Chapter 227 — Allies +1
"I was thinking…" Ace said quietly, his eyes dark with regret. "It would've been better if I had just killed that bastard."
"K–Kill… the Celestial Dragon?!"
Boa Hancock's eyes widened in shock. "Do you even understand the consequences of striking a Celestial Dragon?!"
Originally, Hancock had thought anyone who dared lay a hand on a Celestial Dragon was already a fool courting death.
But now, this man—Portgas D. Ace—not only struck one, he regretted not killing them outright.
"The consequences?" Ace smiled faintly. "Becoming an enemy of the World Government, right? Even without that incident… Marineford would've still happened."
His tone was calm, but his words carried the weight of someone who had already accepted his destiny.
His bloodline as the son of the Pirate King meant he was never destined to coexist peacefully with the World Government. And the Government, in turn, would never allow him to rise as the next Pirate King.
"It's not the same," Hancock said firmly, shaking her head. "Being an enemy of the World Government and being hated by the Celestial Dragons are two different things. If you had actually killed one of them… the Marines, the Admirals, even the Holy Knights— they would have erased you before any war could even begin!"
"To me," Ace said, smiling with quiet defiance, "it's all the same."
He leaned forward slightly. "You seem… unusually concerned about the Celestial Dragons. Mind telling me why?"
Of course, Ace already knew her past — that she and her sisters had once been enslaved by the Celestial Dragons.
But it was their deepest secret, one they guarded with their lives.
Ace wasn't about to bring it up himself. If Hancock was ever going to share it, it had to be her decision.
---
Hancock looked at him silently, her eyes flickering with conflict.
This man… so powerful, yet so sincere — he had bowed to thank her for saving his brother without hesitation.
He had waged war against a Four Emperor for the sake of three women his brother called saviors.
And now, he could speak of killing Celestial Dragons without the slightest fear.
Isn't this the kind of man I've been waiting for?
A man who dares to challenge even "Gods"?
Hancock hesitated — but after a long silence, she made up her mind.
The Pirate Empress stood up, turning her back to Ace.
Then, without a word, she slipped her robe from her shoulders.
Even though she wasn't facing him, her flawless figure made Ace's composure falter for just a moment.
He wasn't some dense fool like Luffy — he was very aware of what stood before him.
Still, he stayed silent, his gaze steady and respectful.
Hancock lifted her long black hair, revealing a branded mark burned into the smooth skin of her back.
"This… is the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon," she said softly, her voice trembling.
"It's the mark of the Celestial Dragons — the brand given to every living being they raise as a slave. It's the symbol of an inferior race, a scar that can never be erased."
Her voice quivered as she continued, "The Aijia… no — we three sisters — were once slaves of the Celestial Dragons."
Ace said nothing, listening quietly as Hancock spoke — her tone trembling, but her pride unbroken.
"We were only twelve years old when it happened…"
She began to tell him everything — how she and her sisters had been kidnapped by human traffickers, sold at auction in the Holy Land Mary Geoise, and branded as property of the Celestial Dragons.
Years later, when Fisher Tiger, the "Adventurer" and leader of the Sun Pirates, climbed the Red Line and stormed Mary Geoise to free the slaves, they escaped amidst the chaos.
Saved and brought back to Amazon Lily by Elder Nyon, Hancock and her sisters covered the brands on their backs and rose to power — Hancock eventually becoming the Pirate Empress, captain of the Kuja Pirates, and ruler of Amazon Lily.
Throughout her story, the only name she spoke with gratitude was Fisher Tiger — the man who had risked everything to free those the world had forsaken.
---
Ace let out a quiet sigh as Hancock's tale came to an end.
He could imagine how much pain and struggle she had endured to rise to where she stood now — how that pain had shaped her into the proud, guarded woman she had become.
When she finally finished, Hancock turned toward him with uncertainty in her eyes.
"Do you… look down on me?" she asked quietly. "On us… for once being slaves?"
Ace stepped forward without hesitation.
He reached out and gently pulled her into his arms.
"That's exactly why," he murmured, his voice low and steady, "I said I regretted not killing that scumbag."
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Though Hancock stood taller than most women — nearly one meter ninety — Ace, at one eighty-five, held her close with quiet strength.
Then, releasing her, Ace looked her in the eyes and said with absolute conviction,
"One day… I'll drag those self-proclaimed 'descendants of the Creator' down from the heavens with my own hands."
Hancock's eyes widened, her breath catching.
"Really…? Will that day truly come?" she whispered.
"It will," Ace said firmly, a smile tugging at his lips. "And it won't be far off. That's a promise."
---
Hancock covered her face with her hands, her body trembling. Then, unable to hold back, she squatted down and began to sob softly.
After a moment, she looked up, eyes glistening.
"Your Excellency Fire Emperor…" she said, voice breaking. "If that day truly comes — please, call on me. Even if it means facing that darkness again… I want to see those wretched gods fall with my own eyes."
Her tone, her words — even the way she referred to herself — had changed.
From "Aijia" to "I"… to "concubine."
It marked the shift in her heart — from suspicion, to belief, to respect.
Whether that would someday become love as it once did in another timeline, who could say?
But this Hancock was no naive fool blindly in love with Luffy.
---
"Of course," Ace said with a grin. "If you're willing to stand with me, that would be incredible. As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, your power carries weight across the world."
"Of course!" Hancock lifted her chin proudly, confidence radiating from her. "The beauty and strength of Boa Hancock are both unmatched!"
Ace chuckled. "Then we have an agreement."
She blushed faintly. "Also… you can just call me Hancock. You don't have to say 'Empress' all the time."
"Got it," Ace said warmly. "And you can just call me Ace. So… I suppose that makes us allies?"
"Of course," Hancock said, her smile bright as sunlight breaking through clouds.
"No matter what powerful enemies you face — my Kuja Pirates will always be your most loyal allies."
"Perfect," Ace said, grinning broadly.
With the Empress of Amazon Lily as an ally, his strength had grown once again.
And if he was being honest with himself… that wasn't the only reason he was smiling.
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