Drum Island.
On the icy shore.
Waving at Garp, Moses turned and walked inland.
Soon, he disappeared into the snowy forest.
On the deck.
Kuzan's gaze was profound. Garp glanced at him and sighed, "Let's go. He's already left. No use staring."
Kuzan froze for a moment, then turned to look at Garp, sensing something implied in his words.
Yet, he couldn't detect anything unusual.
But since this "old man" was on their side, there was no need to dwell on it.
He decided not to overthink it.
In the snowy forest.
Caw! Caw! Caw—!
Crow Dabao soared through the air like the wind, letting out excited, hoarse, and loud cries.
The endless snowy scenery and the chilly air made it feel incredibly comfortable.
The cold air even seemed to carry the scent of Crow Xiao Niu.
Perona and Robin leaned against the castle room's window, marveling at the perpetual winter landscape.
Moses wasn't in a hurry to return home. Instead, he first headed to the ski resort town of "Kissta," which boasted the island's most bustling commercial street.
Inside a clothing store.
Warm and cozy.
Moses quickly picked out several sets of beautiful winter clothes after giving the sizes.
For the two girls, for Kureha, and, of course, for himself.
Carrying bags large and small, he left the store.
He bought many more things in the town, including Kureha's favorite plum wine.
In a narrow alley.
Crow Dabao stored the items inside the castle, neatly organizing them.
Walking along the snowy forest path.
Snowflakes drifted down from the sky.
A breathtaking sight.
The ground crunched beneath their feet with every step.
Moses trudged through the continuous snow, heading home. Perona, bundled up in a thick coat, happily ran ahead.
Wearing a pair of mittens, she occasionally scooped up a handful of snow, shaped it into a ball, and with a laugh, turned to throw it at Moses.
Dodge, dodge, and dodge again.
Another snowball came flying.
A vein popped on Moses's forehead as he casually caught it with a swipe of his hand.
With a swift motion, he hurled the snowball back, hitting Perona squarely on the forehead.
"Ah!" she cried out in surprise.
Landing on her backside in the snow.
Moses smirked slightly.
Nico Robin walked quietly beside Moses, wearing a white fluffy hat, her eyes curiously scanning the surroundings from time to time.
Since she couldn't resist, she might as well enjoy it.
"Have you always lived here?"
Her clear voice carried a hint of detachment. "Of course, you don't have to answer if you don't want to. After all, I'm just someone under surveillance."
"Getting ahead of yourself, aren't you?" Moses said calmly. "If you want to leave, go ahead. I don't have the time to keep an eye on you."
Robin was surprised.
During their time on the ship, she hadn't had many chances to talk to Moses. What she knew about the boy beside her came mostly from Perona—though the comments were along the lines of "rough," "likes to hit people," and "a jerk."
But she could tell those were just tsundere remarks. When Perona talked about Moses, her eyes sparkled with joy.
She also knew the two had only just met.
Less than a month ago, in fact.
This could be considered their first real conversation.
Robin was puzzled, and since she had questions, she decided to voice them directly: "Then why did you bring me aboard? And why did you help me back then?"
"It's Kuzan," Moses glanced at her and said, "Kuzan was the one who found you first. I sensed he had complicated feelings toward you, so I thought I'd tease him a bit."
"Of course, there was also some sympathy for what you've been through. Helping you out was no trouble for me anyway."
"So... what does he really think? How does he see me?"
"How should I know? I can't be bothered guessing what a thirty-something-year-old bachelor is thinking."
Robin fell silent, no longer speaking, simply following Moses quietly. As for leaving on her own, she hadn't made up her mind yet.
A life of constant wandering was exhausting.
Every day had been filled with fear, but now things were different. In a way, she had been captured, though the person beside her had said she was free to leave.
She decided to stay with him for a few days and see. If there was any danger, as long as that man wasn't around, she should be able to escape with her abilities.
Just then, Perona, cheeks puffed and rubbing her forehead, came charging toward them.
Moses sidestepped and hooked his right foot around her ankle, sending Perona flying backward. She landed flat on her back in the snow, limbs splayed out.
Instantly,
"Ah—ahhh! Moses, you're bullying me again! Can't you just let me win for once?"
Perona scrambled up, flustered, and lunged at Moses.
He dodged effortlessly, moving just enough to avoid her grasp. Perona couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes.
