Chapter 322: Becoming a Shichibukai and the Promise to Meet
"Extra! Extra!" A man, carrying a large bundle of newspapers, waved the papers along the street, shouting, "The final vacancy for the Warlords of the Sea has been filled! A super rookie takes the position of Shichibukai!"
The crowd around him showed little interest. On one hand, in the past two to three years, two Shichibukai had been defeated, reducing their deterrence power, and on the other hand, weren't the Shichibukai just pirates? They were merely pirates with a letter of marque, still causing significant harm to civilians.
Seeing the lack of enthusiasm, the man quickly added a few more remarks, attempting to make the news more explosive: "This super rookie has offered the world government a great gift—he personally killed one hundred bounty criminals! He became the new [Warlord of the Sea]!"
"What?!" The crowd reacted like flies drawn to dung, instantly interested, and rushed to buy newspapers, pulling out money:
"Super rookie Ulquiorra Cifer, in the G1 naval branch of the New World, brought the heads of one hundred bounty criminals. Among them were a pirate with a bounty over two hundred million, and four others with bounties over one hundred million. He formed the Void Pirate Crew alongside a pirate named Kakuzu."
"Ulquiorra Cifer's first bounty was a staggering three hundred and ten million Berries! His partner, Kakuzu, had a bounty of one hundred and ninety million Berries! After becoming a Warlord of the Sea, their bounties were discontinued."
"This guy is the one who injured [the Ice Queen] Esdeath, right?" A man in the crowd asked in confusion. "I remember Esdeath's bounty was one billion Berries!"
An unfamiliar passerby chimed in: "The bounty not only represents the strength of the criminal but also their threat to the government. The Dawn Pirates have committed unforgivable crimes!"
"But I don't think the Ice Queen's bounty is too high." Another passerby joined the conversation, as chatting with strangers is often a good way to engage with them. "Remember the battlefield after their battle last month? The whole island was destroyed!"
"A powerful pirate joining the Shichibukai is fine, but the Shichibukai can't attack the affiliated nations, right?" The common people didn't care much for politics. They only worried about whether their daily lives would be affected.
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"My apologies, Governor Kaido." The one who had been tasked with finding Ulquiorra, King, returned to Onigashima with the news of failure.
"It's fine." Kaido seemed unfazed by his subordinate's failure, suddenly howling and crying out, "You bastard! Why did you become the government's lapdog?! What a waste of such a great Devil Fruit!"
"Governor Kaido." Jack, who was only nineteen but looked much older, said angrily, "Let me go! I'll bring that bastard to Onigashima!"
"Oh, ho, ho, ho..." Hearing Jack's words, Kaido laughed again, "Loyalty is admirable, but since that bastard managed to escape from Esdeath's hands, he must be fast in flight. Sending you to catch him would be too difficult."
"Ugh..." Jack lowered his head in frustration.
"Don't worry," Kaido waved his hand, "You want to be a big shot, right? If you complete the next task, the final position as a big shot will be yours!"
"Really?!" Jack looked up in surprise, "Governor Kaido, I will definitely complete the task you give me!"
...
"Eric -sama?!" The voice of Hancock on the other end of the phone was filled with surprise.
"It's me." Eric greeted on the other end of the telephone bug, "Hancock, how have you been lately?"
"Eric -sama... is concerned about me...? Hee-hah..." The sound of confused panting came through, and Eric could even sense the ambiguous pink aura through the telephone bug.
'Did Eric -sama just say my name...? And he's concerned about my life? Is this a proposal?!' Hancock, with her mind running wild, broke the brake pedal of the car in her imagination, flooring the gas pedal as she sped down the highway of fantasy, never looking back.
'Is she fantasizing again?' Eric 's face was covered with black lines.
"If you're in heat, go find a breeding boar to take care of it," Esdeath's ice-cold voice instantly snapped Hancock back to reality, clearing away her fantasies.
"You... you're still alive?" The voice of the Pirate Empress was filled with disdain. "I clearly just saw news of you being injured!"
Eric tilted his head. "Ah? That news is almost a month old, right?"
"I was out pillaging from Amazon Lily." Hancock, with great regret, said, "I just got news of Esdeath's injury and didn't even have time to pop a champagne bottle to celebrate."
Esdeath snorted. "How unfortunate."
Eric asked, "Did you receive a summons from the Navy Headquarters?"
"Ah... now that you mention it, there was something like that," Hancock furrowed her brows, trying to remember. "They were discussing the next Warlord of the Sea, but I didn't want to deal with such trivial matters, so I didn't go."
"Is that so." Eric was not surprised. Hancock would never listen to the Navy Headquarters' summons.
"Eric -sama, did that bastard Ulquiorra hurt you?" Hancock's tone changed, turning warm and gentle as she inquired about Eric , her voice holding a hint of murderous intent towards Ulquiorra.
"I'm not that fragile, Hancock."
"Eric -sama, that's not what I meant..." Hancock quickly clarified on the other end of the line.
"I know, and also, let me tell you secretly—" Eric lowered his voice, "Ulquiorra is one of 'ours.'"
"Eh?"
"So, Hancock, don't go looking for trouble with him." Eric said with a joke, "Also, don't tell anyone. It's a big secret between us."
"Our secret..." Hancock was about to fire up her fantasies again, but she hit the stop button in time.
Her white right hand wrapped around her smooth shoulder, gently caressing the skin on her back, where the imprint of the Flying Dragon's Hoof had once been.
The burning pain of the scar was imprinted on her skin, the excruciating pain of muscle tissue etched into her very being, but the blood that carried sweet emotions cleansed it all away.
She remembered that before their last separation, Eric had used a small knife to carve away the mark of the Flying Dragon's Hoof along with the muscle. The intense pain, along with the deep love, was etched deeply into Hancock's heart.
The pain was fully separated from her tragic experiences, and the medicine Eric had given her allowed her to be reborn. The flesh and blood that had brought her painful memories vanished in the electric fire of Eric .
Months of separation had made the longing feel like thousands of ants gnawing at her heart. The pain, itch, and numbness all mixed together, like spilled seasoning, coloring her emotions into a mess.
Hancock softly murmured, "Eric -sama—"
"Mm?" Eric 's confused voice came through.
"I miss you..." Hancock's words caused a snowstorm to rise on Eric 's end.
"Uh..." The sudden direct attack caught Eric off guard. He calmed Esdeath down first, then spoke, "Once I finish dealing with recent matters, I'll come and find you."
He slipped his hand into his pocket, playing with a small trinket, "I've got something good to give you too."
(END CHAPTER)
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