Gion finished speaking, visible black energy immediately appeared on Hancock's forehead.
Again...
Again!!!
Wow, another one!!!
Hancock suddenly put her hands on her hips.
"Sister Momousagi is really too polite, actually calling me Snake Princess!"
I am only twenty-six years old. Considering my age, I will allow you to call me "younger sister"!
Click!!!
With a crisp snap, the dice in Gion's hand vanished without a trace.
"All he ever says is 'I am the Empress Dowager,' what an arrogant and domineering person!"
As she coldly rebuked, Gion gracefully, her left hand resting on her sword, her right hand clenched into a fist.
"Drinking alone isn't enough, Hancock. Would you like to dance with me?"
"Hmph, I couldn't be happier!"
The two women instantly clashed, Hancock raising her neck and staring coldly into Gion's eyes.
Gion looked down at Hancock, her lips already curled into a Kuma expression.
For a moment, all was silent, as if Inazuma was constantly clashing between the two women's gazes.
A moment later, Gion turned to Gawain and said.
"My lord, Hancock seems to wish to have a word with me. Give me some time, and I'll enjoy a drink with you later!"
"Snort!"
Seeing Gion's appearance, Hancock was furious. She glanced at Gawain following Gion's gaze, then quickly looked away, raising her head proudly.
"It's just dancing, and you even need permission for that? Poor Momousagi, what a servile little thing!"
In that instant, Gion's hands were instantly covered with Armament Haki, and black energy flowed from her left hand and wrapped around her Kompira.
At the same time, Gawain frowned.
He didn't care if it was just a rivalry between two women.
For two girls, one is the Flower of the Navy and the other is the Crown of the Pirates. If their identities clash even slightly, it's nothing at all.
But if you attack Gion's obedience to me and use that to look down on my subordinates...
Are you trying to break my rules?
Gawain instantly exerted force with his hips and legs, using his back to support himself on Shirahoshi's arm as he stood up.
Seeing the adult stand up, Gion blinked innocently, then her eyes darted around as she pulled out a sake bottle from her back and took a sip.
And Gawain.
He walked towards Hancock was only slightly taller than him.
Hancock was stunned to see Gawain walking towards her, and she tried her best not to take a step back.
Then, she struggled to maintain her haughty gaze, staring intently at Gawain.
Facing Hancock's disdainful yet undeniably alluring appearance, Gawain casually stepped to stand opposite Hancock.
"Boa Hancock!"
Gawain uttered Hancock's name in a cold voice.
Hancock bit her lip hard and said to Gawain.
"It is indeed I, Your Majesty!"
"Oh, so even in front of me, you still refer to yourself as 'I, the Empress Dowager'?"
Gawain said in a cold voice, then he narrowed his eyes and looked meaningfully at Hancock's shoulder.
Although Hancock was still wearing a purple cheongsam, for some reason, she now wore a padded shoulder over it, and also wrapped herself in a fluffy cloak.
Although her legs were still exposed as usual, her upper body was now completely covered up!
Seeing this, Gawain understood, and so he continued walking.
Amidst Hancock's complex silence, Gawain slowly stepped behind Hancock.
At that moment, Hancock's heart started racing. She bit her lip and frowned, but somehow, she didn't dare to move at all.
Gawain silently raised his right hand and gently placed his palm on Hancock's back.
"You...!!!"
Sensing Gawain's movement, Hancock froze completely, her mouth slightly agape, speechless with disbelief.
At that moment, her heart almost stopped.
Sweat seeped from her forehead, quickly gathering into streams that dripped down her temples.
At this very moment, Elder Nyon, who witnessed everything from not far away, and her Second Sister and Third Sister, who were watching from the shadows, were also present.
They too froze on the spot.
However, Gawain did not make any further moves; he quickly removed his right hand from Hancock's back.
He turned and walked in a different direction, arriving at Gion's side.
Gawain casually snatched the bottle of sake that Gion had just drunk from and gently shook it at Hancock.
"Hancock!"
"Um...?"
Hancock was somewhat bewildered; she felt as if the sky had fallen, and she was too confused to think about anything.
Seeing the completely dazed Snake Princess, Gawain threw the wine bottle at her, saying as he did so.
"Catch!"
"Um..."
Hancock instinctively caught the bottle, and the moment she did, Gawain smiled.
"I'm inviting you for drinks on behalf of Gion. Your conflict shouldn't be discussed on a day like today."
