I Really Like You (Vote for Me)

By the time the battle ended, everyone aboard the Marine warship suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of oppression, and their hearts were filled with unease.

They had never expected that when Instructor Zephyr had lost his arm to Norse's punch, Norse might have held back. Otherwise, judging by the Sea King's current injuries, there was simply no way to explain the disparity in power.

The bloody crater was a full hundred meters across, and the punch had penetrated deep into the Sea King's abdomen. Compared to that, Zephyr losing only half an arm was practically nothing. In fact, he was already fortunate—after all, Norse was a pirate, yet he had not taken Instructor Zephyr's life on the spot.

After Norse withdrew his hand, he suddenly realized that his body had been exhausted to an unprecedented degree. In the Demon Back state, he probably could not launch too many full-power attacks. Otherwise, once his stamina failed, he would leave an opening for his enemies to exploit.

"It's over, Admiral Zephyr. Leave behind all the resources aboard your ship, and you may leave. Of course, I'll thank you on behalf of all the citizens of the Land of Lilies for your generous assistance."

A smile spread across Norse's face, making him look exceptionally kind and approachable. But in Zephyr's eyes and those of the others, when this guy kept a low profile, he was as harmless as could be. Yet when he was arrogant, his confidence and terror were simply overwhelming.

"The higher-ups have reassessed your bounty at one billion. But since you defeated me this time, it may rise even further. Of course, since you refused to join the Marines and chose to become a pirate, you are now my greatest enemy, Norse. From this day onward, I will keep a close watch on your every move. If you do anything that violates justice, I will never abandon my resolve to capture you!" Zephyr said through the pain, tightly clutching the stump of his right arm.

"Hahaha, a bounty of one billion barely suits me."

Norse laughed like a two-hundred-and-fifty-pound child, then looked solemnly at Admiral Zephyr. "Then come catch me if you can. But once I, Norse, decide to do something, no one can stop me!"

Several tiny suns condensed in Norse's hand and descended upon Zephyr's severed arm. He continued, "Although I chose to become a pirate, your reputation for never killing has earned my deepest admiration and respect. Of course, those are separate matters. I hope the wound on your right arm heals soon."

Zephyr felt the wound on his severed arm rapidly healing, the bleeding stopping instantly. He let out a sigh. "I truly cannot understand it. You are clearly a kind person, and you have the ability to safeguard world peace. Why insist on choosing such an infamous profession as piracy?"

"Hehe... Then why do you, Zephyr, insist on staying at Marine Headquarters when you could live better as a pirate?" Norse grinned. "All right, all right, I won't think about it anymore. We'll be taking the supplies from your warship without further ceremony."

Just then, the Kuja Pirates sailed over. The girls aboard, bare-chested and bare-armed, expertly and swiftly carried the supplies off the warship.

Five days later, Norse's name shook the entire sea, and his bounty soared directly to 1.2 billion.

At the same time, the World Government printed countless posters announcing Boa Hancock's appointment as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, distributing them throughout the Four Seas.

Countless pirates, islanders across the seas, and Marines from bases throughout the Four Seas all firmly remembered and fervently discussed the names Norse and Hancock at that moment.

Still, many crazed pirates wanted to find Norse and Hancock, then become famous in a single battle and straightforwardly recruit more underlings.

In particular, pirates confident in their own strength set their sights directly on defeating Norse. Pirates with at least some sense of their own capabilities, meanwhile, targeted the newly appointed Seven Warlord of the Sea, Boa Hancock.

The Four Emperors of the sea

could not sit still over a previously unknown pirate suddenly possessing a bounty of 1.2 billion.

Thus, even though the Marines had sealed off news of Zephyr and Aokiji's defeat, these pirate emperors still gathered information about Norse's first famous battle in an extremely short time.

No one knew what plans or arrangements they would make afterward.

Perhaps as long as Norse did not threaten their interests, they would not bother seeking trouble with him. Or perhaps one of the Emperor crews had taken a liking to Norse's strength and wanted to recruit him aboard their ship.

Norse, however, did not consider what effect his bounty's sudden rise to 1.2 billion would have on those powerhouses, because he had never regarded these pirate emperors as worthy of his attention.

Besides, by the time this bounty poster reached Amazon Lily in the Calm Belt, it would probably take two months!

After Zephyr left, the triumphant Kuja Pirates returned to the island.

On the way back to the palace, Norse suddenly smiled. "Oh, right. The caviar we cured a week ago should be ready today. Later, I'll be merciful and prepare a grand feast for you all!"

