"Man, how do you want to die?"
The arrogant Empress, Boa Hancock, glared at Jovian. Then she stretched out one finger and pointed at him, leaning farther and farther back as she showed off the perfect curve of her waist.
"Hancock, I came here to save the Amazon Lily Kingdom!"
Jovian looked at the flawless Hancock before him and revealed a brilliant smile.
"Save the Amazon Lily Kingdom? Does my kingdom need you to save it? Don't be ridiculous…"
After hearing Jovian's words, Boa Hancock's expression grew even colder. She believed Jovian's words were filled with contempt for her. It was disrespect toward her status.
"You misunderstand."
"I can bring the Amazon Lily Kingdom a constant stream of money. As long as you have my money, Amazon Lily can pay the Heavenly Tribute in full and officially become one of the World Government's member nations through proper channels."
"Think about it, Hancock! As long as Amazon Lily becomes a World Government member nation, then even if Amazon Lily loses the protection of its Warlord title, it can still receive the Marines' protection and become a powerful nation on the sea!"
Jovian offered Amazon Lily a condition it could not refuse.
"Accept it! Hancock, hurry and accept it!"
"Becoming a World Government member nation is far too important for Amazon Lily!"
Granny Nyon, who had climbed back up from the waterfall, looked at Hancock and shouted loudly. She knew just how important Jovian's offer was for their kingdom of women. As long as they had Jovian's help, the Amazon Lily Kingdom would definitely be able to escape its old predicament and gradually walk the path toward becoming a powerful nation.
"No need."
Hancock walked up to Granny Nyon and kicked her away again. Then she walked up to Jovian, placed one hand on her hip, and spoke coldly.
"As for why I do not need your help…"
"There is only one answer…"
"And that is…"
"Because I am simply far too beautiful!"
As Hancock spoke, she struck a delicate pose. Her beautiful bearing was lovelier than Venus and brighter than a blooming rose, as if Hancock herself had become the embodiment of beauty at that very moment.
"Hancock, with my sponsorship, your kingdom of women will gain endless wealth. Even if the World Government uses you and discards you one day, abandoning the Seven Warlords of the Sea, your kingdom can still live peacefully and quietly, undisturbed by anyone."
"That's still a pretty good offer, isn't it?"
Jovian believed his condition was truly impossible to refuse. After all, who in this world would complain about having too much money? Even the Celestial Dragons needed vast wealth to support their expenses and required help from the Golden Emperor. Although the Empress Hancock was the most dazzling flower among the countless blossoms on the sea, Jovian believed that money could make any "flower" bloom.
"No need!"
"Even if one day, because of me, the entire kingdom of women disappears, I will still be forgiven, because…"
"I am simply far too beautiful!"
Hancock gently swept her waterfall-like long hair, unleashing boundless charm before Jovian.
"This…"
Jovian really had miscalculated. He had forgotten Hancock's twisted personality. He had not expected that even money would finally hit a wall.
But just as Hancock had said, even if one day Hancock were truly captured by the Marines and imprisoned in Impel Down, Hancock would still be able to live very well, because even Magellan, that iron-faced and impartial warden of Impel Down, would be unable to resist the charm of the woman before him. That was just how beautiful this woman was.
"Snake Princess! Don't be willful. Your current identity is the captain of the Kuja Pirates and the empress of the kingdom of women!"
"You must not damage everyone's interests because of your own selfish desires!"
Granny Nyon, the former empress of the kingdom of women from three generations ago, who had been kicked away by Hancock, once again climbed up from the waterfall. As someone who possessed all three types of Haki, even though her body was now incredibly old and she no longer had the strength she once possessed, she was not someone a mere waterfall could kill. Her strength was still above Luffy's current level.
"You're so annoying!"
"Dead old hag, you old fossil who lost your power and abandoned your own homeland, go find a hole somewhere and wait to die. Don't get in my way!"
Empress Hancock looked at Granny Nyon and shouted angrily.
"Oh my."
