You really are a lunatic

"Pfft—"

A massive shockwave caused blood to spray from Bai Ina's mouth once again. As his petrified arm shattered completely, sensation flooded back into his body, and blood erupted from the severed stump.

"Aaaah..."

The agony of fractured bone and tearing flesh hit him simultaneously. Even Bai Ina felt his vision go black, and a miserable scream tore from his throat.

The Pirate Empress grabbed Bai Ina by the hair and hoisted him up once more, her expression icy. "You are the first person to ever treat this one in such a manner. After committing such filthy acts against this one, do you truly believe you will be allowed to live?"

Bai Ina looked at the beautiful face inches from his own, and a weak smile suddenly curled the corners of his lips.

The Pirate Empress frowned, her voice cold. "What is there to laugh about?"

"I cannot see death, so I hold onto a sliver of hope—and right now, I have caught sight of that hope!" A flash of hesitation crossed Bai Ina's eyes. Though he despised his own upcoming actions, as long as he could survive, he would... do whatever it took.

"..."

Bai Ina's lips parted and closed a few times. The sound, no louder than a mosquito's hum, struck the Pirate Empress like a thunderbolt. It was only a few words—a few words the Pirate Empress would rather die than have anyone else know.

Hoofprint of the Nine Heavens Soaring Dragon!!!

'Thud—'

The Pirate Empress loosened her grip, and Bai Ina, soaked in his own blood, collapsed onto the ground.

"Hiss—" The friction against the stump of his left arm made Bai Ina gasp, his face twisted in pain, yet a glimmer of joy shone in his eyes.

As expected, the status of being a slave to the Celestial Dragons was enough to stir waves in the heart of the Pirate Empress.

"You... what do you mean?" The Pirate Empress's tone was frantic. She stared at Bai Ina with a desperate expression and roared, "Who exactly are you? Why do you know these things!"

But her question went unanswered, for the moment his tensed nerves relaxed, Bai Ina lost consciousness. After all, the severe trauma to his body and the loss of blood had long since pushed him to his absolute limit.

Seeing this, a flicker of hesitation crossed the Pirate Empress's face.

"Sandersonia!"

"Elder Sister!" Sandersonia and Marigold stepped forward, their bodies radiating killing intent. They looked down at Bai Ina with dark, murderous eyes. "We shall tear this filthy man into pieces right now!"

The Pirate Empress shook her head slightly. "Have the ship's doctor treat him. Do not let him die. Then, lock him in the ship's brig. We are returning to the country!" With that, she walked straight toward the palace.

"What?"

Everyone was stunned, wondering if something was wrong with their ears. They had never seen the Snake Princess so enraged; they had assumed this man would be executed by her in the most brutal way possible.

Yet just now, the Snake Princess had ordered the ship's doctor to treat this audacious man.

"Elder Sister must want to keep him alive so he can endure the most terrifying tortures in the world!"

"Yes, that must be it. That is definitely it."

"I knew it. How could we let a bastard who dared to treat the Snake Princess like that live?"

"Where is the ship's doctor? Go heal him, just make sure he doesn't die."

"..."

When Bai Ina finally regained consciousness, three days had passed. He slowly opened his eyes, his instinct driving him to reach for his blade, but the moment he shifted his body, a sharp pain struck him, causing him to frown.

He then tried to use both hands to push himself up to survey his surroundings, but only the sensation of his right hand pressing against the floor returned. As the memories from before he blacked out flooded back, a bitter smile spread across Bai Ina's face.

That's right, I no longer have a left arm.

The sudden loss of his left arm left Bai Ina feeling deeply unbalanced. He let out a long breath, dispelling the negative emotions in his heart. Using his single hand, he struggled to push his body up and looked around.

He was not on a ship, but in a prison cell that resembled a cave. Outside the bars stood several female guards armed with weapons.

"Amazon Lily?"

Bai Ina frowned, sighing inwardly. If he were still on the Kuja Pirates' ship, he might have had a chance to escape, but in this nation of female warriors where everyone possessed Haki, escape was practically impossible.

