As a nation of women, Amazon Lily is a country composed entirely of women.
Strength and beauty are practically synonymous here. Every combatant can use Haki, making it one of the rare countries where Haki is so widely prevalent.
The empress of Amazon Lily is also the captain of the Kuja Pirates, as well as the strongest individual in the country.
Before being worn down by the passage of time, Gloriosa had also once led the Kuja Pirates across the seas. Though the seas of that era were not as turbulent as they are today, it was nonetheless an age where many great heroes emerged.
However, the Kuja empresses have a special "hereditary illness" — lovesickness.
The empress from three generations ago, Gloriosa; the one from two generations ago, Shakky; and the previous empress all failed to avoid it.
The previous empress died because of lovesickness, while both Shakky and Gloriosa chose to leave Kuja under those circumstances, thus avoiding that fate.
But leaving did not mean they could never return.
Gloriosa returned the earliest. In order to atone for her mistakes during her reign and out of respect for the current empress, she lived alone and quietly in a corner of the village.
In the original timeline, both Shakky and Gloriosa provided considerable help when the Boa sisters escaped from Mariejois.
Living in the Sabaody Archipelago, Shakky herself was an information broker. After obtaining the intel, she brought Rayleigh with her and headed for Amazon Lily.
As a swimming enthusiast, Rayleigh was proficient in all kinds of swimming techniques, skilled at dealing with Sea Kings in the ocean, and highly experienced in carrying passengers across the sea.
If Luffy were not a Devil Fruit user, he might have been able to learn even more from Rayleigh.
Shakky's appearance merely surprised Yamakaji. She had been retired for over forty years, and even a Vice Admiral like Yamakaji had little impression of her.
But when Shakky's "mount" appeared on the deck, everything changed.
"Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh."
The Pirate King's right-hand man was still famous. More accurately, because of Roger, anyone associated with the Pirate King was an extraordinary figure on today's seas.
Even Buggy was no exception, let alone Rayleigh.
"Dark King Rayleigh, this operation isn't directed at you. Why are you interfering?"
Yamakaji, who had been in charge of command until now, drew his weapon. Even though the man before him was just a white-haired old man, he dared not show the slightest carelessness.
"Why? There's no need to explain it to you. After all, even if I told you to retreat, you wouldn't listen."
Shaking the water from his hair, Rayleigh calmly took out his glasses and put them back on. Then he drew his weapon from his side and swung a slash toward the sea ahead of the Marines advancing on Amazon Lily.
The sharp edge cut through the sea like a razor. Even the flowing seawater was split in two and unable to close, and the bow of the lead warship was cleanly severed, losing balance and plunging straight into the water.
"Still, there are some things you just have to try. This road is blocked, can you Marines stop here?"
"Unfortunately, no. The Marines won't listen to a pirate's orders."
If he were acting independently, Yamakaji would not confront Rayleigh head-on. Even in his old age, Rayleigh was someone who could still go toe-to-toe with an Admiral, and was not an enemy he could handle.
But this time was different. There was also an old monster from the previous era on their ship.
The Marine fleet advancing toward the Kuja underwent another change. The seemingly unstoppable slash was interrupted mid-air. The churning seawater, propelled by the impact, surged onto the decks like crashing waves.
On the Grand Line, massive waves were common, but this was the Calm Belt — a region where no wind or waves would ever arise. Only the aftermath of battle could create such turbulence here.
On the path where the slash had been advancing, the sea surface suddenly collapsed out of nowhere. Though perilous, under the efforts of the helmsmen, the warships managed to brave the waves and charge through the "collapsed" area ahead, narrowly escaping disaster.
Garp arrived on Yamakaji's command ship together with the waves he had raised himself.
"It's Vice Admiral Garp!"
"Vice Admiral Garp has made his move!"
Even now, Garp remained the faith of the Marines. Wherever this Marine Hero appeared, the Marines always found their morale rising higher.
"Rayleigh, at your age, can't you just settle down already?"
"I'd like to, but reality won't allow it."
If the Marines were going elsewhere, Rayleigh would have had no reason to intervene. But this was Amazon Lily, and Shakky was the empress from two generations ago.
There was no way she could ignore a Marine attack on Kuja, and naturally, Rayleigh could not stand by either.
"Honestly… retired people should just behave themselves and stay put. Yamakaji, transfer the soldiers on your ship to the other warships. This isn't a place suitable for you to remain."
Garp clenched his fist and first issued the order for Yamakaji to retreat. His and Rayleigh's clashes were something this warship simply could not withstand, let alone the people on board.
Rayleigh also signaled for Shakky to withdraw. After decades together, their tacit understanding was excellent, and Shakky immediately headed toward Kuja.
Unlike the convenience of the Rayleigh–Shakky duo, transferring an entire warship's worth of soldiers required considerable time. Shakky could rely on her own strength to leave quickly, but those soldiers could not.
Rayleigh did not stand around waiting for the soldiers to finish evacuating; he launched the first attack at Garp.
Since the era of Roger's voyages, Garp had been their old rival. Rayleigh knew very well what this opponent was capable of. If he attacked at full force now, the ones to suffer first would undoubtedly be the soldiers on the ship.
