This woman didn't even bother to check whether Celo and Hancock were members of the Beasts Pirates. She just started barking out orders at them.
Celo turned around curiously and was shocked.
What shocked him most was her enormous size.
Celo, who stood 3 meters tall himself, had to tilt his head way up to see this woman's face.
She was likely close to nine meters tall.
On Onigashima, the only one with such a towering frame would have to be Black Maria, one of the future Tobi Roppo.
Perhaps because Black Maria never imagined that outsiders would dare sneak into the Beasts Pirates' base on Onigashima, she naturally assumed Celo and Hancock were just some low-ranking crew members.
The kind of underlings she could freely command.
"Hancock, this woman probably knows where Yamato is. Let's go along with her for now. Once we reach somewhere secluded, we'll make our move and force her to talk!"
"Your concubine will follow Celo's lead!"
Following Celo's cue, Hancock turned and prepared to follow Black Maria and carry supplies.
Originally, Black Maria had planned to make Celo drop the two burlap sacks he was carrying and help her move things.
But once she saw Hancock's peerless beauty, she completely lost interest in Celo.
"Wow, she's stunning! Why does she look familiar? Must be an oiran from Kuri or the Flower Capital!"
The towering Black Maria strode up to Hancock and began admiring her beauty up close.
It never occurred to her that this woman could be the world-renowned beauty and Warlord of the Sea, Boa Hancock.
"A newly arrived courtesan on Onigashima, huh? If the sleazy guys around here find out such a goddess has arrived, they'll go absolutely nuts!"
For some reason, Black Maria just assigned Hancock a backstory all on her own.
And that role, of a courtesan, made Hancock want to instantly unleash a "Perfume Femur" kick to Maria's face.
She was the world's most beautiful woman, a Warlord, Queen of Amazon Lily, Captain of the Kuja Pirates, and, most importantly, Celo's future wife.
How could she possibly be a courtesan?!
"Shhh!"
From behind Black Maria, Celo discreetly gestured to Hancock to hold back for now.
Immediately, Hancock returned to a neutral expression.
"By the way, I still don't know your name. I'm Black Maria, and I manage the pleasure hall here on Onigashima. You can just call me 'Big Sis' like the others."
"I… my name is…"
"Lady Black Maria, her name is Meichuan Neiku!"
To avoid exposing her identity, Celo jumped in and gave Hancock a clever and chill-sounding fake name.
Hancock looked at Celo with starry-eyed admiration, thinking he was so smart.
She loved the name Celo, which made up for her.
"Meichuan Neiku? That name sounds kinda weird… And you, what are you doing here, man? Why aren't you out searching for the intruders on Onigashima?!"
Black Maria wasn't pleased by Celo's sudden intrusion and scolded him harshly.
Seeing someone daring to yell at Celo made Hancock's Conqueror's Haki stir with rage, ready to crush Black Maria.
But Celo quickly stopped her.
"Reporting to Lady Black Maria! I've already done a full sweep outside! You wanted help moving things, right? I'll get to it right away!"
Celo immediately changed the subject to avoid further suspicion.
He even enthusiastically lifted his two burlap sacks to play along.
Maria hadn't been paying him any attention anyway, and now, seeing how obedient he was, she let it slide.
She then happily led Hancock toward her pleasure hall.
Celo had expected to find a quiet, hidden spot along the way, but to his surprise, there wasn't one.
It was packed with groups of courtesans and swarms of pirates looking for them.
There was no chance to interrogate Black Maria in private.
Eventually, Black Maria excitedly took Hancock to her room to put on makeup.
Celo, meanwhile, had been hauling sacks the whole way like a laborer, getting nothing out of it.
"Why does everything never go according to plan... sigh."
Celo slumped down in an unnoticed corner.
Now, the responsibility of finding Yamato would have to fall to Sabo and Koala for the time being.
Just as Celo was feeling dejected, Black Maria's door cracked open slightly, and Hancock's beautiful face appeared.
"Celo! Quick, get in here!"
Celo froze.
There were still so many people around!
This was the heart of the Beasts Pirates' HQ!
This was seriously reckless!
"I've already restrained Black Maria! Hurry up and come in!"
Wait, seriously?!
Hancock was in tune with Celo's plans?!
"We can get her to tell us where Yamato is now!"
"Uh… well…"
Celo chuckled awkwardly, then hurriedly snuck into the room, still carrying his two burlap sacks.
Inside, he saw Black Maria bound tightly in ropes, with a smelly sock stuffed in her mouth.
Hancock had picked up some of Celo's techniques.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
Black Maria growled furiously, trying to speak, but it came out as faint, buzzing noises.
Even now, her mind was still reeling, unsure how it had all happened.
Just a moment ago, she'd turned her back on that stunning woman called Meichuan Neiku to grab a makeup kit.
And in the blink of an eye, that woman had taken her down without giving her a chance to react.
Even tied her up the same way Kaido had done to her last night…
Was this some new Onigashima trend?!
"You noisy woman! Shut up!"
Hancock had been annoyed with Black Maria for a while.
Now that Celo wasn't stopping her anymore, she could finally vent all that built-up rage.
She jumped and unleashed another Perfume Femur, kicking Black Maria hard into the wall.
The impact made such a loud bang that it startled Celo.
He immediately used Observation Haki to scan outside the room, afraid that the noise would alert the other pirates and get them surrounded.
But to his surprise, the pirates outside just… smirked knowingly when they heard the crash.
And then?
Nothing.
They simply went back to flirting with the courtesans nearby.
It seemed that loud noises coming from Black Maria's room were a regular thing.
"Uh… huh."
Celo felt like he'd just discovered something huge.
If he sold this scoop to the press, he might make a fortune…
...though it might also get him hunted by Kaido across the Grand Line.
"Celo, this woman should be more than willing to talk now."
Hancock dragged the limp Black Maria in front of Celo with one hand.
The fear in Maria's eyes made it clear how devastating that last kick had been.
Hearing Hancock's words, Black Maria quickly nodded repeatedly to show she would answer anything.
She didn't want to take another Perfume.
Celo almost burst out laughing at the sight.
He tossed the sock far away and asked directly:
"Where is Yamato?"
No build-up, no pleasantries.
Hearing the question, Black Maria froze.
She had considered that these intruders might be thieves, assassins, or infiltrators…
But it never occurred to her that they were here for Yamato.
"Yamato… I don't know exactly. Sometimes she hides in caves in the forest. Sometimes she attacks Lord Kaido. Sometimes she's in the archive reading…"
In other words, Maria had no idea where Yamato was.
Hancock, annoyed again, kicked her into the wall with an even louder Perfume Femur.
This time, the crack of impact was massive, and the wall even splintered like a spiderweb.
Celo wasn't worried about the wall collapsing.
He was worried about the pirates bursting in.
But once again, they didn't.
When they heard the louder crash, they cheered.
It was like they were celebrating something brave happening inside.
Celo had no idea what was going on anymore.
He decided this had to be part of the Beasts Pirates' "respect the strong" culture.
"Why are these gross, beastly pirates men so happy when I get beaten by intruders?!"
Black Maria was practically having an existential crisis.
She didn't know how she ended up provoking these two, especially this divinely beautiful, demon-tempered woman.
"Yamato is definitely in the archive reading!"
Desperate not to take another Perfume Femur, Black Maria gave a definite answer.
Celo thought that was quite plausible.
He then asked Maria to explain how to get to the archive and what pirates they might encounter on the way.
Finally, Celo picked up the sock he had thrown earlier and shoved it back in her mouth.
A signal to stay silent and not cry for help.
"Black Maria, you don't want to endanger Kaido, do you?"