and chuckled. "Pepe, is it possible that Da Bao was asking if you've ever eaten poop?"

Perona's face darkened. She looked up at Mercer, then thought back to Karasu's tone just now. The corners of her eyes twitched violently.

"Stupid bird."

Mercer smiled and held the Devil Fruit up to Karasu. "Finish it."

Mercer didn't explain why he had to eat it all, and Karasu didn't ask.

He simply stiffened his neck, widened his eyes, and pecked at it quickly. Perona watched, utterly astonished.

Ten seconds later.

He'd swallowed even the stem.

Karasu opened his beak and retched, rolling his eyes as he muttered:

"For the little miss, Karasu can endure it."

Mercer smiled. "How do you feel? You should be able to use your ability now, right?"

At that question, Karasu stopped retching and tilted his head toward Mercer. Then he opened his beak and pecked at him.

At the same time, as his beak drew close, Mercer felt a force pulling at him. He didn't resist. His body began to shrink, and Karasu swallowed him in one gulp.

Perona watched Mercer get eaten by Karasu, her eyes bulging. She opened her mouth to scream, but Karasu wasn't going to give her the chance. He flapped his wings and flew in front of her, opening his beak wide.

The next moment, her body shrank, and Karasu swallowed her too.

As if passing through space, Mercer appeared in a completely new place. He was surrounded by six granite-like walls.

Just then, the ceiling rippled like water, and Karasu's body emerged from it. He looked exactly like his body outside, and flapped down to land on Mercer's shoulder.

"Caw~ This is Karasu's Castle Space."

Mercer stamped his foot on the floor, then walked to a window and felt the windowsill. "Then what's this window?"

"Karasu's eyes."

Looking around at the simple interior, which had nothing but walls and windows, Mercer smiled.

"Looks like I'll have to sign you up for an architecture course. The layout of the castle inside you needs some work."

"By the way, Da Bao, if you're inside right now, can you still control your body outside?"

Karasu cawed with excitement. A humanlike hint of exhilaration appeared on his face. "Mercer, it's amazing. Karasu can see two things now, but it makes Karasu a little dizzy. There are two pictures."

Mercer asked Karasu about his ability in detail. Before long, he had a basic understanding of it.

"Having two views at once makes you a little confused? That's fine. Just practice more, and you'll get used to it."

"You can transform parts of your body into a castle? That's great too. Keep practicing, and you'll be able to use that partial transformation to boost your offense and defense."

"You don't know how to arrange the castle's interior? No problem. Start by dividing it into four floors and laying out rooms on each one. When you have time, visit the inns around here and take a good look at how they're built. You'll figure it out."

Mercer worked with Karasu to lay out the space inside his body. After they'd been busy for quite a while, Mercer suddenly remembered that he'd forgotten something.

"By the way, where's Pepe?"

Mercer patted his forehead as he asked.

Standing on Mercer's shoulder, Karasu's eyes darted away. "Ah~ Come with me."

As he spoke, ripples spread across the ground beneath Mercer's feet. Then a marble staircase leading underground appeared.

"Mercer, come."

With Karasu guiding him, Mercer headed down. Before long, a stone door appeared in front of them. With a series of clacks, it opened.

Mercer and Karasu went inside together.

The next moment, Mercer's eye twitched. He saw two Peronas in front of him.

One floated in the air, her face full of anger.

The other had her eyes closed and head bowed, spread-eagled and pinned against the stone wall. Marble protrusions like shackles held her wrists, ankles, neck, and waist.

As soon as she saw Karasu, Spirit Perona screamed and pointed her palm at him. "Negi-negi Ghost!"

Biu~

Four Negi-negi Ghosts flew through the air toward Karasu, each trailing a white, translucent ribbon.

Karasu's eyes widened in alarm. He let out a low caw. "Caw~"

The ground in front of him immediately began to warp, and two thick stone pillars rose up to block the ghosts' path.

The next moment, the Negi-negi Ghosts passed straight through the stone pillars and then through Karasu's body.

Watching Karasu's body fall to the ground, he said, utterly despondent:

"Karasu's a small-minded crow. Karasu doesn't deserve to live. If there's a next life, Karasu wants to be a chicken."

Mercer quietly moved away from him, watching as Spirit Perona continued to send out Negi-negi Ghosts.

One pass, two passes, three passes.

With his eye twitching, Mercer walked over to Perona's body, which was pinned to the wall. He leaned against the stone and suddenly felt like having a cigarette.

He felt a faint sadness.

For Perona, Karasu's Devil Fruit ability was just the kind of safe haven she needed right now.

But the two of them fought whenever they met. Neither would give in, and both could use their Devil Fruit abilities to mess with the other.

"In the end, Karasu's definitely going to be the one who suffers."

Perona had already vented her anger and stopped using her ability. Just as she came over to Mercer, she heard that and asked curiously:

"What's that supposed to mean, Mercer?"

"I read in a book that, at a certain stage, after awakening, a Ghost Fruit ability user might be able to make their spirit's effects apply to their physical body."

"In other words, if you manage to reach that stage in the future, Karasu really won't be able to do anything about you. He has no way to attack spirits."

Mercer looked at Karasu, who was starting to recover, with sympathy.

"He can only bully you for now. Well, if you never reach the stage I just mentioned—the awakening—then he'll be fine."

Spirit Perona suddenly laughed, giving a cheerful "Hara hara."

A humanlike look of indignation appeared on Karasu's face. He looked at Mercer and asked bitterly:

"Then won't she be invincible?"

"She won't be invincible." Mercer smiled faintly. "There's also Haki in this world. As long as you master Haki, you can resist Devil Fruit abilities."

Karasu's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Mercer, I want to learn."

"When I learn it, I'll teach you."

"Okay."

Seeing the excitement in Karasu's eyes, Mercer couldn't bring himself to tell him that Haki came in different grades. Low-grade Haki might not necessarily be able to stop a spirit from the Hollow-Hollow Fruit from passing through.

At Mercer's signal, Karasu released Perona.

Mercer reached out and caught her.

Then her spirit slipped back into her body.

Perona opened her eyes and looked at Mercer in confusion. "Haki? Can it really stop my spirit?"

"Yeah, Haki can. There's also a saying in this world, though I don't know if it's accurate: 'Only Haki can stand above everything.' You know? Whether it's true or not, if the saying has been passed around, there must be a reason for it."

"I want to learn Haki too." Perona looked at Mercer with a solemn expression. "If you're going to teach him, then you have to teach me too."

Seeing that a person and a bird had already started competing, Mercer's lips curled into a slight smile. He reached out and patted Perona on the head.

"Sure. I'm just worried you won't be able to handle the hardship when the time comes. Learning Haki is tough."

"Crow isn't afraid. Crow will definitely learn."

Perona's eyes narrowed, and she declared firmly, "I'm not afraid either. I'm not going to let a bird perch on my head and poop on me."

"Then it's settled. I'll teach you how to train in a few days. If you want to learn Haki, you'll have to start building a foundation now."

"Mm."

Perona nodded emphatically.

Mercer noticed there were still windows in the room. He walked over and leaned on the windowsill. "Da Bao, where on your body is this window?"

"Leg."

Mercer nodded and gazed at the ruined landscape outside. "Take us for a flight. I want to see a different view."

The next moment, the scenery outside changed. As Karasu flew into the sky, the ruins beyond the window grew farther and farther away.