Seeing Hancock's furious expression, the Marines' eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, their faces filled with utter disbelief.
Since when did the Pirate Empress have a man?
"Impossible! This Blood-Eyed Ninja must have control over the Pirate Empress!"
"Right! Otherwise how could the Pirate Empress possibly be interested in this damned pirate!"
As if finding an excuse to convince themselves, the Marines nodded simultaneously before turning murderous gazes toward Meiser.
Their eyes seemed to say: You bastard, how dare you use such despicable means to obtain the Pirate Empress! You deserve to die!
Meiser:...
To be fair, he hadn't controlled Hancock at all.
"You scoundrels! Meiser would never do such a thing!" The enraged Hancock charged forward, sending the Marine rear admirals flying with several kicks.
"Whoosh~"
"BOOM!!"
Her long legs wrapped in Haki nearly killed them outright.
"Cough..."
Blood trickled from the corners of their mouths as the Marine rear admirals said: "See... definitely being controlled..."
Hearing this, Meiser twitched his lips. Fine, whatever makes you happy.
Shaking his head, Meiser looked at Hancock's back and called: "Hancock~"
"Y-yes~"
Hearing Meiser's voice, Hancock instantly transformed into a love-struck maiden, covering her blushing face as she approached him. "I'm here~"
Seeing Hancock's adorable appearance, Meiser fell silent.
Seeing this mature beauty acting like this... it was practically inviting trouble!!
Forcing down the strange feelings in his heart, Meiser said: "Hancock, you..."
"Ah!"
"You called my name again~"
Meiser: ???
After a moment of silence, Meiser said: "Let's discuss our matters back at Kuja Island. For now..."
Meiser hesitated, then walked closer to Hancock and whispered: "Just pretend you're under my control, alright?"
This way, he could prevent Hancock from participating in more battles.
"No problem, I'm willing~" Hancock said shyly. "Even if you control me for a lifetime, I'm willing."
Ah~
Could this be the legendary... marriage proposal!!
Meiser:...
He had the feeling she'd interpreted this in a completely different way.
Clearing his throat, Meiser added: "Remember, if things turn dangerous, return to the plaza for safety."
"Then you can say you've broken free from my control, understood?"
"Mhm mhm, no problem~"
Looking at Hancock covering her face while lost in thought, Meiser paused before asking: "Are you sure you heard what I said?"
"Don't worry, I heard you."
Hancock lowered her hands, smiling at Meiser. "I'll obey your words properly."
Perfect, she could pretend to be hypnotized by Meiser and openly help him rescue the prisoner!
Thinking this, Hancock smiled even more brightly.
Then, Hancock took a key from her bosom and said, "Here, this is for you."
"This couldn't be..."
"Mhm, it's the Sea-Stone Handcuff Key for Fire Fist Ace," Hancock said. "With this, you can achieve your goal, right?"
Meiser stored the Sea-Stone key and nodded at Hancock with a smile. "Alright, thank you."
"There's no need to be so polite with me~" Hancock covered her small face with her hands.
Seeing Hancock in such a state, a Marine in the distance exclaimed frantically, "Dammit, has the Pirate Empress been controlled by this man too?!"
"Does that mean two of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea have become enemies?"
"Damn, how are we supposed to fight this?"
The situation was becoming too unfavorable for them, dammit!
"Fufufufufu~"
"What a terrifying man!" Doflamingo glanced over and stared at Meiser. "To think he can hypnotize two Royal Seven Warlords at once."
Fortunately, he hadn't made an enemy of this man earlier, otherwise... he might have been the one controlled!
At this thought, Doflamingo's expression turned serious.
Then, a thought occurred to Doflamingo.
Wait... could this guy be a pervert? Doflamingo wondered to himself.
Otherwise, there'd be no need for him to target the Pirate Empress.
After all... Crocodile came here with him!
As for whether Crocodile had been hypnotized...
Doflamingo glanced at Crocodile, who was fighting the Whitebeard Pirates, fell silent for a moment, then dismissed the idea.
If Crocodile were truly hypnotized, he wouldn't be clashing with the Whitebeard Pirates.
