As thousands of blood bats soared through the sky, Perona made her move.
Her signature attack, the Hollow Ghosts, burst forth again — only this time, it far exceeded her previous limits.
Under Rokuya's recent tutelage, Perona had advanced significantly in her control of the Horo-Horo no Mi.
Now, as the Blood and Ghosts Festival erupted along Water 7's coast, a new terror was unveiled: a colossal Hollow Ghost, easily the size of a giant, emerged above the battlefield.
Wielding a skeletal trident, it swept through hordes of pirates, and with every swing, hundreds of mini-ghosts burst from its form like spores.
The pirates stood no chance.
One by one, they were consumed by crushing despair, rendered immobile, hollow and hopeless.
Then came the blood bats.
As the ghosts drained their will to fight, the bats dove in, devouring their flesh and siphoning their life force.
"Perfect synergy," Rokuya whispered from atop a throne made of condensed blood bats.
"Absolutely flawless."
The sky was painted red and the sea breeze was filled with screams of agony. To Rokuya, these fools were nothing more than tribute — revival coins offered upon a bloody altar.
---
In his mind, the familiar synthetic loli voice of the system chimed endlessly:
"Ding! Soul absorbed — +1 life token, +1 undead soldier added to the River of the Dead.'
"Ding! Soul absorbed..."
"Ding…"
And on and on it went.
Rokuya's power grew with every fallen enemy. The River of the Dead surged with new strength.
But then, the tide turned.
—
"Tch, tch, tch… Is that all you know how to do?"
A cold, mocking voice echoed from the battlefield.
"If that's the extent of your strength, then I won't just take that little ghost girl's Devil Fruit power — I'll take your bounty too!"
The voice belonged to Gamenio, the Chameleon, once a warrior under Whitebeard and now a notorious pirate with a 300 million bounty.
He was a lizardman with crimson eyes and a forked tongue, and his Devil Fruit ability defied logic.
In his hand was a flag.
He raised it and began to chant.
The pirates who had just been crushed by Perona's Hollow Ghosts suddenly snapped out of it.
The despair in their eyes vanished, replaced by a rising fury.
They charged again, roaring with new courage.
Even Perona and Kalifa were nearly overwhelmed as they were encircled.
The Hollow Ghosts lost all effect.
"That power—!"
Rokuya narrowed his eyes.
"Is that the Cheer-Cheer Fruit?!" From the Eastern Army of the Revolutionary Army?'
—
In the original story, the Cheer-Cheer Fruit was wielded by Belo Betty, a commander of the Revolutionary Army's eastern forces.
The fruit allowed its user to rally the hopeless, purge fear, and empower crowds with courage and fighting spirit.
Even more terrifyingly, it worked on groups, not individuals — a mass morale boost that could turn fleeing civilians into revolutionaries in seconds.
And now, somehow, Gamenio had that power.
"That's right!"
Gamenio laughed.
"You actually recognised it! Impressive, Rokuya.'
"Did you think I'd just rush in unprepared?"
You broke out of Impel Down and wiped the floor with CP9's finest — only a fool would face you without a trump card."
The battlefield trembled as his rallying cries surged.
The effect was instantaneous — where despair had reigned, fury now reigned. Bloodlust.
Perona's ghosts were rendered useless.
—
"Let me share a little secret," Gamenio grinned, flicking his forked tongue.
"My fruit lets me copy faces and skills."
"Yes, my Copy-Copy Fruit — a perfected evolution of the Mimicry line."
He spread his arms wide.
"I met Commander Belo Betty during my travels after leaving the Whitebeard Pirates and took her power for myself."
"And now… you'll die because of it."
---
Rokuya's expression darkened.
He had to admit that this was troublesome.
A fruit that lets you copy both appearance and abilities? That was dangerously close to the most broken concept imaginable.
He remembered hearing rumours about Gamenio from the Underground: a warrior who had left Whitebeard's crew and gone rogue, now armed with dozens of copied powers.
Apparently, this Cheer-Cheer ability was only one of them.
---
"Even so…" Rokuya muttered, rising from his throne of blood bats.
"You think that's enough?"
His fingers flexed.
Perona's ghosts retreated behind him and the blood bats hissed in rage.
"If you want to prove you're worthy of that bounty..."
"Then come and take it, Chameleon."