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Figarland Gorum personally led the assault on Amazon Lily, arriving with ten warships and ten thousand Marine soldiers—a force on par with a full Buster Call.
According to the World Government's investigation, Boa Hancock had repeatedly aided Straw Hat Luffy during the Marineford War. Before that, when Hancock visited Impel Down, Straw Hat Luffy had appeared there as well. It was hard for the government not to find this suspicious.
They lacked hard evidence, but one fact was undeniable: during the Marineford War, Empress Boa Hancock had indeed helped Straw Hat Luffy. Countless Marines who were there could testify to it.
Now, thousands of Marine soldiers were swarming onto Amazon Lily, capturing the island's warriors on a massive scale. The women of Amazon Lily were fierce and skilled, but they couldn't stand up to marine elites and the Pacifista. One after another, they were subdued and bound like merchandise.
Although Vegapunk had defected to the Phoenix Pirates, the production line for the first-generation Pacifista had long since been relocated to Marine control.
On top of that, the Marine's own mad scientist had tinkered with the original designs and developed the second-generation Pacifista—the white models seen in "One Piece Film: Z."
However, that scientist's technology was limited. Aside from their white armor, the second-generation Pacifistas were almost identical to the first. Both generations relied solely on laser-based attacks.
By contrast, the units destroyed on Egghead Island had been third-generation Pacifistas. Those models could fire lasers, generate bubble shields that reflected attacks, and wield bubble guns capable of suppressing Devil Fruit users. In terms of combat power, the third generation completely outclassed the first two.
But all of the third-generation Pacifista had been scrapped in the Egghead Island War.
Before long, Marines had pushed into the town itself, driving Amazon Lily's residents into a panicked retreat. The island's female warriors fought desperately, but against a Pacifista with strength on par with a Marine vice admiral, their resistance was meaningless.
"Slave Arrow..."
Hancock's voice rang out as she appeared overhead. In an instant, a storm of pink arrows rained down from the sky.
Wherever they struck, Marines were hit one after another—and each one was instantly turned to stone.
Vice Admiral Walker's face changed as he saw the power on display. He bellowed, "Be careful; it's the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock!"
In the next moment, the Kuja Pirates assembled behind their empress, drawing their weapons as they faced off against the Marines.
With Hancock's sudden appearance, the Marines no longer dared to act so recklessly. They kept their eyes fixed on her, tense and wary—but as soon as they truly saw her peerless beauty, their faces flushed red, like bashful schoolboys.
Perched atop her snake, Salome, Hancock looked down on the Marines and declared, "Marine, how dare you lay hands on this saint's country? Do you want everyone to turn into stone?"
Vice Admiral Walker shouted back, his voice ringing over the deck, "Boa Hancock, hand over Straw Hat Luffy! According to the intelligence the Marines have received, your Kuja Pirates have colluded with the great criminal, Straw Hat Luffy. If you refuse to hand him over, then we Marines have the right to strip you of your Shichibukai title!"
Hancock's beautiful eyes were cold and distant as she replied, "I don't know what you are talking about, and there can be no men in this empress' country. Now, immediately leave all the treasures on your ships and then leave my presence. Otherwise, all of you will turn into stone!"
"Okay, Hancock-sama..."
"We'll offer all our treasures right away..."
Hearts all but visible in their eyes, the Marine soldiers spoke as if they had become Hancock's fawning lackeys.
Just then, a sharp, fast-moving figure cut through the ranks of Marines entranced by Hancock's charm. The sword in his hand flashed again and again, unleashing a flurry of slashes that drew agonized screams.
In a matter of seconds, dozens of Marines who had just been charmed by Hancock collapsed, dead where they stood. The brutal sight shocked the remaining entranced Marines, instantly snapping them out of their daze.
"Lord Ashura…" Vice Admiral Walker stared, stunned by the Gorum's actions. To strike down his own comrades so mercilessly… was this truly the way of a Celestial Dragon?
As a Celestial Dragon Admiral, Gorum remained utterly composed, as if he had merely crushed a few bugs beneath his heel. He said coldly, "This saint has no need for incompetent soldiers under his command. If you can't even resist a mere charm, you'd turn to stone even without this saint taking action. Now, although dozens of useless people have died, more soldiers have survived."
