Of course, part of the reason was also that the sheer scale of pure energy had been far too vast.
But no matter what, it was a terrifying power the warriors of Kuja Island could not understand, could not counter, and did not even dare think of resisting.
From that moment onward, even though they knew the war had ended because their Empress had surrendered, they would not blame Hancock for it.
On one hand, her beauty naturally earned forgiveness. On the other, their opponent truly had been invincible.
Surrender was better than annihilation, was it not?
For a pirate nation that worshiped strength, showing how powerful one's fist was worked far faster than simply reasoning with words.
So much so that a certain voice began to spread among the people of Kuja.
They still believed the Empress was Kuja's emperor.
But they also believed Ren was Kuja's uncrowned king.
Above the emperor, there was still a king!
And so, Ren's journey to Kuja's treasury went exceedingly smoothly.
He had merely asked the guardian warriors about it, and someone immediately volunteered to lead him to the treasury's location.
Yes, Hancock did not know.
To be precise, after the blow she suffered in that battle, Hancock had somewhat shut herself away.
At present, she was not handling any affairs.
Granny Nyon and the two sisters, who had heard the news, hesitated again and again, wanting to speak yet stopping themselves, stopping themselves yet wanting to speak, before ultimately saying nothing.
What could they say?
The survival of this country now depended entirely on that man's whim.
Even if Ren had released a great deal of energy and seemed to have left an opening, no one would forget the nightmare they had witnessed that night.
Blades, gunfire, Devil Fruit abilities, and all manner of attacks could wound him, even sever his limbs and head.
However, the man named Ren had never truly died.
Rather than saying they had injured him, it was more like an unusual form of "sweating."
The doors to Kuja's treasury opened without trouble.
Ren entered and began harvesting his spoils.
The items inside the treasury had been accumulated over many long years. There were more than two billion Beli in reserve, but more than that, there were hard currencies such as food, minerals, wine, and the like.
Recharge. Draw. Data refresh.
{Chip Balance: 500 million}
{Diamond Roulette Progress Count: 18}
Yes, Ren had just drawn from the Diamond Roulette once.
Thanks to his fortune, he had once again obtained a chip he absolutely needed right now.
[Word Spirit: Don't Die]
[Origin: Dragon Raja World / ???]
[Type: Rule Blessing]
[Effect: A special power originating from the Dragon Raja World, modified through the interference of an unknown existence and fixed into a blessing-type ability.
The holder will obtain the protection of a Word Spirit and may designate a living target as the subject of the blessing.
The effect of this Word Spirit is exactly as its name implies: it strongly rejects death and, in practical terms, delays the arrival of death.
Using willpower as the determining condition, a willpower check will be performed once every twenty-four hours. As time passes, the intensity and frequency of the checks will increase.
If the check is passed, the target will re-enter the checking process. In this state, death will be delayed indefinitely.
The blessed target's actions, abilities, thoughts, and other aspects will be fixed at peak condition.
However, it should be noted that accumulated injuries will not vanish out of thin air. They will still remain on the blessed target.
Furthermore, as injuries continue to accumulate, they will keep worsening until irreversible trauma is formed. During this period, the effects caused by fatal injuries will be exempted.
At the same time, the target can still receive treatment and healing. Once freed from the shadow of death, the blessing will enter a cooldown state—once every three days.
If the checking process fails, the target will die immediately and cannot be used as resurrection material.]
[Cost: None]
This was the gain from this draw.
Ren raised his brow slightly.
"A fairly powerful prize. At the same time, it possesses that unique trait of the Diamond Prize Pool: once a certain condition can be fulfilled infinitely, it becomes especially terrifying.
"If one's willpower is strong enough and healing methods can keep up, then perhaps this ability could truly turn someone into an undying war god in the truest sense.
"But for me, it doesn't mean much. The HP bar setting already has a similar ability. As long as my will remains tenacious enough, I can survive even if only one hand remains.
"However, the HP bar setting only applies to myself, while Word Spirit: Don't Die can be used on others, achieving an effect that is practically miraculous.
"And most importantly, it fixes the target at peak condition."
Ren's gaze fell on that line of description. This was the chip he wanted most.
What he intended to do was actually very simple: make a peak Whitebeard appear on the battlefield of the Marineford War.
The Celestial Dragons were a chip.
The Word Spirit was also a chip.
In the next two years, the Marines had to suffer a devastating blow, so they would not interfere with Ren's actions against the Four Emperors and his series of plans.
Tap—tap—tap.
Amid the sound of high heels striking the floor, Hancock, wrapped tightly in a pink coat, appeared outside the treasury.
She did not seem to have come looking for Ren. She simply wanted to take something from here.
"Why are you blocking the way? I wish to inspect the treasury."
"Lady Snake Princess…"
"If you have something to say, say it quickly!"
"N-no… nothing…"
A group of guards stammered and hesitated. They wanted to stop her, yet did not dare. In the end, they could only cluster around Hancock and enter the treasury with her.
Then they saw Ren rummaging through boxes and cabinets, as well as the Kuja warriors standing nearby and helping him.
Hancock froze for a moment, then instinctively backed up and checked the layout.
For a second, she almost thought she had walked into the wrong place.
But it seemed she had not.
