The moment Michael finished speaking—
He immediately began the next round of bombardment without a shred of hesitation.
"Damn, these people really are fierce."
Michael's mouth twitched as pure white Holy Flames emerged continuously on his wings, burning all the arrows that had torn through the sky into ashes.
Faced with this overwhelmingly intimidating scene, the elite warriors of the Kuja Pirates finally began to react.
This Marine...
Was strong.
And the current Kuja Pirates were completely incapable of dealing with such overwhelming power.
"All quiet now?" Michael glanced around. The faces of the curvy Kuja warriors were all looking pretty grim.
"Then bring out whoever's in charge right now. I already told you—your future Empress is in my hands. Don't you understand human language?"
After Michael once again stated that Hancock was in his hands, a few of the more senior Kuja warriors exchanged glances and then stepped into the enormous cabin.
Not long after, a large white snake with purple spots appeared in front of Michael, carrying two elderly women on its back.
"I am Hyacinth."
"I am Hedyotis."
The two little old ladies sat atop the snake and bowed their heads toward Michael.
Michael raised an eyebrow. The original work hadn't really described the Kuja Pirates in detail, and most of the focus on Amazon Lily had always been on the Empress, Boa Hancock.
But as a complete nation, having a few elder officials to maintain order was perfectly reasonable.
Especially during such a difficult time, with the previous Empress having just passed away.
"You two... are the highest authorities in the Kuja Pirates right now?"
"The two of us were deeply trusted by the former Empress. Until the future Empress grows up and ascends the throne, we are temporarily in command of the Kuja Pirates and acting regents of all Amazon Lily."
Michael nodded.
Right, that sounded normal.
There's no way that in the original series, Gloriosa was the only respected elder in the entire Amazon Lily.
Given the physical condition of the women of Amazon Lily, unless they die in battle, they should live quite long.
"Just now, you said our Empress... is in your custody?"
"That's right. That little girl named Hancock and her two sisters are all on my warship," Michael said, shrugging. "I honestly didn't expect that after the Empress of Amazon Lily died, your future Empress would get abducted right under your noses by a pirate with just a 70 million bounty."
"This Marine sir, was it you who defeated that pirate and rescued little Hancock?" The old woman named Hedyotis was a bit overwhelmed, her expression filled with the relief of recovering something once lost.
But Hyacinth, the elder sister, stared at Michael and asked,
"May I ask, what do you want in exchange for the return of our future Empress?"
She didn't believe for a second that a Marine would kindly rescue their future Empress out of the goodness of his heart.
First of all, even though their country was forced into piracy due to geographical constraints, the fact remained: they were a pirate nation.
Second, Amazon Lily wasn't even a member of the World Government. In the eyes of many "justice purist" Marines, they might not even count as human.
Given that background, her caution was entirely justified.
"Hmm, well, this matter can be discussed properly."
Michael casually glanced back. Thanks to his interference, the Perfume Yuda had failed to block his ship.
Seeing that the ship had already docked steadily along the coast of Amazon Lily, Michael smiled at the two elderly women across from him and said:
"My warship has already docked. Let's head into Amazon Lily to discuss the details more thoroughly, shall we?"
With that, he didn't give the Kuja Pirates any time to react. He simply flapped his wings and flew into the sky.
A few indignant Kuja warriors tried to aim at Michael in midair, but couldn't even lock onto his figure—
His flying speed exceeded their imagination, and in an instant, he was out of effective range.
"Lady Hyacinth, what should we do…?"
"It seems the future Empress was indeed rescued by that Marine. We should follow him and see what kind of terms he wants."
"But if his demands are too excessive…"
"With the power he just showed, wiping out our temporarily leaderless Kuja Pirates would be child's play," Hyacinth glanced at the veteran Kuja warrior who spoke. "If he really wanted something, wouldn't he just kill us all and take it? The fact that he's talking to us means what he wants is something that only we, alive, can provide."
...
By the time Michael returned near the ship, the members of the SWORD Secret Special Force had already set foot on the land of Amazon Lily.
And the three little Hancock sisters had also returned to their homeland under Shakky's guidance.
At that moment, the three girls were practically sobbing with joy.
When they had first been abducted, their hearts had been filled with despair.
They had even dreamed about the horrors of becoming slaves to the Celestial Dragons.
Though they didn't know what the Celestial Dragons actually were, or what they looked like, they'd heard plenty from the adults—stories of the Celestial Dragons' monstrous atrocities.
"Alright now, stop crying," Shakky patted the girls' heads, revealing for the first time a smile tinged with maternal warmth. "You're safe and home now."
The three little ones wiped their eyes while nodding vigorously.
While Hedyotis had stopped crying, she kept hiccupping from sobbing too hard.
This scene just happened to fall under Michael's gaze.
A soft layer of Holy Light gently descended, and Hedyotis's spasms immediately vanished.
"How did the negotiations go?" Shakky looked at Michael, raising an eyebrow. "The Kuja Pirates aren't exactly known for being easy to talk to."
"They are indeed quite ferocious," Michael nodded. "But unfortunately, the situation is against them. With little Hancock in my hands, no matter how hard they talk, they have no choice but to soften."
Hearing this, Shakky sighed and lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag.
In this world, the one thing you can't afford to lose is strength.
Once you do, hardship follows immediately after.
"Feeling a bit down?" Michael frowned slightly, and a faint but gentle Holy Light formed a barrier between the secondhand smoke and the three little girls.
"No, I feel relieved," Shakky shook her head. "Relieved that it was you we ran into, Michael."
"Don't be happy too soon. Being a pirate may be a precarious life, but at least you don't have to face even more terrifying enemies."
Michael looked into the curious eyes of the three little ones and said to Shakky:
"But being a Marine means facing far more than just this kind of minor hardship."
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