AN : Good News the Book is completed and fully published on my patreon!!!!
Check it out!!! Link is at the End!!
-----------------------------
Hancock felt the last of her strength drain away under the effects of the Sea Stone. Dirt smeared her beautiful face, her hair in disarray, yet she still lifted her chin and declared proudly, "Insolent person, release me at once."
"Hmph, a mere slave, and still so arrogant..." The middle‑aged marine bared his teeth in a vicious grin. He raised his fist and drove it straight into Hancock's face. Blood trickled from the corners of her mouth and nostrils, leaving her looking even more battered and disheveled.
"Hancock..." Rayleigh's focus wavered as he took in Luffy's fallen form and Hancock's capture.
Saint Garling, locked in combat with Rayleigh, naturally seized the opening. In his human‑beast form, he spat out a roaring ball of flame, forcing Rayleigh to shield his eyes. In that instant of obscured vision, Garling vanished, using Observation Kill to erase his presence.
"This is bad..." Rayleigh muttered, scanning the battlefield now swallowed by a sea of flames. Because of that one moment of distraction, Saint Garling's aura had completely disappeared. Rayleigh turned in place, pushing his Observation Haki to its limit.
At that moment, Saint Garling flashed in from Rayleigh's rear flank. By the time Rayleigh sensed the killing intent, the saber was already descending.
Sssht— With a single brutal stroke, Garling's blade severed Rayleigh's sword‑wielding right hand, sending him hurtling backward.
Saint Garling paused, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "He actually moved at the last second? Still, with his right hand cut off, he's already lost his fighting ability."
Rayleigh hit the ground and rolled, coming to a stop as he clutched the stump of his right arm, blood pouring through his fingers. His face twisted with despair. That single lapse in concentration had cost him his sword hand.
Saint Garling flicked the blood from his saber, then advanced at an unhurried pace, arrogance written on his face. "Without your dominant right hand, how much strength do you have left, 'Dark King' Rayleigh?"
Meanwhile, Gorum had already stepped in front of Hancock. His gaze lingered on the Celestial Dragon's Hoof emblazoned on her back before he spoke coldly, "So you really are slave no. 77. As a slave, daring to escape from your master is a capital offense. Once we return, this saint will see you properly disciplined, so you understand: a slave is a slave, a slave for life. To even think of fleeing your master is absolutely impermissible."
Hancock's slender body trembled the moment she heard his words. By now, the Marines had already locked seastone cuffs around her wrists and clamped heavy irons to her ankles. In the process, those despicable Marines had even taken the chance to grope her in secret, their filthy hands brushing against her skin. The memory made nausea and loathing surge through her.
When she laid eyes on Gorum, the fear hidden in her heart swelled uncontrollably. Thoughts of those pitch‑black, hopeless days flooded back, and the terror she'd been forcing down finally broke loose. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she cried out in despair, "No, don't! Even if I die, I don't want to go back to that hell! Save me, Luffy, Rayleigh…"
Gorum's gaze was as cold as ice. He ground his foot down onto Hancock's beautiful face and said cruelly, "Stop howling, No. 77. That Straw Hat is already dead."
He sneered and went on with open contempt, "So weak, yet so full of himself that he dared to harm the descendant of the gods. Death was always his fate, wasn't it, No. 77?"
Hancock's body shook even harder at his words. She remembered Luffy raising his fist against a Celestial Dragon. In her heart, Luffy was a hero who defied the world's cruelty—but she had never imagined this would be the price for striking a Celestial Dragon. No one could survive after doing that. Not even Luffy.
Terror and despair swallowed her whole. She didn't even dare to push Gorum's foot from her face, didn't dare to hurl a single curse at the Celestial Dragons. It felt as if she could already see her own fate laid out before her—an endless darkness closing in from all sides.
Gorum continued, "As for Rayleigh, my father has already cut off his right hand. He'll be dead soon. But don't worry. You'll live. After all, as this saint's slave, as long as this saint wants you alive, you won't even be allowed to die."
