"So beautiful..."
"She really is the legendary Emperor of the Women's Kingdom. Can such beauty truly exist in this world?"
"She's practically a flawless goddess..."
Hancock, her high heels clicking against the deck, strode from the battleship's cabin to the bow. All along her path, the murmurs of the gawking Marines rose and fell like waves.
She kept her gaze fixed straight ahead; these ugly men were not even worthy of her attention.
Yet, as she passed, several Marines on deck suddenly petrified into stone statues with a crack... crack...
"Hey! What happened to you guys?"
"They've turned to stone!"
The other Marines panicked, staring at their petrified comrades, still frozen in poses of hearts in their eyes, even the saliva dripping from their mouths petrified mid-drip...
Inside the battleship's cabin, Vice Admiral Momonga, who had followed Hancock out, broke into a cold sweat. Gripping the hilt of his sword, he shouted at the Kuja Snake Princess's retreating figure:
"Boa Hancock! Why did you petrify them?!"
"Hmm?"
Hancock walked to the ship's bow and stopped, her long, silky black hair swaying gently as the snake-shaped earrings dangling from her ears swayed with each movement. She turned her head to look back.
"...!!" Vice Admiral Momonga almost instinctively lowered his gaze, focusing solely on Hancock's chin.
Even just her chin was flawless, smooth, delicate, nearly perfect. In fact, seeing only her chin only amplified her allure, sparking endless fantasies about the full splendor of her face. It made one yearn to risk everything just to lift their eyes and behold her peerless beauty...
"Look, why weren't you petrified?"
The young Snake Princess's alluring red lips moved, her voice as melodious as celestial music, clear and crisp with a hint of magnetic resonance. The moment she spoke, it was as if the wind, the crashing waves, and the low hum of birds' wings...
All the surrounding noise receded like the tide, leaving only her chin, her crimson lips, her raven hair, and that voice...
Yet Wicked! Vice Admiral Momonga broke out in an even colder sweat. He blinked forcefully, banishing the distracting thoughts from his mind, and quickly lowered his head.
'This woman's damned charm is practically cheating!'
Hancock said coldly, "I warned you long ago not to defile me with your filthy eyes. These ugly creatures couldn't control their gaze and were petrified; they brought it upon themselves. How dare you blame me?"
"...!!" Vice Admiral Momonga desperately wanted to retort, but he couldn't find a valid counterargument.
The young Snake Princess spoke the truth. Vice Admiral Momonga had personally witnessed her teachings firsthand, and she had explicitly warned the Marines. Yet despite this, the sailors on the battleship still...
He couldn't decide whether to scold the sailors for their weak willpower or blame Boa Hancock's otherworldly beauty for exceeding all reason!
"Wahahaha..."
A burly old man with short, graying hair emerged from the battleship's cabin, munching on a bag of senbei. It was none other than the "Marine Hero" Monkey D. Garp.
"They couldn't help but steal a few glances, Princess. Doesn't that just prove your beauty? Forgive them, ha ha ha!"
Hancock narrowed her eyes at the old monkey-like Marine Vice Admiral. "Does this empress's beauty need evaluation from such ugly creatures?"
Unfortunately, Hancock didn't know Luffy's full name. If she had, her attitude toward this man, Luffy's own grandfather, might have been different. Even if she hadn't been particularly friendly, she wouldn't have treated him with the same wicked disdain she reserved for strangers.
"Boa Hancock, restore them!" Vice Admiral Momonga barked, his gaze still lowered slightly.
Ignoring him completely, Hancock leaped onto the railing of the red pleasure ship, which was nearly alongside the Battleship.
On a good day, she might have deigned to grant them a few drops of her blood to undo Medusa's petrification.
But the problem was, the Empress had not been in a good mood lately.
"Wicked! That woman actually ignored the Vice Admiral..."
"How utterly willful and reckless!"
"It's infuriating! But..."
"She's just too beautiful. We have no choice but to forgive her..."
Watching the Kuja women on the red ship warmly welcome their Empress's return, the Marines on the battleship gradually relaxed their clenched fists.
"Secure them for now," Vice Admiral Momonga ordered his subordinates, his head aching as he instructed them to carry away the petrified statues. "We'll find another opportunity to have the Snake Princess undo the petrification later... It's best to avoid conflict with the Kuja for now!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Marines obeyed, carefully carrying the petrified statues of their comrades to the ship's hold and cushioning them with straw and other materials.
Garp, munching on a senbei, remarked thoughtfully, "Ever since that little girl started reading newspapers, her temper's gotten even worse!"
"Has her temper ever been good?"
Vice Admiral Momonga wore an expression of utter disdain. In his eyes, this young Snake Princess was nothing more than a wicked pirate whose unparalleled strength had bred an insufferable temper, arrogance, and a complete lack of social skills.
'Such peerless beauty, yet cursed with the worst temper in the world! It's utterly incomprehensible!'
Momonga naturally harbored no romantic interest in a female pirate, but the feeling was akin to... a flawless piece of white jade marred by an inescapable flaw. The mere sight of such a thing was deeply regrettable.
'Her temper has worsened? Hah! Has this woman ever been gentle or kind?'
'Unimaginable!'
"Elder sister seems to be in a foul mood..."
Two Sea Snakes towed the red-hulled ship into the Calm Belt. On deck, Marigold watched her elder sister's retreating figure as she returned to her cabin.
Sandersonia crossed his arms and grinned. "The newspapers we collected on this trip have coverage of the World's Greatest Sword Hero Tournament... I think something in one of those articles upset Elder Sister, didn't it?"
In Princess Hancock's cabin, Hancock shook her cloak and sat upon OrochiSalome, who was coiled into a throne-like shape. She picked up an old newspaper, propped her cheek against her hand, and hummed softly.
The accompanying photo showed the Sword Hero Tournament venue, with Giorno Giovanna and his female Captain embracing affectionately...
Marineford, Marine Headquarters
Admiral's Office -
"Giorno Giovanna, Jolyne Cujoh... Why is it always them? And now they're involved with the Heavenly Tribute incident too..."
Sengoku set down a stack of documents and rubbed his temples.
"What's wrong, Sengoku?"
A deep, resonant voice entered the room as a tall, muscular man with short purple hair pushed open the door. He was dressed in casual civilian clothes, not his Marine uniform.
(End Of This Chapter)
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