Having issued his instructions, Dante left the scientists to their research and headed straight outside. Reaching the heavy outer doors, he ran into Lilith returning from her part-time work. It looked like the beauty treatments for the Kuja sisters were entirely finished. Catching sight of him, Lilith held her head high in sheer pride, blatantly showing off her excellent handiwork.
As her boss, was he supposed to increase her funding just for that? Dante flatly refused. A mere twenty million berries in profit, and she wanted a massive budget increase? Was she dreaming? He severely criticized her attitude and ordered her straight back to work before continuing his walk toward the Headquarters.
However, just as he was about to step into his private office, a booming voice stopped him.
"You are finally back?"
Zephyr suddenly called out to him from the end of the hallway.
"Sensei?" Dante looked at him in total confusion. The old man had sought him out with his sleeves rolled up high, his muscles tense. "Is there something else you needed?"
"Nothing much."
This definitely did not look like 'nothing much'.
Before the bewildered young man could ask what was going on, Zephyr's massive hands clenched into iron fists. His burly frame stepped right into Dante's personal space. He raised a fist, wide grin splitting his weathered face.
"The nerve of you, playing around with a female pirates."
Dante froze. He stared blankly at the massive, Haki-coated fist. Playing with a female pirates? Wasn't that ridiculous matter already in the past?
After eating the Pink Dragon Fruit, Zephyr's sheer strength and physical speed had surged dramatically. Strikes that Dante once dodged with relative ease now forced him to firmly cross his arms and block. This was still just Zephyr in his base human form. Dante knew full well that shifting into his Half-Dragon or full Dragon Form would amplify his destructive power even further.
Breathing heavily, Dante wiped sweat from his forehead and suggested Zephyr activate his Dragon Form, noting he was inches away from actually landing a decisive hit.
Zephyr flatly refused with a colorful string of curses. He called Dante a stinky brat with zero martial ethics for trying to sneak-attack and cheat an old man, then spun on his heel and stalked off down the corridor.
Dante sighed in genuine disappointment. He truly wanted to gauge Zephyr's current upper limits and the artificial fruit's elemental capabilities. Could he summon storm clouds and heavy rain like Kaido? Control lightning? Breathe devastating fire? What a pity. Zephyr adamantly refused, completely ignoring the suggestion as he marched away.
Hadn't the old man already made peace with the pink color? Why did his anger suddenly flare up again the moment he turned his back? The day wasn't even over yet.
Dante couldn't figure out the sudden shift in mood, so he finally dropped the matter. Zephyr had already eaten the Devil Fruit. It was far too late for regrets now. He would inevitably see the results eventually during a real crisis.
Besides... pink actually looked pretty menacing on a giant lizard. Zephyr just cared far too much about his stoic image. Give it time, and he would fully accept it.
With that thought, Dante shook his head and headed back into his quiet office.
Over the next few days, the Kuja Pirates did not depart immediately. According to Viola's surveillance reports, after Sandersonia and Marigold also had their slave marks cleanly removed, the three sisters embraced in their private quarters and wept for hours.
Afterwards, Sandersonia and Marigold maintained their usual fiercely protective demeanors. Crucially, they caused absolutely no trouble on his territory. Perhaps finally removing their physical trauma put Hancock in an exceptionally good mood. She toured the Conomi Islands in a massive sightseeing frenzy, buying a small mountain of luxury goods. She even gave her hardened crew a full day off, shocking them into sheer disbelief. Once they realized it was a real order, they cheered "Long live Empress!" and started enjoying themselves across the port town.
However, Hancock, evaluated by the global press as the Most Beautiful Woman in the world, drew instant, chaotic cheers from the island's residents wherever she appeared. Men and women alike were utterly captivated by her beauty, causing more than a little traffic disruption.
Fortunately, Dante had strictly warned Hancock beforehand. Though things got chaotic, she surprisingly did not lose her temper and randomly petrify the overly eager civilians. She merely ordered the crowds dispersed with impatient waves of her hand. Even the few times she got truly annoyed and petrified a particularly aggressive merchant, Dante sent an officer to inquire afterward, and Hancock swiftly reversed the petrification without argument.
After a full week, they were finally leaving.
