"Hm? Could it be the Marines? The Navy possesses the technology to line the bottoms of their ships with Seastone, allowing them to traverse the Calm Belt without alerting the Sea Kings below. Moreover, they don't rely on sails; they use steam engines to move freely in windless environments."
In Bardock's view, if they encountered a ship casually sailing through the Calm Belt, it was highly likely to be a Marine warship.
"Seastone can be used like that?" Enel frowned, hearing this for the first time. "But it's not the Marines. I hear them saying things like 'Lady Snake Princess' and 'Kuja Pirates'."
"Oh? So it's them!" Bardock couldn't help but smile.
Originally, he had planned to ask Silvers Rayleigh about the Gorgon Sisters when they visited the Sabaody Archipelago. Since they were forced to bypass Sabaody, he thought it would be a long time before he saw Hancock again. Ironically, they were about to run right into her in the middle of nowhere. He only had himself to blame for not exchanging Den Den Mushi numbers back then.
"The Kuja Pirates? Captain Bardock, is it Hancock and her sisters?!" Mansherry's eyes lit up excitedly. It had been a few years since they parted ways, but she still remembered the tall, beautiful women very well.
"Oh, so it's Hancock! They did mention that they lived in the Calm Belt." Leo also recalled their past adventures. He was most deeply impressed by Hancock's Devil Fruit ability—the terrifying power to instantly turn an entire ship of hostile pirates into solid stone.
The rest of the crew exchanged confused glances. Robin voiced their collective doubt, "Bardock, is this Hancock the 'friend' you were looking for? Why haven't we heard you talk about her before?"
"It's a long story, and it involves some highly sensitive secrets, which is why we rarely bring it up," Bardock explained casually. "A few years ago, when I was on the Sabaody Archipelago, I met the three Gorgon Sisters. Driven by our own respective goals, Hancock and I teamed up to find the Tontatta Kingdom, which is how we met Mansherry and Leo. Afterward, I took Mansherry and Leo to the West Blue, while she returned to her homeland to become the Empress and protect her nation. It's been a few years since we last heard from each other. Oh, by the way, her homeland is Amazon Lily—the legendary 'Island of Women'."
"What?! An entire Island of Women? And she's the Empress?!" The crew was amazed. Their captain's past adventures were truly like a fantasy!
"Enel, gauge their trajectory and see where they're exiting the Calm Belt. Let's position ourselves ahead of them and wait. It's the perfect time to catch up," Bardock ordered. When it came to the absolute range of Observation Haki, Bardock was still far inferior to Enel; he couldn't even detect the Kuja ship's aura yet.
"Hmph," Enel grunted, steering the White Dragon to intercept them.
Aboard the Perfume Yuda.
This was Boa Hancock's very first official piracy expedition since ascending to the throne as the Empress of Amazon Lily, so the crew's lineup was incredibly luxurious. The three Gorgon Sisters were personally accompanied by Elder Nyon (Gloriosa), alongside numerous veteran elites from the previous generation of the Kuja Pirates. In terms of sheer, concentrated combat power, this single ship could easily topple entire nations.
"Snake Princess, we are about to leave the Calm Belt. Do you have a specific plan?" Elder Nyon asked. As the former, former, former Empress of Amazon Lily who had famously left the island and returned, she currently acted as the crew's strategic advisor.
"Stop nagging. We will simply plunder everything in our path," Hancock declared. "No matter what I do—whether I mercilessly pillage, or whether I turn innocent enemies into stone—the world will always forgive me. And why is that? Because I am just far too beautiful!"
Hancock proudly puffed out her chest, arched her back, and pointed her chin haughtily toward the sky, looking down on everyone in her signature 'looking down so far she's actually looking up' pose.
Having shrunk severely in her old age, Elder Nyon was currently perfectly eye-level with Hancock's massive, imposing 'weapons' (cleavage). The old woman was left completely speechless.
"Snake Princess, you are the Empress of Amazon Lily now! Do not be so willfully reckless. If you act too erratically, you will draw the Navy's attention," Elder Nyon warned sternly.
"You are merely the former, former, former Empress! You have no right to lecture me!" Hancock huffed, completely ignoring the advice. She had already made up her mind; she was absolutely going to cause a massive, glorious uproar on her maiden voyage.
