Amazon Lily was a hive of controlled chaos. Every Kuja warrior was on high alert, bows drawn and blades sharpened. Even the civilians who couldn't use Haki surged toward the sea walls, ready to defend their home.
Yet, despite the tension, the high-ranking members of the Kuja Pirates remained calm. Leo had spent the last ten days preparing them for this exact moment. Information, as he had promised, was their greatest armor.
With a surge of Conqueror's Haki that rippled through the air, Hancock gave the order. The massive gates of Amazon Lily groaned open, and the Kuja's flagship—a floating palace towed by two colossal, venomous sea serpents—slid slowly out into the open water.
On the deck of the Navy warship, a slender, elderly woman draped in a Marine officer's coat crossed her arms. She watched the Kuja ship approach with a faint, knowing smile.
"They appear before us at their very doorstep and don't show a flicker of fear," the woman remarked quietly. "What impressive spirit."
Standing behind Hancock, Leo kept his head down, his face partially obscured by a cloak. He held a pair of binoculars to his eyes, focusing on the woman on the enemy deck.
"Is that... Tsuru?" he whispered.
He didn't need to ask. In the world of the Marines, there was only one elderly woman with that kind of presence.
"Tsuru, Garp, and Sengoku," Leo muttered, his voice barely audible over the waves. "The Iron Triangle of the Navy. They are the pillars that kept the World Government standing against Rocks, Roger, and Whitebeard. Their strength is legendary, but their minds are even sharper."
He scanned the rest of the deck. "Look at the crew. Almost entirely female. They've done their homework—they're trying to mitigate the effect of the Love-Love Fruit."
He spotted two familiar faces among the officers. One was a tall woman with long black hair and a sword at her waist—Gion, the future Admiral candidate known as Momousagi. The other was a pink-haired woman in a wine-red suit, wearing dark glasses—Hina, a contemporary of Smoker and user of the Cage-Cage Fruit.
At this point in the timeline, Gion was likely only a Captain or Rear Admiral, and Hina was probably a junior officer. But Tsuru had brought them for a reason. They were her insurance policy.
"They only sent one ship," Leo analyzed, his voice steady. "The World Government likely just finished their first Sea-Prism Stone prototype. They're eager to show off, to intimidate you into joining their ranks."
Hancock's eyes flashed with a dangerous light. "If I sink that ship now, I could steal their technology and stop them from ever entering our waters again. Why shouldn't I just slaughter them all?"
Elder Nyon opened her mouth to protest, but Hancock didn't look at her. She looked at Leo.
The old woman's heart sank. In just a few days, she's already stopped listening to me and started seeking his counsel.
"Accept the invitation," Leo advised softly. "But do it on your terms. Be arrogant. Be impossible. Bullied them until they have no choice but to agree to your conditions. In fact, it might be best to turn everyone on that deck to stone before you even begin to speak with Tsuru."
Hancock smirked. If there was one thing she excelled at, it was being overbearingly arrogant.
"Sandersonia! Marigold! With me!" she commanded.
The two sisters moved instantly. One of the giant sea serpents lowered its massive head to the deck, allowing the three sisters to step onto it. As they rose ten meters above the water, standing atop the venomous beast, Leo realized the true scale of their power. These serpents were over forty meters long—living siege engines that could hold their own against the kings of the sea.
As the serpent moved toward the Navy vessel, Hancock struck a pose of utter disdain, looking down so far she was practically staring at the sky.
The Navy soldiers stared up in awe, their hearts racing as the most beautiful woman in the world came into view. And for the Love-Love Fruit, that heartbeat was a death knell.
"Slave Arrow!"
In an instant, a barrage of pink hearts rained down upon the warship. For the men and women caught in her beauty, there was no defense. One by one, they were encased in grey, lifeless stone.
The negotiation hadn't even started, and Hancock had already won the first round.