Because... that would only benefit the Marines!
So the situation was clear - this Blood-Eyed Ninja must have taken a fancy to the Pirate Empress!
Thinking this, Doflamingo's expression turned somewhat peculiar.
"I wonder if there's a limit to this man's hypnotic ability," Doflamingo said.
After a moment's consideration, Doflamingo retreated further away, deciding to keep his distance from this ninja for now.
Just then, Sengoku noticed the Pirate Empress's unusual behavior.
From his perspective, the woman was helping the Blood-Eyed Ninja attack the advancing Marines!
"Don't get in the way, you fools!" Hancock shouted. "Perfume Femur!"
"Clang!"
"Boom!!"
Her long leg, imbued with Haki, sent two Marines flying with a single kick.
"The Pirate Empress..." Sengoku frowned. "Has even this woman fallen to the Blood-Eyed Ninja's hypnotic ability?"
If we're talking purely about Haki strength, Hancock might even surpass Bartholomew Kuma.
Yet she still got controlled... Does this mean his hypnotic ability can affect anyone below Admiral level?
At this thought, Sengoku's face darkened.
Suddenly, an idea occurred to Sengoku.
'Could it be that Boa Hancock was hypnotized by the Blood-Eyed Ninja long ago?' Sengoku thought to himself. 'That would explain why the Blood-Eyed Ninja and Straw Hat Boy appeared at Impel Down.'
But this thought was immediately dismissed as soon as it appeared in Sengoku's mind.
After all... when she went to Impel Down, the people there had searched the Pirate Empress thoroughly.
This meant the other party didn't enter Impel Down together with the Pirate Empress!
Moreover, if the Pirate Empress had really been controlled at that time, the other party wouldn't have given them the opportunity to take Fire Fist Ace away.
Thinking this, Sengoku completely dismissed this speculation. Then, he turned his gaze to Kuma and said, "Then it must have been Kuma's doing."
The question was whether she was controlled at Sabaody Archipelago or here.
If it was the latter, that would be manageable, but if it was the former... then Egghead's intelligence might have been leaked!
At this thought, Sengoku's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
'After this war ends, I'll have Borsalino stay there for a while,' Sengoku murmured in his heart.
Suppressing this thought, Sengoku picked up the nearby Den Den Mushi.
"Everyone, attention!
"Pirate Empress - Boa Hancock has been hypnotized by the Blood-Eyed Ninja," Sengoku announced. "Do not approach this woman carelessly!"
Although it was unclear how much combat power she could display while hypnotized, it was obvious that anyone below vice-admiral rank was no match for this woman.
'Should I have an Admiral handle this?' Sengoku thought to himself. While he could order an Admiral to eliminate this woman, he couldn't actually do so.
After all... that would be like killing the donkey after it's done grinding!
If he did that, the other Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea would immediately turn against them and help Whitebeard attack Marine Headquarters!
At this thought, Sengoku's expression turned increasingly grim.
This was truly troublesome!
Upon hearing Sengoku's words, everyone on the battlefield stopped their movements and looked toward Meiser with incredulous expressions.
"The... the Pirate Empress has been hypnotized too?" a Marine said in disbelief. "Does that mean the Blood-Eyed Ninja now controls two Royal Seven Warlords?"
"Damn it, how did he manage to do this?!"
The Marines looked incredulously at the man standing beside Hancock, their hearts filled with shock.
If he could hypnotize two Royal Seven Warlords simultaneously... was it possible he could hypnotize even more?
At this thought, the Marines' expressions turned to terror.
If they allowed him to continue unchecked, the scales of victory would tilt in his favor!
"So he's hypnotized two Royal Seven Warlords in succession."
Hawkeye, who had been planning to cut down Luffy, subconsciously glanced toward Meiser's direction upon hearing this and frowned. "Rather peculiar."
However, Hawkeye didn't take any unnecessary action, merely glancing before withdrawing his gaze.
After all... he had no compelling reason to confront that man.
Of course, Straw Hat Boy still needed to be cut down!
With this thought, Hawkeye fixed his gaze on Straw Hat Boy and quickly charged toward him.
