OM—
The invisible pressure enveloped the area as if time itself had slowed down. Affected by a strange and heavy force, the charging pirates found their frantic strides involuntarily grinding to a halt.
"C-Conqueror's... Haki?!"
One of the pirates stared in utter disbelief at the breathtakingly beautiful woman just a short distance away. His eyes instantly rolled back into his head, and with a heavy thud, he collapsed onto the ground, completely unconscious.
Thud, thud, thud...
In the next breath, that single pirate's collapse acted as a catalyst. All around the square, people's eyes rolled back as they crashed to the earth one after another. It wasn't just the dozens of charging pirates; even the surrounding onlookers in the crowd fainted in droves.
In an instant, the vast majority of the attacking horde collapsed mid-charge. Only a mere handful managed to desperately cling to consciousness, yet they too were swaying unsteadily, looking as though they might topple over at any second.
"To think a few pieces of literal trash could still stand against it... I have truly lost face!"
Seeing that a few pirates had actually managed to withstand the shockwave of her Conqueror's Haki, Hancock arched an elegant brow, her expression radiating deep displeasure.
"What gives?! Don't just unleash Conqueror's Haki randomly!"
"You've gone too far, Boa Hancock!"
"Don't drag innocent bystanders into your mess!"
"..."
At that moment, waves of fierce dissatisfaction erupted from the surrounding crowd. Those who had successfully weathered the pressure spoke up one after another, loudly condemning her actions.
"Whether I kicks a kitten... tears off your ears... or even slaughters the innocent... the world will always forgive my actions. Why, you ask? That's right, because I am... beautiful!"
Hancock tilted her flawless chin upward in a magnificent display of sheer arrogance. She extended a slender, delicate hand, lightly flipping her raven-black hair as a breathtaking charm radiated from her very core, instantly ensnaring everyone present.
"Ah—Hancock-sama!"
"That unparalleled, peerless beauty... Forgiven! You are absolutely forgiven!"
"Goddess! No matter what you do, I will always forgive you!"
"Let me slaughter these worthless scum who dared to cross you!"
"..."
In a single instant, the vast crowds gathered at the port—pirates, merchants, and civilians alike—broke into a collective, frenzied roar. Even the kingdom's garrison soldiers and the female warriors of the Kuja Pirates were not spared. Their eyes instantly morphed into massive red hearts, completely consumed by an intense, overflowing infatuation and adoration.
"So beautiful... Wait, no!"
Perched atop the stone tower nearly a hundred meters away, the three-meter-tall muscular brute briefly displayed a look of deep infatuation before realizing something was terribly wrong. He quickly drew a dagger from his waist and drove it viciously into his own thigh.
As fresh blood poured down his leg, the intense, agonizing pain successfully snapped his mind back to reality. However, his face turned incredibly grim. Every single one of his remaining subordinates who had survived the Conqueror's Haki had now fallen into a state of absolute, mindless devotion toward Boa Hancock, completely indistinguishable from the rest of the ecstatic crowd.
"Hmph~ Foolish beasts. Turn to stone!"
"Mero Mero Mellow!!!"
Hancock let out a soft, dismissive snort, her beautiful eyes flashing with sheer contempt. Bringing her hands together to form the shape of a heart, she unleashed a cascading wave of heart-shaped energy beams, completely engulfing the remaining pirates in front of her.
In a fraction of a second, the pirates caught within the radiant beam were instantly petrified, transforming into bizarre stone statues rooted firmly upon the harbor plaza.
Gasp...
Instantly, everyone who witnessed the terrifying scene snapped out of their delusions, drawing in sharp, cold breaths. Cold sweat drenched their clothes as they instinctively stumbled back several paces in pure dread.
"You witch! I'll kill you!"
Seeing his remaining crew members turned to stone, the muscular brute's eyes instantly flushed bloodshot. With a furious, primordial roar, he clutched his rocket launcher and leaped straight down from the tall tower, completely disregarding the severe wound on his thigh.
BOOM!
An artillery shell whistled past Hancock's ear, blasting a massive, gaping hole into the wall of a warehouse dozens of meters behind her.
