[Calm Belt, Amazon Lily]
"Elder sister! Are you alright!"
Watching Empress Hancock rolling and struggling on the bed, her hands tightly covering her cheeks, low groans escaping her lips, the two younger sisters guarding her side were filled with worry.
"That hateful man!"
Hancock gnashed her teeth, her beautiful eyes burning with towering flames of anger, her whole body radiating an icy chill.
"One day, I will definitely kill him with my own hands!"
In the Paramount War, that man named Jotaro had shown no reaction to her peerless beauty.
Not only did he not show the slightest trace of pity or tenderness, he even smashed a heavy punch into the face she was most proud of, leaving behind a glaring fist mark.
That punch didn't just wound her face, it shattered her confidence in being "the most beautiful woman in the world."
Because of it, she had been bedridden for many days.
Now, although her reflection in the mirror had returned to perfection, radiant as ever, under the psychological shadow Hancock still felt stabbing pain on her cheek from time to time.
She couldn't help worrying, what if, because of Jotaro's punch, she could no longer be the world's most beautiful woman? What then?
'Damn it… if I can't get revenge on that man now, then…'
Her beautiful eyes suddenly turned cold, shifting sharply to the submissive young girl standing nearby.
"What are you standing around for!" Hancock sat tall on the bed, phoenix eyes narrowing, her voice arrogant and laced with reproach.
"Don't you see the whole room is covered in dust? Hurry up and clean it!"
Nezuko, unfamiliar with the place and without systematic knowledge of navigation, had no way to leave the Calm Belt's Amazon Lily. The only option was to rely on the Empress.
Right now, she was not yet Hancock's match. Though her heart felt wronged, she could only obey her orders.
"Elder sister, Nezuko just cleaned twice already. How could there still be dus..."
The second sister, Sandasonia, couldn't help quietly defending her. Before she could finish, Hancock's icy glare silenced her.
Nezuko smiled softly, her voice gentle as the breeze. "It's fine. If Sister Hancock isn't satisfied, I'll just clean again."
Looking at Nezuko's obedient back as she cleaned, Hancock felt a surge of unspeakable weakness in her chest.
She had originally intended to make things difficult for this girl, to anger her, humiliate her, and use it as an outlet for the fury that had been pent up for so long.
But Nezuko's gentleness and resilience exceeded her expectations.
Just then, the tapping sound of a cane broke the silence.
"Why are you still making Nezuko clean! Snake Princess! Taking out your anger on an innocent girl, don't you think that's disgraceful?"
Elder Nyon hobbled into the room on her cane, standing before the Empress.
"This is my domain. What are you doing here?" Hancock glared coldly at her. "And why aren't you addressing me as 'Lady'?"
"Uh… Lady Snake Princess…" Elder Nyon shrank her neck awkwardly, immediately softening her tone.
"I only came to advise you, to treat Nezuko kindly. After all, she is that man's companion. If..."
Nezuko interrupted her softly, "Sister Hancock saved me from the hands of an Admiral. I am sincerely grateful. I'm doing this willingly."
Her face carried a gentle smile, her eyes firm and kind enough to move anyone.
This girl, though once imprisoned, held no resentment; though treated coldly, still had no complaints…
"You foolish girl…" Hancock lightly bit her lower lip, turning her head away. "Don't think acting like this will make me let you go!"
"Lady Snake Princess!" Elder Nyon's tone suddenly grew stern. She pulled a neatly folded newspaper from her robe and spread it open. "You don't want to see this country destroyed, do you!"
"Look at this news. That man beat up Celestial Dragons on Sabaody Archipelago. He even dared to do that."
"If he learns how you're treating the girl by his side, if he grows angry, I can't imagine what he might do! You've seen for yourself how strong that man is."
Nezuko gazed at the portrait on the paper, dazed, her eyes turning misty.
Hancock's heart trembled, almost instinctively taking the newspaper.
"He beat Celestial Dragons… Is there really such a fool in this world?"
The moment the words "Celestial Dragons" were spoken, Hancock's two sisters began trembling uncontrollably, their faces pale, eyes darkened with heavy shadows.
That memory, like a poisoned thorn embedded deep in their souls, suffocated them at just the thought.
"Beating Celestial Dragons, this is an event that even gods would tremble at." Elder Nyon's voice carried unease. "Most importantly, even after this, the Navy still dared not act rashly."
"This man is truly terrifying. For the sake of Amazon Lily's future, we should send Nezuko back safely."
"Hmph! Do you want me, the Empress, to lose all face!" Hancock turned away stubbornly. "If they want her, let him come get her himself."
———
[Sabaody Archipelago, GR1 Auction House]
Inside the lavish, glittering auction hall, the noise of the crowd surged. Lights blazed brightly.
The host's voice rang high from the stage. From below, bidding voices rose one after another. Nobles, pirates, bounty hunters crowded the seats, the air thick with greed and restless excitement.
"Well, Lord Jotaro! Just this one auction alone, and we can make tens of billions of Berries."
Doflamingo still wore his trademark wicked smile, speaking as if to himself, completely oblivious to the darkening storm gathering on Jotaro's face, so heavy it seemed it might drip black.
He held in his hand a price list for human trafficking, where each race was coded and priced.
Sabaody Archipelago was right next to Marine Headquarters. And yet, under the Navy's very nose, such a massive slave market existed, proving just how hypocritical the so-called "justice" of the Navy was.
Human trafficking didn't just brush against Jotaro's bottom line, it trampled it.
"Besides slave trading, I often instigate wars between countries, profiting by smuggling weapons."
"And in the field of artificial Devil Fruits, some breakthroughs have been made recently."
"Lord Jotaro, with your strength, and my funding, soon we could dominate the New World…"
Doflamingo's voice abruptly stopped, his instincts sensing danger.
"I don't know what grudge you bear against the World Government. But don't get it wrong." Jotaro's cold eyes bore into him.
"I want everything connected to the World Government erased from this world. And that filth is no exception."
Shinobu glared angrily at Doflamingo, her beautiful eyes sharp.
"Jotaro-san will never allow something like slavery to exist!"
In the world of nobles, slave trading was silently accepted. Doflamingo had grown up in that environment.
Slavery had existed since the beginning of this world, never eradicated. He truly couldn't imagine what a world without slaves would look like.
'Could it be… Lord Jotaro intends to create a world unlike any before?!' Cold sweat broke out across Doflamingo's forehead. He couldn't put into words Jotaro's sheer ambition.
Though he, too, sought to reign over the New World, he had always operated within the rules set by the World Government.
But Jotaro, he wanted to set his own rules.
'No wonder I could never rival the World Government.' Doflamingo clenched his fists, thinking silently. 'So the gap between me and Lord Jotaro isn't just in strength after all!'
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