Beating Up the Empress

"You can call me Ye Zhuo, your captain."

Ye Zhuo smiled, the lasers in his eyes still as arrogant as ever.

"I'll kick that glowing head of yours into pieces!"

The Empress stood in high heels, her long right leg planted on the ground as her left leg swept out in a sideways kick.

"Perfume Femur!"

"Sorry, you can't hit me."

Ye Zhuo tilted his head and easily dodged the blow.

It couldn't be helped. His Observation Haki and speed worked together flawlessly.

"Wing Chun, Ye Zhuo!"

There were no Six Naval Powers, nor were there any flashy techniques.

Wing Chun was one of the countless traditional martial arts Ye Zhuo had learned over the course of his previous life.

Bang!

His fists came faster and faster, seizing the opening to deliver a heavy blow to the Empress.

Hancock, having taken a blow to the head, quickly dodged away. Ye Zhuo's little punches had hurt far more than she expected.

"Slave Arrow!"

The Empress pulled apart a heart, shaping it into a bow and arrow.

Whoosh!

Countless heart-shaped arrows shot forth.

Even as Ye Zhuo dodged them one by one, he did not relax in the slightest.

Snake Talisman invisibility!

For once, he did not use his laser eyes.

While invisible, he used Observation Haki to locate the Empress.

The Rabbit Talisman and Ox Talisman worked together.

He threw a punch that struck the Empress squarely in the face.

Boom!

The immense strength of the Demon Sorcerer Form became even more terrifying with the Ox Talisman's enhancement.

Even without Armament Haki, its destructive power was far beyond what ordinary people could compare to.

The Empress had been in the middle of using a wide-area attack.

At the critical moment, she had no time to withdraw her strength.

Ye Zhuo took the opportunity to punch her in the face.

Her body arched backward as she was sent flying, crashing into the wall.

"Big Sister!"

"Big Sister!"

Her two sisters rushed over immediately.

They were stunned. Given the Empress's strength, they had never heard of anyone who could hold such an overwhelming advantage in speed against her.

What was more, Ye Zhuo had come out of nowhere. They had never even heard of him.

The wooden wall was reduced to rubble.

Empress Hancock's soft, delicate hand trembled slightly as she clawed her way out of the ruins.

"Damn you! I'll tear you to pieces!"

She had never been this furious before. Everyone on the seas had submitted to her beauty; as long as she said such things, they would fall for it.

Yet Ye Zhuo did not care at all. He only knew how to throw punch after punch. He was simply too brutal.

Ye Zhuo took a deep breath.

In an instant, he appeared before the Empress.

At first, he truly had been unable to suppress the thoughts in his heart.

After all, he had been a virgin for ninety-nine years.

But as he carried out the system mission, appealing to reason and moving others with emotion—

Ye Zhuo's fists defeated the evil thoughts in his heart.

He discovered a different kind of pleasure!

The Empress was beautiful, truly beautiful!

But beating up the Empress felt even better!

"Tai Chi, Carry-and-Block Punch!"

Ye Zhuo did not hold back at all. Since the system had not sounded a notification, that meant the mission was not complete.

Crack!

The Empress barely dodged the strike. Ye Zhuo's attack landed on the mountain behind the wall, instantly blasting a hole into it.

"You merely rely on your speed and strength. Before me, you have no real right to boast!"

The Empress unleashed all of her Three-Color Haki. Her Conqueror's Haki brought with it an overwhelming pressure.

Ye Zhuo spun around and launched a kick.

"Shendu once divided Blue Star equally with the Seven Demons. How many little islands can your Conqueror's Haki suppress?"

"Twelve-Route Tantui!"

Bang!

Unafraid of the Empress's Conqueror's Haki, Ye Zhuo came flying in with a kick.

"Perfume Femur!"

The Empress also countered with a kick.

Their kicks became faster and faster.

Ye Zhuo's attacks changed endlessly, fierce and swift.

