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Chapter 13
"Hmm?!"
Hancock clearly froze for a moment, thinking to herself: Is this World an idiot?
She spoke up: "Are you some kind of caveman who just crawled out of a cave? How could the World Government possibly let you into the Marineford sea region just because of my status?"
Warlord of the Sea.
On the surface, it was a legitimate title granted by the World Government to pirates, but Warlords were disposable—replaceable at any time.
Normally, Hancock could freely enter and exit Marineford—even Mariejois—thanks to her Warlord status.
But now, with World's appearance, what good was that title?
The World Government had summoned the Warlords in such a hurry precisely because they feared the Warlords might collude with World!
"Ah, this…"
World's expression immediately turned ugly.
He had been frozen for thirty years—he really was a caveman who hadn't seen the world in three decades!
"Looks like the World Government is even more shameless than I thought."
World coughed once, pulling the conversation back on track: "Pirate Empress, I can sense the hatred you have toward Celestial Dragons. How about joining forces with me to take on the Marines—and that Celestial Dragon!"
"Don't worry—your two little sisters are perfectly fine. They've been eating and drinking well."
World extended the invitation.
From the moment everyone landed on Ship Island, they had all been under his watchful eye.
The instant he saw Kam, he abandoned the plan of using Hancock as leverage to enter the Marineford sea region.
One Warlord, one Celestial Dragon.
Even an idiot knew which one made the better hostage!
But with the Marines and Warlords—two powerful forces—on the island.
Even he felt a bit troubled.
The best move was to win over one side, or at the very least, make one side hesitate to attack him.
That's why he had just saved the Straw Hat kid's life—to show goodwill toward the Pirate Empress.
"This…"
Hancock furrowed her delicate brows. She was hesitating.
"World! Don't waste your breath!"
"Lady Empress hates men like you!"
"Hmph, trying to tempt Lady Empress into cooperating with you? Keep dreaming!"
"Lady Empress is our steadfast ally!"
Before Hancock could respond, the Marines erupted in righteous fury.
Losing the Empress to someone else felt like having their wife stolen!
Of course, they were convinced the Pirate Empress would never cooperate with a man.
But Kam—and the stronger Marines—didn't think so.
Gion pointed at Hancock and shouted sternly: "Boa Hancock! You are a Warlord! If you attack a Celestial Dragon, do you want your title revoked?!"
Gion didn't believe any man on the field could resist Hancock's beauty. If Hancock really teamed up with World, they were finished.
"This…"
Hancock's brows furrowed tighter. She was still hesitating!
"Hancock!"
Luffy suddenly stepped in front of her, shielding her with a serious expression: "You're not allowed to fight!! Go rescue Sandersonia and the others!!"
Luffy wasn't a complete blockhead. He knew very well how important Hancock's Warlord title was to Amazon Lily.
Extremely important!
Hancock frowned worriedly: "But Luffy, won't you be in too much danger by yourself?"
Luffy thumped his chest confidently: "Don't worry—I'm super strong!"
"Alright then!"
Hancock nodded: "Luffy, promise me—you'll come back safe!"
Without further hesitation, Hancock turned and headed straight toward the center of Ship Island.
"Pirate Empress! Your two sisters are resting in the leisure area of the island."
World didn't stop her—in fact, he helpfully told her exactly where her sisters were, emphasizing that he had taken good care of them.
"Phew~"
Seeing Hancock leave, Kam let out a huge sigh of relief.
Of the two newcomers to the battlefield, the one posing the greatest threat to him was definitely Hancock.
As an old lecher, there was no way he could resist her beauty!
As for World…
A guy defeated by Luffy's Gear Second—how strong could he possibly be?
Kam genuinely believed he could handle World himself!
Of course, as the commander, he couldn't dirty his own hands. So he immediately ordered:
"Kizaru—go take out World."
"Hina—deal with the Straw Hat kid!"
"Gion, Tsuru—continue protecting me."
"Yes sir!!" The Marines saluted in unison.
"Hahaha! What an arrogant little brat."
World laughed heartily at Kam's orders, then glanced at the ready-to-fight Luffy beside him: "You okay handling that Celestial Dragon?"
"No problem!"
Luffy answered confidently, then scratched his head as something occurred to him: "But what about those other three Marines…"
"Hahaha!"
World laughed again, waving his massive hand. Three figures immediately appeared on the battlefield.
The remnants of the World Pirates: Gairam, Sebastian, and Nayjin!
World said: "They're my subordinates. With them here, you just focus on that Celestial Dragon!"
"Got it!"
Luffy shouted enthusiastically, then charged straight toward Kam.
"Straw Hat brat!!"
Hina and the others tried to intercept, but Gairam's group blocked them.
Thus: Kizaru vs. World; Hina's trio vs. Gairam's trio
Kam vs. Luffy!
"Good—let me kill you with my own hands!"
Kam stared at the charging Luffy with a face full of determination.
To him, Luffy had to die.
Since he had transmigrated into this body, he might as well accept it.
If he had been reborn as a Marine, he would uphold his justice. If he were an oppressed commoner, he might raise the skull flag and embark on a path of ambition; or perhaps hoist the banner of freedom and equality and fight the Celestial Dragons to the bitter end.
But unfortunately, he was a Celestial Dragon—one of the ones soon to be wiped out by the tides of history!
When it came to life and death, he only wanted to do what was right for himself.
"Hmph! You think you can?"
Luffy sneered disdainfully.
In his mind, Celestial Dragons were either arrogant bastards or weak trash!
"King Luffy!"
Kam sneered coldly: "You really think you can beat me without a sneak attack?"
Right now, Luffy's mastery of Haki was still clumsy. Even in the special episode, Luffy only solidified his two-color Haki after defeating World (the teacher).
Meanwhile, Kam's Haki was already fully under control!
"Then let's find out!"
Luffy roared, swinging a sandbag-sized fist straight toward Kam's head.
"Child's play!"
Kam raised his own sandbag-sized fist and smashed it toward Luffy's head in return.
BOOM!!
With a deafening crash, a straw-hat-wearing figure rocketed backward like a cannonball.
"Kekekekekeke!"
"Straw Hat kid, you're dead!"
Kam looked at the half-dead King Luffy and laughed triumphantly, feeling that he was clearly the superior one.
Luffy did sit-ups and climbed back up: "I'm not done yet."
"Stubborn little life!"
Kam said, then threw another "BOOM" punch.
"I'm not done!"
"BOOM!"
"I'm still—"
"BOOM!"
"I'm st—"
"BOOM!"
…
"I—"
"AAAAAHHH, JUST DIE ALREADY, DAMN IT!"
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