451 Chapter 451 | Perona

451 | Perona

"So let me get this straight… Gecko Moria was mainly using Dr Hogback to build his pirate empire. Using his powers to get hoards of parasitic goons to do his bidding," Luffy said as Perona nodded, so he continued, "But due to his lack of management, he was taken down from the ladder, and now Dr Hogback's new big deal…" 

"That's about right…" she said nodding along, a bit hopeful on her part, "So, you just have to beat Dr Hogback and give Gecko Moria his…"

"Let me stop you there, missy…" Luffy said stopping the floating girl, "what you just said, complicated a lot of things…" he said with a frown, "And not to mention it's risky…" 

"Huh, I never imagined you would shy away from danger?" Law said.

Luffy rolled his eyes, "I'm not completely against it… but I don't want to go somewhere without preparation." 

"But Luffy, we have to stop Dr. Hogback," Chopper said, "I have heard about him Dr Kureha…"

Luffy blinked, "You did?"

The reindeer mink nodded, "Yeah, he's a truly evil man…" he said, "It's said that once he took over all the town with his alien-like powers and used them to cause a lot of bloodshed."

Now wasn't that surprising. In canon didn't Chopper look up to him. It seems here, he detests him for some reason. 

"Yes, even I have heard about him," Law said, "He once did have a good reputation due to his skills, but he kind of went off the rail…"

"Hmm… Dr. Hogback… why does that name sound familiar?" Brook hummed.

It seemed the changes were much drastic than Luffy had anticipated. First of all, Gecko Moria had the blood blood fruit and Dr Hogback had some parasite fruit… so the whole dynamic changed with basically Gecko Moria using Dr Hogback's power to control an army rather then the other way around. 

And when a few weeks ago the Kid pirates came here, Gecko Moria had to fight with all he had to beat them. Eventually, he won, but it left him weakened for Dr Hogback to take control over… and that left Luffy wondering. 

The first thing was about the Kid pirates. Funnily enough, they were doing a lot of help just by existing. It was even more funny, when you consider what happened in Enies Lobby. Man, they aren't getting a break… are they? 

Anyway, about the Thrillar Bark pirates, Luffy had many questions in mind. But one came first.

"What happened to Absalon… or Absalom?" Luffy asked. He didn't want that pervert anywhere near Nami or Vivi… that bastard would get his eye gouged if he tried anything like that.

Hearing that name Perona went still as her head dropped a little, "He… he's dead." She said with a bit of sadness. "If he didn't die… maybe all of this wouldn't have happened?" 

"Really?" Luffy raised an eye-brow, "How?"

"…well, he had a certain ability that let him turn invisible." Perona said in a low voice, "He mostly kept an eye on Dr Hogback… but he was killed by the Kid pirates, and that gave…"

"And that gave way for the good doctor be a not-so-good doctor." Law finished, "Huh, can't say Gecko Moria didn't deserve it…"

And that made Perona glare at the surgeon of death. But Sanji came along with a plate of food. 

"You must have been worried, my dear lady." The cook said, presenting the dishes to her, "Here have something to eat…"

"I will not…" Perona was going to reject it first, but her stomach growled, making her bush, "Ahem… maybe, I will have some…" and then she took the first bite, "Umu… so good!" 

While that was happening Luffy was thinking about the whole thing, "Things are really complicated you know that…" he sighed, "I will have to have to call the Marine headquarters before doing anything…" 

It was true in some way, why take an unnecessary fight. Unlike the canon, they didn't need to go to Thrillar Bark as Brook's condition is completely different. So yeah, he would much rather not put his crewmates at risk if he could. Especially, since his canon knowledge won't help him much here. 

While this was happening, no one noticed a small fly that was observing the whole situation, keeping an eye on the crew secretly. 

Luffy then nodded Kuina and Zoro to keep an eye on Perona, while Sanji cooed around giving her food and sweets to calm the girl down. While that was happening, Luffy went towards his own room, to make a call to Sengoku. 

He didn't mind following orders, but with how things stand, if he was going to do something, he might as well get some compensation and recognition for it. 

.

Dr Hogback slammed his fist on the table as cold sweat dropped from his forehead, "No… no… this can't be happening." He said, looking at the screen that observed the Thousand Sunny and it's crew. "Why is another warlord here… Moria that bastard, he's even a problem when he's under my control… and Perona… I should have dealt with her earlier!"

The round-shaped doctor said as he frantically walked back and forth trying to come up with something to stop them.

"This is bad! Oh! This is bad! I need to do something… I have to at least stop them before they get here… Yes, they will be able to stop them. But first…" The doctor hurried over to another panel, where multiple other screens were flashing view. 

Most of the screens there were dark or either unclear, as they shared the footage of the creature Dr Hogback had under control. Creatures that were his trump card, hiding beneath the murky waters of Thriller Bark.

Dr Hogback knew his capabilities, he knew that taking on a warlord —one with his own crew— would be next to impossible. Even if he had Moria under his control. So he would much rather finish them in the sea rather than give them an opportunity to come here.

----- [ Sorry for not uploading for a while. I'll try to get back to brining in regular chapters, so yeah. Have a nice day!]

Shameless Pa-atreon plug. I've got one, goes by the username (FallenCrown) on there. 

Support me if you want, but don't feel pressured, I'll be uploading my stuff outside it regardless and not keeping it all behind a paywall or anything like that.

Read my other fics if you have the time. If you want to have a chat with me, hit me up on discord.

discord.gg/Gnxnuw56ks

Gnxnuw56ks