Empress Boa Hancock suddenly and seductively extended a slender finger toward her soft, delicate lips. Like teasing a lover, she gently kissed it. In the next moment, a pink heart formed from her cherry lips and hovered above her elegant finger.
With a single motion, Hancock touched the back of the heart with one hand. It clung to her pale, jade-like hand and stretched backward along her arm like a drawn bowstring, transforming into the shape of a bow.
Her bright, piercing eyes locked onto Luffy and everyone beside him.
Though every warrior of the Kuja Tribe chooses their own weapon upon reaching adulthood, there is one weapon every single one of them must master,
The weapon that begins it all: the bow and arrow.
On Amazon Lily, even someone without great strength or agility would still be a deadly marksman, capable of hitting a target dead-on from a hundred paces.
As the strongest warrior among the Kuja, Hancock's understanding of archery was on another level.
The heart-shaped bow was now fully drawn, the pink arrow aimed directly at Luffy.
"Sigh... What a pain," Luffy muttered, shaking his head. Things were developing beyond his expectations.
Whether it was the Empress's sudden appearance or her unreasonably overbearing attitude, none of it had gone how he imagined.
If possible, he truly didn't want to fight Hancock. After all, behind her stood the might of an entire nation.
But… that wasn't the main issue.
The real problem was, this was a kingdom entirely made up of women!
"Slave Arrow!"
Hancock's soft lips parted as she released the drawn bow. In an instant, countless heart-shaped arrows erupted from the pink heart. Though their tips looked like lovely hearts, they carried a mysterious, overwhelming force as they rained down toward Luffy and his crew.
Luffy had never underestimated Hancock's power. She was nothing like Moria or Crocodile, the kind of warlords who had been driven out of the New World after defeat.
She possessed Haoshoku Haki, the Conqueror's Haki, and had already passed her stage of explosive growth. At this point in her life, over 70% of her body's potential had been developed.
Among the original Warlords of the Sea, Hancock was easily within the top three. Luffy couldn't quite tell her exact rank, but she was definitely one of the strongest.
As for his own physical stats, they were probably still less than half of hers.
Luckily, combat wasn't all about raw stats.
Thanks to the system's buffs, Luffy was extremely confident in his offensive power, more than enough to make up for what he lacked elsewhere.
So no, there was no reason to fear Hancock.
Just as Luffy was about to act in the face of thousands of mysterious heart-shaped arrows, Robin suddenly stepped forward. Spreading her arms, she traced a symbol in the air before clapping her hands together. The Cloud Ring on her finger burst into radiant light.
A purple flame ignited from the ring, forming a chain of energy that extended infinitely from her fingers, wrapping around her entire body.
"Cien Fleur: Slap!"
The purple fire surged violently from Robin's body, and her eyes burned with fierce rage.
She would not forgive anyone who dared to attack Luffy, not even a pirate empress with a face as beautiful as a goddess.
The violet blaze roared skyward. Within the inferno, countless petals danced chaotically before converging into a single massive palm, over a hundred meters wide, like the hand of a celestial giant descending from the heavens. It came crashing down upon both Hancock and her arrows.
But Hancock neither dodged nor flinched. Her gaze remained calm, and a mocking smirk curled at the corner of her lips.
The giant palm collided with the rain of heart-shaped arrows.
Robin's face suddenly twisted in pain. Gritting her teeth, she forced more purple fire from her body, feeding it into the palm to further amplify the power of her Hana Hana no Mi.
The pink arrows struck the giant palm, not causing any destruction, but only a ripple, before they melted into it.
However, once merged, the previously soft and vibrant palm began to turn to stone under Hancock's power.
In moments, the entire giant hand had become a massive stone sculpture, resembling a five-fingered mountain. It crashed between the two sides with a thunderous impact and shattered apart.
Cold sweat ran down Robin's forehead. Unable to hold on any longer, she cried out, her aura collapsing. She reverted to her usual delicate self, her consciousness fading as she fell backward.
But Luffy had expected this. In a flash, he appeared behind her and caught her in his arms.
One had to know, the limbs and organs created by Robin's Devil Fruit shared the same pain receptors as her real body.
In that brief instant, Robin had experienced millions of instances of her arms being petrified. Even with her explosive growth after two months of training, she couldn't withstand such an intense mental assault.
The others began to panic. After months of joint training, the four of them had grown familiar with one another's strengths.
If weirdness and unpredictability were the measure, then Brook's soul attacks were unmatched.
But in terms of overall strength, Robin was clearly their best, with the highest burst power, combat capability, perception, and stamina.
And yet even Robin, this powerful, was nearly knocked unconscious by a single probing attack.
Brook and the others, who had been eager to jump into action just moments ago, suddenly felt as though they'd been doused in cold water. Their fighting Mental Power vanished.
They understood, this was no longer a fight they could take part in.
No wonder Luffy had said they were here to "watch the fight," not to "join" the fight.
This sea was just too dangerous. Any random opponent who popped up could turn out to be a monster of this caliber.
Absalom suddenly had the urge to switch careers. Maybe becoming a paparazzo wasn't such a bad idea…
"Tch! A lowly wench like her dares to attack me? How laughable!" Hancock scoffed arrogantly, casting a disdainful glance at the unconscious Robin.
BOOM!!!
Suddenly, a deafening rumble echoed across the sky, clear skies split by a thunderclap, thunder rolling like crashing waves across the heavens.
Luffy's eyes turned cold.
From those piercing pupils, a crushing aura descended upon the haughty Empress.
He swore to himself, today, this woman would learn what it meant to suffer the consequences of her words.
His comrades might lose a fight…
But no one,
No one gets to insult them.
After handing Robin over to Brook, Luffy turned sharply. A torrent of overwhelming energy began to gather in the center of his palm.
"Hold on, Luffy-san! That grudge against Robin-san… would you mind if I take care of it for you? Kukukukuku…"
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