"Shakky-neesan used to be the empress here…"
Jin scratched his head awkwardly.
"The feeling is really… strange."
Still—
Now that he had someone familiar connected to this island, things should go much more smoothly.
After all—
That was a former empress!
No matter what, she definitely carried influence here.
At that moment—
Memories from a Shadow Clone flowed back into Jin's mind.
"So that's where they are…"
Turning his head toward a distant building, he immediately rushed over without hesitation.
When he arrived—
He saw Merry sitting beside a shriveled old woman.
The elderly woman wore a warm smile as she chatted cheerfully with the little girl.
"Granny Nyon, Luffy's really okay now?" Merry asked nervously.
"Don't worry."
Gloriosa chuckled kindly.
"After treatment, that boy recovered pretty well."
"That's good…"
Merry finally let out a sigh of relief.
She'd genuinely been afraid Luffy would get eaten alive by mushrooms.
"Hehe, looks like you two are getting along quite well~"
Hearing Jin's voice—
Gloriosa instinctively looked up.
Then her pupils suddenly shrank.
"…Another man?!"
Her eyes locked onto Jin's Adam's apple.
In an instant—
She saw through his disguise.
"…What the hell is happening today?"
"Why are men appearing one after another?"
If Hancock found out about this—
Wouldn't she petrify the women who brought these men back?!
Just imagining it gave Gloriosa a headache.
"Jin!"
Merry immediately stood up excitedly.
"You're here!"
"Yeah."
Jin smiled and nodded.
Then he dismissed all of his Shadow Clones and absorbed their memories.
A moment later, he said:
"Looks like Luffy's fine now."
One of the clones had already seen Luffy inside a prison room.
And honestly—
The clothes they'd put on him were surprisingly stylish.
They even embroidered flowers onto them.
Just thinking about it made Jin burst out laughing.
Gloriosa: ???
What exactly was this brat laughing at?!
Then suddenly—
Her expression changed.
"…Wait."
"What did you just call him?"
"Jin!"
Merry answered honestly.
The old woman's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You…!"
"Are you that madman who killed the Celestial Dragons—"
"Blood-Eyed Ninja Jin?!"
She immediately pulled out a newspaper from her clothes and carefully compared the image to Jin's face.
The more she looked—
The more it matched.
Finally—
She reached a conclusion.
It was him.
"Yep. That's me."
Jin smiled casually.
"I didn't expect news about killing Celestial Dragons to spread all the way here."
These newspapers traveled pretty fast.
"…You really are ridiculously bold."
Even Celestial Dragons dared not provoke those monsters.
Yet this brat actually killed them.
Still—
Now wasn't the time to marvel at that.
This was a MAN.
Thinking that, Gloriosa immediately stood up.
"What exactly are you doing here?"
Killing Celestial Dragons certainly made him a fearless monster.
But she still needed to understand his purpose.
After all—
This was Amazon Lily.
"Our purpose…"
Jin rubbed his forehead helplessly.
"Honestly, the three of us don't really have one."
"We ended up here purely by accident."
"…Three?"
"Yeah."
"The idiot who ate mushrooms inside is my captain."
After saying that, Jin glanced at Merry in surprise.
This little girl actually hadn't spilled everything yet?
Haha.
She'd improved.
Merry blinked innocently and tilted her head.
She clearly had no idea what he meant.
Jin: …
"…Or maybe they just never asked."
Looks like Merry still had a long way to go.
"So it really is the Straw Hat Pirates…"
Gloriosa muttered.
"No wonder that boy looked familiar."
The man called Luffy—
Was actually the captain of Blood-Eyed Jin.
Taking a deep breath, she said:
"I don't know why you appeared here…"
"But I strongly advise you to leave immediately."
If possible—
She truly didn't want conflict with this boy.
After all—
He was someone who escaped alive from an Admiral.
His strength absolutely couldn't be weak.
And with Hancock absent—
Avoiding battle was the best option.
"Because men aren't welcome here, right?"
"…You already know?"
