Alarms rang across Kuja Island. Every Amazon warrior—whether she had mastered Haki or not—grabbed a weapon. Serpent bows were strung tight, short-swords and long-blades strapped on, quivers filled, and the women poured onto the walls.
Outwardly it looked like chaos, yet the Kuja leadership was remarkably calm. Leo had warned them for ten days straight that this moment would come, drilling the idea into even the dullest heads.
So Boa Hancock—wielder of Conqueror's Haki—opened the island's great gate without hesitation. Two enormous, venomous Sea Kings hauled the Kuja Pirates' ship-palace forward into open water.
---
On the deck of a single Marine battleship, a thin elderly woman in a justice coat folded her arms and chuckled as the Kuja vessel emerged.
"To appear at their doorstep and still show no fear… what magnificent composure."
Leo, standing behind Hancock and peering through a spyglass, didn't recognize the woman's face, but there was only one senior female officer of such stature.
"That must be Vice Admiral Tsuru."
She was a target he hoped to win over—just not today.
"Tsuru, Garp, and Sengoku form the Marine's iron triangle," Leo explained softly to the Kuja officers around him. "Those three pillars kept the World Government from collapsing against Rocks, against the Pirate King Roger, against Whitebeard."
"Each is powerful and astute. Garp seems carefree, yet in grand strategy he's often the clearest thinker of the three. Sengoku is famed as a strategist, but Tsuru's mind is every bit as sharp. Many of the Navy's greatest plans sprang from that trio."
Through the lens he studied the sailors on deck.
"Most of them are women—insurance against your Love-Love Fruit."
Two figures stood out:
A tall beauty with long black hair and a sheathed tachi—future admiral candidate Momousagi (Gion).
A pink-haired woman in a burgundy suit and sunglasses—Hina of the Cage-Cage Fruit, a contemporary of Smoker.
At this point in the timeline, Gion was probably only a commander or rear admiral, while Hina was likely still a junior officer. Tsuru clearly trusted their abilities: if Hancock rejected the World Government's offer, battle could erupt instantly, and those two were the key to keeping ordinary Marines alive.
Leo frowned at the lone battleship.
"So the Government must have just finished its first Seastone-plated warship and rushed it here to intimidate you."
Hancock's eyes flashed: If I seize that ship, could I stall the Government's plans—and steal their Calm Belt navigation secrets? As for the crew… well, killing Marines never troubled her conscience.
Gloriosa read her mind in an instant.
"Your Majesty, stick to the plan," she warned quietly.
Yet Hancock turned to Leo for confirmation. Gloriosa's heart sank: In only a few days she trusts him more than me?
Leo's answer matched Gloriosa's.
"Accept the offer—but on your terms. Be overbearing. Petrify as many as you like, then negotiate with old Lady Tsuru. Show strength first; they'll swallow outrageous conditions afterward."
Hancock understood. Display power, then bargain.
And arrogance? She had plenty.
"Sandersonia, Marigold—come with me."
"Yes, Sister."
One sea serpent swung its head onto the deck. Hancock—1.9 meters tall—stepped onto the massive skull; her sisters, both over four meters, joined her. Only then did Leo grasp the Sea King's true size: over forty meters long, its head alone ten meters above the water—Amazon Lily's strategic weapon.
No wonder she's worthy of the Warlord title, he thought, cloaked and watching through the glass.
Hancock's entrance was dazzling. Most male Marines fell instantly for her beauty—and everyone who swooned met the same fate:
Stone. Every last one of them.