Why Must Women Make Things Difficult for Other Women?

Not far from where Hancock fell, Gawain stood there, his face stiff, utterly speechless.

Before meeting Hancock, Gawain had rehearsed their first meeting many times in his mind.

He imagined Hancock, all powerful and determined, vowing to kill him to erase his psychological trauma.

He had also considered the scenario where Hancock's shadow was so heavy that she would collapse in front of him.

He imagined himself being just like any other man, needing to rely on his Conqueror's Haki to barely resist Hancock's Mero Mero no Mi.

He even imagined a scenario where his Conqueror's Haki's Conqueror's Haki clashed head-on with Hancock's, forcing Hancock to kneel before him.

Reasonable, childish, Haki, coincidental.

Gawain had imagined countless scenarios for what would happen after their encounter.

But he never expected things to turn out this way...

Looking at Hancock lying motionless in the sand, Gawain took a long breath and then spoke.

"Gion, Hancock... did the landing fail?"

The instant the words left his mouth, Gawain vaguely saw Hancock tremble slightly.

Beside Gawain, Gion narrowed her eyes for the first time ever, stroking the hilt of her sword and responding with a light laugh.

"No, sir, Hancock is probably dead."

Now Gawain could see it more clearly: Hancock moved, and she trembled again!

Only then did the Elder Nyon face was frozen in the distance, suddenly realize what was happening.

"Help! Snake Princess is seriously injured! Quickly, carry her back to the palace!!!"

On the ground, in the sand, listening to Elder Nyon's voice, Hancock kept her eyes tightly shut.

Never before had she felt so grateful to her Elder Nyon.

After Elder Nyon gave the order, the Amazon Lily warriors rushed towards Hancock, using both their hands and feet to lift the stiff-bodied Hancock up.

No sooner had Hancock been lifted Gion gave a wicked smirk.

"Sir, did Hancock hurt her eye? She seems to be crying?"

"Cough cough!"

Hearing this, Gawain felt that Gion was targeting Hancock, and he gently patted Gion's hand.

Sensing Gawain's movements, Gion narrowed her eyes and turned her head away meaningfully.

Hancock, on the other hand, was carried face down and buttocks up by her own people all the way to the palace.

After Hancock left, the awkward atmosphere finally eased, Lucci and Kalifa took the opportunity to approach Gawain.

They remained silent, kneeling neatly on the ground with their heads bowed, awaiting Gawain's punishment.

Looking at the two kneeling figures, Gawain understood what they wanted to say. It was normal for them to feel pressured with Poseidon rampaging around them.

So, Gawain pressed his hands on their shoulders.

Get up.

Gawain didn't say much. After all, regarding Shirahoshi's secret, others could guess in this setting with so many outsiders, but Gawain shouldn't reveal it.

It's still necessary to distinguish between family members and outsiders.

On the ground, Lucci and Kalifa breathed a long sigh of relief, then slowly got up and stood silently behind Gawain.

At this point, Gawain slowly walked into the middle of the crowd.

He didn't mention the previous battles of Kuma and the others, nor did he mention the Sea King's rampage.

Looking at the women around him whose emotions were fluctuating wildly, and then at the marines nearby whose feelings were also agitated.

Gawain laughed, and he said loudly.

"Everything just now was really interesting, haha. First, I witnessed a wonderful battle, and then I visited all kinds of marine animals."

What a wonderful day! We must commemorate it!

Momonga!

"I'm here, Saint Gawain!" The Momonga quickly obeyed and came out.

Looking at the nervous Momonga, Gawain pointed to the sea.

"Hancock's Conqueror's Haki just now stunned all the sea fish in the vicinity. Aren't they the perfect ingredients for a banquet!"

Have the marines unload the wine and meat I brought, and serve it with fresh fish and shrimp from the nearby sea.

Does the banquet have to wait until the evening? Let's start now and drink until we drop!

As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain waved his hand towards Gion.

"Gion, wine!"

"Grown ups..."

Gion rolled her eyes and reached down to touch her prominent lower back.

Sure enough, hidden in the lower back of her dress, which was concealed by her navy coat, were the drinks she would occasionally sip.

He tossed the bottle to Gawain Gawain, who caught it and opened the cap.

Gawain took a big, hard gulp and sat down on the ground.

"Let's get moving, Lucci and Kalifa, go get ourselves some food and wine. Jinbe, Jinbe a fire. Rayleigh and Gion are both gamblers, so let's play a simple dice game."

And Kuma, can you sing a boat song? Teach me one!

"Well..."

The Kuma was stunned.

