Chapter 36: Lovesickness? — The Man Behind Momonga
Amazon Lily — Imperial Palace
The entire palace was in chaos.
Panic spread like wildfire.
The invincible Pirate Empress, the strongest woman in the kingdom had fallen ill.
No one could believe it.
The moment Hancock heard Rok and Luffy had rowed away, she collapsed onto her dragon bed flushed, burning with fever, legs weakly pressed together, looking utterly miserable.
Even Granny Nyon (Gloriosa), summoned in a hurry, was stunned.
How could this happen?!
"I… am I dying…? No… Rok hasn't even said goodbye… I don't want to die…"
Hancock murmured deliriously while the old woman examined her.
Sandersonia and the others were terrified.
How could someone as powerful as Hancock just drop like this?
Granny Nyon finished her diagnosis and sighed dramatically.
"Terminal illness? In a way, yes. It's lovesickness, child. I never thought I'd live to see the day the great Boa Hancock caught love fever."
The room went dead silent.
Lovesickness the fatal affliction every Amazon Lily empress seemed doomed to suffer.
If not cured, it could literally kill them.
Granny Nyon herself had once fled the island rather than face it.
And now Hancock the man-hating, world's-most-beautiful, Shichibukai-level Empress had fallen just as hard.
All because of one man.
What kind of monster was this Rok?!
Granny Nyon gave no medicine.
There was only one cure:
Bring the man back.
…
Meanwhile — offshore, nightfall
While Hancock burned up in bed,
Rok and Luffy had silently boarded Vice Admiral Momonga's warship.
Two patrol soldiers almost spotted them, but Rok knocked them out with a pulse of Conqueror's Haki before Luffy could start a riot.
"Remember, no random punching. We're ghosts tonight."
Sneaking through the corridors, Rok stopped outside the main control room.
He overheard Momonga on the Den Den Mushi:
"Yes, the Pirate Empress refused the mandatory summons today. I'll ask again tomorrow. If she still refuses… I'll remove the threat myself."
Rok smirked coldly.
Momonga was strong, but nowhere near Hancock's level.
Yet the man sounded confident.
Then Momonga pulled out a tiny vial.
"I still have a little Weapon X left. I don't know how Rok recovered, but the toxin is proven effective. One dose will cripple the Empress. After that, I can either kill her or drag her to Impel Down."
"Don't worry, Admiral Sakazuki. Leave it to me."
Click.
The call ended.
Rok's blood boiled.
So that's why Momonga had ambushed him with poison back then.
Akainu was pulling the strings.
Of course.
Absolute Justice didn't care about honor.
It only cared about results, even if it meant sacrificing civilians, using banned weapons, or backstabbing allies.
Akainu was the perfect blade for the World Government, dirty work and all.
Rok turned to Luffy.
"Go back to the boat. Wait for me. And whatever you do, don't get seen."
Luffy nodded and vanished into the shadows.
Rok slipped on the Sniper King mask he'd borrowed from Usopp.
Then, he kicked open the control room door.
"Who's there?!"
Momonga spun, sword flashing.
A powerful slash tore through the air.
HUM—
Rok raised one bare hand and caught the slash with his palm, silencing the impact so no alarm would sound.
Momonga's eyes nearly popped out.
An expert.
He reached for the alarm,
But in a blur faster than thought, Rok was already standing in front of him.
Momonga froze.
That speed…
"Who… are you?!"
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