Hancock stiffened at the whispered words.
Her pale eyes locked onto the man before her in disbelief. A chill surged from deep within her heart, flooding her body and leaving her paralyzed. As if recalling something, she felt the indelible slave brand on her back burn faintly.
This man not only knew her deepest secret but was also immune to her charms. Terror gripped Hancock. She suspected he had deliberately lured her here!
Nearby, the Kuja Pirates noticed something wrong...
with their captain. Boa Sandersonia, the second sister, cried out in panic, "Big Sister!" She then glared furiously at Dante. "What exactly did you do to Big Sister?!"
"I didn't do anything!"
Dante didn't even turn his head. He threw the remark back at Sandersonia before addressing the rigid Hancock again. "So, how have you considered my proposal?"
"Bullshit proposal! Big Sister would absolutely never, "
"Everyone, stand down."
Hancock cut her off. Seemingly brought back to her senses by Dante's words, she realized that Dante hadn't directly revealed her secret. Even though she had no idea what he was really after, she breathed a sigh of relief. She raised a hand to stop her subordinates, speaking calmly before adding, "I will give it a try."
She looked at Dante, fell silent for a moment, and asked, "Can you tell me... exactly how you found out?"
"Found out? Found out what?"
"Oh, right. I'm relieved to see you agree. As the Empress of the Amazon Lily Kingdom, Captain of the Kuja Pirates, and a Shichibukai, I trust you will abide by your word!"
Seeing Hancock agree, Dante smiled in satisfaction. "Then I won't disturb you any longer. I've already booked your Beauty Spa Package, just head over to Romance Dawn and someone will be there to receive you. I will take my leave now."
He turned to look at Viola. "I'll leave the rest to you, Viola. Make sure you take good care of our distinguished guest!"
"I know what to do." Viola stood up with a smile. "Please rest assured, Boss."
Dante gave Hancock a parting nod, glanced at the ship, and turned around, leaving with the rest of his group. He still had to figure out a way to fish Mock out.
Hancock watched Dante's departing back...
her eyes deep and contemplative. She hadn't expected him to leave so easily. She initially thought that, holding her secret over her head, he would make some outrageous demand! But in the end... Just like that? So, what was his real goal? Was it truly just to do business? Hancock frowned, seemingly lost in thought.
Just then, Sandersonia and Marigold saw their Big Sister fall silent again...
acting strangely. A trace of worry surfaced in their minds.
"Big Sister." Marigold hesitated before stepping forward. "Maybe we should just leave!" She then looked at the secretary who had been left behind, her voice going hard. "I don't know what they're planning, but as long as Big Sister leads us away, I believe no one can stop us!"
"Please do not worry." Hearing Marigold's words, Viola spoke up. "If you wish to leave, we will not stop you!"
"Who knows..."
"Enough, Marigold." Hancock cut her off, her voice clipped. "Do you want me to just leave? Or are you trying to order me around?"
"I... no, Big Sister, I..."
"I have my own plans!"
Hancock waved a hand, silencing the nervous sister. She turned to Viola, her tone calm. "I heard you used to be an officer of the Donquixote Family?"
"Yes, I worked for the Donquixote Family for a few years." Viola responded with a smile. "But I've already switched sides!"
"It seems the rumors aren't entirely false!"
"Who knows?"
"Fine. If that's how it is..." Hancock paused, dropping the subject. Her expression shifted back to the haughty mask of the Pirate Empress. "Then show me around!"
However, the moment the words left her lips...
the other pirates exchanged glances. None dared speak as they prepared to follow their Empress.
"Big Sister." The green-haired Sandersonia hesitated before speaking up. "I'll stay here. After all, someone needs to watch the ship!"
"Suit yourself!" Hancock waved her hand impatiently and looked at Viola. "Let's go! Let me see what that man is trying to do."
On the other side, Dante returned to the office after sorting things out. He looked at Lilith, who waited inside. "Are you ready?"
"I'm ready!" Lilith nodded with a grin. "I brought a secret weapon, so the client will absolutely be satisfied. Oh, right." Her eyes narrowed. "About the fee..."
"Since I said it's free, let's just charge cost price!"