After speaking, Figarland Gorum swept a frigid gaze over the Marines and continued, "As the creator of the world, this saint should, in theory, ignore you insects and simply crush you. But now that this saint is a Marine admiral, this saint has no choice but to deal with you insects. It is your honor to serve as soldiers under this saint's command."
"Listen carefully. This saint will only say this once. This saint does not need incompetent soldiers under his command. If you cannot demonstrate your value, this saint will personally execute you."
The Marines drew in sharp breaths. This Celestial Dragon Admiral was even more ruthless than Admiral Akainu. Even Akainu wouldn't casually execute dozens of Marines the moment he took action.
But they all knew the Admiral Ashura before them was absolutely capable of it. Beyond his identity as a Celestial Dragon, his strength was also on the level of an Admiral.
Hidden among the Kuja Pirates, Straw Hat Luffy—disguised in a wig and leather skirt like the other female warriors—stared in shock. "Who the hell is that guy?! He looks similar to Shanks, and this bastard even attacked his own companions; it's too hateful! He's got the same face as Shanks, but he does stuff like that!"
"Is this guy his descendant?" Rayleigh muttered, frowning as he studied Ashura, whose face was nearly identical to Red-Haired Shanks' with different hair.
Luffy turned to him. "Rayleigh, who are you talking about?!"
"A very powerful Celestial Dragon," Rayleigh replied, his eyes growing solemn.
Hancock, gazing at the Celestial Dragon Admiral, felt her heart lurch. Memories from her childhood—those days imprisoned by the Celestial Dragons—surged up all at once. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Hancock forced herself to calm down. She was no longer a Celestial Dragon's slave—she was the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock. So what if the person before her was a Celestial Dragon? If it came to it, she would fight him.
Gorum studied Hancock's breathtaking face, greed flickering in his eyes. He already had no shortage of female slaves, but to add the world's most beautiful woman to his collection—who was also one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—would be something to boast about.
"Boa Hancock," the Gorum said coldly, "I'll give you one chance. Surrender to this saint, and this saint can spare everyone on Amazon Lily; otherwise, all of you will become our slaves."
At the word "slave," Hancock's slender body trembled. Unpleasant memories surged up like a black tide, drowning her thoughts. The naturally proud Empress could only stand there, frozen.
"Are you ignoring this saint? Or are you afraid?" The Gorum's gaze chilled. Seeing the terror on Hancock's face—that same terror a slave would show—made a cruel smile curl at the corner of his lips.
"Sister… sister," Marigold and Sandersonia were shaking as well. The natural fear they held toward the Celestial Dragons gripped their hearts, and the monster before them was even stronger than those from their past. The thought of being dragged back into that dark prison made their blood run cold.
"Snake Empress…" The other female warriors of Amazon Lily stared in confusion. They had never seen their Empress wear such an expression and didn't understand what was happening.
The Gorum's eyes were as cold as ice, the cruel curve at his mouth deepening. "Since you won't answer, I'll just turn all of you into slaves. Move out! Capture them! Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy."
"Oh!!!" The Marine soldiers roared and charged at the Amazon Lily warriors, weapons raised.
Gorum glanced at Hancock, still inexplicably rooted to the spot, then kicked off the ground and shot straight toward her.
As he rushed in, Hancock's body shook even more violently. Faced with a celestial dragon, the will to resist drained completely from her.
It was just like Robin back in Elbaf, when she watched Saul fall. She'd covered her ears and hidden away, paralyzed by fear.
Now Hancock was caught in something painfully similar. The nightmare of her childhood resurfaced, and the woman who always held her head high suddenly didn't even have the courage to raise a hand against a Celestial Dragon. Maybe she had tried to resist before—and the price had been so brutal that she no longer dared to defy them.
"Such a beautiful body. It would be a shame to damage it," the Gorum sneered, savoring the fear in Hancock's eyes.
He raised his blade and swung the flat of the sword toward her. But in that instant, an overwhelming sense of danger washed over him—a flying slash was screaming in from behind Hancock.
Seeing the incoming sword aura, Gorum's pupils tightened. He brought his own blade up just in time. With a sharp clang, sword energy and steel collided, and the impact blasted his body back dozens of meters. When he steadied himself and looked again, a powerful, sharp-eyed old man stood protectively in front of Hancock.