Before long, she was panting heavily, sitting sprawled in the snow, exhaling white puffs of breath.
Tiny beads of sweat dotted her smooth, pale forehead, her delicate face flushed red. Sticking out her tongue, she glared at Moses:
"Can't you just let me catch you once?"
Moses chuckled. "Peipei, your stamina is terrible. You're like a total amateur."
"And don't forget—your Breath must stay steady. Maintain its rhythm at all times. The Breath technique I taught you isn't just for breathing, you know."
He stepped forward, grabbing her cheeks with both hands and pulling them outward.
Perona shivered violently, jerking her head back and shaking off his grip. Eyes wide, she yelped:
"Your hands are freezing!"
Robin watched their playful antics, a faint smile tugging at her lips—but it soon faded. She lowered her head, staring at her gloved hands.
After their little scuffle, the two continued following Moses.
The journey was lively, never boring.
As time passed,
A massive tree, ten meters in diameter, came into view.
The moment they arrived, five glossy-feathered, sharp-beaked, and strikingly majestic white-necked crows swooped down.
Moses extended his left arm, and one by one, the five crows perched tightly in a row along his forearm.
Each was about forty centimeters in size.
"Caw!" "Gah!" "Caw-wah!" "Moe!" "Moe!"
Instantly, the five birds fixed their eyes on Moses, their hoarse yet resonant cries rising and falling in a lively chorus.
"Hey, Crows—one, two, three, four, five—did you miss me?"
The five white-necked crows—
Named Crow One, Crow Two, Crow Three, Crow Four, and Crow Five—were the hatchlings of Crow Dabao and Crow Xiao Niu's brood.
Just then,
Moses noticed Crow Dabao had already returned to the nest, nuzzling affectionately with Crow Xiao Niu, murmuring sweet nothings.
At that moment, Moses sensed a gaze. He looked up—a figure stood at the second-floor window of the treehouse.
Moses grinned widely, his face lighting up with joy.
Waving his hand.
"I'm back, Doctorine."
Click!
The door opened, and a chubby black-and-white head poked out, its dark eyes looking at Moses with a pitiful expression.
"What? Don't recognize me, Bear Cub?" Moses chuckled inwardly at the sight. "Come here, let me see if you've gotten even fatter."
Bear Cub squeezed through the door crack and ran over, headbutting Moses in the stomach and knocking him to the ground.
A pair of paws pressed against Moses' chest as the round face vigorously rubbed against his.
"Why did you take so long to come back this time?"
As it spoke, a warm tongue licked Moses' face.
Moses wrapped his arms around Bear Cub's head, ruffling those soft, furry black ears.
The texture was getting better and better.
So satisfying.
At this moment, Perona's eyes sparkled as she looked at Bear Cub, letting out a cheerful "Wahoo!" before pouncing forward.
She climbed onto Bear Cub's back, hugging its neck and burying her face in its fur, inhaling deeply.
"A panda! A real panda! And it can talk? Wow~, I love it so much!"
Robin watched with a hint of envy, wanting to step forward and pet it too, but ultimately held back.
Bear Cub glanced at Moses, its bear face looking awkward as it shook its body, failing to dislodge Perona. "Who's this? Can I eat her?"
"You can't eat this one. She's an idiot, one of us. Eating her would make you dumb too."
Moses continued ruffling the bear ears, looking at Perona's infatuated expression with an equally awkward face.
"Alright, let me up."
Hearing Moses' words, Bear Cub stood up, then reached back with its right paw and plucked Perona off.
Perona excitedly poked and prodded at Bear Cub all over, completely mesmerized.
...
Inside the house.
After touring Crow Dabao's Castle Space and hearing about Moses' recent adventures, Kureha eyed him with an amused smirk.
Though he hadn't grown taller since she last saw him, she noticed a new aura about him.
Must be the influence of Conqueror's Haki.
After listening to Moses' introductions of the two girls, Kureha felt somewhat speechless.
The unremarkable ghost girl Perona didn't particularly catch her attention.
Sure, she was cute and had a rare Devil Fruit ability, but nothing extraordinary.
But the other girl—Kureha studied Robin with interest as she stood quietly with pursed lips, appearing very composed.
One after another.
She sighed helplessly—was this place turning into a daycare?
Thinking about what she needed to do next gave her an even bigger headache.
