News spread quickly across the sea. Lately, it seemed, there was a new and life-changing headline every week. If a handful of people knew about an event, that was a secret that could be contained. Anymore than that and it becomes information. Exploiting information makes people rich. Especially during these uncertain times, many people bet their future prospects on the information they heard, even if it rang with little truth. Information had been the very thing that inspired Perona to leave her comfortable life with Dracule Mihawk on Gloom Island. She had grown quite happy over the past two plus years she'd spent with him. She'd thought they'd grown close even. Several times she thought that maybe, just maybe there was something more between them. A longer pause than necessary, a brush of a hand, an extremely considerate gesture, a shared inside joke. Those times with him, they were precious, and certainly very telling of a relationship. Had she stayed a little longer… but no. She needed to leave. She'd given Mihawk every opportunity to be more than just her host. He never extended himself far enough to her to keep her with him.
Besides, the good news! Her old crew… Gecko Moria… they were still out there, alive! She was filled with a new sense of hope like never before. Sure she had hoped that Moria was alive all along and very much liked to believe it. But here it was on paper, proof! She was done playing house with Mihawk, no matter how much she enjoyed it, she was needed! Was she ever really needed here with him in his castle? No, that's the sad truth. This was only ever a placeholder in her life. Mihawk had made that perfectly clear over the years. They weren't anything, and no matter what she did, they'd never be anything. Why? Because that heartless punk couldn't admit the feelings she knew he had for her! And she couldn't stand him any longer because of it! No matter how much this felt like home, it wasn't. Thriller Bark was her home. Gecko Moria was her home. Her ship, her captain, her crew, THAT was home.
She had been waiting for a moment like this. She was once a commander of the Zombies of Thriller Bark! She was something! And while she knew she would have made an adorable wife to Mihawk, she couldn't stay where she didn't feel truly wanted, treasured. But after she set to sea, horrible news filled her with dread. Another newspaper, this time an obituary, Absalom was dead. Moria had gone into Blackbeard's territory to find him. There was no telling if Moria was okay. He needed her. But she would be kidding herself going after him now. What could she do against Blackbeard? What was she without Mihawk's strength to back her up? Tears ran down her face. She was weak. Too weak to save her friends. And too proud to run back to Mihawk with her tail between her legs and a pout on her face. She was alone again. Not alone alone, she always had her ghosts and her cute stuffed animals, which made her feel loads better. But she was a failure.
She sighed and looked up at the bright blue sky. She tried to remember what it was like back in her Wonder Garden. If only she could go back in time and be there again. If only she could recreate something that felt so safe, so special and so uniquely 'Perona.' She liked Mikawk's castle but it was his, not hers. Perona perked up at the rumbly sound of her hungry stomach protesting its emptiness. Something sweet, like hot cocoa. She clutched her unhappy tummy. "I'm so hungry!" She whined to herself and to her stuffed animals. The same stuffed animals that Mikawk had made fun of her for having. What did that punk know anyways? All he knew how to do was look sophisticated as heck all the time. What's so great about him anyway? Perona pouted.
The news article about her friend, Moria, still seared into her brain and it made her dark and very negative heart ache. Then something else she'd read in the article made her eyes grow wide and the corners of her mouth turn up in a devilish grin. Big Mom left Totto Land, her territory. She bet she'd taken all her children with her too! Totto Land would be empty! She'd always dreamt of eating her way through Whole Cake Island. Her mouth watered at the idea. Soon she'd be Princess Perona of Cake! She could see it now, piles and piles of treats to fill her tummy. Following her stomach, she changed course. She was going to find her New Wonderland! But it looks like the weather was about to turn for the worse.
"Push the boat for me ghosts, I'm too tired to do anything," Perona cried, "I'm so hungry!" She collapsed dramatically. She wasn't sure how long she'd slept, but the more she slept, the more she could ignore her tummy. Just when she was sure the Immortal Ghost Princess would die of starvation, her little boat hit the shore. "Ah!" Perona shot up and turned around like she was being attacked. She quickly tried to find her bearings, looking all around, her lovely pink curls twirling as she did so. She was somewhere, but where? She'd never been to Totto Land before. She wasn't sure what it would look like, she'd only heard the stories. But how could you mistake this island for anything else? It was COVERED in donuts! Sweet and savory, stacked up to the sky, covered in sprinkles, glazes, all different colors. "Oh!" Perona said sweetly.