At that moment, Sandersonia and Marigold walked onto the deck together. "Big Sister! The lookout just spotted a ship ahead. It looks like an incredibly fat sheep just waiting to be sheared! The entire hull is plated in solid gold!"
"Do we know their identity?" Elder Nyon immediately asked, ever the cautious tactician.
"Ignore her! Pursue them immediately! Do not let them escape!" Hancock didn't stay in the cabin a second longer, striding confidently toward the ship's bow. Her pet snake, Salome, slithered closely behind her. While the other serpents acted as lethal bows for the Kuja warriors, Salome only needed to act as a comfortable chair for the Empress.
"Yes, Big Sister!" Sandersonia and Marigold relayed the orders, flanking Hancock like two imposing bodyguards.
Elder Nyon sighed helplessly and followed them. This generation's Empress was truly far too capricious!
The moment Hancock appeared on the main deck, every single member of the Kuja Pirates stopped what they were doing and stared at her with absolute adoration. "Lady Snake Princess~!"
The warriors constantly stole lovestruck glances at her. This was the exact reason Hancock rarely showed her face on deck; her sheer, radiant beauty actively distracted the crew from properly operating the ship.
"Bring the ship alongside them!" Hancock commanded.
The two massive Yuda sea serpents pulling the ship rapidly accelerated. Bizarrely, the golden vessel in the distance made absolutely no attempt to flee; it just sat completely still on the windless water, waiting for them.
Once the ships drew close enough, Hancock finally saw the man standing on the opposite deck.
Even if the 'City of Gold' newspaper hadn't recently blown up across the globe, she was absolutely certain she could have recognized him with a single glance. A brilliant, stunningly genuine smile instantly bloomed on her face... before she rapidly suppressed it, forcing a haughty scowl.
"AHHH! Lady Snake Princess smiled! She's too beautiful!"
Several of the younger Kuja warriors who had witnessed her fleeting smile instantly turned into solid stone statues out of sheer, overwhelming adoration.
Hancock slapped her forehead. She knew it. These absolute idiots! What could she do? Obviously, she had to undo their petrification before they accidentally shattered.
Suddenly, she remembered something Bardock had casually mentioned to her years ago: 'When top-tier pirates meet on the sea, they always exchange Conqueror's Haki as a greeting.'
Without hesitation, she unleashed a massive wave of her Supreme King's Haki, directing the oppressive, terrifying aura straight across the water toward Bardock.
She hadn't spent the last few years idling away. Under Silvers Rayleigh's expert tutelage, she had completely mastered all three forms of Haki. She now wielded her Conqueror's Haki as easily as breathing.
The exact moment Hancock appeared on the deck of the pirate ship, Bardock had spotted her. Seeing her brief, radiant smile, his heart traitorously skipped a few heavy beats.
Fortunately, Hancock unleashed her Conqueror's Haki at that exact moment. Snapping out of his daze, Bardock instantly reacted, releasing his own King's Haki to clash against hers to protect his crew.
The two terrifying waves of pressure violently collided over the ocean. The clouds above began to aggressively churn, cracking with black lightning... before the sky itself cleanly split right down the middle!
Because he wasn't currently fighting for his life against an Admiral or a Yonko, Bardock actually had the spare mental capacity to notice the anomaly in the atmosphere above him.
'Wait... I can split the sky now?!' A profound sense of surrealism washed over him.
What he didn't know was that this was actually the second time he had achieved this legendary feat.
"Hancock, long time no see!" "Bardock, long time no see!"
The two of them spoke at the exact same time. Realizing it, they both burst into laughter and simultaneously withdrew their Conqueror's Haki.
"Hancock! You've gotten even more beautiful!" Mansherry cheered, leaping across the gap and landing gently on Hancock's shoulder.
Leo didn't jump over, opting to sit proudly on Bardock's shoulder instead.
"Mansherry, Leo! Congratulations on finding the City of Gold! I'm certain the entire world finally understands that Noland was never a liar!" Hancock said, genuinely happy for them. They had finally cleared their savior's 400-year-old stigma.
"Congratulations, Mansherry and Leo!" Sandersonia and Marigold chimed in warmly, happy to see their old friends again.
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