"I can't sing..."

Upon hearing this, Gawain burst into laughter.

"Hey, Kuma and Gion are gambling, old man Rayleigh, how about you teach me a song?"

"Uh, sir, I don't know how to gamble either..."

The Kuma lowered its head deeply.

Seeing this, Gawain laughed even more amusedly, and patted the beach next to him.

"You can't do anything, so why don't you lie down? Don't you even know how to sunbathe?"

And you gentlemen, what are you waiting for? Are you waiting for me to toast you one by one?

Let's drink to our hearts' content now, lest we regret it tomorrow. After witnessing that astonishing scene, do you really want to go to sleep with a shadow in your heart?

Following Gawain's words, the Navy and Amazon Lily erupted in uproar, with countless praises soaring into the sky.

People no longer cared about their respective camps; they took whatever they could find and gathered on the beach, forming a circle of dozens of people.

Let's build a fire, tell a couple of stories, sing a few songs, and dance for ten minutes or so.

In less than half an hour, flames lit up the beach of Amazon Lily, and even though it was daytime, the joyful sounds of the singing and dancing crowds carried into Hancock's palace.

And Hancock...

She lay stiffly on her bed, this time without a blanket; no matter how thick the blanket, it couldn't warm her lifeless heart.

Her long black hair cascaded over her shoulders and neck, and her neat princess cut, along with those two strands of hair that should have been full of life, now looked withered and almost discolored.

Beside her, her two younger sisters looked at her with concern.

"Big sister..." ×2.

"Don't call me 'big sister'!"

"Lord Snake Princess."×2

"Don't call me Snake Princess!"

"Hancock." ×2

"Don't call me Hancock..."

After interrupting her sisters time and time again, Hancock finally moved. She lay there, face down, her hands scooping up the pillow and covering her face as if swimming.

Through the pillow, Hancock let out a whimper like a kitten.

"In this life... in this life..."

Ah, I just want to die like this...

Hearing the Snake Princess's lifeless words, the two younger sisters huddled closer, filled with worry.

"Big sister, cheer up! You should think like this: at least you've already met that Celestial Dragon!"

"Yes, sister, he probably really doesn't know who we are. Get up and take a look; they're having a party on the beach right now!"

At this point, the Third Sister suddenly remembered something, and she quickly leaned close to Hancock's ear and whispered something.

"Big sister, think about it carefully. The more natural you act, the less likely the Celestial Dragon will think anything of it."

The more uncomfortable you appear, the more suspicious the Celestial Dragon will become of your identity.

"Yes, big sister!"

The Second Sister also realized what was happening and continued, picking up where her younger sister left off.

"The more you act like you used to in front of the Celestial Dragon, the easier it will be for them to see through your act. After all, who knows slaves better than the Celestial Dragon...?"

"Shut up!!!"

In that instant, Hancock suddenly stood up, glaring fiercely at her Second Sister, and angrily rebuked her.

"You are absolutely forbidden from mentioning that damned word in front of me, not even if you are my sister!"

"Big sister!!!"

Hearing Hancock's rebuke, the Second Sister was not saddened at all; instead, she laughed excitedly.

"Great, you're finally up!"

"Yes, big sister!"

The Third Sister was overjoyed; she wagged her snake tail and hugged Hancock around the waist.

"You've finally cheered up!"

"Snort!"

Upon hearing this, Hancock let out a heavy snort.

"You're right. I've really been too decadent these past few days. I was actually scared into such a state by a damned man!"

"Fetch water! I need to bathe and wash away the blood and grime. After that, I'm going to see for myself how those filthy men managed to break my rules on my island and lead my people to hold some damned banquet!"

At this point, Hancock's eyes, which had just been filled with a deathly stillness, were now burning with a raging fire of anger.

Seeing her eldest sister's angry expression, the Second Sister and Third Sister quickly left the bedroom and began preparing Hancock's bath.

Only after her Second Sister Third Sister had completely left did Hancock clench her fists tightly.

"Marine Vice Admiral, Momousagi Gion!!!"

She gritted her teeth and muttered each word fiercely.

As she spoke, Momousagi's pair of huge, 24k gold-plated glasses kept flashing through Hancock's mind.

What can help a woman who has reached the depths of despair to pick herself up again is never a painful past.

She just wanted to teach that other beautiful woman a lesson for being so sarcastic and disruptive on the beach, making her, the dignified Empress, look incredibly foolish!

On the beach, Shirahoshi had already swum back from the sea. She lay on the edge of the tide, letting her tail enjoy the seawater washing over her, while supporting her chin with both hands.