At that, Hancock was once again struck by the sheer horror the Celestial Dragons inspired. Even someone like Rayleigh… was no match for them?
Gorum raised his voice and gave his order, "Marines, you may capture and kill any women on this island however you please. This saint will buy them at a price of 100,000 Berries per human slave."
"Of course this saint doesn't want the ugly ones. You can keep those for yourselves. Aside from that, seventy percent of all the treasures on Amazon Lily will be confiscated; the remaining thirty percent will be yours. This pirate nation has no reason to exist anymore."
"Oh!!!"
"If there's no need for it to exist, then just destroy it already!"
"We can finally let loose? This is great!"
At Gorum's words, the Marines erupted in excitement. Under this Celestial Dragon Admiral, they quickly realized that as long as they showed absolute deference to Gorum, many of the Marine's usual rules could be ignored.
Normally, Marines were duty-bound to protect civilians. Even on Amazon Lily, as long as its inhabitants weren't pirates, Marines were forbidden from harming them and were even obligated to defend their lives. If civilian property was damaged in the process of capturing pirates, the Marines were required to allocate funds to rebuild it.
But now, with Gorum's command, thirty percent of Amazon Lily's treasure would go to them, and any woman they captured would belong to her captor. That promise instantly awakened their most bestial desires. The way they looked at the Kuja warriors changed in an instant—eyes like predators, fixed on prey.
At this moment, it could be said the Marines had become no different from pirates, launching a frenzied campaign of plunder and slaughter against the Kuja Pirates.
Even so, there were still a few Marines with a sense of justice who felt all of this clearly violated the very justice the Marines claimed to uphold. But they could not reason with others—it was an Admiral's order. Even with doubts in their hearts, they didn't dare speak up and could only carry out the command in silence.
On Rayleigh's side, having lost his right hand and his sword, he had no strength left to resist Saint Garling. Just as he hesitated over whether to try and escape, Garling slashed out a blade of sword aura that tore across Rayleigh's waist and abdomen, smashing him to the ground. Any chance of escape vanished as he lay there, gasping for breath.
Blood dripped from the corner of Rayleigh's mouth as he watched Garling approach. He smiled bitterly and said weakly, "Looks like this is the end."
Saint Garling's gaze was ice-cold as he looked down at him. "Even though you're just a worm from the lower realms, you at least managed to entertain me. I'll give you ten seconds. Say your last words."
Rayleigh let out a bitter laugh as memories of his younger days under Captain Roger flashed through his mind. He remembered that one voyage when they crossed paths with the Kuja Pirates and he first met Shakky. Back then, she was still the most beautiful woman on the seas—but he hadn't accepted her feelings at the time.
It wasn't until after the Roger Pirates disbanded that Rayleigh and Shakky went into seclusion together on the Sabaody Archipelago.
If he regretted anything, it was that he would never be able to go back and see Shakky again.
Ten seconds soon slipped by. Saint Garling said coldly, "It seems you have no last words! That's fine. As a pirate, you've already lived long enough. Die peacefully!"
With that, Saint Garling raised his saber. Just as he was about to sever Rayleigh's head, a thunderous drumbeat rang out. The sound was so loud it rolled across all of Amazon Lily, making Garling's eyes narrow in surprise.
Deep in the forest, where Luffy had fallen and his vital signs had already vanished, his body suddenly began to turn white. His long-stilled heart kicked back into motion with a heavy thud. He slowly pushed himself up from the ground as the earth beneath him softened and turned to rubber.
"Hahahahahahaha, what's going on?! I remember I was clearly dead! Hahahahaha…"
By now, Luffy's clothes and hair had turned completely white, and white flame-like clouds coiled around him. The ground surrounding him had become rubber as well, making him bounce uncontrollably as he laughed. "Hahahahaha, I don't know what's going on, but I feel like I can do anything now! Hahahahaha…"
------------------
AN: Check out my P@treon For THE FULL STORY!!!
Thank You For your Support!!
[email protected]/noviceauthor777
-----------------------
To keep the chapters coming - Support with POWER STONES.
For Every 100 power stones - 1 BONUS chapter.