Boa Hancock lunged forward to attack, but she was too late to stop it.
Bang—
A spray of blood burst out, yet the massive green-haired serpent man did not die.
Elder Nyon appeared in front of him at some point, kicking him away—but one of her arms had vanished.
Sakazuki casually blocked Hancock's incoming kick, forced her aside, and his arm turned into magma as it slammed into her abdomen.
Nailing her to the deck, Sakazuki then raised his hand again, aiming at the green-haired serpent man.
Elder Nyon, drenched in cold sweat from the pain, shouted:
"Stop! Marine-sama!"
"They're just children! Their intentions aren't truly evil!"
"I'll have Hancock undo the petrification right away!"
"Hancock!!!!"
Pinned to the deck, Hancock nearly lost her mind.
"Impossible!"
"He just killed Marigold!!"
"I will never..."
One sister had just been killed, and the other had nearly died. How could she not hate?
Elder Nyon cut her off angrily:
"This is no time for your selfishness!"
"Do you want Sandersonia to lose her life too?!"
"Undo the petrification at once!!!"
Boa Hancock's face twisted with fury.
"I..."
Her trembling body and clenched fists showed how unwilling she was.
But if Sandersonia were to... Hancock bit down hard.
"Fine..."
Bang—
The green-haired serpent man's head suddenly exploded into a mist of blood.
Blood splattered across Elder Nyon, and Hancock, pinned to the deck, stared in disbelief.
Sakazuki lowered his finger and said coldly:
"I'll say this once..."
"Are you trying to teach me how to do my job?"
"Who gave you the courage to decide for me?"
"And what makes you think you have the right to assume you can?"
"Do all women of Amazon Lily think this way?"
"I recall some years back, I wiped out another Kuja Pirate crew."
"They too attacked a warship first. After I beat them, they had the nerve to say..."
'Enough, Marine.'
'We admit defeat. Take all the treasure.'
"What was that woman's name again? Karol."
From the side, Karol closed his eyes, recalling:
"Hm... let me think, let me think..."
"Tri... Tritoma."
"Yes. The captain of the Kuja Pirates back then was Tritoma."
Sakazuki nodded, turning to Elder Nyon.
"You knew her, didn't you."
"This must be one of Amazon Lily's unsolved mysteries."
"After all, not a single one escaped that day."
"They all died by my hand."
"There shouldn't have been any survivors to return to Amazon Lily, right?"
Elder Nyon's pupils shrank sharply, too shocked to speak... So Tritoma was...
Sakazuki said indifferently:
"I don't know which Empress that was, but after all these years..."
"The strange way of thinking of Amazon Lily's women hasn't changed a bit."
"Can't win, so you quit fighting? You think I'm playing with you?"
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap...
The sound of leather shoes rang out across the deck.
Sakazuki slowly walked over and crouched before the stunned Boa Hancock.
"Children? No ill intent?"
Smack—
His slap sent her flying, crashing into the railing.
Hancock, lying against the shattered railing, regained her senses and unleashed her furious Conqueror's Haki toward Sakazuki.
"You bastard!!!"
"How dare you! How dare you!!!"
"Perfume Femur!!!"
Overflowing with murderous rage, she kicked at Sakazuki with everything she had.
Clang!
Their Armament Haki clashed, and Sakazuki immediately caught her ankle.
Crack—
With a series of sharp cracks, he violently dislocated all her joints.
He tossed her onto the deck and ground his heel into her head.
"A child who slaughtered thousands on a single campaign?"
"A heart so unrepentant even after turning this ship into stone statues?"
Bang—
With a kick, he sent her flying off the warship, landing before Elder Nyon.
Sakazuki jumped down, approaching slowly.
Elder Nyon came to her senses, blocked his path, and fell to her knees trembling, pleading:
"Marine-sama, we will repay everything."
"Please don't kill her. If she dies, the soldiers will remain petrified forever."
"It's true!!!"
Sakazuki sighed lightly.
"There are many things in this world that defy common sense."
He released a thread of Conqueror's Haki toward the two of them.
Stepping past the frozen Elder Nyon, he crouched beside Hancock.
"For example, the Navy's Science Division has a project called 'Pacifista.'"
"What is it?"
"Put simply, it's the technology of transforming living humans into machines that obey only commands."
"Bit by bit, their brains and organs are replaced with machinery."
"Once complete, their bodies function normally."
"Their Devil Fruit powers remain intact. But they become robots, following orders alone."
"Now tell me—do you think those soldiers can still be restored?"
"You'll be dead, yet not completely."
"This is called a fate worse than death. Do you understand?"
Boa Hancock's pupils trembled violently.
"You..."
Sakazuki grabbed her throat, cutting off her voice.
"I gave you a chance, but you wasted it..."
In Hancock's terrified eyes, she felt Sakazuki's fingers slowly tightening around her neck.
Every second dragged on like a century...
Until, at the peak of her terror—
Crack—
With a crisp snap, Hancock lost consciousness, plunging into darkness.
At the moment he crushed her cervical spine, Sakazuki infused a thread of Armament Haki, utterly destroying the nerves.
He left her a living vegetable.
Grabbing her neck, he tossed her up to Karol on the warship, who caught her.
"Keep her alive."
"Send her to Punk Hazard later."
Then Sakazuki turned his gaze on Elder Nyon.
"Now... let's talk about Amazon Lily."
Elder Nyon shook her head, heart dead inside.
"It's all over."
"The elites of the island have been wiped out."
"Amazon Lily can barely survive as it is."
"There's nothing left to discuss."
Her spirit was exhausted, utterly drained... the hard-won recovery gone again...
Sakazuki said coolly:
"Continue under the Warlord system, and you can rebuild the Kuja Pirates."
"The World Government and Marines will even provide support."
"With the Calm Belt's advantage, you may not be able to destroy the great pirate crews, but smaller ones won't be a problem."
"While you play the obedient one, Amazon Lily can live in comfort."
"I crave battle, but I don't kill without reason."
"But if you long for death, I can erase Amazon Lily from the map right now."
Elder Nyon let out a bitter laugh.
"Do I even have a choice..."
Sakazuki casually tossed the Warlord decree to her.
"After I report back to HQ, agents will contact you for aid."
"You'll have three years to recover and rebuild."
"After that, you must produce results in hunting pirates."
"Otherwise, Amazon Lily has no reason to exist."
"And one more thing—when rebuilding the Kuja Pirates, pick some women who can actually think."
Elder Nyon rose, bowing deeply, looking even older than before.
"I understand."
Sakazuki turned and strode back toward the warship.
At that moment—
From the shore Elder Nyon had just climbed up from, the sound of a Den Den Mushi rang out.
Buru buru~ buru buru~
The heart Elder Nyon had just barely steadied leapt back into her throat...
No! Shakky!!!
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