"Hancock! You..."
Gloriosa was livid and was about to persuade her again when she was cut off.
"Shut up!"
Hancock's eyes blazed with indignation as she impatiently interrupted, her voice sharp as a blade: "Don't forget, you who abandoned the country have no right to tell me what to do!"
"Granny, I am the Emperor of Amazon Lily!"
"You'll regret this, Hancock."
Gloriosa sighed deeply, the sound carrying decades of weariness.
"Shall we have a chat?"
Kai passed through the crowd, appearing at Hancock's side like a ghost materializing from shadow. His presence was so sudden that several warriors instinctively reached for their weapons.
Hancock was about to harshly drive away this man she detested when something like thunder crashed in her ears.
Kai's voice was low and clear, yet carried the power to shatter all her pride and pretense: "It's been painful all these years, hasn't it? Because of the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon mark on your back."
BOOM!
This sentence was more lethal than all of Yamato's attacks combined, striking at her very core.
Hancock was struck as if by lightning, her body trembling violently like a leaf in a storm. The color drained from her face, leaving her skin pale as moonlight.
"You, how do you know... No, I—I don't know what you're talking about!"
In an instant, Hancock seemed to revert to that desperate little girl in Mary Geoise's dungeons. She could no longer maintain her arrogance, and her speech became stuttered and broken.
No! This secret absolutely cannot be leaked! Otherwise everything would be over!
Thinking this, Hancock kicked toward Kai without hesitation with her left foot, desperation driving her to violence.
"Your heart is in chaos."
Kai spoke calmly, his voice cutting through her panic like a sword through silk.
As his words fell, his pitch-black right hand easily caught Hancock's slender yet terrifyingly powerful ankle, his grip firm but not painful.
"Damn it!"
Hancock bit her silver teeth tightly, her right leg instinctively gathering power, trying to launch another attack.
"I can remove that mark."
Kai's gentle voice struck like a second thunderbolt in Hancock's chaotic heart, the words echoing in her mind like a divine promise.
Her right leg could no longer be raised.
Hancock stared at Kai in disbelief, her beautiful blue eyes filled with suspicion and a trace of weak hope that even she hadn't noticed blooming in her chest.
She desperately wanted to find traces of deception or mockery in Kai's eyes, searching for any hint that this was another cruel joke at her expense.
But all she saw was sincerity, clear and unwavering as mountain spring water.
"Trust me, okay?"
Kai's gaze was earnest, his voice carrying a warmth that seemed to reach into the deepest, darkest corners of her pain.
What shocked Hancock even more was that Kai actually released his grip on her left ankle and stepped back half a step without any defense, giving her space and showing remarkable trust.
Hancock was completely stunned, her mind as blank as a freshly fallen snow.
The enormous temptation of driving away that shameful and painful past instantly overwhelmed her deep-rooted disgust and fear of men, like a dam breaking under immense pressure.
"If, if..." She lowered her head, her voice as soft as a mosquito's whisper, "You, you really can do that thing. I, I'll reluctantly form an alliance with you."
Kai's lips curved into a knowing smile, satisfaction warming his features: "In that case, please remove the petrification from my companions first."
"Hmph! Don't order me around!"
Hancock pouted coquettishly but obediently removed the petrification from Kozuki Hiyori and the others, her fingers moving in graceful patterns.
Kozuki Hiyori, Violet, Reiju, and others who had been petrified quickly shed their gray-white color, returning to flesh and blood as they moved their stiff bodies with lingering fear, joints creaking as life returned.
Witnessing this scene, Gloriosa's eye twitched frantically, recognition dawning with horrible clarity.
This scene was all too familiar.
The classic signs of a Kuja girl falling in love were written across Hancock's face like words in an open book.
She hoped Hancock wouldn't abandon the entire country and run away for love like she and Shakky had done!
At least leave an heir for Amazon Lily before leaving.
"Not fighting anymore?"
Violet patted her chest, breathing a sigh of relief, her heartbeat gradually returning to normal.