Dante breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The fearsome crew hadn't caused any diplomatic incidents, and their lavish spending had significantly boosted the local islanders' income. They were practically business partners now.
Still, his side had plenty of pressing matters to handle, and the island held dangerous secrets that couldn't be exposed to the public right now. With a Warlord wandering around, certain covert tasks had to be delayed. Give it a bit more time, and the tactical situation would improve. After all, the grand goal of ten thousand pieces was finally about to be met. By then, even if his secrets were completely exposed, the World Government wouldn't risk making a careless move against his territory.
And today, as their official partner, Dante came specifically to the docks to see them off and finalize their cooperation.
Before he could even speak, Hancock cut in. "I will arrange for my best Haki instructors to come over immediately after we return. If anything is unsatisfactory, tell me."
Her tone was flat, her expression proud, yet the infamous Empress was being genuinely accommodating. She raised the crucial matter before he even had to open his mouth.
Dante blinked, then grinned brightly. "Pleasure doing business, Empress of Amazon Lily."
"I will only do business with you." Hancock lifted her chin, maintaining her haughty demeanor. "A pleasure doing business. I permit you to call me Hancock."
"Hancock," Dante replied smoothly.
The captain looked deeply delighted. Beside them, Sandersonia and Marigold frowned but wisely said nothing. Even when Dante brought up their ongoing collaboration again, they stayed completely silent. The spa treatments must have worked absolute wonders on their tempers.
"Oh, right." Dante snapped his fingers, remembering something. "I prepared a little gift for you all."
He clapped his hands sharply. Servants he had arranged beforehand stepped forward, carrying several heavy crates from behind him.
"Just a small token of my appreciation."
"I lack for nothing, but since it is from you..." Hancock glanced at the polished boxes, her head still held high. "...I will accept it."
The soft joy in her eyes and the slight upward curve of her lips made it entirely obvious: she was thrilled.
Once the heavy crates were secured below deck, Marigold leaned close to her sister. "Big Sister, it is about time we left. Elder Nyon has been urging us to return for days."
"I know. That old woman is so annoying. I only came out to play for a few days, and she keeps rushing me." Hancock waved her hand impatiently. She looked back at Dante, fell silent for a moment, then spoke softly. "I... should be leaving. I will bring proper gifts when the time comes."
She hesitated only briefly. Then, without further delay, she swept her hand in a grand gesture and ordered her crew to prepare for departure.
"Even though I appreciate your help..." Marigold glared at Dante but paused mid-sentence. Her fierce tone shifted. "But don't you dare deceive Big Sister. Sandersonia and I will be watching you. If you hurt her, the Kuja Pirates will absolutely not let you off."
Before Dante or Viola could point out this was a mutually beneficial business partnership, Hancock's deeply annoyed voice rang out from the deck.
"Shut up and get on the ship. This is my own decision."
"Big Sister, I..."
"Shut up. Sandersonia, bring her on board."
"Yes, Big Sister. Marigold, stop talking. Sister has her own plans."
In the end, Marigold pouted and boarded the heavy ship in total defeat. The rest of the crew quickly followed. The Perfume Yuda lingered at the dock for a moment longer before slowly departing into the waves, spurred by Marigold's urging and Hancock's commanding presence at the railing.
Dante stood on the sunlit dock, smiling and waving as they left. Only when the massive sea snakes were far from shore did he finally relax his posture.
"Are they finally gone?"
"Boss, she is still standing at the stern." Viola pointed out with an amused smile. "If she sees you slouching, her impression of you might drop."
"Do you think everyone has your clairvoyant ability?" Dante remained entirely unfazed. He glanced at Viola and snapped, "Where is Mock? Is his mission done? If it's done, we need to send him back to the New World immediately. He hasn't shown his face in weeks, Marine HQ probably suspects he actually sank to the bottom of the sea."
"Mock... after hearing the Kuja Pirates were leaving, he ran straight off to Romance Dawn this morning."
Dante sighed in deep resignation. "That brat... Forget it, let's give him a few more days off."
The kid had really suffered lately, after all.
Stretching his stiff arms, Dante turned his focus back to the mainland. "Next... how are things going with the New Pirate Regulations?"
===============
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