Aramaki was the strongest subordinate Blake could find in a short time, so Blake prepared to entrust him with the task of finding Devil Fruits.
The Mera Mera no Mi (which even dogs wouldn't eat), the Rumble-Rumble Fruit on Sky Island, the Mythical Zoan Vampire form in Sleepy Town, the Mythical Zoan Pink Dragon form on Punk Hazard, the Ope-Ope no Mi in North Blue... Blake had no intention of letting go of these Devil Fruits, whose locations were either confirmed or had specific clues.
This search for the Paramecia Ghost-Ghost Fruit (Devil Fruit) was a small test for Aramaki.
Just as Blake was thinking about what other Devil Fruits he could conveniently intercept, Stella's voice came through:
"Your Highness, that girl has woken up."
Blake stood up and walked into the cabin with Stella.
Perona was sitting on the bed, her eyes still a bit dazed, and when she saw Blake, she clearly flinched backward.
Blake scrutinized Perona from head to toe, nodded with satisfaction, and said with a malicious smile:
"Congratulations, from today on, you are my little Slave!"
"Wah!!! I don't want to be a little Slave!"
...Blake never thought of himself as a mean-spirited person, but whenever he saw Perona, he couldn't help but want to tease her.
Perhaps the current Perona gave off the impression of a little girl who would cry for a long time if punched, or perhaps Perona's image in the original story was too deeply ingrained.
In any case—
"Hahahahaha..."
Seeing Perona about to cry again from fright, Blake burst out laughing:
"Not bad, not bad, you didn't faint from fright this time. Tell me, why were you on that ship?"
Perona's crying gradually subsided. She cautiously glanced at Blake, then at Stella behind Blake, and softly began to recount her experience.
There wasn't anything particularly special about her experience; it was simply that her hometown had been invaded by pirates, and Perona had, after several twists and turns, hidden on a merchant ship.
Because she had sneaked onto the ship, to avoid being discovered by the people on board, she could only hide in the storeroom. Eventually, by coincidence, she discovered a secret compartment in the storeroom and hid inside.
After listening to her story, Blake smiled and pinched her little cheek:
"So you have nowhere to go now, right? Then stay on my ship."
"This guy doesn't seem so hateful after all."
Seeing Blake's smile, Perona felt a sense of relief and asked:
"Am I still a little Slave?"
"Of course!"
Seeing Perona about to cry again, Blake laughed loudly and left.
Stella shook her head helplessly, then stepped forward and began to comfort Perona.
Although Stella had never raised a child, her optimistic and warm smile always infected people, and Perona quickly stopped her tears.
She angrily waved her fist in the direction Blake had left, thinking:
"I must escape from this big bad guy!"
...Meanwhile, Aramaki, who had found nothing on the merchant ship, had already boarded the Thriller Bark.
Seeing the scene on the ship, Aramaki couldn't help but frown.
Dark green viscous liquid seeped from the floor cracks, and shriveled corpses hung from the mast, swaying like puppets on strings with the sea breeze.
The light was deliberately blocked by the ship's structure, and by the interior lights, one would see their shadow twist into strange shapes on the wall—sometimes an extra arm, sometimes missing an eye.
In the silent cabin, there was only the slow and regular sound of chains dragging on the floor.
"Flashy!"
Aramaki snorted coldly, and giant trees extended from his body, instantly breaking through the cabin.
Two wooden spikes, each as thick as two people embracing, shot like javelins directly towards Moriah's direction.
"Who?"
Moriah, who was busy tinkering with a newly captured pirate, only reacted at this moment and hastily dodged.
The current Moriah was not the future fatty; such a probing attack, of course, couldn't harm him.
He had just looked up in shock and anger when Aramaki's figure already appeared before him.
The three-meter-tall Aramaki stood before the nearly seven-meter-tall Moriah like a child.
But the aura of the two was completely opposite to their height. Aramaki chuckled lightly:
"You are Moriah? It seems those useless people on the sea are truly incompetent; a guy like you can actually be called a Great Pirate."
"You! You unknown guy who appeared out of nowhere! I am not someone you, a mere nobody, can judge!!!"
Moriah's emotions had been unstable during this period, and hearing Aramaki's words made him even more furious. After uttering a harsh threat, he immediately attacked Aramaki.
"Shadow Horn Lance!"
Moriah's attack landed where Aramaki had originally stood, but Aramaki had already disappeared.
"What?"
"Where are you looking?"
Two voices rang out simultaneously.
Moriah looked back in horror, only to see Aramaki already above his head, one hand pressed on his onion-like head.
When Garp used this move, even Aokiji couldn't react, let alone Moriah?
Thud!
Moriah's head was slammed hard into the ground by Aramaki, creating a deep pit.
"Trash like you should find an isolated corner and just wait to die."
Aramaki stepped on Moriah, kicking his still somewhat dazed onion head:
"Where are the Devil Fruits you collected hidden?"
"You... who exactly are you? How can a strong person like you be completely unknown on the sea?"
Moriah felt very aggrieved by his loss; his strength was instantly defeated before he could even use half of it.
Hearing Moriah's retort, Aramaki's thick eyebrows furrowed, and he kicked him hard on the head:
"I'm asking you a question now, where are the Devil Fruits you collected?"
That kick stunned Moriah for a long time. After a while, he finally came to his senses and immediately began to yell in anger, which made Aramaki quite helpless.
This was why Blake hadn't considered recruiting these Great Pirates.
Many times, they were like people who couldn't understand reason, willing to risk their lives for all sorts of strange reasons.
And what these people cared about most were usually illusory things that Blake couldn't bestow.
What they cared about least was their own lives, making them impossible to threaten.
There was no other way, so Aramaki had to use the Great Memory Restoration Technique on Moriah.
After some struggle, he finally found two Devil Fruits in a hidden cabin. Aramaki didn't hesitate at all, turned around, and left, leaving only the bruised and swollen Moriah behind... After teasing Perona for a while, Blake was in a great mood. He left the cabin and saw Aramaki flying from afar using Moonwalk, landing on the deck, holding two boxes.
"Your Highness, your subordinate found two Devil Fruits on Moriah's island ship."
Saying this, he handed the two boxes to Blake, opening them one by one.
Blake looked and found two quite familiar Devil Fruits.
Paramecia Ghost-Ghost Fruit (Devil Fruit)
Paramecia Suke Suke no Mi.
These were precisely the Devil Fruits of Perona and Absalom in the original story.