Just as Luo Xing had predicted, the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, was currently being escorted by Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Momonga as she arrived at the great underwater prison—Impel Down.
On the sea route leading there stood the Gate of Justice, surrounded by powerful whirlpools.
Without the Marines' authorization, any ordinary ship would be caught by the spiraling currents, endlessly spinning in place, never able to reach Impel Down.
This was precisely why Luo Xing had asked Hancock for help.
By directly recording the location with a Log Pose, he could later use the Anywhere Door to teleport over—saving himself an enormous amount of trouble.
The Pirate Empress remained as she always was—aloof, proud, and untouchable.
She stepped down from the Kuja pirate ship and landed gracefully on the ground at the entrance of Impel Down.
Though known as the great underwater prison, its entrance was still located above sea level.
Only the main body of the prison extended deep beneath the ocean.
As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—and the world's most beautiful woman—Hancock's arrival naturally drew attention.
Any Impel Down official who wasn't occupied rushed to the entrance to welcome her.
At the forefront stood the prison warden himself—Magellan, the user of the Venom-Venom Fruit.
His Devil Fruit ability was terrifyingly powerful, his strength rivaling that of an admiral. In the original events, he had nearly wiped out Blackbeard's entire crew on his own.
However, the Venom-Venom Fruit came with a serious side effect.
It caused chronic diarrhea.
Out of every twenty-four hours, Magellan spent more than fifteen locked inside the restroom.
Leading the vice wardens and officers, Magellan formally welcomed the arrival of the Pirate Empress.
The moment the prison officials saw her—
Their eyes all turned into red hearts, their expressions dazed and intoxicated.
Even Magellan himself was no exception.
In the entirety of Impel Down, the only person capable of resisting Hancock's beauty was probably Shiryu of the Rain—the man who only loved killing.
But Shiryu wasn't present.
After all, for murdering prisoners without authorization, he had been personally imprisoned by Magellan.
The two of them were known as Impel Down's twin iron walls.
Now that one had locked up the other, that so-called "iron defense" was naturally no longer airtight.
Magellan forcibly regained control of himself, turning his heart-shaped pupils back to normal.
At least his self-discipline was still decent.
He said respectfully,
"Please follow me, Lady Hancock, to Level Six to see Fire Fist Ace. However, only you may enter, and a standard inspection will still be required."
Impel Down's management was extremely strict.
Though no one believed the Pirate Empress would attempt a prison break, necessary procedures could not be skipped.
In the original events, Straw Hat Luffy had hidden inside Hancock's clothes to evade inspection.
Both Vice Admiral Momonga and Warden Magellan showed impeccable courtesy toward her.
But Hancock maintained her lofty expression, clearly unmoved.
With arrogant indifference, she said,
"Why should I go to Level Six?"
"…?"
Momonga and Magellan were completely dumbfounded.
Wasn't she the one who demanded to see Fire Fist Ace?
That was the condition she had set for accepting the Marine summons!
Momonga couldn't help asking,
"Pirate Empress… weren't you here to see Fire Fist Ace?"
Hancock let out a disdainful cold laugh.
"Fire Fist Ace? What kind of thing is that? Why would he be worthy of meeting me?"
Momonga and Magellan: "..."
Behind them, however, the Marines and prison officers only grew more infatuated, hearts practically bursting as they cried out:
"Lady Hancock is so cool! So domineering!"
"No man is worthy of being summoned by the Pirate Empress!"
Momonga and Magellan felt even more speechless.
Momonga snapped angrily,
"Are you toying with us, Pirate Empress?!"
To arrange this meeting, he had personally contacted Fleet Admiral Sengoku, coordinating matters up and down the chain of command.
Impel Down had even prepared such a grand reception.
And now she simply decided not to go?
Was there really such an unreasonable, willful woman in the world?
…Yes. There was.
The Pirate Empress herself.
The world's most beautiful woman was precisely this unreasonable.
Hancock lifted her chin high, pointing disdainfully at Momonga and Magellan.
"Yes. I am toying with you."
"But even so, you must forgive me."
"Because I am beautiful beyond compare."
Such outrageously arrogant words, spoken from her lips, somehow felt perfectly natural—almost reasonable.
The Marines and prison officials shouted in unison,
"Lady Hancock, we forgive you! No matter what you do, we forgive you!"
Magellan's eyes once again turned into hearts.
There was no helping it.
That cold, contemptuous posture was simply too beautiful.
Left with no choice, Momonga stabbed his blade into his own foot once more.
He feared that this willful, self-absorbed woman might suddenly unleash her Love-Love powers and turn them all to stone.
Hancock flicked her long hair, her expression growing even colder and more disdainful.
She stood at the entrance of Impel Down—neither entering nor retreating.
No one noticed that beneath her wide sleeve, she was quietly holding a Log Pose.
Momonga could only sigh helplessly.
He had absolutely no way to deal with the Pirate Empress and could only stand there accompanying her.
Magellan slapped himself several times, finally regaining clarity.
Gurgle—
His stomach growled again.
Clutching his abdomen, he said,
"Since Lady Hancock no longer intends to see Fire Fist Ace, I shall take my leave."
