Amazon Lily.
An island hidden deep within the Calm Belt.
Around the island were countless huge Sea King lairs, forming a natural death barrier that kept most intruders out.
Therefore, the people of Amazon Lily had always lived peaceful, stable lives.
But there were pros and cons... the overly isolated environment brought extremely scarce resources, and they could barely produce any industrial goods.
Most importantly, due to some special reason, the island's people had only given birth to female babies for generations.
To continue the kingdom, they had to venture out to sea in search of men.
Under these circumstances, Amazon Lily's choice was clear:
Raid the seas!
Thus was born the Kuja Pirates.
It was perhaps the most historically enduring pirate crew on these seas, with a history almost as long as the kingdom itself.
Generation after generation of Kuja Emperors tirelessly embarked on maritime expeditions... it had almost become a routine task.
They had to set sail regularly.
Fortunately, the impoverished and dangerous environment also forged the excellent strength of the Kuja warriors.
The Amazon Lily was renowned worldwide not only for having an all-female population but also for their astounding combat abilities.
Almost everyone mastered Haki, all were outstanding warriors, and many were proficient in advanced Haki techniques.
In the Grand Line, where Haki was rare, this was like a dimensional downgrade attack.
The king of Amazon Lily, who was also captain of the Kuja Pirates, was even more formidable.
Almost every generation was a powerhouse of the seas.
The emperor three generations ago was Flame Flower, Gloriosa, a member of the Rocks Pirates.
The emperor two generations ago was Peony, Shakky, of unknown strength but with a somewhat famous partner named Rayleigh.
The current emperor is Boa Hancock, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
At this moment, warriors on Amazon Lily also discovered the uninvited guests.
"Sister, pirates are coming!"
Green-haired Boa Sandersonia rushed into the palace in panic.
"Hmm? Then just kill them all."
The girl with cascading black hair and peerless beauty maintained an arrogant posture, not even bothering to lift an eyelid, speaking as casually as if discussing dinner.
A red and white snake with a skull helmet curled at her feet. Sensing its master's killing intent, the snake straightened its body and hissed threateningly.
Standing beside Hancock was a short old woman holding a staff made from a curled snake, who frowned: "It's probably not that simple, Hancock. Don't forget, this is the Calm Belt."
Ordinary pirate ships couldn't pass through the Calm Belt, let alone traverse the Sea King lairs surrounding Amazon Lily.
"Hah? Do you think I'll lose?" Hancock tilted her head skyward, her right index finger pointing sharply downward.
Gloriosa sighed... she knew this would be the answer.
She turned to Sandersonia: "Do you know what flag that pirate ship is flying?"
Sandersonia thought for a moment: "It looks like a skull with two horns and bones behind it."
Gloriosa's mind raced through all the powerful pirate crews' flag designs, her face suddenly changing dramatically as she gasped: "Isn't that the Beast Pirates?"
How could they be here?
This was really serious now.
Emperor pirate crews didn't necessarily care about Warlord titles.
Meanwhile, the Rayquaza finally arrived in the waters near Amazon Lily.
A majestic cliff sculpture featuring nine giant snake heads and the prominent character "Kuja" on the cliff face clearly came into everyone's view.
On the towering walls around the island's perimeter, a group of warriors had already climbed up, standing ready for battle.
They gripped strange large bows made from snakes, arrows nocked and aimed at the intruders.
Sanji's eyes instantly turned to hearts: "So many beauties!"
Fortunately, having experienced the baptism of Pleasure Quarter, he was much calmer and didn't immediately go limp like noodles.
Violet covered her mouth and laughed lightly, teasingly looking at Kai: "Kai-sama, your masculine charm doesn't work very well here."
"I'm not berries... not everyone can like me," Kai replied matter-of-factly.
While the two chatted, the warriors on the walls showed no intention of negotiating.
"Fire arrows!"
At the command, arrows covered in pitch-black Armament Haki tore through the air like deadly swarms of bees, raining down on the Rayquaza.
"Kuma," Kai tilted his head.
Kuma understood and stepped forward.
He raised both arms with palms facing forward, instantly generating a huge translucent bubble that rapidly expanded.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Countless Haki-infused arrows struck the bubble but seemed to sink into viscous mud, their speed drastically reduced as they embedded at various depths in the bubble wall, eerily suspended in mid-air.
The next instant, Kuma thrust both palms forward forcefully.
Whoosh! All those densely packed arrows on the bubble were instantly deflected back.
"Watch out! The arrows are coming back!"
The Kuja warriors on the walls cried out in alarm, frantically wielding weapons to block and dodge.
Taking this opportunity, the Rayquaza reached Amazon Lily's shoreline.
"Nothing beats having solid ground under your feet."
Kai stretched leisurely, completely ignoring the Kuja warriors rapidly assembling and charging toward them with murderous intent.
"Are we going to fight?" Yamato was eager to try.
"Mm, just freeze them. Don't kill anyone," Kai casually instructed.
He wasn't here to make enemies, though appropriately displaying their power was still necessary.
"Leave it to me!"
Yamato grinned, excitedly charging forward with her kanabo.
"Phantom Blade!"
Frigid air surged out as the kanabo swung.
The Kuja warriors barely had time to react before bone-chilling cold struck them, their bodies rapidly covered by crystal-clear ice, transforming into ice sculptures of various poses.
Within minutes, the beach was dotted with dozens of ice sculptures emanating cold air.
Just then, Hancock finally arrived at the scene with a group of warriors.
Seeing the chaotic scene of ice sculptures before her, her fury instantly ignited.
"Warriors, charge with me!"
Hancock took the lead.
From her slender, perfect figure burst a terrifying Conqueror's Haki that swept toward Kai and his group.
"Finally, a decent opponent!"
Yamato's eyes lit up, showing no weakness.
An equally formidable aura surged from within her, fiercely clashing with Hancock's Conqueror's Haki.
"The other side has Conqueror's Haki too?" Violet's head spun as she couldn't help but exclaim.
Wasn't it supposed to be a one-in-a-million qualification?
How was it so common? Three on the ship was enough, and now they encountered another one here.
If Kai knew what Violet was thinking, he would definitely tell her it was actually four.
There was also an unawakened Zoro.
In the future, maybe Sanji would have it too.