"Norse, I hate you again. You promised Sonia and me last week that you'd cook a Sea King for us, along with deep-sea caviar."

"Exactly! You did make the Sea King dishes, but you still haven't prepared any delicious caviar for us!" Gorud pouted, completely justified in her complaint.

"Haha... I was only joking."

Norse said excitedly and proudly, "I'm a great pirate with a one-billion bounty now. Do I look like the kind of person who breaks his word? So I'll be the chef tonight. You can all come over to celebrate and eat and drink to your hearts' content."

In truth, Norse was worried Hancock would suddenly say that she would prepare dinner or something. He really could not bear it anymore—after all, he had eaten Hancock's dark cuisine for an entire week.

That evening, Norse brought out culinary skills that could sweep the seas without equal. He prepared a pot of steaming pearl-white rice, a vat of golden deep-sea caviar, and several bottles of aged champagne, arranging them on the dining table.

Other than the deep-sea caviar, all the ingredients had been seized by them at sea before. In any case, they smelled incredibly delicious.

"Norse, may we eat now?"

Hancock sat at the table and asked shyly. Norse's cooking was just so delicious that she simply could not resist the temptation.

"Of course you can. Everyone gets a portion. If yours isn't enough, I'll give you some of mine," Norse said thoughtfully.

Over the past few days, Hancock had completely opened her heart to Norse. As a result, Norse gradually realized that this was not so bad. At the very least, Hancock had become gentle and considerate because of him, and no longer used the matter of being his lifesaver to control him in every possible way.

"Norse, you really do love me sincerely!" Seeing how concerned Norse was for her, Hancock's old narcissistic habit surfaced again.

"Hehehe... Eat... Hurry and eat," Norse said with an awkward laugh. Deep down, he still found it a little hard to accept Hancock's old narcissistic habit.

"Mmm, it smells wonderful. Hancock, don't just stare at me like that. Hurry and eat the food I made for you, okay?" Norse said patiently.

Hancock covered her ears with both hands. Feeling that Norse was making her heart flutter again, she nodded happily. "I understand. I'll start right away."

They began tasting Norse's caviar dish. First, they took a mouthful of steaming pearl-white rice, then added a spoonful of caviar and chewed it together with the rice.

"Ah~~ ngh~~"

To everyone's surprise, Hancock, Sonia, and Gorud immediately cried out in bliss. Their voices were soft and sweet, filled with endless temptation.

They found tonight's food bursting with flavor. With a light bite, the caviar popped in their mouths, releasing a rich, mellow protein sauce. It was as though fresh juices from the sea had filled their mouths, perfectly blending into the soft, plump grains of rice.

For a moment, the food was so delicious that their bodies went limp with pleasure, unable to pull themselves away from it. Even their hearts and minds lingered in that instant, as though nature itself were gently caressing their entire bodies.

As a man, Norse naturally couldn't stand it at this moment.

He awkwardly searched for a topic. "Hehe, speaking of the... the nutritional value and quality of this caviar, I used beluga sturgeon roe to make it. Not only is it highly nutritious, but it also has beautifying and slimming effects. You should definitely eat more."

However, Norse was met with an awkward silence and received no response. It was only after quite a while that the women seemed to notice his existence one after another.

Sonia unapologetically licked her plate clean, then raised her glass and said, "It's so delicious, Norse. Can you pour me a glass of champagne?"

"Sure. Then let's have a toast together, and afterward, everyone can go wash up and sleep. It's getting late." Norse prepared to end this awkward dinner in which he had once again been ignored.

Hancock and the others did not think much of it. They had no idea what unreasonable thing they had done to Norse while eating.

"Clink..."

The four of them clinked glasses together.

But Hancock and the others soon discovered that after eating the delicious caviar dish, drinking champagne with its pronounced tartness and refreshing fragrance, letting it continuously wash over their palates, suddenly created an airy, drifting sensation of bubbles.

That feeling was simply incredible.

"Norse, pour me another glass?"

"Me too. Why did it suddenly become so delicious?"

"And me! Let's have another together!"

Before they knew it, they had gone through more than ten bottles of champagne, glass after glass.

"Damn, I finally got you all drunk, hahaha... You're all mother-level existences—I can't afford to provoke you!"

Norse stared blankly at Hancock and the other two. They were already dead drunk, sprawled across the dining table asleep. Hancock, however, was still murmuring sweet nothings.

"Norse, I really, really like you. Promise me you'll never leave me, okay?"

P.S. Please send some votes and give me some motivation—I'm about to cry.