Without wasting another second, he sprinted straight toward the restroom.
An eerie silence settled over the scene.
The Pirate Empress stood proudly in place.
The Marines and prison staff stared with heart-shaped eyes, utterly intoxicated.
Momonga, blade still embedded in his foot, looked grim and powerless.
Fortunately—
The moment didn't last long.
Once the Log Pose finished recording the location, Hancock turned and left.
"Where are you going, Pirate Empress?!"
Momonga shouted,
"No matter how willful you are, you must still attend the Seven Warlords' meeting at Marine Headquarters! Otherwise, your title will be revoked!"
Hancock didn't even turn her head.
Cold and indifferent, she replied,
"My affairs are not for you to interfere with."
Just as Momonga was about to speak again, Hancock's two sisters stepped forward.
"Don't worry, Marines. Since our elder sister has agreed, she will never go back on her word."
Only then did Momonga relent.
Watching the Kuja pirate ship depart, he let out a long sigh.
This mission had been far more exhausting than expected.
Had he known it would be like this, he would rather have traveled thousands of miles into the New World to find that man—Hawk-Eyes—than come anywhere near the Pirate Empress.
Mentally drained, he led his still love-struck subordinates back to Marine Headquarters in disgrace.
...
...
The Perfume Yuda.
Marigold asked curiously,
"Elder sister, we're heading toward Sabaody Archipelago. Why are we going there?"
The call from Luo Xing had been known only to Hancock herself.
Naturally, the tsundere Pirate Empress had no intention of admitting she was going to meet him.
She replied coolly,
"I've heard there are many curious things on Sabaody. Am I not allowed to take a look?"
Marigold and Sandersonia exchanged glances.
Since when did their sister have such leisurely interests?
But neither dared to ask further.
After all, with her beauty, everything she did was right.
Half a day later.
The Perfume Yuda arrived at Sabaody Archipelago.
Yet Hancock did not disembark—she remained waiting at the harbor.
Many ships were already docked nearby, including numerous pirate vessels.
Some of their flags had appeared frequently in recent newspapers.
Marigold looked at them and said,
"These seem to be rookie pirate ships… quite a few of them have bounties over a hundred million. They're called something like the 'Worst Generation.'"
Hancock did not respond.
Her attention was elsewhere.
Beneath her calm exterior, her heart was pounding rapidly.
Because her Observation Haki had already faintly sensed—
That man's presence was racing toward her at incredible speed.
Her heart fluttered wildly.
She lifted her gaze toward the sky.
Three dark silhouettes rapidly approached the Perfume Yuda.
"Who goes there?!"
The Kuja warriors immediately sensed danger and drew their weapons.
As the figures drew closer, they were revealed to be three beast-shaped machines.
And standing atop each mechanical beast were three men.
Among them, one tall, handsome man stepped lightly—
And leapt directly onto the deck of the Perfume Yuda.
He walked straight toward the Pirate Empress.
The Kuja pirates gasped in alarm.
"Stop right there!"
"You're not allowed to approach Lady Hancock!"
"The Pirate Empress is not someone a man like you can get close to!"
Hancock was infamous for her hatred of men.
Any man who approached within ten steps usually ended up turned to stone.
Meanwhile, the shore of Sabaody had already gathered a massive crowd, drawn by the Pirate Empress's beauty.
Wherever the world's most beautiful woman went, she became the absolute center of attention.
Seeing Luo Xing walk toward her, the onlookers sneered gleefully.
"That's the Pirate Empress—she shows no mercy to men. That guy's dead for sure!"
"She's beautiful, sure, but you need to be alive to enjoy it!"
"If I could get close to Lady Hancock, I'd die without regrets!"
"Dream on. You'd just turn into stone!"
Under countless mocking gazes—
Luo Xing finally stopped when he was only two steps away from her.
He did not turn to stone.
And Hancock did not scold him.
The crowd stared in disbelief.
And then—
Something happened that shattered their sanity and nearly made their jaws hit the ground.
The tall man calmly extended his hand toward the Pirate Empress and said with a smile,
"Long time no see, Hancock."
…?!
Was he trying to shake hands with the Pirate Empress?!
He even called her Hancock—directly by name?!
That was practically suicide!
Yet—
Why did the noble, untouchable, man-hating Pirate Empress—
Seem to blush slightly as she placed her slender hand into his palm?!
Am I dreaming?!
Crack—
Some hearts shattered on the spot.
The world's most beautiful woman—
How could she stand so close to a man?
How could she not reject his handshake?!
This made no sense!
This wasn't fair!
Why was it that when they approached her, they turned to stone—
Yet this man was completely fine?!
As the crowd stood frozen in shock, anger and jealousy surged within them.
As for the Perfume Yuda—
The Pirate Empress's own crew looked as if they'd seen a ghost, eyes bulging, mouths agape.
Lady Hancock… holding a man's hand?
Impossible.
Unthinkable.
Unbelievable.
At that moment, the same question surged into everyone's mind—
Just who in the world was this man…
The first man in history to approach the Pirate Empress—
And hold her hand?!
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