In that final battle that destroyed the Rocks Pirates, Whitebeard was one of the few anomalies.
The choices he made had surprised many at the time.
Luffy raised his hand and pressed hard on his straw hat. The shadow from the brim covered his eyes.
"Then, I have no more time to waste here."
Luffy said, "I need to start now."
His original plan was completely disrupted.
He had intended to use this time before entering the New World to train, to get stronger, and then find the right time to break into Impel Down and rescue Ace.
Now, everything had to be moved up.
"What do you plan to do?" Nyon asked.
Luffy looked up. The corner of his mouth curled into a wild, almost reckless smile. "Like Whitebeard, I have no choice either."
Of course, he knew there was another option.
Wait for the Whitebeard Pirates and the Navy to go to war, and then rescue Ace in the chaos.
But Luffy would never entrust Ace's life to someone else.
Even though he'd heard good things about Whitebeard from both Nyon and Ace.
Luffy looked at Perona, floating beside him.
She was stunned by this sudden, breaking news.
Go... go attack Impel Down?
"Don't... don't even think about leaving me behind!"
Perona suddenly said. "I'm a member of the Straw Hat crew now!"
The very name "Impel Down" held great power over any pirate. Still, she clenched her small fist and chose to stand with Luffy.
Some people have a kind of charm that makes those who've only recently met them willingly follow.
"Calm down."
Nyon said. "Even for you, the chances of breaking into Impel Down alone from the outside are low."
The biggest problem now was time.
It would take a pirate ship about a week to reach Impel Down.
The execution date announced in the newspaper was in six days.
Luffy immediately latched onto the key point. "Then why is the Navy already summoning Hancock?"
Nyon explained, "The Navy's warships have special sea routes. Through the Gates of Justice, they can travel on special currents between Marine Headquarters at Marineford, Enies Lobby, and Impel Down. It's a fast network. They can reach their destination in about four days."
Nyon's understanding of the Navy was even deeper than his.
Luffy was strong. Even stronger than Snake Princess.
Strong enough to escape from the Admirals. But the World Government, this most powerful machine of violence, was not just the Marine Admirals.
To put it bluntly, even a pirate as strong as Luffy would be unable to sway the situation on that battlefield. Like an ant entering a storm – it would be thrown out... or, more likely, instantly devoured.
Marine Headquarters was mobilizing all its forces.
All the Admirals, elite Vice Admirals, and summoned Warlords – the obvious power was already terrifyingly strong.
And the Navy also had many special secret units. Would the World Government, as the World Government's violent machine, provide some support?
This was a gathering of power capable of upending an era.
She couldn't help but think of the Rocks Pirates, even stronger than the Whitebeard Pirates, from many years ago. Various forces had appeared one after another.
The Navy, pirates, the World Government, the Celestial Dragons... in the end, the curtains closed with the appearance of the Marine Hero.
Would the Navy be victorious again this time?
Perona, listening for so long, couldn't help but interrupt. "The most important thing now is how to get to Impel Down before the execution, right?"
There wasn't enough time!
Even if they stole a Navy ship, as Luffy said, if the person controlling the Gate of Justice wouldn't open it, they were helpless.
Nyon stared at Luffy, a struggle in her eyes, as if weighing a decision.
She didn't know if the suggestion she was about to make was right.
In a way, Luffy had healed Hancock's heart. He had done Kuja a favor.
But the suggestion she was considering was no different from sending him to his death.
"Are you truly determined to go, no matter what, to save Ace?" Nyon asked.
"Of course!" Luffy didn't hesitate.
Nyon took a deep breath, as if making a decision.
With such unwavering conviction, since Luffy wanted to go to Impel Down, then, Snake Princess also needed to respond to the summons to keep her Warlord title and protect Kuja from a crisis.
Each gets what they want.
Nyon, almost experimentally, said, "If you can convince Snake Princess to respond to the World Government's summons, you might be able to sneak onto a Navy ship heading to Impel Down.
But after that how to infiltrate Impel Down, and how to move and rescue someone in that iron fortress everything after that is up to you. That is the path to certain death."
Oh, there was that option! The older, the wiser!
What was most needed now was time. And the second need was how to get through the Gate of Justice.
This created another problem.
Luffy looked at his hands. He felt a bit uncomfortable about how this had worked out.
Just a moment ago, those same hands had beaten Hancock until she was dry-heaving.
Hancock would rather give up her Warlord title than answer the World Government's summons. There must be a reason why.
It was already generous of her to lend him her ship. Would it be too much to ask for this favor, too?
"Did I hurt Hancock too much?" Luffy asked Perona, quietly.
Perona: "...."
She certainly couldn't take one of his punches.
Just then, hurried footsteps came.
"Nyon, something's wrong!"
Hancock's attendant, Cinquefoil, ran over, out of breath, her face full of worry. "Snake Princess seems to be ill! Very ill!"
