Hancock felt all her strength drain away under the effect of Seastone. Her beautiful face was smudged with dirt and blood, yet she still spoke with pride, "Insolent man, release me at once."
"Hmph, just a slave, yet still arrogant…" A middle-aged Marine sneered, then drove his fist into Hancock's face. Blood trickled from the corners of her mouth and nose, leaving her even more disheveled.
"Hancock…" Silvers Rayleigh lost focus for a moment, shaken by the sight of Luffy's death and Hancock's capture.
Saint Garling, who was battling Rayleigh, did not let the opportunity slip. In his transformed state, he exhaled a burst of flames that blocked Rayleigh's vision, then immediately suppressed his presence using Observation Haki.
"This is bad…" Rayleigh scanned his surroundings. Flames had already spread everywhere, and his brief lapse had cost him his ability to track Garling's presence. He pushed his Observation Haki to its limit, trying to locate him.
At that moment, Garling struck from behind.
By the time Rayleigh sensed the attack, it was already too late.
A sharp slash cut through the air.
In an instant, Rayleigh's right hand, the one holding his sword, was severed. Blood sprayed as his body was thrown backward.
Garling watched calmly, a faint hint of surprise in his eyes. "He still managed to avoid a fatal blow at the last moment… but losing his right hand means he's finished."
Rayleigh crashed to the ground, clutching the stump of his arm. Pain surged through him, but what weighed heavier was despair. That single moment of distraction had cost him everything.
Garling flicked the blood from his blade and advanced slowly. "Without your dominant hand, how much strength do you have left, Dark King Rayleigh?"
Meanwhile, Boa Hancock had already been restrained. A Celestial Dragon stepped forward, his gaze cold as he looked at the mark on her back.
"It really is slave number 77," he said with indifference. "A slave of the Celestial Dragons daring to escape is a crime punishable by death. When we return, I will make sure you understand your place. A slave is a slave for life."
Hancock's body trembled. Seastone cuffs and chains bound her limbs, draining her strength completely. The Marines who had restrained her had taken liberties, their actions filling her with disgust.
Seeing the Celestial Dragon before her, memories of her past flooded back. Fear overwhelmed her, and tears streamed down her face.
"No… please, no… I won't go back there… I'd rather die… Save me… Luffy… Rayleigh…"
The Celestial Dragon stepped on her face without hesitation.
"Silence, slave. Straw Hat Luffy is already dead."
His tone turned mocking. "Weak, yet foolish enough to strike a Celestial Dragon. That was always going to be his end."
Hancock trembled even more. She had believed Luffy was different, someone who could defy the world itself. But even he had fallen. No one could survive after attacking a Celestial Dragon.
Fear consumed her completely. She no longer dared to resist or speak out.
"And Rayleigh," the Celestial Dragon continued coldly, "has already lost his right hand. He'll be dead soon. But you… you will live. As long as I wish it, death will never come to you."
Those words crushed what remained of Hancock's will.
"Marines," he commanded loudly, "capture any women on this island. Kill if necessary. I will pay 100,000 Berries per slave."
Excited murmurs spread instantly.
"I don't want the ugly ones," he added casually. "You can keep them. Also, seventy percent of all treasure on this island will be confiscated. The rest is yours. This place has no reason to exist anymore."
The Marines erupted in cheers.
At that moment, they abandoned all restraint. The rules they once followed no longer mattered. Their gazes toward the Kuja warriors turned predatory.
The island descended into chaos.
Some Marines hesitated, troubled by the order, but none dared to oppose it.
On the battlefield, Rayleigh struggled to rise. Without his right hand, without his sword, he had no way to fight back.
A slash of sword energy struck across his waist, sending him crashing down again.
Blood filled his mouth as he looked up at Garling approaching.
"So this is how it ends…" Rayleigh said weakly.
Garling's expression remained cold. "You were at least entertaining. I'll give you ten seconds to say your last words."
Rayleigh let out a faint laugh. Memories surfaced in his mind, sailing with Gol D. Roger, crossing the seas in his youth. Then came the Kuja Pirates, and meeting Shakky.
He had never imagined that would become the life he would return to.
If there was regret, it was that he would never see her again.
Ten seconds passed.
"It seems you have nothing to say," Garling said. "Then die."
He raised his blade.
Just as it was about to fall, a strange sound echoed across the battlefield.
Drums.
Loud, rhythmic, and impossible to ignore.
Garling paused, his eyes narrowing.
Far away in the forest, Monkey D. Luffy lay motionless.
His body had already gone still.
Then, slowly, it began to change.
His skin turned pale, almost white. His silent heart suddenly beat again, each pulse echoing like a drum.
He rose to his feet.
The ground beneath him softened, turning into rubber, bouncing under his steps.
"Hahahahaha… what is this?" Luffy laughed, his voice filled with wild energy. "I thought I was dead… hahahaha…"
His hair and clothes had turned white, and clouds of white smoke-like energy curled around him.
"I don't get it," he continued, grinning widely. "But it feels like… I can do anything!"
His laughter rang across Amazon Lily.
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