"Ten thousand Berries?"
"Ten million Berries."
"So that's the kind of 'cost price' it is! Now I can rest easy." Shock crossed Lilith's face at Dante's words. She sighed in admiration. "Boss, we'll never be short on money following you!"
"As for the specifics, handle them as you see fit. I trust your brain enough to know what to do!"
"Don't worry, absolutely no problem!" Lilith patted her chest confidently. "Mission guaranteed." Then she asked, "Should I go down and get to work now?"
"Go ahead!"
With a wave from Dante, Lilith happily picked up her small box and left.
Behind him, Kuro and Kuma, quiet since entering, watched the unfamiliar figure with puzzlement. They seemed to wonder when such a person had appeared on the island.
"Don't overthink it. She's Vegapunk's clone!" Dante didn't hide the truth. He took a sip of the tea Robin poured, then looked at Kuro and Kuma. "The reason I called you two here is to prepare you,-"
"Damn brat, what are you calling me over here for at a time like this?" Zephyr's voice cut in from the doorway, sharp and pointed. "Oh, right. When I was on my way here, I heard you invited a beautiful female pirate over to play at your house?"
What kind of way is that for Zephyr to talk?
He was only teasing.
After spending this long here, Zephyr knew some rumors might hold truth, but they couldn't possibly be that ridiculous.
"I still have a pile of matters to handle...
and..." Zephyr said, furrowing his brows again. "Why are the Kuja Pirates coming at a time like this?"
The public execution had barely passed. On top of that, the East Blue Marine branch faced a mountain of issues right now. Especially with those New Pirate Regulations, they had no time to entertain so-called guests!
"Don't worry, they're only here to do business!"
Hearing Zephyr-sensei's question, Dante kept Hancock's secret and changed the subject instead. Resignation edged his tone. "And... even if the Kuja Pirates hadn't come to us, we'd probably have to go to them ourselves. An accident happened, and Mock is in their hands. Them delivering themselves to our doorstep is actually our lucky break."
They couldn't just abandon Mock!
Sure enough.
Zephyr-sensei's expression turned grim. "Mock? How did that idiot end up in the Kuja Pirates hands? What happened? Don't tell me he heard Amazon Lily is a nation of women and went running over with his tail wagging! Those women are tigresses!"
Every year, men out at sea heard about that so-called nation of women and excitedly ran off toward it. The outcome was entirely predictable! None of them ever came to a good end!
"It shouldn't be anything like that." Dante shook his head, his brows drawing together as well. "I'm not sure exactly what happened, but at worst, Mock just wanted to soak his feet. He'd never do something like that."
Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen Mock as captain back then. The brat might be thick, but he followed orders! No matter how bizarre Dante's demands were, as long as it was his command, Mock would carry it out seriously. If Dante didn't tell him to stop, he would just keep going. Take the East Blue Overlord persona, he had played that role from the very beginning up until now, slipping into it so effortlessly that he could always get into character at crucial moments.
As Dante shared the intelligence he had gathered...
everyone present roughly understood what had happened.
"An accidental discovery?"
Hearing Dante's words, Zephyr stared baffled. Should they say that kid was lucky? Or unlucky? Getting captured by the Kuja Pirates, only to end up being sent back home?
"So, you called me here to discuss how to rescue Mock."
Zephyr pondered for a moment, then frowned. "My infiltration ability is really nothing to write home about."
He glanced at Kuro and Kuma nearby, his gaze finally settling on Kuro.
"Just leave it to this guy, wouldn't that work?" He rubbed his chin. "The main issue is how to reasonably rescue Mock without anyone discovering his connection to us! So why did you call me over?"
There was no need for him at all!
"Hey, I didn't call you here because of Mock." Dante shook his head at that as he looked at Zephyr. "Besides, I asked you to come yesterday. You just didn't show up, so I had to call you over again today."
Yesterday... he hadn't even known Mock would be arriving with the Kuja Pirates!
"Oh, almost forgot, hahaha! Getting old makes you forgetful!" Zephyr didn't mind, looking back at Dante. "I was so busy yesterday I completely forgot about it. Right, I haven't asked yet! What do you need me for?"
===============
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