Perhaps it was a woman's sixth sense kicking in, but Hancock always felt that the look in this woman's eyes when she said the name 'Uzumaki Naruto' seemed somewhat familiar.
It was almost like something she often saw herself, though she couldn't quite place it at the moment.
"Don't get in my way."
Hancock struck her signature pose of the Pirate Empress. She didn't like the woman before her and had not the slightest interest in exchanging even half a sentence more with her.
After saying this, she directly ignored the Stussy in front of her and walked toward the interior of the island.
Following closely behind Hancock were several dozen Amazon Lily's warriors proficient in Haki.
These were not inexperienced novices from Amazon Lily who had never been to sea or experienced battle.
Even though they were currently being watched by countless eyes, these warriors of the Kuja Pirates showed not a hint of fear, all marching forward with their heads held high.
Even the two sisters who had always tried to stop Hancock now assumed the posture befitting guardians in front of outsiders.
"Speaking of which, Pirate Empress, did you receive Big Mom's invitation as well? One can't be considered a guest without an invitation letter." Stussy said, blocking the enraged Lucci and the others, watching Hancock who ignored her and walked away with a smile on her face.
"Invitation letter? I have as many of those as I want."
The tall Second Princess, Sandersonia, directly took out a small stack of invitation letters from her skimpy clothing and threw them out.
The snow-white papers fluttered down like willow catkins, causing the face of the Big Mom Pirates to fall to the ground along with them.
Seeing this, Stussy narrowed her eyes slightly and didn't say anything more.
'Boa Hancock's interference meant the World Government's plans were likely to run into problems. It seemed we might actually have to step in and help next.'
'At the very least, we had to show the right attitude.'
Since the tea party and Big Mom's engagement ceremony were officially scheduled for tomorrow, most of the important guests who should have arrived were already here by today.
Those still left on the docks were all subordinate forces of the Big Mom Pirates.
Having witnessed two [Ministers] being effortlessly defeated by the Pirate Empress, they naturally had no intention of standing up for them.
Although the Pirate Empress's reputation wasn't particularly well-known in the New World, she was, after all, a Warlord of the Sea on the same level as Doflamingo, [Tyrant] Kuma, and Hawk-Eye.
The power or strength of these individuals wasn't something small fries like them could afford to provoke. It was better to just watch the show quietly.
Anyway, Big Mom surely wouldn't turn a blind eye to this.
Perospero, whose ultimate move had been casually negated by Hancock earlier, had not left. Even as the Kuja Pirates' members approached him, Perospero did not take a single step back.
"Boa Hancock, it seems you really don't care about your country anymore."
"You actually dare to cause trouble during Mama's tea party."
"Just wait. Once Mama makes her move, destroying your Amazon Lily will be destroyed."
"At that time, every single one of you-"
Perospero's expression was fierce, and he wasn't just bluffing.
Others might find it difficult to attack Amazon Lily due to its location in the Calm Belt, but this was hardly a problem for Big Mom, who could create Homies at will.
Threatening family and comrades was also standard practice for the Big Mom Pirates.
But today, it didn't work on Hancock.
He hadn't even finished speaking before she interrupted him.
"Tell me, am I beautiful?"
Hancock stood at 1.9 meters tall, but her presence overwhelmed the 3-meter-tall Perospero.
She was completely unmoved by his threats, instead fixing her deep black eyes on Perospero.
"You... you..." Hearing Hancock's question, Perospero's attention instantly focused on her face.
Even as an enemy, Perospero couldn't bring himself to dishonestly deny Hancock's charm.
Due to Big Mom's 'love' for all races, the vast majority of Perospero's dozens of siblings were oddities of varying appearances.
Those who could be considered 'good-looking' were few and far between.
But that didn't mean Perospero's aesthetic sense had changed along with it.
The Pirate Empress was arguably one of the pinnacles of beauty on these seas, and the number of people who could rival her could be counted on one hand.
Before Perospero could answer, a pink light enveloped him completely.
[Mero Mero Mellow]
Perospero's thoughts instantly halted, and he followed in Oven's footsteps.
The current Hancock was completely different from the one in the original work.
During a long period of time spent with a certain man, to ensure she had enough ability to protect herself, that guy had trained her relentlessly.
