Calm Belt — Amazon Lily.
"Sister, we're back."
In the Empress's chamber, Sandersonia and Marigold knocked before pushing open the door.
The Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, lounging on her recliner, sat up at the sound of their voices and looked at Sandersonia.
"Well? Did you meet the Godslayer, Sora, in person?"
Sandersonia nodded. "Yes, I saw him with my own eyes."
Hancock lifted her wineglass and took a sip. "What does he look like? How strong is he? Is he willing to hand over the blueprint for the flying ship?"
Thinking of Sora's appearance, Sandersonia said, "He looks exactly like he does in the papers—very handsome."
"And as for strength, he's terrifying. He has Conqueror's Haki just like you, and he can control it freely."
"Conqueror's Haki?" Marigold exclaimed in disbelief.
He has the same Haki as I do…?
Hancock was visibly surprised, her eyes fixed on Sandersonia.
"It's true, Sister. He has Conqueror's Haki," Sandersonia confirmed. Then, with a brief hesitation, she recalled how Sora had yanked her hair so dominantly and bit her lip slightly before continuing.
"And that's not all. He also possesses several different abilities. Just the ones I witnessed… there were at least four or five."
Multiple abilities…?
Hancock's perfectly shaped brows furrowed. That part didn't make sense.
Seeing the confusion on Hancock and Marigold's faces, Sandersonia elaborated:
"He was surrounded by air currents, allowing him to fly freely. He could also pull items out of thin air…"
"And at the end, he turned into a bolt of lightning and shot back to his ship."
She took a few minutes to describe everything Sora had shown.
"Are you sure these powers all came from one person?" Marigold asked, shocked. "No one can eat more than one Devil Fruit."
Even Hancock was unsettled by this.
A man with four or five abilities and Conqueror's Haki?
He wasn't just dangerous—he was something else entirely.
"I'm sure the abilities are all Devil Fruit-related. But how he's able to use so many, I really don't know," Sandersonia said honestly.
Then she added, "He did say he's willing to give us the blueprint for the flying ship."
"But… he asked me to give you a letter. He'll hand over the designs if you agree to the terms in it."
She handed Hancock the letter.
Hancock glanced at it briefly before unfolding the paper.
These characters are so elegant…
The neat, powerful handwriting caught Hancock off guard.
In this world of pirates, someone who could write this beautifully was rarer than someone with Conqueror's Haki, in her opinion.
Of course, that might be an exaggeration—but she didn't care.
She was beautiful enough to say whatever she wanted.
As she read on, her expression shifted. Her beautiful face turned blank… and then angry.
Sandersonia and Marigold instinctively took a step back.
BANG!
Hancock slammed the letter onto the table, her teeth clenched.
"That bastard didn't just ask me to wear a qipao…"
"He even specified the style and the color!!!"
"I'm so pissed!!!"
The contents of the letter were simple: if Hancock wanted the blueprint, she had to wear the exact short qipao Sora described and help him hunt down members of the Whitebeard Pirates in the upcoming war.
The hunting part wasn't an issue. Hancock had already received the navy's summons to participate in the war.
But the dress code?
Being told what to wear? That infuriated her. It felt demeaning.
If not for Sora's past deeds—like killing a Celestial Dragon—which had left a favorable impression on her, she would've ripped the letter to shreds and gone straight to him for revenge.
"Do we accept his terms?" Sandersonia asked cautiously.
Hancock took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling dramatically as she composed herself.
"Of course we accept."
"We must get that blueprint."
She was going to war with the Marines anyway—it would be easy enough to accomplish both tasks at once.
And she understood well: Sora had already drawn attention from the Four Emperors. If she didn't act first and secure the flying ship blueprints from him now…
Amazon Lily would never have another chance.
Then something clicked in Hancock's mind. She turned to Sandersonia.
"Did you see that Celestial Dragon Sora abducted?"
The incident of Sora capturing Shalria was something Hancock remembered vividly.
"Yes, I did. She's now serving as his personal maid," Sandersonia said.
After Sora left, she'd been watching the Divine Slave through a telescope. She had seen both Shalria and Anna in maid uniforms standing outside the captain's cabin.
A maid…
He's really making a Celestial Dragon serve as a maid…
Hancock and Marigold froze, stunned.
They hadn't expected that. Killing a Celestial Dragon was one thing—making one a maid? That was another level of audacity.
If killing one earned the World Government's hatred, making one serve you was outright humiliation.
It wasn't just vengeance at that point—it was total war.
Sora… was he really planning to go to war with the World Government?
As the memory of Sora stealing the Celestial Tribute gold flashed through her mind, Hancock was shaken.
Then, as if that wasn't enough, Sandersonia hesitated, then dropped one last bomb.
"Sora said… if Marigold ever regains her slim, beautiful figure, he'll help her erase the mark on her back."
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