Sick?
Right now?
Nyon and Luffy were both surprised. "What?"
Could a Warlord of the Sea, with a body far more robust than a normal person's, get sick?
When they arrived at Hancock's bedroom, they saw that usually proud woman now lying weakly in her beautiful bed. Her cheeks were flushed – not a healthy flush – her breath was rapid, and a fine layer of sweat covered her forehead.
Her eyes were dazed. Seeing Nyon walk in, she murmured, almost in a cutesy, nasal tone, "Nyon... am I going to die?"
The look was so pathetic and lovely, a far cry from the "Empress who looks down on all others."
Sandersonia and Marigold were frantically running about. The Kuja doctor, beside them, looked helpless. She had never seen such strange symptoms. It wasn't an injury. It wasn't a normal illness. She had no idea where to begin.
"Weird. It doesn't look like an illness."
Luffy looked at Hancock, confused.
But he couldn't figure it out by just looking. He tried to examine her.
Nyon stopped him, rapping his hand with her snake-headed staff. "You, out."
"Hey, I'm actually..."
"Out, out."
Luffy was chased out.
Not... not good.
Nyon went to the bedside and closely observed Hancock's symptoms. The moment Luffy had spoken, Hancock had started panting.
"Just like, just like..." Nyon murmured.
This was exactly like her, from a certain period long ago.
She asked a few questions about how Hancock had felt before falling ill.
"I just felt..."
"Luffy..."
"Ah~"
Just the name "Luffy" had an unusually strong effect. Hancock panted, her cheeks growing redder.
Sandersonia and Marigold were beside themselves. They told Nyon to stop joking.
Nyon smacked her forehead.
Oh, no.
"Am I going to die?" Hancock asked, near tears.
Nyon's face was grave. "Yes."
Sandersonia and Marigold nearly fainted.
"The former empress of Amazon Lily, before us, died of this illness. And the express before she also had it."
She even pointed at herself. "Even I nearly died of it, long ago."
This illness had passed down for four generations. Even when the person died, the illness remained.
Was this the fate from which the empresses of Amazon Lily could not escape?
"I'm a doctor, too. If there's no other way, let me see her?" Luffy called from outside.
Perona looked surprised. "So you really are a doctor."
"Of course! I've cured several people, you know."
A proven track record!
And Hancock, lying in bed, the moment she heard Luffy's voice, seemed to have been injected with a miracle cure. She sat up. The flush on her cheeks faded slightly. Her eyes cleared.
Nyon looked at this immediate effect, and she felt a toothache.
None of the empresses of Amazon Lily had ever escaped this fate, this thing called "love sickness."
Who exactly was this Straw Hat, to so precisely strike the heart of Snake Princess, frozen for over ten years?
No, perhaps it was that he possessed all the conditions needed to win her heart.
She recalled the fight between Snake Princess and Luffy. Hancock had been defeated in a straight fight. And he had killed a Celestial Dragon!
He had hit every single one of Hancock's soft spots. There wasn't an angle from which he hadn't captured her.
"Seeing Elder Sister like this, she's probably okay. But she still needs rest." Sandersonia looked at their sister, now sitting up, then at Nyon.
"It's all right."
Nyon waved her hand. "Straw Hat is her medicine."
Hancock herself felt much better. She threw off the thin silk blanket, revealing a pair of pale, delicate feet, and made to get up. "I feel fine."
Nyon quickly grabbed her. Looking at her thin nightgown, she said, disgusted, "But put some clothes on!"
Hancock, unconcerned, seemed to find it more comfortable this way. "I'm fine like this."
She didn't even want to waste time getting dressed. She hurried to the balcony opening from her bedroom. The evening wind blew her black hair and thin nightgown, outlining a breathtaking figure.
Luffy was there, trying to calm himself.
He couldn't let impatience get the better of him. Losing focus would only make things worse.
But his concentration was off. It was only when Hancock came up to him that he noticed.
"Are you over your illness?"
Luffy's medical skills were first-rate. He could see Hancock looked much better than a moment ago. No different from a normal person.
"I am not ruled by illness... Nyon says you need something of me?" Hancock's gaze flickered.
Luffy nodded. "Yes. A very important request."
A... proposal?
Her mind went into overdrive.
A firework seemed to explode in her head. Joy and shyness so intense they nearly made her dizzy.
But the cold night air allowed her to keep a shred of rationality.
"Go on." Her left hand unconsciously went to her right arm, expectant.
"My brother, Ace, is going to be publicly executed. There's very little time. I heard you can get on a Navy ship sent to pick you up to go to Marine Headquarters, near Impel Down.
Could you find a way to sneak me onto that ship, to take me to Impel Down?"
It was the only way to get there in time.
The reality of the situation was the long sea voyage standing between him and Ace.
