"Big Sis!!!"
The sound of heavy footsteps thundered from afar as Sandersonia and Marigold led the Kuja warriors to Hancock's side.
Though they were all young women, their collective stride struck the earth with more weight and power than most armies.
"Big Sis!?" Sandersonia rushed to Hancock, anxiously inspecting her injuries while whispering the question.
But the Empress didn't respond. Her eyes were wide, fixed on the figure of Moria slowly rising to his feet.
Hancock had struck him with everything she had. She was certain he had been on the verge of death.
Yet now he stood again, barely wounded, not a single sign of fatal injury.
Even she, proud and unshakable, felt her mind falter for an instant.
"Damn it!!! How is this possible!!"
Her lips trembled as her chest tightened. It was like being struck by a thunderbolt. Hancock stared in disbelief as Luffy calmly walked toward her.
Could it be… he's a user of a healing fruit? A type so rare it could rival the Mythical Zoans?!
"Big Sis?" Marigold called again when her first attempt yielded no answer.
"Shhh…"
That voice snapped Hancock back to herself. She let out a faint sigh, then turned to accept a long gown from Sandersonia. With a graceful motion, she discarded her cloak. Before the cloak even touched the ground, the Empress already stood resplendent in her regal queenly attire.
The time for choice was over. The battle ahead was inevitable.
Whether it was one man, two, or an entire horde, she had no path but forward.
Her pride forbade retreat. Before her charm, all must bow, be they man or beast, god or demon.
Because she was Boa Hancock. She was the Pirate Empress.
Yet even the strongest have their worries.
Her eyes flickered as she glanced at her warriors, still dazed from the radiance of her earlier charm. Then her voice cut cold and sharp:
"Sandersonia! I command you, take the Kuja Pirates and leave this island at once!"
Still enchanted by Hancock's beauty, Sandersonia answered out of instinct:
"Yes, Big Sis!"
"And… if within three days I do not send Salome to find you… Sandersonia, you will be the next Leader of the Kuja."
Salome, the serpent closest to Hancock, small in size but unmatched in strength.
"Yes!"
The word had barely left her lips before the warriors' eyes snapped clear.
"What?!"
Hancock's words fell like thunder in their ears, stunning them to the core.
The connection was clear. Their Empress was preparing for death.
She did not expect to survive this battle.
"Wait! Big Sis! We will fight with you!"
Sandersonia gripped her weapon, coating it with Armament Haki, her gaze resolute.
Marigold mirrored the action, her determination needing no words.
The other Kuja warriors followed, weapons raised, Mental Powers united.
One young warrior, speaking out of loyalty, cried:
"Empress! If you are about to lose, then please… escape first! We will, "
"Silence!!!!"
BOOM!!!
A crushing aura erupted from Hancock, cutting her off. Though she hadn't used Conqueror's Haki, the pressure alone froze the women where they stood, their hearts gripped with fear.
Hancock's brow furrowed.
Flee? Me? Never.
Her pride would not allow her to consider such cowardice.
Her anger only enhanced her icy beauty, her queenly visage radiating nobility, arrogance, and unyielding strength.
With a flick of her hair, she unleashed the side effect of her Love-Love Fruit. In an instant, hearts bloomed pink in the eyes of the warriors.
They could not resist.
"Return to the ships. Leave this place at once!"
Her beauty transcended mortal limits, her aura imperious, her gaze unrelenting. The Kuja, now puppets to her command, obeyed without thought.
"Yes, Big Sis!"
"Yes, Empress!"
Like dolls, they turned and began retreating toward the harbor.
Luffy and the others simply watched, making no move to interfere.
For a moment, even Luffy wavered. Hancock's overwhelming allure had been like magic, impossible to ignore. Moria himself nearly faltered, though he tried to hide it.
Only poor Absalom lay still unconscious, having been knocked out earlier by Luffy's Conqueror's Haki. Luffy shook his head in disappointment.
Pathetic. Everyone else recovered quickly, yet he's still out cold from just her beauty.
Moria broke the silence with his eerie laugh.
"Geh heh heh… You should have run with them."
His tone was strange, part mocking, part admiring.
Hancock sneered.
"A defeated man has no right to speak to me."
She had never cared for men. Especially not one she had already crushed.
Moria's gaze lingered on her, expression unreadable. Then, without another word, he turned and left.
If only I had been wiser back then… would you all still be alive?
The thought faded as his shadow disappeared into the distance.
Now, only Luffy and Hancock remained.
Luffy pressed his heel into the bloody dirt beneath his feet.
"So… you're planning to trade your life for theirs?"
Hancock's temples throbbed as anger flared in her eyes. Flames seemed to burn in her gaze, though her tone was calm:
"Hmph! Don't tell me you actually think I fear you?"
She had acknowledged the danger, but never defeat.
The man before her, who did not so much as flinch at her beauty, only stoked her fury further.
Suddenly, her Conqueror's Haki erupted, a wave of raw will crashing down upon Luffy.
BOOOOM!!!
The air trembled. A violent gale tore through the battlefield, hurling chunks of flesh and dirt away, scouring the ground clean.
For how could the Empress allow her battlefield to remain filthy?
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