Then… why was this bastard here?
No, more importantly, why had the treasury been entered so easily?!
"Um… Lady Snake Princess."
Gorse, who had always served Hancock, had been stammering the whole way. Only now did she finally force herself to speak.
"Just now, Lord Ren said he wanted to come to the treasury. With the tacit permission of the royal sisters, we opened it for him."
It sounded like a perfectly normal reason.
At least, it would have—if one did not think about how two days ago they had still been fighting Ren to the death, yet now they had already started calling him Lord Ren.
"Hah! What do you mean, he wanted to come so you opened the door? And tacit permission?!"
Hancock was so angry she nearly laughed.
What did they mean by her royal sisters' tacit permission?!
It was clearly because of the great upheaval, their defeat, and the overwhelming difference in strength that a portion of Kuja's warriors had shifted their loyalty!
Granny Nyon had been right.
From the moment she, the emperor, lowered her head, Ren had become Kuja's uncrowned king!
Gorse looked at Lady Snake Princess, whose chest was rising and falling violently, and lowered her head timidly, not daring to speak.
She knew Lady Snake Princess was angry.
But… there was no helping it, was there?
"If we resisted to the end, the country would be destroyed. In that case, whether it was the treasury or the emperor, none of it would have any meaning."
Kuja was a country that worshiped strength.
But whether it was banding together or pursuing martial power, all of it was for the sake of surviving in the harsh environment of the Calm Belt.
For survival, they Kuja people had developed enormous differences from outsiders.
For example, differences in aesthetics.
Regardless of body type, appearance, or habits, as long as one possessed enough strength, that was the greatest beauty.
And right now, standing at the peak of all Kuja Island…
there was only Lord Ren, who was currently lowering his head in thought!
The one unchanging aspect of their strength-worshiping mindset was that they followed in the footsteps of the powerful.
Who the powerful one was had never mattered.
Whoever could allow them to survive better was their "emperor!"
When Gorse lowered her head, the nearby Kuja warriors also lowered their heads instinctively.
After all, Hancock was still their emperor. The emperor's wrath was not something they could bear.
However…
"What are you arguing about?"
Ren raised his head, his gaze sweeping over them before meeting Hancock's eyes.
The latter's aura immediately stalled. After meeting his gaze for just a few short seconds, she instinctively looked away.
Beneath her thick clothing, her delicate body could not help shrinking slightly as she recalled the experience of being violently slammed left and right that day.
Psychological trauma.jpg!
"Come here."
Ren said this, and the only person in the treasury who matched the content of his words…
was Hancock.
"…"
No.
She could not show this kind of attitude.
At the very least, not in front of her subordinates.
Hancock crossed her arms in front of her chest and first gave an order in a low voice.
"All of you, leave."
"…Yes…"
Amid scattered replies, some Kuja warriors lifted their feet. But when they heard that the number of responses did not sound right,
they immediately realized that the others were extremely hesitant about withdrawing. They followed suit, slowing their steps and even stopping.
Hancock's beautiful brows furrowed, and she was just about to say something.
Then she noticed their gazes secretly sneaking toward the front!
"Withdraw. Do not allow anyone in or out of this place for now."
Ren raised his brow slightly.
The moment his voice fell, all the Kuja warriors subconsciously let out sighs of relief.
Although the sound was very light, because so many people sighed at once, that mixed exhale was especially piercing to the ear.
Just who exactly was Kuja's emperor?!
Hancock felt a ball of fire explode inside her heart and could not help taking a deep breath to suppress herself.
Footsteps retreated like the tide. Then the treasury doors closed.
"What are you doing here?"
After adjusting her state of mind, Hancock walked closer and said with a cold face, "Do you truly think you are some uncrowned king?"
"Something like that is useless if it is only said out loud. Reality is the best standard."
Ren laughed mockingly without the slightest mercy.
"…Kuja has never had a man as its emperor."
"I never said I wanted to be your emperor. Hmm… perhaps I could be the emperor's man?"
"I told you before. Sooner or later, I will kill you!"
Hancock's stunningly beautiful face was as cold as frost. She had submitted because of various factors, but that did not mean she did not want to kill Ren.
"Compared to empty fantasies, let's talk about practical problems first."
Ren patted the treasure chest beside him with interest.
"You came here because you wanted to obtain some bargaining chips, right?
"But I don't think that has any meaning. After all, from the moment you were defeated, your future and theirs already became mine.
"Of course, it's still the same as I said before. You can go back on your word, stab me in the back, or do whatever else you want.
"As long as you can bear the price!"
At this point, Ren's expression turned cold. There was no longer even the slightest hint of lust in his eyes.
Hancock instinctively shrank her neck and once again remembered the shadow of being violently slammed around that day.
"…I never said anything like that."
She chose to show weakness and changed the subject.
"I merely wish to know what you intend to make Kuja do."
"Nothing much. After all—you are all very weak."
Ren rubbed his chin, scattering the chill from just now.
While openly appreciating Hancock's frustrated expression as she dared to be angry but did not dare speak, he said, "What I need is a hidden base. Kuja Island's geographical position is fairly good.
"But if you truly want to know, I can tell you what your enemies in the future will be."
(End of Chapter)