Gloriosa looked surprised, then nodded.
"That's right."
"This rule has existed for hundreds of years."
Jin: ???
"…Hundreds of years?!"
Then how did they reproduce?!
Don't tell him—
There was actually some magical "Mother-and-Child River" here?!
His expression instantly became weird.
"Boy."
"What kind of look is that?"
"…I was just wondering how your people reproduce."
Gloriosa: …
"Prying into other people's secrets isn't very polite."
Her face became expressionless instantly.
Seeing that reaction—
Jin wisely shut his mouth.
Whatever the answer was—
He probably shouldn't ask further.
At that moment, Merry suddenly spoke:
"Granny Nyon, we can't leave yet."
"If you could come here, why can't you leave?"
"Because we were sent here by a giant man."
Gloriosa: ???
What was this little girl even talking about?
"A giant man?"
"We were sent flying here by Kuma's ability," Jin explained helplessly.
"And right now…"
"There's nobody around to send us away again."
Honestly—
If Kuma suddenly appeared here now—
Jin would gladly ask him to launch them straight toward Impel Down.
That would save them a lot of trouble.
Gloriosa suddenly felt another headache coming.
What exactly was Kuma thinking?
Why send such a dangerous brat to Amazon Lily?
And specifically while Hancock was away too.
"In that case…"
"Relax."
Jin interrupted calmly.
"Fighting us won't benefit your people."
"And technically…"
"We're on the same side."
"…Same side?"
Gloriosa froze.
What nonsense was he talking about?
She didn't know these people at all.
"You know Shakky, right?"
"…You actually know that girl?"
Gloriosa looked genuinely surprised.
"Not just know her."
"We're pretty close."
The old woman fell silent briefly.
Then asked carefully:
"How do you prove that?"
She couldn't trust an outsider's words so casually.
At minimum—
He needed evidence.
"Proof, huh…"
Jin took out two Den Den Mushi.
"Shakky-neesan specifically told me to contact her after meeting you."
"She said she'd explain things personally."
"And this white anti-surveillance Den Den Mushi…"
"She's the one who gave it to me."
"…A white Den Den Mushi."
Gloriosa looked visibly shocked.
Those were incredibly rare creatures.
Only a very small number of people even possessed them.
And Shakky entrusted one to this boy?
Then maybe—
What he said really was true.
"…I understand now."
"Come with me first."
No matter what—
She needed to confirm things personally through a call.
"What about Luffy?"
Merry looked toward the building worriedly.
"Are we just leaving him here?"
What if something happened to him?
"Of course we're bringing him."
Jin answered immediately.
"He's still unconscious."
"I'm not comfortable leaving him behind."
This country clearly hated men.
If someone attacked Luffy while he was unconscious—
Things could become troublesome.
So bringing him along was safer.
Gloriosa glanced at Jin in surprise.
How did he know Luffy was still unconscious?
Had he already secretly checked on him before arriving?
This boy's infiltration abilities were terrifying.
Still—
Once she remembered he was supposedly a ninja—
It suddenly made sense.
Ninjas in stories were always experts at stealth.
"Don't worry."
Jin waved casually.
"I won't hurt anyone here."
"Otherwise it'd be hard to explain things to Shakky-neesan."
"Wait here a moment."
"I'll be right back."
The moment his words fell—
He jumped onto the rooftop and vanished.
Watching him disappear, Gloriosa thought silently:
"…That boy killed Celestial Dragons."
Maybe—
Once Hancock learned this…
The nightmare haunting her heart for years could finally begin to fade.
That child had suffered under those memories for far too long.
"Granny Nyon…"
Merry gently grabbed the old woman's hand.
"We really don't mean any harm."
"We just want to leave this place and return to Sabaody to find our friends."
Gloriosa smiled warmly and patted her head.
"Don't worry."
"I know."
If they truly intended harm—
They wouldn't have calmly chatted with her this long.
Besides—
Once she contacted Shakky, everything would become clear anyway.
Still—
Gloriosa remained curious.