By attacking Garp under these circumstances, he not only prevented Garp from fighting at full strength, but also forced him to protect the surrounding Marines.
Rayleigh had not expected Garp to participate in this mission. Now, it seemed helping Kuja withstand this assault would not be easy.
Fist and blade clashed repeatedly. A warship sturdy enough to withstand massive waves shook like a tiny skiff in a storm under Rayleigh and Garp's battle. If they were fighting with full intent, the ship would have sunk long ago.
But Garp was mindful of the ordinary soldiers; until now, he had focused only on blocking.
"Garp, I'm old, but it looks like you're not far behind," Rayleigh remarked after another exchange.
With age, Rayleigh could feel his strength slowly declining. Opponents he could once face head-on in youth, he was not certain he could handle now.
"Bwahaha! Maybe weaker than before, but my fists haven't gotten soft yet! I chased you guys back then, and I can still do it now!"
"Don't joke, Garp. We were never afraid of you. It's just that Roger thought pirates should run away when they meet Marines, that's all."
Even before Roger became Pirate King, Garp was often right behind them. Roger and Garp shared a rivalry that bordered on friendship. Though they stood on opposite sides, they fought Rocks together, and Garp even took in Ace after Roger surrendered.
How their relationship was forged had always been a subject of rumors. Even the Roger Pirates themselves could not say for sure.
Some of the rumors sounded ridiculous.
For example: that Garp was never actually Roger's match, and Roger had deliberately spared him several times in battle. This supposed "favor" being the basis of their connection. The truth, of course, was unknown; people could only speculate.
"Roger's gone, so when a retired pirate like you meets the Marines, shouldn't you be running too?"
Rayleigh lived in hiding in the Sabaody Archipelago, something the World Government knew well. But they did not want to capture this loner as it was too troublesome.
Someone like him, if determined to escape, was nearly impossible to stop. Rather than risk him evading capture and retaliating, it was better to let him quietly live in Sabaody. Mutual peace was the ideal outcome.
"Garp, if you were still the man you were thirty…no, twenty years ago, then yes, I'd consider running. But you're old now too, so things are different."
Given the current situation, Rayleigh's goal was to stall Garp for as long as possible and hope Hancock and Shakky could quickly break out.
And on Amazon Lily, matters were unfolding almost exactly as Rayleigh hoped.
"Miss Boa Hancock, please cease resistance and come with us. The Marines do not wish to start a battle. As long as you come with us, we will immediately stop our advance and leave."
On Amazon Lily, Koby was calling for Hancock to surrender.
Setting aside how he was promoted in the original timeline. Here, after receiving partial credit for the Fullalead incident, Marine raised him to the rank of Captain and intended to build up his reputation.
He now wore a Justice coat, but his words of surrender only earned the entire Kuja tribe's contempt.
"What in the world are you saying?"
"Asking Snake Princess to surrender? What a joke! Even if the Kuja are destroyed here, don't even think about taking the Snake Princess away!"
"Sister, please wait, I'll go kill this rude brat. A mere Captain dares disrespect you?"
Kuja tribe was both a pirate crew and a nation. Surrounding another country with a fleet and demanding, "Hand over your empress and we'll leave"—to Kuja, this was pure insult.
But to Koby, this was the best way to minimize casualties.
And the one person he asked for, Hancock, was indeed exactly who the Marines wanted.
Kuja's threat was built on Hancock's personal strength. Without her, the remaining Kuja Pirates posed no significant danger.
"You are no match for the Marines. Continuing to fight will only result in pointless deaths."
"Preposterous, I shall never bow to anyone. Naive Marine, you seem to have forgotten something."
Bracing her hands against the ground, Hancock unleashed a flurry of whirlwind kicks, forcing S-Bat to retreat.
"It was not I begging you to let me join the Shichibukai. It was you, impressed by my strength, who invited me!"
Former Shichibukai, Pirate Empress - Boa Hancock. Bounty: 1,659,000,000 Berry.
With a graceful flick of her hair, Hancock made S-Bat freeze for a moment. His eyes seemingly sparkling with hearts.
"This one's alive, isn't he? Any male creature cannot resist my charm. Love-Love Beam!"
Forming a heart with her hands, she fired a pink beam at S-Bat. As the beam passed over him, S-Bat froze in place and turned to stone, along with several nearby Marines.
Seraphim possessed the Lunarians' powerful defense and the Green Blood created from the Sticky-Sticky Fruit's Lineage Factor, giving S-Bat immense resistance to physical attacks.
But the Love-Love Fruit acted upon the heart. Anyone unable to resist Hancock's charm, regardless of gender, could not fight her head-on. Once she caught an opening, the battle ended instantly.
Although the Seraphim had inherited bloodline abilities and immense growth potential, leading the World Government and Marines to believe they could replace the Shichibukai, they also inherited the original owner's DNA, and even fragments of their personalities.
S-Bat's Lineage Factor came from Moria, specifically, the defeated Moria who had lost to Kaido.
If it were S-Shark or S-Bear, they might have been able to handle this situation, and even the destroyed S-Snake and S-Hawk wouldn't fear a direct Love-Love Beam, but S-Bat cannot.
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