Hancock's Unusual Behavior (2/5) / The Knight Meets the Shichibukai (3/5)

It was still early in the morning, but once daylight came, it would grow even more intense.

----"Whitebeard's Second Division Commander, Portgas D. 'Fire Fist' Ace, with a bounty of 550 million Beli, has been captured and will be executed in Marineford in half a month! Marines vs. the Whitebeard Pirates: Is the greatest battle in history about to begin?!!"----

Chapter 83: Hancock's Unusual Behavior (2/5)

Fire Fist Ace had been captured and would be executed on Marineford Island in half a month.

As the news spread, the World Government got exactly what it wanted. The world's attention shifted from the killing of the Celestial Dragons to Marine Headquarters and the Whitebeard Pirates.

The killing of Celestial Dragons was indeed worth celebrating. Across the seas, pirates, civilians, and even many Marines would stand united against those pigs who abused their status to do as they pleased.

The incident was sensational enough to shake the world.

But it was still far less significant than a war between Marine Headquarters and the Whitebeard Pirates.

The former was a topic of conversation, while the latter concerned upheaval across the entire world and even the era itself.

This was a war capable of reshaping the Age of Pirates.

Would justice prevail?

Or would justice be crushed?

If justice triumphed, it would inevitably deliver a tremendous deterrent to this era of rampant piracy.

17 If justice fell, the world, already in the Age of Pirates, might deteriorate further and become unrecognizable.

Countless civilians held their breath, their hearts entirely with the Marines. They prayed that the Marines would win this war.

But what of those who thought the Whitebeard Pirates might not come?

Very few people had that thought... and they were all young people who knew little about Whitebeard.

The vast majority firmly believed that this war would inevitably break out.

The second half of the Grand Line was the New World.

Several sayings circulated there, and everyone had heard them.

TOP1: Anyone who attacked a member of the Whitebeard Pirates had better be prepared for retaliation.

TOP2: Whitebeard would not let his sons be bullied.

TOP: The Whitebeard Pirates would never abandon a single comrade.

The Whitebeard Pirates valued family above all else. The whole sea acknowledged it.

Whitebeard had been given the title of Pops. He had not claimed it himself; it represented everyone's respect for him.

The World's Strongest Man, Pops—

Under the protection of those two titles, any place that flew Whitebeard's flag was a safe haven feared by pirates, where even the Marines could be disregarded.

Almost the moment the newspapers were distributed worldwide, the Whitebeard Pirates' affiliated crews saw the news and, without even needing to be summoned, led their own crews to set sail for the territory ruled by the Whitebeard Pirates.

—A family member had been captured. Would they stand by and let him die?

No!

Rescue Ace and trample the Marines?

Of course!

Of course!

That was one of the Four Emperors' pirate crews—the Whitebeard Pirates.——

In the Calm Belt, in the waters near Amazon Lily.

Two large ships encountered each other by chance. One was filled entirely with women, while the other carried only men.

One was a warship, led by a tall man with a mohawk and a thin mustache, both deep purple.

"Boa Hancock, I am Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Momonga. I have come on behalf of the government to issue a mandatory summons to the Shichibukai. You are required to arrive at the Holy Land Mary Geoise within ten days." Vice Admiral Momonga rested his right hand on the sword at his waist and looked sternly toward the Kuja pirate ship. Unable to find Hancock among the women, he continued, "If you defy the summons, the government will revoke your status as a Shichibukai. So please give me an answer now."

"Wait a moment." While the other crew members sized up the men on the warship, the two Boa sisters remained perfectly composed.

After hearing Vice Admiral Momonga out, Boa Sandersonia gave him a long look, then turned and walked into the cabin.

"Very well... lead the way."

Before long, Boa Sandersonia came back out, bringing news that made Vice Admiral Momonga breathe a sigh of relief.

She actually agreed. What a surprise! Vice Admiral Momonga thought.

Vice Admiral Momonga was genuinely surprised. The government did not often summon the Shichibukai, doing so only when something major happened or a Shichibukai's status was revoked and the others needed to be called together for a discussion.

Some Shichibukai attended frequently, while others rarely showed up.

The one with the fewest appearances was the "Pirate Empress," Boa Hancock, followed by "Hawk-Eyes," Dracule Mihawk.

Neither the government nor the Marines knew why Boa Hancock was so opposed to visiting the Holy Land. They guessed it might be because she was the only woman among the Shichibukai and because Amazon Lily was a country that rejected men.

Thus, to ensure that every Shichibukai attended and helped the Marines win the war, the government had issued a mandatory summons.

Vice Admiral Momonga had been sent in person to demonstrate the Marines' Seastone technology and persuade Boa Hancock to accept the summons.

He had received information about the "Pirate Empress," Boa Hancock, before coming, and had expected to expend considerable effort. He had not expected the mission to be completed so easily.

He did not know why she had agreed, but that was all that mattered.

"Then... please have Boa Hancock come out. We will depart immediately," Vice Admiral Momonga said sternly.

"That won't be necessary. My elder sister agreed to the summons, but she doesn't want to see you filthy men." Boa Sandersonia sneered disdainfully. "Boarding your ship would only contaminate her shoes. You just need to lead the way. We'll escort her there ourselves."

"How outrageous! She actually compared our warship to a pair of shoes."

"Yeah, exactly! But is the Pirate Empress really the most beautiful woman in the world, like the rumors say?"

"Damn... I really wanted to see the Pirate Empress's face..."

"..."

Boa Sandersonia's words struck a nerve with the Marines aboard the warship.

Yet, contemptibly, instead of all uniting against their enemies, some of the Marines regretted being unable to see Boa Hancock. Only a few were indignant.

Chapter 84: The Knight Meets the Shichibukai (3/5)

Half a month was not a long time, but for Arthur, those days were agonizing.

