Empress, You Wouldn't Want...

"Empress, this deal offers us more benefits than drawbacks. You should consider it..."

Granny Niu stretched her short body as hard as she could, trying to lean close to the Empress's ear and offer some words of persuasion.

"Shut up. You're merely one of Kuja Island's former former former empresses. You have no right to tell me what to do. I am Kuja Island's empress."

After saying that, the Empress ordered her subordinates to throw Granny Niu out.

She was not allowed to come near this place again.

"Enough. I will keep the promises I made to you. From now on, settle down in this area. I will not allow Kuja Tribe warriors to harass you.

But as for teaching you Haki, as long as I am here, don't even think about it!"

The Empress flatly rejected Yoru's third proposed trade.

"Wouldn't it be better for everyone to cooperate and benefit together? Why did you have to force me into being the bad guy?"

Hearing the Empress's rejection, Yoru helplessly shook his head and muttered under his breath.

His third proposed exchange had already been sincere enough, offering ample benefits to both sides.

Although the Golden Binding Technique could not control Sea Kings,

at critical moments, it could use genjutsu to immobilize Sea Kings, which would also be of great help to Kuja Tribe warriors.

If the Empress agreed to this deal, everyone would be happy. Why did she have to refuse?

Why did she have to force him to use his final method?!

"Hmph. What, do you want to keep fighting? Do you think I'm afraid of you?"

The Empress heard Yoru's muttering. Frost thickened across her stunning face, and though the Haki around her remained concealed, it exuded an even more oppressive pressure.

Uchiha Yoru raised his head. The trace of helplessness on his face had vanished, replaced by a profound calm.

He looked Hancock directly in the eye and slowly spoke. His voice was not loud, yet every word reached her ears clearly:

"Mary Geoise. Tiger. Little girl. Brand."

He deliberately slowed his speech, enunciating every word with exceptional clarity.

!!!

The instant his words fell, Boa Hancock's delicate body shuddered violently, as though struck by an invisible bolt of thunder!

The arrogance, fury, and disdain on her face all froze in an instant, then peeled away piece by piece like shattered porcelain.

All that remained was boundless shock, fear, and the ghastly pallor of having her deepest wound exposed!

Sandersonia and Marigold behind her also underwent a drastic change in expression. They instinctively covered their backs, their eyes filled with terror and disbelief.

This secret was the deepest, most painful nightmare buried by the three sisters.

It was a past they would conceal at any cost!

He knew. He absolutely knew!

This man... how could he know the secret hidden in their hearts?!

"You... you..."

Hancock pointed at Uchiha Yoru, her finger trembling slightly. Her red lips parted and closed, but she was momentarily speechless.

The question, "How do you know?" caught in her throat, impossible to ask.

Overwhelming fear and humiliation instantly drowned her, nearly suffocating her.

Though the surrounding Kuja Tribe warriors did not understand what was happening, they saw their godlike Empress lose control so completely.

They too sensed the strange, heavy atmosphere. They fell silent one after another and looked at the Empress uneasily.

Seeing the Empress's face turn pale in an instant and the undisguised terror in her eyes, Uchiha Yoru felt little satisfaction. Instead, his emotions were somewhat complicated.

He knew this was the most effective method, but also the most despicable one. It had struck at her deepest pain.

But he had no choice. For Uchiha's Future, he had to let his clansmen begin cultivating Haki as soon as possible.

Meeting the Empress's nearly murderous gaze, Yoru softened his tone slightly, though he remained firm:

"Empress, you wouldn't want..."

He did not finish his sentence, but the threat in his tone was already unmistakable.

He was no saint. He was the Uchiha clan head, and in order to give his clansmen the strength to survive,

this clan head did not mind being a little despicable.

"Say no more. I agree to your third deal. I will send people to teach them how to learn Haki."

The Empress's voice carried a faint tremor that was difficult to detect as she interrupted Yoru's unfinished threat.

It seemed as if she had exhausted all her strength just to say those words. Her proudly raised head lowered slightly as she bit her lower lip tightly.

Anger and humiliation intertwined in her beautiful eyes, while deeper within lay indescribable pain and fear.

This secret was the heaviest shackle upon her, yet now it had become leverage others could use against her.

"Empress, thank you very much."

Uchiha Yoru looked at the Empress before him, who had instantly lost all her sharpness and seemed to have become fragile.

The guilt in his heart grew heavier.

He restrained every emotion that might provoke her, and his tone became exceptionally calm and solemn:

"Empress, please believe me. I did not bring this up to humiliate you, nor do I intend to use it as an eternal threat.

On the contrary..."

His gaze swept over the equally pale Sandersonia and Marigold, his voice clear and resolute:

"I want to tell you that that dark past was not your shame. It was the sin of those who inflicted it upon you!"

His words were like a stone thrown into a lake, sending ripples through the sisters' deathly still hearts.

They abruptly raised their heads and stared at Uchiha Yoru in disbelief.

Never... never had anyone said such things to them.

Everyone believed it was an indelible stain. Even they themselves had been trapped in self-loathing and fear.

Facing their shocked gazes, Uchiha Yoru continued in a deep voice:

"Those who survive bearing pain and hatred have done nothing wrong. The truly ugly and sinful ones are the only ones who cannot be forgiven."

He paused, then made an oath weightier than any promise of trade:

"I, Uchiha Yoru, swear here that once the Uchiha Clan gains a firm foothold in this world and possesses sufficient strength,

in repayment for the grace of your teaching Haki to the Uchiha Clan today, we will one day repay you with all our strength and make those abusers pay the price they deserve!

This is my promise to you, in the name of the Uchiha clan head."

This was not a bargaining chip for a deal, but a declaration from the bottom of his heart, carrying an unshakable resolve.

Hancock stared blankly at Uchiha Yoru, at the sincerity in his eyes that did not seem false. The stormy waves in her heart could not settle.

The anger and humiliation remained.

Yet beneath the solid ice, an extremely faint sprout called understanding and hope quietly began to grow.

He... they... could it be...?

She did not ask it aloud, but the hostility and pure fear in her eyes finally faded somewhat.

In their place was an extraordinarily complicated emotion, impossible to put into words.

"...Remember your words."

After a long while, Hancock's voice remained low, but the trembling that had verged on collapse finally disappeared.

She did not look at Uchiha Yoru again. Instead, she turned around decisively and quietly said to her sisters and the warriors behind her:

"We're leaving."