Besides, you see, what I said was quite useful; you listened to it, didn't you?
So, you're no different from Gion!
As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain patted Gion's leg, signaling Gion to sit back down.
Gion sat back down without commenting, but she couldn't help but ponder the reasons behind everything.
Where is the pride of the Pirate Empress?
Is he just all bark and no bite?
What kind of magic does Gawain possess?
Does the adult's hand have some special effect?
How about I have an adult pat my back and try it?
While pondering in confusion, Gion couldn't help but look at Hancock. Holding the bottle of sake in her hand, Hancock sipped her lips and then downed the entire bottle in one gulp.
Hancock put down the bottle, lowered her head, and seemed shrouded in shadow. She stood listlessly on the beach, as if she had lost her soul.
Gawain walked past her, returned to sit down next to Shirahoshi, picked up his wine glass, and raised it high.
"Today on the beach, Hancock's kick truly showed me the power of the Shichibukai. Come, toast to Empress Kuja!"
"Cheers!"
Everyone raised their glasses and took a big gulp.
Gawain put down his cup, waved to Hancock, and then pointed to his group of people.
"Hancock, come and sit down!"
"Ah...?"
Hancock froze, her shoulders trembling violently, but the more she trembled, the less she could control her feet.
The next moment, Hancock silently came to Gawain's side, straightened her cheongsam slightly with her hands, and then curled up her legs and knelt sideways to Gawain's right.
To Gawain's right, Jinbe couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"I just sat on warm sand..."
With a sigh, Jinbe shuffled away a little, leaving space for the Pirate Empress.
Hancock ignored Jinbe's words; she simply sat down beside Gawain with her head down, remaining silent.
Shirahoshi, however, upon seeing a stunningly beautiful older sister beside her, quickly moved closer to Hancock.
"Wow, Sister Snake Princess, your hairstyle is so beautiful!"
"How can hair be cut like this near the temples? It's so cute, so beautiful~~."
At this point, Shirahoshi lowered her head and whispered to Gawain.
"My lord, my lord, can I try this hairstyle? It's so pretty!"
"Indeed."
Gawain smiled and nodded, then glanced up at the Empress's hair.
Boa Hancock is the only woman in the entire Pirate World with a princess-cut hairstyle.
Therefore, it is clear that even in Oda's heart, Hancock must be the most special one.
Pointing to Hancock's hair, Gawain said to Shirahoshi smile.
"If you really think it looks good, take some time to have Kalifa help you get a new hairstyle."
Kalifa, you probably get your hair done too, right?
"Of course, my lord!"
Kalifa answered with absolute certainty.
As she answered, Kalifa also glanced at the Empress's hairstyle.
Even as a woman, Kalifa had to admit that the Empress was truly beautiful...
Kalifa lowered her head in a moment of frustration, suddenly understanding Gion's feelings.
Unfortunately, she knew in her heart that she couldn't beat Hancock.
Leaving aside the women's subtle power struggles, Gawain leaned against Shirahoshi's arm again. Holding a piece of roasted meat, he chewed it heartily while humming the tune that the Momonga had just sung.
But upon hearing this tune, Rayleigh suddenly laughed, tapping his plate with his fork as he did so.
"Little Gawain, let's change the song. Listen to this old man's, haha."
As soon as he finished speaking, Rayleigh began to sing, taking advantage of the sea breeze on the beach. He started with a cheerful verse, and then his rhythm became more and more bold and urgent!
Listening to the singing, this time it was the Momonga's turn and he felt something was off, but seeing that Jinbe, the king of warm-up acts, had started harmonizing again, the Momonga couldn't say anything.
As for Gawain, he looked at Rayleigh with amusement; he certainly knew what was going on.
Previously, the song that Momonga sang was a Navy song. That song told the story of a Marine who dreamed of becoming a Marine and vowed to eliminate all pirates. In the end, this Marine defeated the strongest pirate at the time and became a Navy hero.
This is a song by old Garp.
Rayleigh was singing a pirate song, telling the story of a young man who left his hometown with a dream, braved the winds and waves at sea, and bravely pursued One Piece.
Just like now, he's singing about how the pirates shake off the Navy, defeat powerful enemies in the storms, and ultimately become the Pirate King.
This is clearly Roger's original boat song, isn't it?
It would be a miracle if the Momonga's expression matched!
Regardless, listening to Rayleigh's song, Gawain still joined in, closing his eyes and clapping along to the rapid rhythm. Following Rayleigh's lyrics, he seemed to see Roger back then.