"Straw Hat, that is our sister's deepest wound! Even for you, that is too much to ask!"
Sandersonia and Marigold, hiding in the shadows, listening, couldn't help but rush out.
"Elder Sister hates the World Government! She would never answer their summons! How could you..."
Hancock cut them off.
"If this is your request, then I will follow you to the ends of the earth."
The Pirate Empress's cheeks flushed like blooming peach blossoms, while countless stars seemed to shimmer within her deep blue eyes.
Eh?!
Sandersonia and Marigold froze on the spot, utterly stunned. Was this really the same sister they knew?
Even Perona, who had been hiding in the shadows, couldn't help but float out in surprise.
Perona, also hiding in the shadows, couldn't help but float out.
What did that mean?
This was way beyond just "fond of"!
"Luffy... maybe there's another way. We shouldn't force someone," Perona said.
What if Hancock started making all kinds of demands?
Like keeping Luffy on the island, marrying him, having children?
She was the only member of the Straw Hat crew there. If that scary, big-breasted navigator came back and blamed her for everything...
"I'm not forcing anyone, Perona." Hancock smiled.
This woman was so annoying!
She bit her luscious lower lip. A dangerous glint flashed in her eyes. She felt an urge to turn Perona to stone.
Perona covered her head and ran.
If she couldn't win a fight, she could run!
Hancock could clearly hear her heart, like a drum, pounding in her chest. She couldn't say how fast it was. Probably enough to make her want to immediately pull the young man before her into her arms.
Nyon watched, her scalp prickling.
She had thought Snake Princess was just in the early stages of lovesickness. It was obviously already far advanced. She was completely lost in it!
This was moving too fast!
It would be unlikely if he hadn't noticed. Luffy wasn't the same Luffy from the East Blue anymore.
He was now Grand Line Luffy... or rather, New World Luffy!
But there was little time to think about this. The countdown to Ace's execution seemed to be ticking in his ears.
With Hancock's agreement, the most important problem was solved for now.
He was still worried about the Sabaody Archipelago, but for now, he couldn't do anything about it.
Hancock was lost in some kind of pink fog, her cheeks in her hands.
Luffy pulled Perona out of the corner and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Perona, time is short. I need you to do something else very important!"
"Wh-What?"
"I'm begging you to go back to the Sabaody Archipelago."
Kuma had sent his crewmates all over the world. But they didn't know his plan. Now, they might be trying to get back.
But they shouldn't.
They weren't ready for the New World. Luffy had to go save Ace. So, he would let his crewmates train. Get stronger.
This was his decision as captain.
Only Perona could do this.
"Go back to Sabaody and find Rayleigh. He might be able to help," Luffy said.
"But..."
"Guard our ship. I promise I'll come back." Luffy looked at Perona.
His eyes were so determined, she forgot what she was going to say.
"F-Fine. Since you're asking me..."
Perona's face was proud. "I'll find a way to give them the message! And guarding the ship... I can do that!"
Ealier, Luffy had said "guard our ship."
This phrase made Perona feel a little dizzy, then, a little proud.
She had always been the one who needed others. Now, for once, someone needed her.
She'd been entrusted with something!
And this was Luffy!
In her eyes, he was already the true Fifth Emperor.
Perona turned around and met Hancock's dazed eyes, which were now turning into a glare, edged with killing intent. Frightened, she quickly hid behind Luffy.
No way?!
What was with this "main wife catching the mistress" look?
I'm not fighting you for him! I'm not!
Hancock wanted to say something, but Nyon grabbed her and half-dragged her back into the bedroom.
"Snake Princess, calm down! I need to tell you something important!"
Nyon said to Luffy, "You should get ready to leave."
"Okay. Thank you."
Back in the bedroom, facing her sisters and Nyon, Hancock still held her hot cheeks, her eyes dazed.
"I couldn't refuse Luffy. I didn't mean to say yes, but I don't dislike this feeling."
Nyon saw her, lost in this girlish, lovesick attitude, and sighed. "This is lovesickness. Or, as it's also called, love."
"Love?"
Hancock repeated the word, unfamiliar and longed for.
"The sickness of not being able to see the one you want, not being able to answer the love in your heart. It will consume your body. Make you weak. And in the end, kill you."
Nyon explained, her voice was heavy.
"Several of the former empresses of Amazon Lily who came before us met someone they loved. But because they were empresses, with the duty to protect the country, they had to stifle those feelings. To stay on this island. And in the end, the pain and longing they could not release consumed their bodies. And took their lives."
She looked at Hancock, her eyes were complicated.
Perhaps it was the best outcome.
Because of Luffy's request, Snake Princess would answer the summons, keep her Warlord title, prevent a crisis for her country, and because her love was returned, she would, in a way, save her own life.
It was the best outcome.
But the most important thing – under no circumstances could the Navy find out!
***
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