At this moment—
It wasn't just Ichigo and the others.
In Hueco Mundo, inside Las Noches, the Hollows and the Arrancar legion as a whole—
their expressions changed instantly, every single one of them showing looks of disgust and revulsion.
They, too, were utterly grossed out by Ivankov's heavily made-up appearance!
One after another, they couldn't help but voice their disdain:
"Hmph…"
"This guy… is seriously disgusting."
"Looks like the pirate world has even more biodiversity than we imagined…"
Grimmjow frowned.
He let out an irritated snort, his gaze toward the Queen of the Okama holding not even the slightest bit of goodwill.
It wasn't just disgust.
It was genuine physical discomfort—enough to make him angry.
If he'd known in advance…
If he'd known Luffy's third background connection would be this eye-searing—
Grimmjow would've prepared himself long ago and refused to look even once!
So he wouldn't get sick from it!!!
"Yeah…"
Not far away, Nnoitra nodded as well, wearing the same disgusted expression as he spat out:
"Tch… Being disgusting is one thing. Strength is another."
"That kind of ugly, bizarre okama—half man, half woman—does he really have the power to count as a 'strong background'?"
About that—
Nnoitra was skeptical.
No matter how you looked at it, the Okama Queen's first impression didn't scream "powerhouse."
There was no aura, no presence—nothing.
His body didn't carry the slightest hint of the temperament a strong person should have.
To put it bluntly—
Compared to the two supports exposed earlier—Luffy's father Dragon, and his "uncle," the Warlord of the Sea, Bartholomew Kuma—
the difference was obvious.
You could even say they weren't on the same level at all!!!
And so—
it was only natural for Nnoitra to question the Okama Queen's true combat power.
Maybe even in the pirate world, he wasn't all that strong?
And he wasn't the only one with doubts.
Aizen's trio shared the same suspicion.
"Tsk tsk tsk…"
"A heavily made-up okama, huh?"
"Being ugly and acting goofy won't give your combat power any kind of boost."
Below the throne,
Gin Ichimaru narrowed his eyes and delivered his assessment in a frivolous tone.
Even though—
given his personality—
he wouldn't normally judge someone by looks so easily…
but there was no helping it: that image of the Okama Queen was simply too outrageous!
So—
after not even three seconds,
Gin quickly looked away.
He couldn't take it anymore.
He didn't want to keep feeling disgusted!!!
And up on the throne—
Aizen's handsome face remained cold and unreadable, without the slightest obvious change.
He didn't look repulsed, nor did he seem disgusted.
However—
deep in his eyes, a flash of contempt slipped by.
Clearly,
Aizen also believed
the Okama Queen's strength wouldn't be very impressive.
At the very least—by his standards—he was certain of that.
———
Meanwhile—
just as the powerhouses of the Bleach world
were recoiling in disgust at the Okama Queen's exposure—
over in the pirate world,
Ivankov himself
was equally stunned that he'd appeared on screen:
"???"
"Hee-haw—never would've guessed!"
"In the future, I actually get screen time?"
"And after Dragon and Kuma, I even become Straw Hat boy's third 'background' figure?"
On that enormous, heavily made-up face,
a smile appeared—both surprised and nervous—making it look downright creepy.
Clearly—
if the ranking video hadn't exposed him and spelled it out in subtitles,
as just one member of the audience,
Queen Ivankov would never have imagined that he'd form a bond with Luffy.
After all—
at least up to this very moment,
he could say with absolute certainty:
he had never once met Luffy,
or any of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Yes!
Not even one time!
There was no doubt about it!!!
So—
the instant he saw this,
Ivankov felt shocked—
and even started doubting himself.
With his strength,
sure, he barely counted as Warlord-level…
but… he was far weaker than Kuma,
and far weaker than Dragon, who was a leader of his own.
So how could he possibly,
in some unknown future plotline,
protect Luffy and his companions?
Don't tell him…
future him—
using the power of the Horm-Horm Fruit—
would forcibly turn every one of future Luffy's opponents into okama?
That would be ridiculous!
If he really could do something like that,
then he wouldn't be locked up right now
in the hidden compartment of Impel Down's Level 5!!!
Beside him—
his close partner,
and also a fellow comrade-in-arms among the Revolutionary Army's officers—
"Inazuma," whose body was half white and half orange—
leaned in close to the Okama Queen.
With the same puzzled look, he stared at the transparent screen and said:
"Lord Ivankov…"
"All these years, the range of our activities has been limited to within Impel Down, hidden in Newkama Land!"
"Could it be… that soon, the two of us—along with everyone in the land!"
"That all okama will escape together—break out of Impel Down—because only then could we ever cross paths with the Straw Hats?"
That guess
was Inazuma's first instinctive reaction.
Subconsciously, he felt that only this could reasonably explain the subtitles' hint.
But—
a prison break!
And not just anywhere—Impel Down, the so-called deep-sea great prison, a fortress of iron walls!
Just thinking about it
made Inazuma feel it was unlikely.
And looking back over the past few decades—
only one person had ever done it:
Golden Lion Shiki, with power on the level of a Yonko!
And even then,
he paid a heavy price—
cutting off both his legs—
and only by relying on the Float-Float Fruit's power
did he become the first man to ever escape Impel Down!
So to compare himself and the Okama Queen
to the mighty Golden Lion—
and on top of that, while dragging along all the okama in the land?
That kind of idea
was way too insane—
and far too unrealistic!!!
However…
after hearing Inazuma's words,
the Okama Queen first fell silent.
After calming the excitement in his heart,
he turned to cool-headed reasoning.
Then—
as if something occurred to him—
his eyes lit up, and he suddenly had a flash of inspiration:
"Actually…"
"Is there a possibility…"
"That in the future, it isn't the two of us—and all the okama—breaking out together!"
"But instead… Straw Hat boy!"
"He gets arrested, and from the outside world, the Marines throw him into Impel Down!"
As he spoke,
the more he thought about it,
the more he felt this possibility was huge!
After all—
with Luffy's current strength,
and the Straw Hat crew's overall fighting power,
maybe in the first half of the Grand Line,
they could make the Marines so frantic that capturing them would be extremely difficult.
But…
once they reached the New World—
the Straw Hat Pirates wouldn't be able to coast anymore!
You could even say they'd be nothing more than rookies.
Whether they could establish themselves—
and continue sailing through the New World—
was still an unknown.
So—
that was why the Okama Queen felt
it was extremely likely that Luffy got arrested.
And that was why, in the future,
he—inside Impel Down—
would meet this "nephew,"
this main-character figure!
(End of Chapter)
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