The Empress's Hidden Role

The countdown to answer on the sky screen ticked away, and reactions around the world could not have been more divided.

The mood among the Marines was as grim as could be. If option B was true, it meant the last fig leaf covering the Seven Warlords of the Sea system had been torn away.

A Shichibukai fighting alongside them had helped an enemy infiltrate their position on the battlefield. This was no longer a question of betrayal; the entire Seven Warlords of the Sea system was rotten to the core.

The spectators, however, reacted very differently.

In a tavern in the Sabaody Archipelago, several bounty hunters held up their drinks and talked over one another.

"The Empress helped Luffy? No way. That Luffy was only seventeen, right? How old is the Empress?"

"What do you care how old she is? She's the most beautiful woman in the world. She can help whoever she wants."

"I pick B. There's too much of a story behind that option. It has to be B."

"I think it's D, all of the above."

On Drum Island, Chopper held a piece of cotton candy and tilted his head as he looked at the sky screen.

"Who's the Empress? Is she strong?"

"Very strong. They say one look at her will turn you to stone."

Doctorine had, for once, put down her glass. She looked at the sky screen with an insight peculiar to the elderly.

"But rather than her abilities, I suspect what this livestream really wants to talk about is the problem with the Seven Warlords of the Sea system."

The countdown reached zero.

A golden light flashed across the sky screen.

[Correct answer: D]

[All three of the above were actions Boa Hancock actually took during the Paramount War]

An uproar swept through the crowd.

The sky screen began showing the explanation.

The first scene showed the entrance to Marineford. Hancock, dressed in her formal Shichibukai attire, walked through the checkpoint with a beauty that left every male Marine soldier present spellbound. Not far behind her, a small, cloaked figure quietly followed in her footsteps.

The footage zoomed in: Hancock removed her outer robe and discreetly handed it to the figure behind her, while using Sweet Beam to petrify every guard within sight.

"Luffy, have you put it on?"

"Yeah, this is really big."

The cloaked figure revealed a familiar face.

Luffy.

A line of explanatory text appeared on the sky screen.

[Using her Shichibukai privileges and her own Devil Fruit ability as cover, Boa Hancock successfully brought Monkey D. Luffy out of Impel Down and helped him infiltrate Marine Headquarters at Marineford]

A subdued commotion broke out in the Marine plaza.

"A Shichibukai actually brought an enemy into our headquarters?"

"I could never figure out how that Luffy got in. So the Empress helped him."

"If that isn't betrayal, what is?"

Sengoku stared at the sky screen, a vein throbbing at his temple.

"Hancock."

He forced the name out through gritted teeth.

"Shichibukai. Heh, Shichibukai."

He looked around at the senior Marines present, his voice cold enough to freeze a person to death.

"Does anyone still think the Seven Warlords of the Sea system is a success? Step forward and let me see you."

No one said a word.

The second scene on the sky screen followed immediately, showing the chaos on the battlefield as Hancock attacked pirates and Marines alike with her petrification ability.

The blown kisses she kicked out became heart-shaped waves of light, petrifying large numbers of Marine soldiers and pirates. But a closer look revealed that she petrified noticeably more Marine soldiers than pirates.

And in every area Luffy passed through, she always cleared the way at just the right moment.

The sky screen marked each of these actions with a yellow arrow. Luffy's route and Hancock's range of attack matched perfectly; it was practically a precisely coordinated operation.

"Isn't that a little too obvious? How is she fighting for the Marines? She's clearly acting as Luffy's bodyguard."

Even the habitually laid-back Kizaru could not resist commenting.

On Amazon Lily, Hancock watched the footage of herself clearing a path for Luffy. Far from looking ashamed, she wore an immensely proud smile.

"Well? I did a wonderful job, didn't I?"

"Elder sister, that's not the point."

Beside her, cold sweat broke out on Sandersonia's forehead.

"The whole world saw you betray the Marines. They'll come after us."

"Let them come."

Hancock stood up, her long hair cascading down like a waterfall.

"For Luffy's sake, I fear nothing."

Her sisters exchanged glances, each seeing deep helplessness in the other's eyes.

The explanation on the sky screen ended, and the system's verdict rang out.

[Punishment target: Boa Hancock]

[Reason for punishment: As a Shichibukai, she colluded with the enemy during the war, using her position to provide cover for an enemy leader]

[Punishment: Reveal the true reason she joined the Shichibukai—she was forced to accept the position to protect Amazon Lily from infringement by the World Government]

[Additional note: The system has determined that her actions were not motivated by malice, but by an extreme emotional bias toward a particular individual. Therefore, no ability-weakening or marking punishment will be imposed; only information will be disclosed]

The punishment sparked another round of discussion across the world.

"So she was forced to become a Shichibukai?"

"To protect her homeland?"

"In that case, I guess her betraying the Marines wasn't really a betrayal. She was never genuinely willing to risk her life for them in the first place."

But what truly set off a storm was the next piece of supplementary information.

A passage appeared on the sky screen, cold and concise.

[Supplementary information: As a young girl, Boa Hancock was abducted by the Celestial Dragons and enslaved by them for four years. She was force-fed a Devil Fruit for their amusement, until she was freed by Fisher Tiger's Fish-Man adventuring crew]

The air froze across the world.

A slave of the Celestial Dragons.

When those words appeared, the footage briefly showed the brand on Hancock's back—the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon.

That mark of shame, identifying her as the property of the Celestial Dragons, was displayed clearly before the entire world.

On the streets of Dressrosa, the people who had only moments ago been furious over Doflamingo fell silent again. A deeper fear and anger began to spread through the crowd.

"The Celestial Dragons capture people and make them slaves?"

"Even the most beautiful woman in the world was once a slave?"

"Just how many more things like this have those Celestial Dragons done?"

In the Sabaody Archipelago's human trafficking district, the brokers engaged in illegal dealings all sped up the packing of their stalls, as if by unspoken agreement.

They could clearly feel that the public mood was undergoing a terrifying shift.

In the tavern, Lin Qi watched a string of data warnings pop up from the system and whistled.

"Good grief, the Celestial Dragons really are a nuclear bomb of a topic. Look, the global anger value just shot straight to the maximum."

He thought for a moment, then typed a few more lines.

"Strike while the iron's hot. Let's make number five even more exciting."

The text on the sky screen was already updating.

[The ten greatest war criminals: number five will soon be revealed]

[Hint: This person was the Marine who killed the most people with his own hands during the entire Paramount War]

When Akainu heard that, the dark red flames on his arm flickered.

He raised his head and looked at the sky screen. There was no fear or retreat in his eyes, only an icy resolve honed over decades.

"Me again."

His voice was flat.

"Come on."