"His kicks can actually stand alongside Big Sister's!"

"No, his strength and speed are even greater!"

With the final blow, he kicked down from above the Empress's crown.

The floor shattered.

Hancock was kicked from the top of the palace straight down to the lowest level.

She smashed through several floors before crashing onto the ground.

"She's not dead, right?"

Ye Zhuo landed. According to his memories, people in the One Piece world were generally quite tough.

"What do you want? Where did you come from?"

The Empress struggled to her feet and tried to fight Ye Zhuo again.

Every attack was neutralized by Ye Zhuo.

"Tai Chi, Grasp Sparrow's Tail!"

No matter how the Empress attacked, Ye Zhuo could dodge perfectly through the combination of his speed and Observation Haki.

"Snake Fist, Snake Finger!"

One move decided the battle.

Empress Hancock's stamina had been utterly depleted, and she finally collapsed to the ground.

"That should count as a defeat, right?"

Ye Zhuo stood up, finished his stance, and dusted himself off.

"After practicing martial arts and combat techniques for over eighty years, they finally came in handy."

[Ding!]

[Mission completed: Invite the Empress to set sail, step two]

[Mission reward: Advanced Armament Haki: Ryuo]

The system interface refreshed as quickly as ever.

[Main chain mission: Invite the Empress to set sail, step three: Play hard to get. Once the Empress recovers from her injuries, set sail decisively.]

[Mission reward: Fire Chi: Complete Version]

Ye Zhuo froze for a moment. No wonder he had always felt that something was missing.

He had the Demon Sorcerer Form and the Twelve Talismans.

So he had been missing the Fire Chi. He had power and magic, but no Fire Chi.

He still needed the Fire Chi, which could be bestowed upon others and could also make his own flames and Dragon transformation stronger!

"What else do you want?"

One of the sisters quickly helped the Empress up, while the other tried to block Ye Zhuo.

"Shh!"

Ye Zhuo glanced at the Empress. Her robes had been badly torn apart in battle, revealing the Celestial Dragon's Hoof Mark.

He snapped his fingers and simply turned both himself and the Empress invisible.

The guards quickly entered the palace.

All they saw were the shattered ceilings and the Empress's two sisters.

Recalling the terrifying sounds of battle from earlier, they could not help but shudder.

Yet there was no sign of the Empress anywhere in the entire palace.

"Nothing happened here. We were merely training."

The second sister, Boa Sandersonia, said.

They already understood what Ye Zhuo meant.

After the confused guards left—

Ye Zhuo finally revealed himself.

"Treat her injuries. During that time, I'll be staying in the forest outside the city.

Prepare three meals a day, morning tea, afternoon tea, and a late-night snack.

I've cared about my health since I was young. I eat six meals a day, and if I miss even one, I get hungry."

Ye Zhuo glanced at the Empress and turned invisible again.

He also used the Horse Talisman and Undying Flame to heal her a little. She would probably recover after sleeping for a day and a night.

The next day.

The Empress was still fast asleep.

Amazon Lily received the latest newspaper.

The two sisters stood beside the Empress's bed with the newspaper in hand, feeling as though their worldview had collapsed.

The newspaper reported on the Sabaody Archipelago Incident!

Ye Zhuo had killed three Celestial Dragons, publicly executing one of them.

Even Kizaru, who had personally led a massive force to the scene, had been forcefully held back by him.

Two hours later, he had left without a trace!

His whereabouts remained unknown!

The bounty poster showed Ye Zhuo smiling. At the time, he had been executing a Celestial Dragon!

"A bounty of 1.08 billion Beli!"

"He reached the level of a great pirate as soon as he set sail!"

"Why did he dare execute Celestial Dragons?!"

Even as their hands trembled, a strange flicker of delight rose in their hearts.

That day, the two sisters personally delivered six meals.

Seeing the reverence in their expressions, Ye Zhuo was not worried about poison. After all, he had the Horse Talisman.