"The man is awake!"

At that moment, one of the guards turned her head and noticed Bai Ina had come to.

"He's awake?"

"Ah, he really is awake! The man is awake!"

"Everyone, be careful. The Kuja Pirates said this man is very dangerous."

"But, is this what a man looks like? He doesn't seem any different from us."

"He doesn't have breasts!"

"How could he have them? Look at how young he is—only in his teens. How could he possibly have breasts?"

"Ah, true. He looks quite pretty, though. He'll surely have them when he grows up."

"..."

How could he possibly have breasts...

Bai Ina's face darkened. Although he knew that, aside from the Kuja Pirates, none of the women on Amazon Lily had ever seen a man, he hadn't expected them to be ignorant to such an extent.

Furthermore, the way the women stared at him as if he were a gorilla in a zoo made Bai Ina go mad.

"What are you doing?"

At this moment, a cold voice drifted in from outside the prison, and the tall, slender figure of Hancock walked in slowly.

"Snake Princess!"

Hearing Hancock's voice, the numerous female guards immediately abandoned Bai Ina, all turning their heads with fanatical expressions to bow respectfully.

"Hmm, you may leave. Without my orders, no one is allowed to enter." Hancock glanced at Bai Ina in the cell, then turned to the guards.

"Yes, Snake Princess!"

The guards did not worry about leaving Hancock alone with him; after all, the Snake Princess was the strongest person in all of Amazon Lily, and this insignificant man could never harm her.

"What did you mean by what you said before you lost consciousness?"

Once she confirmed the guards had left, Hancock's majestic and beautiful eyes locked onto Bai Ina, and an invisible Haki enveloped the entire cell.

Bai Ina's expression tightened. He stared at Hancock with icy eyes, yet within them, there was no so-called hatred—only a bone-chilling coldness.

That was right; Bai Ina did not resent the Empress. While there was some lingering frustration, given that she had crippled one of his arms, it did not reach the level of hatred. In his view, the reason he had ended up in this state was entirely because he was too weak.

In this world where the strong reigned supreme, being weak was a fault in itself.

If Bai Ina had the ability to kill the Empress, he would have done so without hesitation, just as she had. Much like their previous duel, he had struck without hesitation the moment Hancock lost focus. Had he been able to kill her then, he would never have felt a shred of guilt.

Therefore, there was no right or wrong, and certainly no resentment. After all, he was the one who had overestimated his abilities and tried to kill her; being killed by her would simply have been his own undoing. This had always been Bai Ina's philosophy of survival.

"It meant nothing."

Bai Ina pondered for a moment before replying, "I simply knew your past identity, so I wanted to shake your resolve, make you hesitate, and save my own life temporarily so I could find a way to escape. But rest assured, I have no interest in spreading word of your past."

"Hmm?"

Hancock was taken aback by his words, looking at Bai Ina with a strange expression. "And now that you've said it out loud, are you not afraid that I will kill you?"

"What good would fear do!"

Bai Ina shook his head. "I had assumed that when I woke up, I would be on the Kuja pirate ship, and I would have found an opportunity to escape then, but..." Bai Ina looked up at the surrounding cage, a bitter smile appearing on his face. "Does it even matter now? Even if I escaped this prison, I doubt I could ever escape this nation of warriors!"

Ever since he realized he had been brought to Amazon Lily, Bai Ina had completely abandoned any hope of escape. Just as he had said, in this country, even if Hancock or the Kuja Pirates didn't lift a finger, he would never be able to get out.

As for using Hancock's past identity to threaten her, that was simply impossible, and there was only one reason: the Empress was too strong.

When a person reaches a certain level of strength, they might be shaken, but they will never compromise, because with her power, she could easily eliminate everyone who knew the truth. Furthermore, Bai Ina had no such contingency plans.

Bai Ina could use any means necessary to survive, but when there was not a shred of hope left, he was more detached than anyone. It was much like the situation when he had met that cloaked man at the dojo.

Hancock pondered for a long time, finally giving a fitting evaluation of Bai Ina's character.

"You really are a madman!"