She inhaled deeply and her mouth watered. The air was thick with sugary pastry doughy yumminess. "Ohhhh!" She squeaked again. There was the most gigantic donut in the middle of the island. She already knew this was the right place. She must be in one of the islands around Whole Cake Island. "DONUT LAND!" She screamed jumping out of the boat, her precious stuffy in hand. There were towering stacks of pastries everywhere. She thought her eyes might pop out of her head. If this was a dream she never wanted to wake up. She ran to the nearest donut and took a huge bite. Then she pretended to serve her Kumacy plushie a donut too. It melted so nicely in her mouth and filled every corner of her negative soul with such love. Why couldn't Mihawk love her as much as this donut sandwich did?
The longer she stayed on the island the happier and more carefree she felt. She completely forgot about her problems. She ate her way through town, not caring what the locals thought of her behavior. She broke off door knobs to eat them, which doubled as an excellent prank, the people inside couldn't get out or into their houses! The more she filled her tummy the more she felt like pranking locals. She dropped her body behind a house and floated through the town freely, scaring the pants off some sorry souls. She used her negative powers to leave everyone sad and moppy. Which was hilarious! Could you imagine such negative people in DONUT LAND! She snickered and giggled her ghostly giggle.
She couldn't believe just how many things were made out of pastries! Side tables and street signs.. There was a bench made out of donuts! Why hadn't she come here sooner? After tormenting the locals to her very best ability, she grabbed a giant donut and floated it up the hill. Then she returned to her body, ran up the hill and climbed inside the donut. It was slightly sticky and got in her hair but she didn't care. She hadn't had this much fun in years! She tucked herself in nicely and used her big red boot to kick the donut into a rolling start. She rode the donut all the way down the hill. She screamed in excitement, not caring who she ran over. The donut started to stall, then it fell over and rolled around a few times. When the donut finally stopped, she staggered out, very wobbly. Everything spun and she could hardly hold herself up right. She tried getting onto her feet again, but her big red boots felt so much heavier than normal. She thought she might throw up. "Oh No!" She moaned. It was so much fun to ride down the hill in a donut, but not the smartest idea after she'd stuffed her face full of sweets.
She felt clammy and gripped her stomach. Then she crawled on her hands and knees to find a bush to puke into. But instead, she found her hand on top of a huge pair of black leather boots. A pair of boots she very much admired, and would have picked out and purchased all on her own. She gasped, stumbling back, falling onto her bum. Her gaze gradually rose, higher and higher. Black boots, leather pants, leather vest, something fluffy… until she was looking way up into the sky for the owner of the fabulous pair of boots. A very tall and very scary man loomed over her. From this angel, he looked as tall as Moria, but there's no WAY he was that tall. She was pulled momentarily from her panic at the thought of her friend. The friend she let down. How could she have let herself have fun when her friend was out there suffering? She stood up and puffed out her chest, giving herself a tougher appearance. "Who the heck are you?!" She yelled up at him.
Katakuri stood unwavering above her. His arms crossed, his usual menacing stare. He sighed. He'd been under alot of stress recently. It was one thing to defend and expand a territory. Its another entirely to rebuild. He had a lot of repairs to handle after The Straw Hats got away. Their defenses were down. Since Big Mom had taken almost everyone away to Wano, it was up to him to refortify their strongholds. To bring a sense of security to the islands in Totto Land. This puny little girl wasn't the only one to think to exploit Big Mom's territory in her absence. She certainly caused a lot of destruction for such a little thing. And not on just ANY island. She had chosen HIS island to ruin. He watched as her chest rose and fell quickly, she was afraid. Good. She should be. She would be one of the more simple pests to eliminate. Suddenly Katakuri blushed at what she was about to say. He was even happy to hear her say it 'again' in real life and not just through his senses. "It-It was… SO YUMMY!" Perona squealed in her cute little voice. She bit her lip, waiting for his response. Katakuri considered her for a moment, in a different light. A lot had changed since The Straw Hats came. He had changed. Before he would have killed her, without allowing her to speak. But now.. Things were different. The girl was so pretty, she looked like she belonged on top of a wedding cake, in her black ball gown and top hat, with her pink ringlets cascading down her back. Her eyes were so big, she was like a porcelain doll. But she couldn't go unpunished for rule breaking...
