"You understand, don't you, Snake Princess? The meaning of joining this war!!!"
Elder Nyon leaned on her cane, the wrinkles on her aged face drawn tight with gravity.
Across from her stood the current Empress of Amazon Lily, Boa Hancock, wearing arrogance like a crown.
"Whether I go or not makes no difference to me."
"Because… I am simply too beautiful."
Elder Nyon could only feel a headache coming on.
"Sengoku isn't someone you can bluff your way past. He'll absolutely prepare for the Warlords ignoring orders, especially at a time like this…"
"Did you forget what happened with Crocodile? The title of Warlord isn't unshakable anymore."
"No one can tell what those big names at sea are really thinking."
She analyzed the situation seriously, point by point, but it was obvious Hancock wasn't listening.
Just then, the Den Den Mushi assigned to the Warlords began to ring inside the room.
Elder Nyon's expression changed. One of Hancock's pet snakes brought the Den Den Mushi over, and Elder Nyon accepted it, then slowly answered.
Click.
A stern face appeared on the Den Den Mushi.
"Warlord Boa Hancock. I am Vice Admiral Momonga. By order of Marine Headquarters, I am here to escort you to participate in the operation at Marineford."
Disgust spread across Hancock's face. She tilted her head back at a ridiculous angle, chin pointed to the heavens.
"Marines? This one has no interest in any war!!!"
Momonga's face stiffened instantly.
"Hancock!!!"
Elder Nyon's face went pale as she hissed a warning, trying to keep her voice low.
"Amazon Lily still needs the Warlord title. Don't act recklessly!!!"
But Hancock clearly didn't care. Her expression remained proud and cold.
Until a different voice slipped into the call.
"That won't do, little snake."
On the Den Den Mushi, the face changed with the voice.
A smiling expression appeared, eyes glowing with a deep, bloody crimson.
Hancock's face turned paper white. Her pupils trembled.
She nearly collapsed on the spot.
Elder Nyon froze for a beat.
Then she heard the faint, overlapping greetings on the other end.
"Saint Ozz…"
"Saint Ozz…"
And seeing Hancock's breakdown, cold sweat burst out across Elder Nyon's back.
Don't tell me… the one on the other side is…
"Well, I'm almost there anyway. We'll talk in person."
"That's all."
As if he sensed Hancock was already too shaken to speak, the call ended after only a few lines.
Hancock's expression was tangled beyond words.
Fear, excitement, and something she couldn't name.
She sank to the floor, cheeks flushed with a dazed heat, eyes unfocused.
Elder Nyon, Gloriosa, stared at her, then a horrifying possibility hit her like a wave.
Don't tell me…
"The sickness every Empress of Amazon Lily can't escape…"
"Snake Princess, don't tell me you too?!"
Hancock covered her face, her eyes shimmering, breath unsteady.
Elder Nyon decided she needed to talk to her properly, right now.
"This feeling… I can never forget it…"
"I can't reject Saint Ozz's request. The moment I think of him, my heart races and my mind turns to chaos."
The symptoms matched perfectly.
Still, Elder Nyon forced herself to ask one last question.
"Then do you hate him?"
"Hate?"
Hancock blinked, stunned.
There wasn't even room in her heart for a thought like that.
She shook her head.
"As I thought!!!"
Elder Nyon declared the verdict in disbelief.
"This is love!!!"
"Love…?"
"Yes. Those symptoms you described only happen to someone afflicted with lovesickness."
"The previous Empresses suffered it too. Some of them even died from it."
Hancock's beautiful eyes trembled. Her mind couldn't settle.
…
"So this is Amazon Lily?"
After the long journey, the warship finally reached the waters around the island. Marines saluted the figure on the deck.
Momonga even offered to accompany him ashore.
Ozz waved the suggestion away.
"With me here, this is no longer the Marines' responsibility. You stay on the ship."
"Yes, sir!"
Ozz's coat fluttered over his shoulder.
In the next instant, he appeared outside the city walls of Amazon Lily.
"Really is nothing but women."
Not every single one was a beauty, but even at a glance the view was… pleasing.
Most of the women here were warriors who wielded Haki. Their style was bold and unrestrained. Some even ran around in nothing but underwear.
Good thing he hadn't sent his beloved godson here.
The boy would probably bleed out on the spot.
Ozz truly was a wonderful godfather.
"Who is that???"
"His clothes look so nice. He looks different from us, but his hair is long too."
"Is he heading to the palace?!"
The island's female warriors quickly noticed him. They surrounded him in a tight ring.
"Stop. Outsider, who are you?!"
"Hands off!!!"
Just as they were about to strike, several figures appeared from the far end of the road.
"That's… Elder Nyon?"
"And Snake Princess and the others!!!"
The one who shouted was the former, former, former Empress of Amazon Lily.
"Oh? It's you, Gloriosa."
Ozz smiled. A familiar face.
If he hadn't known in advance, he'd never have connected this tiny old granny with the once stunning Gloriosa.
As for the three sisters, the moment they saw Ozz, an instinctive urge rose in their chests.
The urge to kneel.
"Stand down. This is the most honored guest of Amazon Lily!!!"
Elder Nyon drove everyone back and escorted Ozz toward the palace.
The three sisters followed behind him, timid as rabbits.
"Relax. I'm only using the Warlord summons as an excuse to stroll around a bit."
It didn't help at all.
Only once they were seated inside the palace did the conversation become even slightly normal.
Watching Ozz's effortless composure, his handsome features, and that overflowing aura of a true powerhouse…
Even Gloriosa had to admit it.
This man had more charm than her former captain.
The man she had once loved.
Gol D. Roger.
If he'd been born in her era, maybe there wouldn't have been any Roger or Rayleigh stories to tell at all.
No wonder Hancock had fallen so deeply.
With his protection, even if Amazon Lily lost the Warlord title, the island could still sleep peacefully.
Duramos and Fish Man Island were proof.
Unfortunately, Gloriosa was old now, no longer in power, no longer in her prime.
The only one who could act was Hancock.
Gloriosa was calculating through cold sweat when…
"Hancock. Why are you standing so far away? Come here."
"Yes!!!"
Not a single shred of initiative left.
Gloriosa nearly coughed up blood on the spot.
…
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The tides are shifting, and secrets linger in the dark... Step into the shadows early on P@treon, where the next chapter awaits before the world sees it.
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"