At the same time.
The sky above the sea seethed with storm clouds, and the wind carried the briny scent of salt.
On the deck of his private airship, the president of the World Economy News Paper, Morgans, snapped the den den mushi shut with a sharp click.
"Change course immediately! I don't want the World Government tracking me!" Morgans squawked, spreading his wings.
"Yes, Lord Morgans!!" his subordinates replied, rushing to carry out the order.
With everything in order, Morgans leaned back in his luxurious chair, idly spinning a quill between his talons. His massive beak curved into a satisfied grin.
Kakakakaka.
Suddenly, one of his machines began to clatter. A new bounty order was spat out from the press. He snatched it up in his sharp claws, and as his eyes scanned the paper, they gleamed with journalistic greed.
"Five billion berries…!? Kaaakakakaka!!"
His booming laughter shook the room.
"That's already comparable to Whitebeard's bounty! Heh. He doesn't have territory, no consolidated fleet, and his subordinates don't even come close to the strength of Kaidou, Big Mom, or Blackbeard himself… and yet… hahahaha! That Straw Hat may be the only true Emperor who doesn't play by the rotten rules of this game."
His feathers bristling with excitement, Morgans immediately began rewriting the headline, exaggerating here and there, seasoning every phrase with the "oil and vinegar" only a sensationalist journalist could master.
---xXx---
Grand Line, Amazon Lily.
Two veterans of the old era stepped onto solid ground.
Rayleigh wrung out his soaked shirt and burst into laughter.
"Hah! I'm too old to be swimming across the Calm Belt, Shakky. Getting far too old for this madness."
Beside him, Shakky — impeccable even after the crossing — merely adjusted the cigarette on her lips. Her clothes were practically dry, save for a few faint water stains. Riding on Rayleigh's back was almost a privilege, but even that didn't make her immune to the tossing waves.
She opened a freshly delivered newspaper and murmured as she slowly exhaled smoke:
"Luffy really… does the unexpected."
Rayleigh tilted his head with a smile.
"Invading the Holy Land… hehehe, that reminds me of Roger. Always so good at stirring up a storm."
"Don't compare them, Ray." Shakky smirked faintly. "Roger had courage, yes, but he wouldn't dare go that far. That boy… he's special. The craziest of them all."
Before the old man could reply, Shakky calmly put out her cigarette and said:
"Rayleigh, stay here. You know the rules of Amazon Lily. I'll go check on Hancock."
Rayleigh only laughed, but as soon as she left, he pulled a small wine jug from his bag. When he tried to drink, only a single drop fell.
"Tsk…" He clicked his tongue.
---xXx---
Amazon Lily
The sea breeze flowed through the open balcony, making the long crimson curtains billow like sails. The warm scent of salt and incense drifted through the hall, mingling with the heavy silence that ruled the chamber. At the center stood the imperial throne, carved with oceanic motifs and enameled to shimmer like scales. Upon it, Hancock sat motionless — a living statue.
Sitting with her legs pressed together, elbows on her knees, and her hands cupping her cheeks — a fragile gesture, as though holding together what threatened to shatter — the empress gazed into a point that existed only within herself. Outwardly, her majesty remained intact; inwardly, a storm of emotions battered the walls of her composure.
"Sister?" Sandersonia's voice broke the silence. She and Marigold exchanged a look heavy with worry and dismay. This scene had repeated every day since Hancock's return: short days, restless nights, and that ritual of quietness.
"She's been like this ever since she came back," Marigold said, leaning against a column. Her face was a mix of respect and impatience. "What kind of power does Luffy have, to leave her like this?"
Suddenly, another voice echoed through the hall:
"Hancock. Mary. Sonia."
Shakky emerged from behind a tapestry, moving with the familiarity of one who knew every stone of the palace.
"Shakky?" Hancock lifted her face, surprised for the first time in days.
"Why did you return?" Sandersonia asked, equally stunned.
"Luffy stirred up trouble in the Sabaody Archipelago… and my bar ended up right in the middle of the circus."
Casually, Shakky handed her a newspaper.
"News about him. You should read it."
"About Luffy!?"
The instant his name was spoken, the air seemed to thicken. Hancock snatched the newspaper as if it were a sacred charm. Her eyes raced across the letters and images with reverent hunger; each word cut deep. When she finished, her expression crumbled. Her eyes brimmed with tears that overflowed without restraint.
"Sister!?" Marigold rushed to her, panicked. She grabbed the newspaper, flipped through it, and as she read, her face went pale: "What?! That idiot… invaded Mariejois and killed 39 Celestial Dragons!?"
"What?!" Sandersonia ran closer, equally shocked.
Shakky let out a dense puff of smoke.
"You haven't been keeping up with the news. Luffy had already killed three Celestial Dragons back in Sabaody."
Hancock wiped her tears with the back of her hand, but more came — hot and unrelenting.
"He… he must have done it for me…" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Shakky only sighed, helpless. She doubted it. Surely Luffy had reasons for his actions, but those weren't it.
Suddenly, Hancock gasped. Her brows furrowed as her body shook. Seized by an invisible pain, she clutched her chest and collapsed, like a puppet with its strings severed. Her body struck the carpet with a dull thud. The newspaper spun in the air before vanishing into the folds of a tapestry.
"Sister!!" Sandersonia rushed in desperation, cradling her body; Marigold followed close behind, pale with fear.
"What's happening to me…?" Hancock's voice was faint, barely a whisper.
"Love sickness."
Shakky's words hung in the air, heavy with gravity. She stepped forward slowly, drawing on her cigarette, and continued:
"The women of Amazon Lily carry this curse in their hearts. When they fall in love with a man and cannot see him for too long, their longing turns to poison. Shortness of breath, fainting, pains that eat away at them inside. Our grandmothers called it 'love sickness.' I went through it myself."
"This feels so unbearable…" Hancock pressed her hand to her chest, eyes wet. "Am I… going to die?"
"No, you won't." Shakky shook her head, though something in her voice was strange. "But it's curious… didn't you sleep with Luffy? Aren't you pregnant?"
The sisters exchanged startled looks.
"Pregnant!?" Hancock repeated, as if the word itself were too absurd to exist.
Shakky explained calmly:
"If a woman becomes pregnant, the curse weakens considerably. As though the new life burns away the poison of longing. That's why, since ancient times, many here sought… quick solutions. And, almost always… the child born is a girl."
The word echoed in Hancock's mind like a tolling bell: pregnant… pregnant…
"So it was only a rumor?" Shakky murmured, frowning at Hancock's reaction.
The silence that followed weighed like lead. Even Sandersonia and Marigold seemed shaken, even they almost believed it.
Finally, Shakky rubbed her temple, uneasy.
"This is troublesome. We need to send someone to contact Luffy immediately. If he doesn't come soon, Hancock's condition could worsen very quickly…"
"Eh!?" the two sisters cried in unison, anguish dripping from their voices.
(End of chapter)