"STOP IT"
The sudden loud shout made Caesar, who had been watching the Celestial Dragon battle with great interest, slightly startle.
He exchanged a glance with Kaido, put down the skewers and wine gourd in his hands, and looked toward the source of the voice.
Not just them, but the densely packed crowd in the Arena also turned to look in that direction.
There, several white-robed, masked figures, led by a man with a pigeon on his shoulder, were escorting a disheveled, tall woman with her head bowed, her face unclear.
They ignored the hostile pirates ahead and walked straight toward Caesar.
"Hmm? Who are you?" Caesar sat on his massive golden throne, looking at the newcomers with interest.
"What's this about my woman? You'd better explain clearly, otherwise..."
Just as Doflamingo was about to inform Caesar of the newcomer's identity, two ecstatic shouts rang out from the arena beside them.
"Rob Lucci! Great! You've finally come! Quick, kill them all and take us away from here!"
Charlos clattered as he dropped his weapon, forgetting his fight with his son, and rushed to the railing, shouting and trembling with joy.
He seemed to be crying tears of happiness.
His kind old father, Roswald, also threw aside his longsword and pointed majestically at Caesar and the others, shouting.
"As the strongest spear of the Celestial Dragons, Rob Lucci, I command you to kill these insolent fools immediately! Hahaha, tremble, pirates! Rob Lucci is the most talented and powerful monster in CP history! If you know what's good for you, run for your lives!"
The pigeon man was none other than the current leader of CP0.
Thanks to their backing from the World Nobles, these former CP9 members had all risen to prominence over the past two years, holding high positions and great authority.
Especially him, the strongest spear of CP, who usually dared to even shout at Marine Fleet Admiral Akainu, always carrying an air of "I'm untouchable, don't mess with me" wherever he went.
But at this moment, Rob Lucci showed no intention of taking action immediately.
He didn't even glance at the two masters on the platform who were weeping with joy.
Instead, his gaze fell upon Caesar seated on the throne.
He waved his hand, signaling the masked men behind him to bring forward the disheveled woman.
Grabbing one of the tall woman's arms, he lifted her chin, forcing her to face Caesar and the others.
Beneath the messy black hair was a face of breathtaking beauty, one that could topple cities and captivate nations.
"Boa Hancock, Caesar. How about I trade her for the return of Saint Roswald and Saint Charlos?"
"Hmm? The Pirate Empress?"
Caesar looked at the unusually haggard Hancock in surprise.
He hadn't expected this proud woman to be captured by CP0.
What he didn't know was that shortly after Hancock returned to the Amazon Lily from the New World, the Marines, armed with the new weapon SSG Seraphim, had crushed it effortlessly.
The people of Amazon Lily were either dead or injured, and all the female warriors of the Kuja Pirates had been captured by the Marines.
It wasn't until the incident with the Golden Ship that the Gorosei remembered Hancock's claim, when she was captured, that she was the woman of the Beast God Caesar.
Thus, they sent Rob Lucci to bring her to Tottoland, hoping to exchange her for the two Celestial Dragons.
Hearing Caesar's deep voice, Hancock, weak and bound in Seastone Cuffs, trembled slightly and slowly lifted her head, her gaze fixed blankly on the tall and imposing Caesar.
There was no mistaking it—it was really him.
The man who had effortlessly erased her slave brand.
The man who had seen all of her, had the power to take her, yet let her go.
Ever since leaving Tottoland, for some reason, Caesar's towering figure had grown increasingly vivid in Hancock's heart.
While Luffy's face had become more and more blurred.
She began spending her days collecting every piece of information about Caesar and the Beast God Pirates.
Granny Nyon said she had fallen lovesick again.
Granny Nyon thought she was pining for the Straw Hat Kid once more.
But only Hancock knew that the object of her longing had changed.
Compared to the mature, powerful, domineering Caesar, who completely disregarded the World Nobles, the reckless and impulsive Straw Hat seemed far less perfect as a husband.
Kaido, keenly aware of Hancock's adoring gaze toward Caesar, couldn't help but curl his lips and mutter under his breath.
"Hmph, manwhore!"
Seeing that Caesar completely ignored him and didn't answer his question, a flash of anger crossed Rob Lucci's face.
His fingers gripping Hancock's arm suddenly tightened, making her arm creak audibly.
"Ah!" Hancock cried out in pain, her body going limp as she nearly collapsed, only to be yanked upright by Lucci's grip.
His face dark, he clamped a hand around Hancock's slender, snow-white neck and glared at Caesar.
"Caesar! You—"
"Gin, kill him." Caesar didn't even glance at him, merely uttering a calm remark.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a violent gale erupted.
Rob Lucci's expression drastically changed as he saw an enormous black spiked club filling his entire field of vision, carrying terrifying kinetic energy and an impending shockwave.
Completely disregarding Hancock whom he held captive, it came crashing directly toward his skull!
At such close range, Rob Lucci had no time to snap Hancock's neck.
He could only push off the ground with his feet, executing the Marine Rokushiki technique "Shave," and vanished from the spot in an instant.
"Quite fast, aren't you? Rokushiki? Simple technique."
Gin, standing six meters tall with wildly distorted muscles, retracted the spiked club that was about to smash into the ground and hoisted it over his shoulder.
His massive frame disappeared in the blink of an eye as he rapidly stomped his feet.
A thunderous explosion echoed from the distant sky, followed by everyone witnessing Gin swinging his spiked club to brutally smash a figure downward, piercing through the earth.
"Damn it! Move!"
The remaining masked CP0 agents panicked, scrambling to escape.
A massive shadow blocked their path.
Kaku looked up to see a six-meter-tall, seemingly simple-minded giant rapidly expanding, muscles bulging grotesquely as he transformed into a terrifying fifteen-meter behemoth covered in scars.
Loki grinned widely, spreading his enormous arms as if to embrace them in a crushing grasp.
Simultaneously, an overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from his colossal frame.
"Boom!"
The four masked agents, including Kaku, were momentarily stunned before being swept aside by Loki's over-ten-meter-long arms, crashing to the ground like discarded rags.
Nearby, Lucci roared furiously, his body swelling as he transformed into his hybrid beast form, engaging in fierce combat with Gin.
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