Amazon Lily, seaside.
"Darling, look! The float moved—there's a fish biting! What should I do?"
Hancock's eyes sparkled as she stared at the fishing rod in her hands.
Karl raised an eyebrow, immediately dropping his own rod and rushing over.
"Pull! Pull harder! You've got this!"
"It's so heavy!"
"I'll help!"
Karl wrapped his hands over Hancock's and infused the rod with Armament Haki.
Pure brute force.
A massive five-meter-long blue fish was yanked straight out of the sea and flung onto the shore, flopping wildly in a desperate attempt at a comeback—unfortunately, all it achieved was coating itself in sand.
"Yay! Such a big fish! Tonight, I'll cook it myself!"
Karl's face instantly turned pale.
"A-ahem… Hancock, maybe that's not a good idea. You're the empress of the Kuja—how can you personally cook? Let the chefs handle it!"
"Huh?" Hancock puffed up her cheeks and turned her head away.
"So that's how it is! You're saying my cooking is bad, aren't you?!"
Her expression clearly read: I'm unhappy. Hurry and comfort me.
"How could that be?" Karl pulled her into his arms, gently stroking her smooth skin.
After a bit of soothing, Hancock quickly perked up again. She wasn't truly angry—she just wanted Karl to pamper her.
"Oh, right," she said suddenly.
"Darling, the newspaper said you're now an Admiral Candidate. Does that mean you won't have to stay in the New World all the time anymore?"
Karl looked out at the calm sea and smiled.
"More or less. I'll mostly handle emergencies and special missions now. Regular pirates don't need me stepping in anymore."
"That's wonderful! Then you must visit me often, okay?"
Seeing Karl hesitate, Hancock snuggled deeper into his arms and began acting cute with extreme commitment—if he didn't agree, she was fully prepared to rub him bald.
"Alright, alright!" Karl laughed helplessly.
"I promise—every month, I'll come stay with you for at least a week. Deal?"
Hancock's face lit up instantly. She looped her arms around Karl's neck and kissed him happily.
"That's a promise!"
But then her expression dimmed slightly.
"If only I could stay by your side forever…"
"There will be a way," Karl said calmly.
"Did you know? There's a legendary treasure in this world called Pure Gold—it can grant immortality."
Hancock froze, gripping Karl's hand tightly.
"Immortality? T-that's impossible, isn't it?!"
Karl smiled meaningfully.
"It's real. True immortality."
At present, Karl had two women close to his heart—Hancock and Ain.
Ain could use the Retro-Retro Fruit to lower her age at will, maintaining her body at peak condition forever.
The downside was temporary loss of muscle memory, slightly weakening her strength—but after some adaptation, it always returned.
From that perspective, Ain's ability was absurdly powerful.
Karl himself didn't even need Pure Gold.
Thanks to system rewards, his lifespan kept increasing—he already had nearly 100,000 days left, close to three hundred years.
And ever since turning twenty-six, his appearance had stopped changing entirely.
In a sense, Karl was already immortal—eternally young.
But Hancock wasn't.
She had no such fruit, no system.
If she wanted eternal life, there were only three possible paths:
Pure Gold
The Eternal Youth Surgery
Vegapunk's unknown black technology
"T-then if we obtain Pure Gold…" Hancock whispered.
Her thoughts instantly ran wild.
With endless life, she'd never need to fear aging or losing Karl's affection.
She'd have time to nurture the next empress of Amazon Lily…
and then, hand in hand with Karl, live forever.
Her cheeks flushed crimson.
How many children should I have with him if we're immortal?
Too few would be boring… too many would be impossible to manage…
So troublesome!
Watching Hancock get lost in her imagination again, Karl scratched his head.
As expected—queen of overthinking.
"Hancock? Hancock?"
"Huh? Darling? What is it?"
Karl sighed and gently kneaded her soft chest, annoyed.
"What do you mean 'what'? You were spacing out again. What were you thinking about?"
"I was thinking about… ah! That Pure Gold thing! Where is it? I must obtain it!!!"
That… was Karl's blind spot.
He knew Pure Gold existed—but where exactly? No idea.
"Well… according to legend, Pure Gold is hidden inside a giant lanternfish, sealed within its lantern. Unfortunately, no one knows where that creature is."
"It'll be difficult to find—but don't worry. As long as I live, I'll find it."
"So we can be together forever."
The moment she heard forever, Hancock melted.
Her body softened, heart pounding.
She glanced around to ensure her sisters had sealed the area, then boldly began removing her clothes, gazing at Karl with sultry eyes.
"Darling…"
Karl took a deep breath, kissed her forehead softly, then stood up and kicked the giant blue fish back into the sea.
No distractions.
This was actually Karl's first daytime outdoor operation.
And honestly?
It was a very demanding mission.
Two hours later, everything settled.
As always—Karl emerged victorious.
Hancock lay on the beach, resting her head on his arm, her expression blissful and completely satisfied.
"Oh right," Karl said suddenly.
"There's something important I need to tell you."
Hancock propped herself up—her curves drawing a dangerous arc.
Karl immediately grabbed some clothes and covered her before things escalated again.
"The Seven Warlords system will only last about five more years."
"After that, it will likely disappear from history."
"Hancock, time is still on your side—but you should start preparing now."
Hancock's expression changed instantly.
Amazon Lily's safety depended heavily on her Warlord status.
Without it, she would become a wanted pirate—and her island…
"Then what should I do?" she asked anxiously.
"No—what should Amazon Lily do? How can I protect my people if I'm no longer a Warlord?"
Karl placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"Don't panic. I wouldn't tell you this without a solution."
"Trust me… alright?"
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