As for her eyes, as always, she looked sweetly at Gawain.

Gawain was leaning on her arm at that moment.

Leaning on Shirahoshi's soft arm, Gawain carried the wine and chatted and laughed with everyone. At this moment, the Momonga was telling everyone about Borsalino's embarrassing past.

It is said that when Borsalino first became Admiral, he wrote that infamous, ambiguous statement about justice.

He was relentlessly pursued by Zephyr for half a month.

After the Momonga finished telling the story, Gawain picked up the wine bottle and toasted everyone.

Then, Gawain smiled and said to Gion.

"Gion, are you also considered a disciple of Zephyr?"

"Of course, sir. Which of us generations of marines hasn't participated in Lord Zephyr's headquarters training camp?"

After hearing Gion's confirmation, Gawain nodded knowingly and then asked.

"Flying Momonga, are you also his disciple?"

"I wouldn't dare say that. As someone who was trained by Zephyr, I have truly disgraced him."

Perhaps because he had been drinking, the Momonga looked somewhat sad at this moment.

"When I was young, I thought I would become Admiral someday."

But now that I'm older, I finally understand that there really are differences between people.

I've tried so hard, really, but I just can't seem to get past that little bit of barrier. Sigh...

At this point, the Momonga raised its cup towards Gion.

"Gion Vice Admiral Gion, when you Tokikake were candidates for Admiral, God knows how envious I was."

But there's nothing I can do; I'm always just a little short, and that little bit of shortness is enough to make it almost impossible for me to withstand three of your moves!

Especially your age, you're a few years younger than me...

"Cough cough cough cough cough!!!"

At that moment, Gion's cough nearly scared the Momonga to death.

Faced with the stern Gion, the Momonga gasped in shock.

"Sorry, sorry, I forgot that a woman's age is a secret forever, haha, I'll punish myself with three drinks!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Momonga took a big gulp of wine.

At the same time, Gawain took a small sip of his drink, and then asked the Momonga.

"By the way, Vice Admiral Momonga, there's something I've always been curious about."

In your navy, starting with the previous generation of Admiral and Admiral candidates, don't you usually receive a title corresponding to a particular animal?

For example, Akainu, Aokiji, Kizaru, Momousagi, Chaton.

But I heard you say you're not a candidate for Admiral?

This makes me a little confused. Why do you also have an animal title, but you're not a candidate for Admiral?

"Ha ha!"

Upon hearing Gawain's words, the flying Momonga laughed heartily, patted his chest, and replied.

"Saint Gawain is mistaken. The name 'Momonga' is my real name, not a title."

As for Admiral and Admiral candidates, starting with Admiral Sakazuki's generation, their titles have all been composed of colors and animals.

But I Momonga, and my name itself refers to an animal; I don't have any color.

Ah, I also wish that one day I could change the Momonga's fin to my beloved purple!

As soon as he finished speaking, the Momonga took another big gulp of wine, then put down the bottle and began to sing leisurely.

How many of these people who have spent so long at sea don't know how to sing a skillful boat song?

Except for the Kuma.

Hearing the Momonga's song, Rayleigh smiled thoughtfully, then clapped along.

Immediately afterwards, Jinbe laughed Jinbe, raised his hand and stomped his foot, making the rhythm in the arena even faster.

The surrounding marines were infected by the song; they all looked at Gawain's group, and then the marines and their officers sang together.

The song, though not particularly well-choreographed, had a very clear rhythm and immediately filled the entire beach.

Therefore, when Hancock proudly walked to the beach and calmly examined Gawain...

What she saw was an ordinary man leaning lazily against Shirahoshi, casually tapping his hands to the beat, and humming along to the rhythm with a big smile on his face.

For a moment, Hancock was genuinely confused. In her mind, Celestial Dragon would never sit on a beach, clapping and singing with a group of lowly people.

It wasn't until the singing stopped that Hancock snapped out of her daze. She continued walking, weaving through countless people, until she reached Gawain and his group.

At this moment, Gawain finally noticed Hancock approaching.

However, Hancock didn't even look at Gawain.

She raised her head, staring intently at Gion, whose eyes were slightly narrowed, and spoke each word clearly.

"I am Boa Hancock, the Amazon Lily Empress. You are Momousagi, the so-called most beautiful Marine!"

Upon hearing this, Gion frowned, mentally translating Hancock's words.

She's known as the most beautiful woman in the Navy, but it's just a title, and she won't even call me by my name!

A moment later, Gion smiled, her eyes narrowed.

"Has Lady Snake Princess recovered again? I really envy your good health..."

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