She did not take the document immediately.
She merely sat quietly upon the throne, her slender fingertips lightly tapping the armrest.
"Tap."
"Tap."
The faint sound echoed through the silent hall, one beat after another.
The messenger below kept her head lowered, still holding the document aloft with both hands, scarcely daring to breathe too heavily.
The surrounding Kuja warriors also held their breaths, every gaze cautiously falling upon the Empress atop the throne.
A moment later.
Hancock finally reached out, and the document fell into her palm.
She lowered her head and scanned its contents, her red lips pressing together slightly.
"Admiral Azure Dragon."
Her voice was soft.
Yet as those words fell, the atmosphere in the hall inexplicably grew heavier.
That name was not unfamiliar, even on Amazon Lily within the Calm Belt.
After vanishing for ten years, he had returned.
The moment he returned, he shocked the seas by annihilating Hachinosu and becoming the Navy's fourth admiral.
And now, he had summoned every Shichibukai to Marineford for a meeting.
The hall fell silent. No one dared make the decision for Hancock.
After a long while, Hancock slowly rose to her feet.
Her cape draped down from behind the throne, and the Empress's majesty instantly enveloped the entire hall.
She looked down at those below, her voice cold and clear.
"Prepare to set sail."
"I would like to see..."
Her red lips parted slightly, her eyes carrying an innate arrogance.
"What this monster who has just returned to the seas truly wants by summoning the Shichibukai."
"Yes!"
The Kuja warriors immediately lowered their heads in acknowledgment, but just as everyone prepared to leave—
"Wait!"
A hurried set of footsteps suddenly sounded outside the hall.
The next second, a small figure rushed into the hall.
She had wavy silver-white