"Empress, the man discovered on the island has regained consciousness," a Kuja warrior reported from behind the heavy silk curtains of the royal bedchamber, her head bowed low.
"He is awake? And why must such a trivial matter disturb my rest?"
A voice drifted from behind the veil—languid, seductive, yet laced with a sharp edge of irritation. The Pirate Empress was notorious for her temperament, especially when her sleep was interrupted.
"But... he claims to be a former slave of the Celestial Dragons," the warrior added, her voice trembling under the weight of the Empress's presence. "He says he possesses critical secrets regarding the World Government and the safety of Amazon Lily. He insists that only you have the right to hear them."
The air in the room grew heavy. For the Kuja, dealing with a male intruder who had washed ashore after a shipwreck was a simple matter of execution. But a claim involving the Celestial Dragons was a different beast entirely—one that reached past the warriors and touched upon things they weren't permitted to know.
"Hancock, you should see him."
A raspy, aged voice broke the tension. A diminutive old woman with white hair, dressed in eccentric, colorful attire, stepped into the palace.
"You old hag! How dare you barge in here again?!" the voice behind the curtain snapped.
"Hmph. For the sake of this nation, I would walk through fire and blades without hesitation!" Elder Nyon—Gloriosa—dismissed the Empress's theatrics with a serious expression. "Truly, Hancock. You must see him."
Usually, Gloriosa maintained decorum, addressing her as 'Your Majesty' in public. When she used 'Hancock,' it was a signal that the situation was dire. As the former empress who had brought the three sisters back to the island and helped Hancock ascend the throne, her counsel still carried weight, even through their constant bickering.
Silence fell behind the curtain. After a long moment, a slender hand emerged, gesturing dismissively. "Bring him in."
"And... tell Sandersonia and Marigold to come at once."
To the messenger, it seemed like a gesture of absolute trust in her sisters. But Gloriosa knew better. She could sense the slight tremor in the air. Hancock wasn't seeking council; she was seeking protection. She was terrified.
She feared the hoofprint branded into her skin. She feared the shadow of the Celestial Dragons. She feared the very word slave.
The world saw an Empress who mastered the three types of Haki—a woman of peerless power and beauty. Only a few knew that inside, she was still a fragile girl trying to keep the world at bay.
Before long, the two sisters entered the hall, followed closely by the man who had drifted to their shores.
He walked with bare feet, clad only in a simple female yukata provided by the Kuja. It was loosely tied, revealing the broad lines of his chest. His hair was short, and beneath sharp brows lay eyes as deep and dark as a starlit midnight. There was a clarity in his gaze that made his physical appearance almost secondary; his eyes spoke of a soul that had seen too much.
"I thank you for saving my life," he said, standing before the curtain. He looked toward Sandersonia and Marigold—two giants standing over four meters tall like guardian deities—and bowed deeply, his back perfectly straight at a ninety-degree angle.
The gesture was unexpected. In a world defined by its brashness and ill-mannered pirates, such refined etiquette was an anomaly. It commanded a strange kind of respect.
"Cease the pleasantries," the Empress commanded. Her voice was not the shrill tone of a girl, but a rich, authoritative melody that demanded attention. "What 'secrets' do you speak of regarding Amazon Lily?"
The young man straightened. Though he was far shorter than the sisters, his posture was as unyielding as a mountain pine.
"Then, let us begin at the beginning."
Without a word of warning, he let the upper half of his yukata slide down his shoulders. He turned his back to the curtain, exposing the charred, unmistakable mark of the "Hoof of the Soaring Dragon."
"My name is Leo. I was a steward for the House of Saint Kamael, one of the twenty founding families of the Celestial Dragons. I held their trust; they even allowed me to handle direct communications with the World Government."
He spoke calmly, his voice steady as he pulled the robe back over his shoulders. He didn't look at the shifting expressions of horror on Sandersonia and Marigold's faces. Instead, he turned back and fixed his gaze directly on the silhouette behind the curtain.
"I do not know how long I drifted at sea, or how long I have slept here. Therefore, I must ask one question to orient myself."
"Has the Empress accepted the position of the Seven Warlords of the Sea yet?"
Leo didn't need a verbal answer; the confusion flickering across the faces of the sisters told him everything. But he waited. He remained perfectly still in the heavy silence, his focus entirely on the woman behind the veil.
His goal wasn't the guards or the elders. It was the woman who controlled the Kuja Pirates and the fate of this island: Boa Hancock.
After a long pause, the woman behind the curtain finally spoke, her voice regained its composure. "The Seven Warlords? What is that?"
A small, knowing smile played on Leo's lips. Half the battle was won.
"It is," Leo said, his voice dropping into a cinematic resonance, "the one position that every pirate in the world would kill to possess."