Having accepted the request to help, Arthur had stayed at Marine Headquarters all this time.

But Sengoku had been occupied with planning and had no time to deal with him. He had merely assigned a Marine to watch Arthur, greatly restricting his freedom.

Accustomed to living freely, Arthur found the atmosphere at Marine Headquarters deeply uncomfortable.

Fortunately, those days did not last long.

Fourteen days later, on the day before the execution.

Arthur finally left Marine Headquarters and arrived at the top of the Red Line—the Holy Land Mary Geoise.

It was the most magnificent and prosperous city in the world, a silver castle shrouded in mist and the seat of political power.

Arthur was brought inside a magnificent building and led to the door of a luxurious room.

"Sir Knight, this is the rest area Fleet Admiral Sengoku arranged for you. Someone will come fetch you tomorrow," the Marine said meaningfully. "There are a few other guests inside. Fleet Admiral Sengoku told me to tell you to get well 'acquainted' with them."

"I'm 'sorry for the trouble' I've caused Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Please thank him for me," Arthur replied evenly, placing emphasis on the words.

"I'll pass that along to Fleet Admiral Sengoku." The Marine smiled faintly, then turned and left.

Standing before the luxurious doors, Arthur's lips curled up slightly.

With Observation Haki (A++), nothing inside the building could escape Arthur's perception.

He simply had not expected Sengoku to put him here before the war. If anything went even slightly wrong, a fight could easily break out and cause severe destruction.

Wasn't he afraid Arthur would fight the people inside and destroy the building?

Though Arthur was somewhat annoyed at being schemed against, he was quite willing to walk into the trap.

Then he would meet them—

The Shichibukai!

Creak!!

Acting on the thought, Arthur pushed open the luxurious doors and walked in.

As light streamed through the opening, the spacious room came into view.

First, a repulsive aura washed over him.

Then an immense pressure came crashing down like a mountain, though it was not deliberate.

Just like Conqueror's Haki, a single glance from one of them was enough to overwhelm pirates with bounties exceeding a hundred million.

Every person in the room was a powerhouse capable of taking on a nation alone, and this was the aura they had accumulated through countless battles and killings.

"Fuffuffuffu~~~ How interesting. A bounty hunter and pirates in the same room. Sengoku played this move beautifully."

Hearing the laughter, Arthur looked toward its source. A man with short blond hair, sunglasses, and a pink feather coat bared his teeth in a sinister grin as he openly sized Arthur up.

One of the Shichibukai—Donquixote Doflamingo, the "Heavenly Yaksha."

Arthur glanced indifferently at Doflamingo, then examined the other Shichibukai in the room.

Bartholomew Kuma, the "Tyrant."

Gecko Moria, the "Doppelman."

Marshall D. Teach, "Blackbeard."

Dracule Mihawk, "Hawk-Eyes."

Boa Hancock, the "Pirate Empress."

Together with Donquixote Doflamingo, the "Heavenly Yaksha," all the Shichibukai were gathered here, except for Jinbe, the "Knight of the Sea," who had refused the government's mandatory summons out of gratitude to the Whitebeard Pirates and had been imprisoned in Impel Down.

What surprised Arthur, however, was that Boa Hancock, the "Pirate Empress," had come too.

Had he changed the course of history in the Sabaody Archipelago, only for Luffy to be sent flying to Amazon Lily by Bartholomew Kuma along the way anyway?

Or had she accepted the mandatory summons for Amazon Lily's sake?

"Zehahaha~~ Are you the 'Knight of Knights'? Thanks to you defeating Crocodile, I was able to become a Shichibukai." Blackbeard held cherry pies in both hands, food smeared all over his mouth. Looking at Arthur, he opened his gap-toothed mouth and laughed. "How about it? Want to join my crew and conquer the seas with me?!!"

"What a nauseating bunch of men." Hancock glanced indifferently at Arthur, then swept her gaze over everyone present and said disdainfully, "Hyenas and men really do belong together."

"Hee hee hee... Sengoku actually put you here. Wasn't he afraid we'd scare you out of your wits?" Moria said, baring his fangs. He might have been a little intimidating if he hadn't been wrapped in several layers of bandages.

"Then... would you like to try?" Arthur's lips curved slightly as he reached into the air. Golden light gathered and formed an incomparably magnificent Golden Sword.

"Fuffuffuffu~~ What do I see? Is that the straight sword rumored to be one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades?" Doflamingo laughed with interest, then turned to Hawk-Eyes, who had been resting with his eyes closed beside him but had now opened his yellow eyes. "As another owner of one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades, Hawk-Eyes, you should recognize that straight sword, shouldn't you?!"

Hawk-Eyes did not answer. Instead, he stood up and walked straight over to Arthur.

"One of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades, the World's Strongest Black Blade, Yoru," Hawk-Eyes said, drawing the ornate cross-shaped Black Blade from his back as he looked at Arthur.

"The sword of the king, the shining holy sword—Excalibur." Arthur placed both hands at the end of the hilt and gave a formal knight's salute.

"The sword of the king? It certainly lives up to its name. I can sense a powerful aura of kingship from it," Hawk-Eyes said calmly. "There are only twelve Supreme Great Grade Swords in the world. Is yours one of them?"

"Maybe. I don't know either," Arthur replied perfunctorily. The Twelve Supreme Grade Blades were already recognized as the strongest. Even if he said Excalibur was far above them, no one would believe him.

Rather than bother, he would let others think whatever they wanted.

"We'll find out if we try..." Hawk-Eyes was not disappointed by Arthur's answer. He merely spoke calmly.

Then he raised the Black Blade in his hand and slashed straight at Arthur.

"Couldn't we have done this from the start?!"

Seeing this, Arthur smiled, gripped his sword in one hand, and struck back.