"Insolent man! I recognizes you. 'Blood Rope' Babel, a despicable scoundrel with a bounty of 137 million Berries, and a user of the Paramecia-type Rope-Rope Fruit!" Hancock noted coldly, casually declaring his identity.
By now, Babel had slammed his empty rocket launcher onto the ground in a fit of rage, charging forward completely empty-handed.
"36-Strand Steel Wire: Piercing Spear!!!"
A thick, heavy steel wire erupted from the center of Babel's palm, extending outward with blinding speed. It mirrored a rapidly elongating spear, thrusting directly toward Hancock's throat.
Suddenly, a colossal silhouette intercepted the attack. Marigold shifted into her massive half-human, half-king-cobra hybrid form. Just her upper torso standing upright spanned a staggering three stories high.
"Armament Hardening: Serpent Thrust!!!"
Marigold barked a low command. The tip of her colossal serpent tail coated itself in a deep, metallic black as it violently launched forward.
CLANG—
The massive, Haki-hardened serpent tail collided with the thick steel wire in mid-air, producing a sharp, metallic ring that sent a localized gale of kinetic force rippling outward across the harbor.
The wire, tightly spun from thirty-six individual steel threads, was instantly blasted apart by Marigold's immense physical strength, recoiling violently backward. Babel felt a massive shockwave rip through his entire frame, forcing him to stumble back several paces in a daze.
"Marigold, who gave you permission to interfere?!"
Hancock's lovely face tightened, turning to snap an incredibly displeased glare at her younger sister.
"Onee-sama, if you were to personally trade blows with these second-rate, insignificant grunts, it would truly be beneath your exalted status. Please, allow Marigold and me to handle this instead!" Sandersonia added, casting a brief glance at Babel as she tried to placate her sister.
On the other side, hearing Sandersonia's dismissive words, Babel flew into an absolute rage. "You bastards! How dare you look down on me!"
He was a pirate who had originally made a name for himself in the first half of the Grand Line. Strictly speaking, he belonged to the same generation as Caribou, having merely entered the New World half a year before him. He had only recently aligned himself under the Big Mom Pirates' flag.
He and his crew had been busy gambling inside Palace Entertainment City within the Clifford Kingdom when the all-out war between the Big Mom Pirates and the Chris Pirates suddenly erupted. With no time to rendezvous with the main fleet, Babel intended to intentionally cause chaos within the city. It was during this venture that he crossed paths with the arriving Kuja Pirates.
The entire world was well aware of the intimate relationship between Aeridar and Hancock. Coupled with Babel's inherent disdain for the all-female Kuja Pirates, he had planned a sudden, lethal ambush to catapult his name into infamy, thereby securing Big Mom's personal favor.
Who could have anticipated that the moment he made his move, the entirety of the Babel Pirates would be wiped out, leaving him as the sole survivor?
Furthermore, the strength of the Kuja Pirates seemed to far exceed his wildest calculations.
But with things already pushed to this point, Babel could only steel his resolve and press onward.
"36-Strand Steel Wire: Modern Dance!!!"
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...
More than a dozen thick steel wires whipped through the air like a localized storm of tentacles, rapidly extending forward to ensnare the battlefield.
CRACK—
Without warning, the sky violently darkened. Heavy storm clouds converged directly above the harbor, and in a single, microscopic fraction of a second, an absolute cataclysm of lightning erupted. A colossal pillar of pure lightning cascaded downward, instantly drowning Babel's silhouette within a blinding, incandescent glare.
BOOM!!!
A deafening, apocalyptic roar shook the foundations of the earth. The entire harbor trembled violently as a fierce shockwave of wind swept outward, howling across the plaza.
A few seconds later, the blinding flash dissipated. Standing in the center of the harbor plaza was a charred, smoking crater spanning over five meters in diameter, with residual arcs of electricity still crackling and hissing along the scorched earth.
The entire port fell into a dead, terrified silence. Only the profound, paralyzed horror etched across everyone's faces could accurately convey the absolute shock gripping their hearts.
"Enel... that absolute bastard..."
Hancock ground her teeth in pure exasperation, glaring up at the dissipating storm clouds fading into the sky.