How exactly had the Straw Hats clashed with the Celestial Dragons?
After thinking briefly, she asked:
"Merry… how did your crew provoke the Celestial Dragons?"
The smile on Merry's face instantly stiffened.
Then she lowered her head quietly.
"…Because of me and Camie-neesan…"
Seeing that expression—
Gloriosa suddenly formed a guess.
"…Were you captured by them?"
Those Celestial Dragons always acted without restraint.
If they fancied someone—
They simply took them away as slaves.
"No."
Merry shook her head.
"Camie-neesan and I were kidnapped by traffickers."
"Then sold at the Human Auction House."
"And that's where we clashed with the Celestial Dragons."
Gloriosa fell silent briefly.
Then sighed softly.
"…The Celestial Dragons wanted to buy you?"
"It was Camie-neesan."
"Nami said they offered one billion for her."
"…ONE BILLION?!"
Gloriosa's pupils contracted sharply.
The wealth of the Celestial Dragons was truly horrifying.
"That amount was already beyond what we could keep bidding."
"So the conflict started after that…"
"…I see."
Gloriosa sighed again.
"What a very… unusual pirate crew."
For the sake of companions—
They directly challenged the descendants of "gods."
No—
They outright killed them.
That kind of pirate crew was incredibly rare.
This little girl…
Was truly fortunate.
In most pirate crews—
She likely would've been abandoned.
"…They really are impressive."
Meanwhile—
On the rooftop nearby.
"They really sleep well…"
Jin looked helplessly at the snoring Luffy inside the prison room.
Even surrounded by a crowd of women—
This idiot could still sleep soundly.
Absolutely unbelievable.
Shaking his head, Jin leapt down and crouched on the ground.
"Earth Style: Rock Hand Technique!"
BOOM!
A gigantic stone hand burst from underground.
In front of countless stunned women—
It grabbed the sleeping Luffy and instantly dragged him underground.
"…EH?!"
"He disappeared?!"
"What was that giant stone arm?!"
"No idea!"
"His presence went underground!"
"How did he do that?!"
Marguerite and the others stared in shock at the spot where Luffy vanished.
Their minds went blank.
"Track him!"
"Don't let him escape!"
Marguerite and the others panicked immediately.
Jin ignored all of it.
The moment Luffy was dragged underground—
He used Earth Style himself and descended below.
Then he created a small underground chamber.
Looking at the still-sleeping Luffy—
Jin slowly raised his fist.
Armament Haki wrapped around it.
A Haki-coated punch would definitely wake this idiot up.
But just before swinging—
He suddenly paused.
Then quietly leaned beside Luffy's ear and whispered:
"…Luffy."
"…The meat's here."
"Very delicious meat~"
Those words were practically demonic temptation.
"Hm?!"
"MEAT?!!"
Luffy instantly jolted awake.
"Jin! Where's the meat?!"
As he shouted—
He jumped up too fast and smashed headfirst into the dirt ceiling.
BANG!
His head got stuck directly into the soil.
Jin: …
Watching Luffy struggle to pull himself out—
Jin covered his face helplessly.
This idiot…
Shaking his head, he dragged Luffy back down before the fool suffocated himself.
"AHHH!"
"I survived!"
Breathing fresh air again, Luffy immediately raised his arms happily.
Then he turned toward Jin excitedly.
"Jin! Where's the meat?!"
"You're still thinking about meat?!"
Armament Haki wrapped around Jin's fist again as he glared viciously.
"You idiot!"
"I told you to watch over Merry!"
"And instead you ate random garbage and knocked yourself unconscious?!"
"Did you even think about what might happen?!"
BANG!!
The Haki-coated punch smashed directly onto Luffy's head.
"OWWWW!!"
Clutching the giant lump swelling on his head—
Luffy rolled around in pain.
He genuinely couldn't understand why Jin's fists hurt exactly like his grandpa's.
"That's the point."
Jin snorted coldly.
"Maybe this'll teach you not to eat random things again."
"…Sorry…"
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