Well, she could wait until more experimental data was collected. No need to rush.
As Kureha observed Robin, the latter was also discreetly sizing her up.
Detecting no malice from Kureha, Robin relaxed slightly.
Years of hardship had given her some insight into whether others bore ill will toward her.
Kureha took a swig from a bottle of liquor, tilting her head as she looked Moses up and down again.
He'd gotten more muscular.
"Come upstairs with me. Let's check you over first. Tsk tsk tsk, 'Spirit-Flesh Convergence' is quite impressive on you."
With that, he turned to the two girls and said, "I'll draw some blood from both of you in a bit."
After leaving them with a casual "Make yourselves at home," Moses followed Kureha upstairs to the second floor.
On the operating table.
Moses lay flat as Kureha's fingers pressed repeatedly on various Breath nodes across his body.
After completing the routine procedure,
she drew a syringe of blood from Moses' wrist.
She then took it to a high-powered microscope for analysis.
Occasionally adding oddly colored reagents, she soon wrote down some notes and handed them to Moses, who was sitting on the operating table.
"Take a look for yourself."
Moses glanced at the results—his body's metrics were exceptionally normal, healthier even than the Lapahns in the snowy forests.
However.
"Your cellular activity is extraordinary. Compared to previous data, it's almost unbelievable," Moses remarked curiously.
"Exactly. Did your grandfather ever explain 'Life Return' to you?" Seeing Moses nod, Kureha continued approvingly, "The vitality in your cells rivals that of cells in a Life Return state."
"In other words, your current physical condition is akin to a permanent Life Return."
"You must have noticed it by now—your control and command over your body are unusually precise, aren't they?"
"Yeah, over this period, that sense of bodily mastery has grown stronger and stronger. But it still feels somewhat different from Life Return."
"Of course it does. Think of it like a light. Life Return has an on-off switch, but what you're experiencing now is like having no switch at all—you're perpetually in Life Return, with the light always on."
"Does it have any adverse effects on the body?" Moses asked curiously. "Right now, I don't feel any discomfort at all."
"I'm not sure. Your case is unique. From what you've described, it seems you've gained some new insights into the 'Effortless Breathing Technique'—the breathing of the Spirit Body. You're quite remarkable."
"I'm impressed."
"Well, since you're back now, we'll just have to monitor you with frequent check-ups."
"Oh, by the way, I've deciphered that 'APTX 4869' you gave me. I've isolated its so-called 'side effect'—rejuvenation."
"Though the effect is somewhat unstable. Over the next while, take the finalized version, 'APTX 4869Ⅱ,' and test it on some aging animals on the island. Remember to collect fresh cell samples for me—I'll keep refining it."
Moses blinked, looking at Kureha in surprise. "You've already succeeded? That was fast."
"Tch, of course it was fast," Kureha rolled her eyes. "You think I've been wasting my time these past hundred years? With the finished product right in front of me, if I couldn't crack it, I might as well have smashed my head into a block of tofu."
"Here, take this."
Kureha turned and grabbed a bottle of red-and-blue capsules from the table, tossing it to Moses.
There were ten inside.
Nothing about them looked particularly special.
Moses went downstairs and brought Perona and Robin up.
He watched as each of them had a syringe of blood drawn.
Handing them cotton balls to press against the puncture sites, Perona whined with a pout,
"Why did we have to get blood drawn?"
Robin frowned. She wasn't afraid of needles, but she too looked at Moses with curiosity.
"Of course, it's because both of your blood contains the Lineage Factor belonging to the Devil Fruit."
Kureha said nonchalantly, "It has quite high research value."
Robin looked at Kureha puzzled, "Lineage Factor? What's that?"
"Go ask Moses about it."
Kureha glanced at her, "From now on, come every half month for a blood draw. Not much, just consider it as accommodation fees."
Robin nodded calmly.
Perona qu
ietly hid behind Moses, tugging at his clothes. Turning to look, he saw Perona's tearful face as she pleaded:
"Can we not do it? It hurts."
Moses turned and ruf
fled her smooth pink hair, saying cruelly:
"Just let your Spirit Body leave when the time comes. After the draw, I'll stop the bleeding for you. You can return to your body when it doesn't hurt anymore."
"Are you the devil?"
"Don't just casually play with my body like that!"
Moses gave her a strange look:
"Do you have any other ideas then?"