The only person in eight hundred years to reach One Piece.
The Pirate King, unprecedented in eight hundred years.
Although Roger died less than two years later, on the Marines' Execution Platform.
But fate did not favor him.
Fate never favored Roger. Whether it was his terminal illness or the lack of certain conditions, many things meant that even after he arrived in Laugh Tale, all he could do was laugh and vent his frustrations.
So even after becoming the Pirate King, Roger was determined to usher in the Great Pirate Era until the moment of his death.
Was that Roger's final struggle and contest against fate?
Just as Gawain was reminiscing, Rayleigh finished his song, raised his glass, and laughed heartily.
"This is the first time I've sung this song to anyone other than my few old friends."
Haha, how about that? Awesome, right?
Crocus isn't just a ship's doctor; when it comes to music, that old guy's a real expert."
"That's absolutely fantastic! It seems I need to recruit a talented musician, because I've suddenly realized that good music truly has a special meaning and power to move people!"
Gawain responded with a smile, then picked up an empty glass, poured some wine into it, and casually handed it to Hancock seemed to be kneeling silently alone in the downpour.
Hancock paused for a moment, looking at the glass in front of her. She carefully reached out and took the glass.
"Don't be silly and stand there all by yourself. Now that we're sitting down, we're all friends, Hancock."
There's meat and vegetables too, so help yourselves. I can't possibly feed you bite by bite, can I?
Is the Pirate Empress really that delicate?
Gawain chuckled and teased, then clinked his glass against Hancock's.
He then presented his glass to the center of the crowd.
"Respect to Roger, haha!"
Thump!
The group's glasses clinked together, spilling wine haphazardly across the center of the tablecloth.
Beside her, Hancock stood alone, holding her cup. For some reason, she felt like crying.
But she dared not, she couldn't, she was the Empress of the Amazon Lily!!!
Suddenly, she perked up, raised her glass, and downed the foamy beer in one gulp.
In the distance, the Amazon Lily girls who had been silently watching Hancock cheered excitedly when they saw Hancock cheer up.
In an instant, the tense atmosphere vanished, and everyone sang and danced again, with quite a few girls even jumping together with the marines.
Seeing this scene, the Momonga rubbed its forehead in frustration.
"It seems I'll have a hard time returning today. If I leave immediately after the banquet, my lads will kill me."
"Snort!"
Suddenly, Hancock spoke up. She changed from her previous dejected state to her haughty demeanor and spoke loudly to the Momonga.
"You ungrateful bastard, all you need to worry about is when your soldiers will return."
Little did you know that after you left, I would still have to consider the baby boom of my Amazon Lily!
As soon as she finished speaking, Hancock picked up a glass of wine and held it directly in front of Gawain.
"Celestial Dragon, Saint Gawain!"
Even without a particular reason, I must still offer you a toast!
"Haha, that's more like it."
Gawain smiled with satisfaction and then drank a glass with Hankul.
No sooner had he put down his glass than Hancock raised it up to him again.
Faced with the new wine, Gawain looked at Hancock's face in surprise. Hancock was pursing her lips, her face full of stubborn courage.
Seeing this, what could Gawain say? Drink up!
Sure enough, he had barely swallowed it when a new beer was placed in front of him.
Gawain gasped, and he pretended to roll up his sleeves, which he wasn't wearing.
"Is he trying to have a drinking contest with me? How interesting!"
Seven hours later, on the beach under the starry night, the aroma of grilled meat and an extremely strong smell of alcohol filled the air.
Gawain collapsed into Shirahoshi.
Shirahoshi looked at Gawain with amusement, then stretched out her finger and poked Gawain's face repeatedly.
Seeing that Gawain didn't react, she mischievously poked his Gawain belly lightly.
Even though he was too lazy to move, Gawain still quickly turned over. He looked at the sky; the night was so dark, and the stars were so bright.
Then, he looked around and saw Rayleigh and Gion playing dominoes, while Jinbe were watching.
And those around me.
Hancock had already taken off her high heels; she'd turned evil!
At that moment, she was kicking her thighs repeatedly with her seemingly gleaming feet.
At the same time, she kept pushing the wine glass toward the Kuma on the other side of Gawain.
"Celestial Dragon, do you think you can outdrink me just because you've grown bigger? Keep drinking with me!"
Seeing this, Gawain smiled with satisfaction; she was even more drunk than he was...