Chapter 253

Huo Huo discovered she was in a secluded little courtyard, and relying on her previous experience fighting Sui Yang, she quickly realized she had been possessed by Sui Yang.

Given the tail's arrogant temperament, she was certain the possession wasn't the tail's. Yet this was also her first time coming alone into Sui Yang's phantom barrier, and feeling at a loss, she saw a figure in the distance—her mother.

"Mom?" Huo Huo stared in surprise at the familiar yet strange figure before her; for a moment her throat felt clogged with a warm wad of cotton. Her voice trembled slightly: "…Is this an illusion? Mom, why are you here? I miss you so much."

She was about to step forward, but her feet suddenly froze in place. Her mother's terrified gaze was like a rusty knife, slowly and cruelly gouging into her heart.

"Don't, don't come closer!" Mother's sharp voice sliced through the stagnant air as she staggered backward, "You're not Huo Huo, you're not my daughter… you're carrying that kind of filth, don't come near!"

"…Is my sister okay?"

Mother gritted her teeth and said, word by word, "If you stay away from her, she'll be better off."

A hint of guilt finally rose in her eyes: "Sorry, Huo Huo, I and your father can only send you to the Ten Kings Office. Just pretend we never were your parents…"

Having said that, her mother fled in a panic.

Huo Huo pressed on, and awaiting her ahead were her childhood classmates. They clapped and cheered, surrounding her without mercy as they mocked Huo Huo.

"Huo Huo's big tail burned away! Huo Huo's big tail, like fireworks!"

"Monster, stay away from us!"

"Huh? Pretending to be pitiful? I hate people who act pitiful the most."

Huo Huo spoke with a choking, tearful voice: "You're going too far…"

"Blame it on your weird tail! None of us have a flammable tail, so get lost!" The classmate looked at her with disgust, "We don't want to talk to a monster—hurry up and get out of here!"

——

Pirate King

Chopper sat on the deck of the Sunny, his fluffy hooves gripping a cup of hot cocoa tightly, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the screen above showing Huo Huo being bullied.

"Miss Huo Huo… I'm the same as you…" he lowered his gaze, murmuring softly, his voice almost drowned by the waves.

"What?! These bastard adults abandoned their own daughter just because of this?" Nami, fuming, "That tail is obviously cool! And… to abandon a daughter over a single tail is utterly unreasonable!"

Chopper's hooves trembled slightly, the cup of hot cocoa creaking under his grip: "I… I understand that feeling…" His voice choked, "I did nothing wrong, yet I'm being treated like a monster…"

"Chopper…" Nami gently rubbed his hat, her eyes warm but filled with pity.

"At least that kid now has decent companions." Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke, a smile tugging at his lips, "No need to mention the Ghost‑hunting Squad; the seniors of the Ten Kings Office also approve of her. As for the tail… that guy's tough‑talked but soft‑hearted—he might have already accepted Huo Huo."

"Exactly! Just like us!" Luffy burst out laughing, slapping Chopper hard on the back—almost knocking him onto the deck—"Chopper is now the world's best ship doctor! Huo Huo will surely become the finest judge on the Divine Vessel!"

Chopper rubbed his sore nose, struggling to hold back tears, but the corners of his mouth twitched upward despite himself; he was about to say a couple of words of thanks when Zoro's voice came from not far away.

"Hmph, only the weak let things like this get them down." Zoro leaned against the rail, eyes closed, speaking calmly, "True strength makes those idiots shut up with power."

"Hey, moss‑head! At a time like this you should say something kind!" Sanji kicked him.

"Huh?! You wanna fight, curly‑brow?!"

"Come on! Perfect for stretching the muscles!"

——

After experiencing the departure of her mother and classmates, Huo Huo fell into intense self‑denial and doubt. She pressed on, and her tail suddenly appeared before her.

"Tail, how… how are you here? You weren't supposed to… I see, this time it's you who's leaving." Huo Huo said, voice trembling with resentment.

"Huh?!" the newly arrived tail stared, bewildered.

The more Huo Huo spoke, the more aggrieved she became, sobbing without cease: "Everyone leaves me; what am I supposed to do? I don't want to be all alone…"

Just as the tail was about to say something else, Huo Huo stopped him immediately, indicating she didn't want to watch it disappear.

"Are you even a judge or not?! This is Sui Yang messing with your feelings! Pull yourself together! Don't go along with Sui Yang's ideas…"

Yet Huo Huo kept repeating, "Everyone's left me," seeing her completely lost in sorrow, the tail gritted its teeth and, rather than do nothing, simply brought back all those who had just left.

The tail possessed Huo Huo's mother and classmates, feeling her birth parents' coldness and the bratty classmates' desire to perform, and could only let out a long sigh.

Possessing her mother, the tail pinched its throat, earnestly mimicking a woman's tone, and said solemnly, "Huo Huo, good daughter… Dad and Mom shouldn't have abandoned you."

Then, possessing a classmate, it launched into a serious‑sounding ramble: "Huo Huo, sorry, I'm just jealous that your tail is cooler than mine!"

"Huo Huo, I've dreamed of having such a cool tail—please play with me?"

——

Miss Kaguya wants me to confess.

In the student council room, Miyuki Kaguya tried her utmost to maintain the poise of a young lady, but seeing the tail's clumsy appearance on the screen, she couldn't help but let out a "pfft" laugh.

"Oh dear, the tail is really all talk and no action." Kaguya twirled a strand of hair by her temple with her fingertip, "This clumsy way is really…"

"Huh? Miyuki, don't you want someone to comfort you like this?" Shirogane lifted his gaze toward Miyuki, the pen tip blooming a small ink blot on the paper.

"Mm, I still prefer being more straightforward~"

Miyuki Kaguya gracefully lifted her teacup, a composed smile on her lips, but inside her heart a storm had already risen—

(Why is one Sui Yang so good at this?! It's too warm… I want it too, I want it too, President!)

She stared intently at the tail's ridiculous voice on the screen, the fingers holding her teacup trembling slightly, a crack silently creeping up the cup's side.

(This flame‑bun, while putting on a dismissive front toward Huo Huo, ends up being more thoughtful than anyone!)

(Could the President be the same? Acting indifferent on the surface, but actually……)

Miyuki Kaguya's gaze shot like an arrow toward Shirogane, who was organizing documents; he noticed nothing, even letting out a tiny yawn.

(Well! Really! He's actually… yawning!)

(Could the President really have learned nothing from the tail? I love this kind of development too!)

Reason was evaporating, and above Miyuki's head a black mirage seemed to swirl; if jealousy could take form, the entire student council room would likely already be dyed blood‑red by her resentment.

(I wish the President would get possessed by the tail——)

(No! It'd be better if the President realized this on his own! Say in a gentle tone, "Miyuki is the cutest!" or in a sincere tone, "Miyuki, please go out with me!")

(Then I could reluctantly……)

"Miyuki? Your face looks awful…" Shirogane finally noticed her abnormality, raising his head skeptically and asking, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm not always good, oh~" Huiye's forehead was almost completely covered by shadow, revealing a smile brilliant to the point of terror, "Just thinking, some people are not as good as a talking flame, you know?"

Baiyin Yuxing:???

The boy stared dumbfounded, then scratched his head with a clueless expression, muttering softly: "Where did I go wrong to make Sigung angry?"