After she finished shouting, the Empress finally seemed to remember something. She suddenly covered her cherry-like mouth with her delicate hand.
"I'm truly sorry."
"I actually allowed you to see such an impolite side of me…"
"However, even so, I will still be forgiven, because…"
"I am simply far! Too! Beautiful!"
At that moment, Hancock once again radiated a dazzling charm.
Countless girls watching Hancock collapsed to the ground one after another. It had to be said that Hancock's beauty was the kind that damaged both men and women at the same time.
"What do I do now?"
Jovian scratched the back of his head as he kept thinking.
"I've got it!"
Suddenly, Jovian seemed to think of something. He pulled out a huge sculpture from behind him.
"Hancock!"
"This is my gift to you!"
Jovian threw off the cloth covering the sculpture, instantly revealing a strange statue that shone with dazzling radiance.
A life-sized sculpture identical to Hancock, made entirely out of diamond, appeared before Hancock's eyes, glittering brilliantly and radiating endless light.
"This is…"
Hancock looked at the incredibly radiant sculpture before her, and her gaze trembled.
"Only the world's largest gemstone is worthy of your beauty."
Jovian took the opportunity to reach out and hold Hancock's fair hand, speaking with deep affection. He looked every bit like the most devoted man in the multiverse.
"The gemstone is indeed not bad…"
Hancock looked at the gemstone before her and nodded lightly. It had to be said that even Hancock was interested in beautiful, sparkling things like this.
"If you can provide me with these gemstones endlessly, I can spare your life. However…"
"You may only move around on this island. You are not permitted to leave this island. Do you understand?"
Hancock was not stupid either. She knew how important Jovian was to her. The reason she had been so aggressive earlier was that, as the Empress, she needed to preserve her pride. She absolutely could not retreat on her own initiative. She could only accept someone else's retreat.
Now that Jovian had given her a way out, she followed it down.
"Of course."
After hearing Hancock's words, Jovian smiled. He did not feel even the slightest concern because of her words.
What a joke. His purpose in coming here was only one thing, to conquer the entire island. There was no other choice.
This was a path with no retreat. Even if ten thousand obstacles stood before him, he was willing to stake everything and fight forward.
"Hmph."
"At least you know your place. Let's go!"
Having received the answer she wanted, the Empress snorted coldly and left with the people behind her.
"Heh heh…"
Jovian watched Empress Hancock's slender back, his gaze sharp. He, the great Jovian, had never retreated. Tonight, he would launch a night raid and let Hancock learn just how formidable Jovian truly was.
After figuring that out, Jovian stopped staring at the Empress and began making diamond rings for the girls in front of him again.
"Hoo…"
Not long after Hancock returned to her room, she felt somewhat tired.
"Prepare the bath for me. I wish to bathe."
Hancock looked at the people beside her and spoke softly.
"As you command!"
After hearing Hancock's words, several maids immediately began preparing the water for Hancock's bath.
Once Hancock entered the bath, everyone around her withdrew.
This was Hancock's bathing rule. When Hancock, as Empress, bathed, no one was allowed to watch, and no one was allowed to exist anywhere nearby. Even the birds in the sky had to avoid the bathhouse when Hancock was bathing.
"Sigh…"
Hancock sighed softly. She gently removed her thin garments one by one, then lightly touched the warm water in the pool with her jade-like foot, smooth and rounded as a pearl.
Then she sank into the water.
Amid the thin steam and warm bathwater, she began cleaning away the dust that had clung to her body.
Only when Hancock bathed each day was she at her most relaxed and comfortable. It was also the time when she lowered her guard and set down the secret in her heart.
And Hancock's greatest secret was her back. On her back was the pain that would stay with her forever.
Splash, splash…
Hancock gently stirred the clear water in the pool, using it to slowly wash the dirt from her back. A comfortable expression appeared on her face.
Splash.
Just as Hancock was comfortably taking her hot bath, the sound of water seemed to come from behind her.
"Hmm!?"
In an instant, Hancock's gaze changed. She could sense that, at some unknown moment, another person had appeared behind her.