"Dark King Rayleigh..." Marines immediately began shouting as recognition rippled through their ranks. "It's the Pirate King Roger's first mate, Dark King Rayleigh!" "Why is Dark King Rayleigh on this island?!"
At that moment, Luffy tossed away his wig and leaped out from hiding, landing at Rayleigh's side. As soon as the Marines saw the Straw Hat, Vice Admiral Walker roared, "I knew it! Straw Hat Luffy was being sheltered by you on Amazon Lily! No wonder we couldn't find him. What do you have to say for yourself now, Boa Hancock?!"
Hancock didn't answer. Her eyes were still locked on the Gorum, her face frozen in fear. Luffy noticed something was wrong and hurried to her side.
"What's wrong, Hancock? Pull yourself together."
Rayleigh shot a glance back at her and immediately understood the source of her terror. His voice rang out, firm and cutting through the tension:
"Get a hold of yourself, Hancock! You're not who you used to be. You're the captain of the Kuja Pirates now—you've got your sisters and your crew to protect!"
Those words finally reached her. Hancock's focus cleared bit by bit. Looking at Rayleigh's and Luffy's backs in front of her, they seemed impossibly dependable, larger than life.
She lifted her chin, tsundere pride returning to her voice. "Hmph. Even if you hadn't said anything, this Empress would already know."
Seeing Hancock steady herself at last, a faint smile tugged at the corner of Rayleigh's mouth.
The Gorum fixed his gaze on her, a cold smile spreading across his face. "So that's it. I remember now. Your appearance has changed a lot, but this Devil Fruit is unmistakable—the Love-Love Fruit. I just didn't expect it to really be you… slave no. 77."
The moment those words left his mouth, Hancock's pupils shrank sharply. Shock rippled through the Marines and the Kuja Pirates alike.
"Ashura-sama just called the pirate empress slave no. 77? Is that real or fake?"
"It's gotta be fake! That's the Pirate Empress we're talking about! The most beautiful woman in the world!"
On the Amazon Lily side, disbelief quickly turned to anger.
"Impossible! How could the Snake Empress be your slave?!"
"That's right! The Snake Empress is the most beautiful woman in this world! What are you compared to her, you celestial dragons?!"
"Yeah! Snake Empress, hurry up and defeat that arrogant bastard!"
Those who knew the truth, however, wore dark, heavy expressions. Hancock immediately refuted him, her voice stiff. "What are you talking about? This Empress doesn't understand at all."
Gorum curled his lip in disdain. He still wasn't completely sure the Boa Hancock before him was the same slave no. 77 from back then—but her ability was identical.
"You don't understand?" he repeated coldly.
"I remember it clearly. More than 20 years ago. Because that incident was this saint's first failure in life, it left a very deep scar."
"At that time, this saint had a war slave who'd won thirty-three battles in a row. This saint believed he would never lose. But he was defeated by a female slave owned by Donquixote Tepu Saint… and that woman had the power to turn people to stone. Her number was 77."
As his voice faded, every Marine and every warrior from Amazon Lily turned to stare at Hancock. Hearing his words, her slender body trembled once more. A chill ran through her—she could feel it. Her true identity was on the verge of being exposed.
Gorum went on, his tone flat and matter-of-fact. "Because my war slave, who had won thirty-three battles in a row, was defeated, I took a heavy loss. I became very interested in this slave No. 77, so I intended to purchase slave No. 77 from Saint Tepu."
"Later, I learned that this female slave No. 77 had eaten the Paramecia-type Love-Love Fruit. Saint Tepu eventually agreed to sell slave No. 77 to me."
"Just as he and I came to an agreement, that damned fish-man suddenly caused a massive disturbance in the Holy Land, Mary Geoise. He freed a large number of slaves, including slave No. 77. After that, the matter was left unresolved."
As Gorum finished recounting his story, everyone's eyes immediately turned to Boa Hancock. In that instant, Hancock felt as if she had been stripped bare in front of them all. The fragile courage she had just managed to gather was, with each detail the Gorum exposed, peeled away like an eggshell, laying her shameful past completely open.
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