Seeing that the tense atmosphere between both sides had dissipated like morning mist, she curiously observed Hancock, whose expression was strange and cheeks slightly flushed with an unfamiliar warmth.
Then she glanced at Kai beside her, who looked calm as if everything was under control, like someone who had planned for exactly this outcome.
She gently nudged Kozuki Hiyori with her elbow, lowering her voice with a mischievous smile: "Hey hey, Hiyori, don't you think Kai-sama used his male charm to win over that Empress? I knew he had a noble beauty collecting fetish."
Forget Kai... even she, as a woman, had her heart skip a beat when she saw Hancock's breathtaking beauty.
She didn't think Kai could pass up such a beauty.
That was the Pirate Empress known as the world's most beautiful woman.
BONK!
A crisp flick landed precisely on Violet's forehead, the sound echoing like a pebble dropped in still water.
"Ouch!" Violet covered her forehead, looking aggrievedly at Kai, who had appeared behind her at some point, his movement silent as a hunting cat.
"Don't think I can't hear you just because you're whispering." Kai glared at her irritably, though there was amusement dancing in his eyes.
Violet stuck out her tongue and made a face, completely unconcerned, her rebellious spirit intact.
After spending these years with the Beast Pirates, she was no longer the trembling Dressrosa princess she once was.
Since both sides had reconciled and even reached cooperation, then naturally came the pirate world's custom.
Time for a banquet!
Kai's group was invited into Amazon Lily's interior, passing through passages that felt like walking through the throat of some massive beast.
The entire Amazon Lily kingdom was like a giant bowl, tightly wrapped by towering, steep circular cliff walls with only a few narrow, hidden passages connecting to the outside world.
Passing through the passages, Kai immediately felt a sense of sudden enlightenment, the world opening up before them like a hidden paradise.
What came into view, besides large farmlands stretching out in neat green rows and several small villages dotting the landscape, was the central royal city.
However, calling it a royal city was generous... due to limited space, its scale was more like a large town.
To relieve the pressure on living space, Amazon Lily's skilled craftsmen had embedded numerous houses like honeycombs into the surrounding cliff walls, forming a visually striking three-dimensional architectural complex that seemed to grow from the stone itself.
As rare male visitors to Amazon Lily, Kai's group immediately became the absolute center of attention upon entering the royal city, like exotic birds landing in a peaceful garden.
"Look, look! Why are their chests so flat?"
"Idiot, they seem to be the legendary... men."
"What?! They are men?"
"So this is what men look like..."
Girls who had never left Amazon Lily chattered and pointed at Kai and the others without reservation, their voices creating a symphony of curiosity and wonder.
Normally, being watched and observed by so many young, beautiful girls should be something any man would be proud of.
But the Amazon girls were too innocent, their clear eyes containing only pure curiosity and inquiry, with absolutely no romantic intentions. They looked at the men like fascinating specimens rather than potential partners.
Kai felt like a peculiar creature in a zoo for people to observe... they were just short of touching him.
Even Kai felt somewhat uncomfortable, let alone the naturally quiet Kuma and Zoro, who just wanted to hide themselves behind anything available.
The only one enjoying himself, even wishing he could actively approach them for study, was Sanji with his heart-shaped eyes, nearly fainting from happiness at being surrounded by so many beautiful women.
After finally escaping the baptism of curious gazes from those girls, Kai's group finally entered the royal palace, its halls echoing with the sound of their footsteps.
Although Amazon Lily's environment was isolated, special ingredients weren't uncommon, and combined with their plundering gains, the banquet table was quite abundant with dishes that made mouths water.
Sanji even abandoned the opportunity to admire the many beauties, discussing cooking techniques with the banquet chefs with passionate enthusiasm.
"This is a poisonous mushroom. When eaten raw, mushrooms that absorb human energy will grow on the body, but after careful cooking, it becomes a rare delicacy."
As the chef explained with animated gestures, Sanji took notes with the dedication of a scholar.
As for the others, they naturally feasted heartily, the sounds of laughter and conversation filling the great hall.
After two and a half hours of toasting and drinking, the banquet finally came to an end, leaving behind empty plates and satisfied smiles.