That despicable man simply didn't treat her, a great beauty, as a woman.
Not only did he use a training regimen learned from who-knows-where that was downright cruel-
But he also never held back during sparring sessions. If he said he was going to hit, he definitely meant it.
If Hancock hadn't been exceptionally talented, she might not have survived that training.
But paying this price had its results.
The current Hancock didn't need to strike that hand-to-heart pose to casually release the light of the Mero Mero no Mi. (T/N: Love-Love Fruit.)
Her draw was much faster than before.
Besides that, her application and mastery of all forms of Haki were truly top-notch.
From escaping the Celestial Dragons at age sixteen to now, at twenty-nine, thirteen years had passed.
Not a single day had she slacked off in her training.
If you were to ask what had been sustaining her.
It was a dream.
One day, Hancock would find that wretched man who broke his promise and abandoned her back home.
Then, she would use the strength she had gained through years of arduous training to give him a sound beating.
After that, she would lock him up on Amazon Lily and make him obediently become her 'queen'.
A very domineering dream, and now, it was close enough to touch.
With Oven and Perospero no longer blocking the way, the Kuja Pirates moved through the outskirts of Whole Cake Island as if they owned the place.
Most of Big Mom's children were currently busy decorating the banquet venue or rushing to prepare the food needed for the wedding.
As the strongest among all the Ministers, Katakuri not only had to ensure Orochimaru was kept under his watchful eye but also had to coordinate the overall situation.
"Why hasn't Perospero arrived yet?"
Katakuri asked his sister Brulee, who was beside him. Coordinating this task should have been Perospero's job.
"I don't know, Katakuri-nii."
In front of Katakuri, Brulee, who looked like an 'old witch', still maintained a girlish demeanor.
In fact, she was originally quite good-looking, but she was disfigured after being attacked as a child. Later, she angered Big Mom and had a large portion of her lifespan extracted, which led to her current appearance.
Seeing that Doflamingo had already arrived at the scene, but Perospero was nowhere to be seen, Katakuri felt uneasy.
'Something is wrong.'
Soon, his premonition came true.
Brulee communicated with some Homies through a mirror and learned everything that had happened at the dock.
She quickly relayed this information to Katakuri.
"Katakuri-nii, should we report this to Mama?"
"You go, Brulee."
Katakuri suddenly stood up, looking into the distance, and spoke without turning his head.
"They're already here."
Brulee looked in the direction Katakuri was facing.
There, the figure of the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, had already appeared. Behind her were several dozen Amazon Lily's warriors with arrows nocked and ready.
Each arrow was imbued with Haki. At Hancock's command, they would not hesitate to attack.
"Later, keep an eye on this guy."
He signaled Brulee with his eyes to find an opportunity to take Orochimaru away from the scene.
Then, Katakuri turned his head to look at Hancock ahead and shouted loudly.
"Pirate Empress, revert Perospero and Oven back to normal, and I might still spare your life."
As the [Perfect Creation] and [Undefeated Myth] of the Charlotte Family, his every word and action represented the stance of the entire Big Mom Pirates.
Moreover, in front of so many guests attending the tea party, even for the honor of the Big Mom Pirates, he could not afford to make any compromises.
If possible, Katakuri didn't want a fight to break out here either.
After all, for strong individuals at their level, once a battle broke out, the commotion would definitely be significant.
He glanced subtly at Orochimaru, who showed not a hint of fear and was still curiously sizing up the opposite side with interest.
'At the very least, this guy couldn't be caught in the crossfire.'
And the moment after he said this, Katakuri's Observation Haki, capable of briefly foreseeing the future, already transmitted the next scene into his mind.
[Perfume Femur]
A kick wrapped in Haki arrived in front of Katakuri at an extremely high speed, not even giving him time to 'mochify' his body to dodge.
When Katakuri faced ordinary enemies, he could often rely on his exceptional Observation Haki and the properties of the [Mochi Mochi no Mi] to achieve a 'pseudo-elementalization' similar to that of a Logia fruit, thus ignoring the enemy's physical attacks. (T/N: Mochi-Mochi Fruit.)
"Square Mochi!"
But the Pirate Empress was completely different from any enemy he had faced before. Her speed was so great that even if he reacted, he couldn't dissipate the corresponding body part in time.