"Hey, what exactly did that guy do?!" Buggy exclaimed in shock. "He even hypnotized the Pirate Empress?"
This guy... he's just too enviable!
"He truly lives up to being our Ninja big brother," a man nearby remarked with admiration.
"Exactly."
"Even someone like the Pirate Empress could only fall under his control. What a fearsome Ninja."
"But our Captain Buggy isn't bad either!!"
"That's right!" The man beside Buggy looked at him excitedly. "After all, our captain is someone who formed an equal alliance with Whitebeard!"
"Ahahahaha!"
Hearing this, the others burst into laughter.
"Yahahaha, you're absolutely right!" Buggy laughed heartily. "Your captain is indeed a figure on par with Whitebeard!"
"Whoo!!"
Mr.3:...
These guys are even more optimistic than I imagined.
Shaking his head, Mr.3 turned his gaze to Meiser, thinking to himself: 'How strange... If Meiser can hypnotize Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea, why didn't he hypnotize the boss on the ship?
That way, we would have gained another perfect combat asset!
But he didn't do it... Was it because he looked down on it or because he couldn't?
At this thought, Mr.3 shifted his gaze to Hancock and Kuma, pondering: 'Perhaps... these two have known Meiser for a long time?
But as soon as this idea surfaced, Mr.3 dismissed it.
After all... the Pirate Empress is famously known for hating men—there's no way she'd be on good terms with the Blood-Eyed Ninja!
"So it seems Meiser must have achieved this through sheer strength," Mr.3 mused. "What a terrifying guy."
He felt fortunate that he had obediently followed Meiser's orders back in Impel Down. Otherwise... he might have become a puppet by now.
The thought made Mr.3 breathe a sigh of relief.
Someone like that is only fit to be a friend, not an enemy!
With that in mind, Mr.3 glanced toward the execution platform and murmured, "Maybe..."
After thinking for a moment, he shook his head. "Forget it, let's wait and see how things unfold."
Then, he walked over to Buggy.
"Pops, Ace's friend is quite strong," Marco, standing beside Whitebeard, said in amazement as he watched Meiser.
Not only did he hypnotize the powerful Bartholomew Kuma, but now he's also taken control of the Pirate Empress.
Just where are his limits?
"Gurararara, indeed," Whitebeard laughed heartily.
With these two Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea on their side, that Blood-Eyed Ninja kid might just be able to charge straight to the execution platform.
If these two Warlords can each hold off a Marine Admiral...
The thought made Whitebeard's eyes light up.
To control two Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea at once...
Crocodile, who had been sent flying by Diamond Jozu, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and glanced at Meiser. "How irritating."
No wonder he had said those words at Impel Down—it seemed this guy had never taken him seriously from the very beginning!
At this thought, Crocodile's expression turned grim.
"Hey, did you all hear what the Marine Fleet Admiral said?" The reporters on Sabaody Archipelago stared in shock at the enlarged image of Meiser and Hancock on the screen. "This man not only hypnotized Bartholomew Kuma, one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea, but didn't even spare the Pirate Empress!"
"What terrifying power is this?"
Just then, one reporter shouted, "I've got it!"
"Got what?"
The others looked at him in confusion, unsure what he meant.
"Of course I've figured out the Blood-Eyed Ninja's motive!" The reporter grinned, wearing a confident expression.
"Stop beating around the bush and spit it out!"
The reporter cleared his throat and declared, "This Blood-Eyed Ninja must have taken a fancy to the Pirate Empress!"
"Otherwise, why wouldn't he control Doflamingo who just approached him?"
Upon hearing this, everyone froze momentarily before showing expressions of sudden understanding.
"That makes perfect sense! He ignored Doflamingo who just came to his side and instead targeted the Pirate Empress..."
"This guy is definitely a perverted ninja!"
"Exactly, a pervert!"
"Hmph, using despicable means to get to the Pirate Empress—how shameless!"
"If he can target the Pirate Empress today, he'll go after others tomorrow!"
"I'm going to write about this in my news report and spread his infamous name far and wide!"
"Whoo!"
After realizing what was happening, these reporters began shouting as if Meiser's actions had defiled their goddess.
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