Across the boundless azure sea, a warship made of logs like a wooden raft cut through the waves, sailing slowly beneath a clear blue sky.
Buruburu~
Buru—click.
"Zehahahaha! What is it, Pizarro? We're almost back at Hachinosu Island."
In a dim room inside the cabin, Teach picked up the Transponder Snail. Leaning back against the sofa with one arm draped over its back, he laughed loudly.
The moment he finished speaking, the Transponder Snail's expression changed. It was as though it had put on another face, glaring furiously at him.
Teach frowned. Pizarro would never look at him like that.
What was going on? Did he call the wrong person?
At that moment, an angry voice came through the call.
"Hey, Teach! Hancock is with you, isn't she? Release her right now!"
"Who are you? No, that voice...!"
Teach froze, then immediately sat upright. The image of someone wearing a straw hat flashed through his mind.
He suddenly recalled their chance encounter at a bar on Jaya Island two years ago. Listening closely, the voice on the other end matched the memory in his mind.
Teach slowly curled his lips into a grin, exposing a row of jagged, pale teeth.
"Zehahahaha, so it's you, Straw Hat Boy."
"I see. You know this woman?"
Teach's tone was mocking as he turned to look at the ice sculpture in the corner.
Several days had passed since Hancock had been frozen by Aokiji. An ordinary person would likely have died in that state long ago.
Yet Hancock truly deserved her reputation as the rare Empress. Relying on her formidable vitality and Haki, she was still resisting, forcing Aokiji to use his power every so often to maintain the ice.
"Come to think of it, that woman hasn't made a sound for quite some