He only had time to harden his mochi arm with Armament Haki, attempting to block her kick.
Bang!
At the point of impact, a shockwave spread out in all directions.
Hancock's strength was not much less than Katakuri's. This kick had been building up for a long time, and Katakuri was responding hastily.
The result was that the five-meter-tall Katakuri was directly kicked flying.
Fortunately, Brulee reacted quickly. The moment the attack's aftershock arrived, she grabbed Orochimaru by the collar and pulled him into the mirror along with herself.
Otherwise, just this indiscriminate AoE damage would have been enough to seriously injure both of them.
This scene made the onlookers' jaws drop almost to the ground.
That was Katakuri, the strongest Sweet Commander under Big Mom.
The shock was even greater among the members of the Big Mom Pirates.
"It seems you don't plan to accept my suggestion. That makes things a bit tough to handle." Katakuri said as he emerged from the dust and smoke, completely unharmed, which greatly reassured his siblings.
'Great! Katakuri was still the same Katakuri, the undefeated legend of the Charlotte Family.'
"Tough to handle? Then don't handle it!"
"Bring Uzumaki Naruto out to see me."
Hancock's words made Katakuri frown slightly.
'She's here for Naruto?'
Seeing her murderous expression, Katakuri instinctively assumed she was here for revenge.
Whether out of friendship for Naruto or his duty as a member of the Charlotte Family, he couldn't hand a guest over to someone else.
"Bring it on."
Knowing things were about to get serious, Katakuri directly unleashed his Awakened state. Instantly, the surrounding ground turned into white mochi.
"Peerless Donuts."
Don't be fooled by the funny names of Katakuri's moves, their actual effects are no joke.
Following his will, two large masses of mochi flew into the air, then extended into two giant hands made of mochi.
"Power Mochi!"
Mimicking Katakuri's motion, the two giant hands transformed into the elongated shape of the earlier [Peerless Donuts], immediately covered with thick Armament Haki.
The pitch-black giant fists smashed toward the Pirate Empress ahead.
Facing an attack where a single finger was thicker than her thigh, Hancock showed not a hint of fear on her face.
"Perfume Femur: Magnifique!"
This time, Hancock's long legs were coated in Conqueror's Haki.
Conqueror's Haki infusion… she, Boa Hancock, could do it too!
With a running start and a spinning motion, she kicked toward the giant fist.
The two forces froze in mid-air for less than a second before Hancock's [Perfume Femur: Magnifique] directly petrified and shattered the giant fist.
After kicking the Power Mochi to pieces, Hancock had no intention of stopping.
Following through with the momentum in mid-air, she spun and lifted her other leg, trailing black and red lightning, and kicked again.
The moment Katakuri saw the giant fist he created being easily shattered by her kick, he realized he and the Pirate Empress were not on the same level.
At the very least, he hadn't yet mastered the skill of Conqueror's Haki infusion.
If he had to say, within the Charlotte Family, perhaps only Mom could defeat her.
But for his mom's honor, Katakuri did not choose to retreat. Instead, he continued to attack with the remaining giant arm.
However, the brief future observed by Katakuri's Observation Haki next shocked him greatly, and he hurriedly tried to stop.
Whoosh-
A figure suddenly appeared between Hancock and Katakuri.
It was the man himself, Uzumaki Naruto.
He extended his left hand, effortlessly blocking Katakuri's attack, then turned to look at Hancock, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Yo, Hanc-"
[Conqueror's Haki-Infused Heavenly Kick]
Without the slightest hesitation or any delay!
The Pirate Empress changed her move mid-air, spinning rapidly once, then kicked out with even stronger Haki on her foot.
This was a higher-level close-quarters secret technique she had developed during her years of training.
Due to the barrier of Conqueror's Haki infusion, her instep did not make direct contact with Naruto's face.
But the kick still solidly connected with Naruto's head.
Under Katakuri's astonished gaze, Naruto's face contorted from the tremendous force.
He was then kicked sideways, sent flying.
Katakuri even began to doubt his own eyes.
That was a powerhouse who could fight one-on-one with his mom and even gain the upper hand!
Having been single his whole life, he didn't understand.
There's a kind of relationship that goes: hitting is intimacy, scolding is love, and loving to the extreme means kicking with your feet.