"You…"
Hancock hurriedly turned around. She would rather show the front of her body than expose her back to someone else's eyes.
"Not bad. Really not bad."
When Hancock turned around, she saw an incredibly muscular man standing before her. This man was none other than Jovian, who had only just said goodbye to Hancock earlier.
"I told you the two of us were destined! Look, we only just parted, and now we've met again!"
"Maybe our hearts were in sync, and we both thought of taking a bath at the same time."
Jovian looked at Hancock and spoke with a grin.
"Bastard! Where did you come in from?"
Hancock looked at Jovian and asked angrily.
"That is incorrect!"
"I didn't barge into your bathhouse. You barged into mine!"
Jovian explained the course of events. In fact, he had been playing underwater in the bath earlier, so the people cleaning the bath had not discovered him.
"You…"
"You saw everything just now, didn't you?"
Hancock looked at Jovian and asked fiercely.
"You mean your chest? I saw it. Two pink ones."
Jovian nodded, indicating that he had seen them.
"…"
Hancock's face flushed slightly as she listened to Jovian's words.
"Don't play dumb with me. I mean my back. You saw it, didn't you?"
Hancock looked at Jovian and continued questioning him.
"Your back? What are you talking about? Why don't I understand?"
Jovian pretended not to understand.
"Bastard…"
"Don't think you can save yourself by playing stupid!"
Hancock's elegant and beautiful brows had already furrowed together.
"I'm not playing stupid."
Jovian indicated that he was completely innocent, and that Hancock was simply too sensitive.
"It seems I have to make you understand that I am truly angry right now before you stop mocking me."
Hancock's gaze gradually grew icy. Yes, she had decided to get serious. She would treat Jovian seriously, just as she would treat an enemy.
"Ha ha ha ha…"
Jovian looked at Hancock's appearance and laughed. At this moment, he was not panicking at all.
"To tell you the truth…"
"That's right, Hancock. Your secret has already been exposed. Just now, I saw everything! That mark!"
"Keh heh heh…"
"The mark on your back, if I'm not mistaken, should be from the Cel…"
At this moment, Jovian looked exactly like a great villain, the kind of villain who constantly threatened the heroine.
"So you really do know. In that case, you have to die."
Hancock's eyes were icy. She had already decided to completely eliminate Jovian.
"Wait…"
Just as Hancock released her Haki and prepared to act, Jovian pulled out a camera.
"Keh heh heh…"
"Hancock, if I want to run, you won't be able to catch me. You don't want your secret to become known to the whole world, do you?"
At this moment, Jovian had already stepped onto the path of a truly vile blackmailer, evil beyond evil.
"You!?"
Even Hancock had not expected this guy Jovian to be so scheming and so shameless. He had refreshed the lower limit of Hancock's understanding of him.
Zzzzt!
But Hancock was still Hancock. Her eyes focused, and the camera in Jovian's hand was instantly destroyed.
"Now your tool for committing the crime is gone."
Hancock looked at the destroyed camera in Jovian's hand, a trace of smugness in her eyes.
"…"
Jovian looked at the ruined camera in his hand and fell silent for a moment.
"Keh heh heh…"
Less than a moment later, Jovian laughed loudly again.
"Hancock, you don't really think that's all I'm capable of, do you?"
Jovian looked at Hancock and spoke smugly.
Then he pulled out a stack of photos from behind him.
"Hancock, I already calculated that you would destroy the camera!"
"So I prepared the photos in advance."
"Keh heh heh…"
Jovian looked at Hancock and spoke with a grin.
"You! You truly are a despicable and shameless person!"
Hancock felt like she was about to explode with anger. She looked at Jovian and roared.
"Hancock, I'll ask you one more time."
"You don't want anyone else to know your secret, do you?"
"Keh heh heh…"
Jovian laughed triumphantly. Everything was within his plan.
"D-Damn it…"
Hancock bit her lip. The secret on her back was probably the only thing in the entire world that could be used to threaten her.
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