Eve of Awakening

Sal naturally knew Gloriosa, not only from memories of the original story. Even in Roger's memories, he had crossed paths with the old woman twice. Their earliest meeting had been when Roger was thirty and dominating the New World.

Back then, Gloriosa had been in her forties, a silver-haired and stunningly beautiful mature woman. Who would have thought she would now look like such an old granny?

In the world of pirates, time was a woman's greatest enemy. Nothing was more regrettable than a beauty fading with age.

No matter how breathtakingly beautiful they had been in their youth, old age left much unspoken. Like the woman before him, as well as Charlotte Linlin, one of the Four Emperors, and Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Navy's former flower and current chief strategist.

Even legendary mermaids became indescribable in old age.

Men, on the other hand, could still be charming old men even in their seventies or eighties, and there was no shortage of them.

Gloriosa asked with a solemn expression.

"How did you get in? If Snake Princess learns of your presence, it will be very dangerous."

Sal merely smiled as he replied.

"I'm hiding for a few days because an Admiral is hunting me. I'll leave once Ace's execution draws near. As for Boa Hancock discovering me, then we can only fight. A Conqueror's Haki user is considered one of the stronger Shichibukai. I'm really looking forward to it."

Seeing that he was actually looking forward to it, Gloriosa became even more determined to keep the two from meeting. She could not judge his strength, and during this tense period of the Warlord Summons, Snake Princess absolutely could not come to harm.

That was precisely why Sal had deliberately revealed that an Admiral was hunting him: to frighten her into not daring to drive him away. Otherwise, all she would get was war.

The threat had achieved its effect. It was time to make a concession.

"Don't worry, old lady. I won't cause trouble. I'll leave in four days at most."

"Then you may stay only five days. This old woman will keep a close eye on you."

An hour passed quickly. Carrying an enormous roasted suckling pig, Sal climbed to the cliff above the castle and began eating. From here, he could overlook all of Amazon Lily, a country surrounded by forests and sea. It was truly full of wildness.

Sea Kings could occasionally be spotted on the waters outside the island. As expected of the Calm Belt. He really wanted to dive in and catch a few Sea Kings to taste.

At that moment, the castle below was covered with long sheets of cloth. After asking around, he learned that the Kuja Empress was preparing to bathe.

The female warriors of Amazon Lily all said that the Snake Princess sisters had slain a female demon called Gorgon. Before dying, the demon had cursed the three sisters, causing demonic eyes to grow on their backs. Anyone those eyes saw would turn into stone.

Sal shook his head as he drank. It seemed the Boa sisters were truly terrified of their past experiences.

[S-rank character Marco has developed positive emotions toward the host. Low-level friendliness. Experience increased by 1000.]

[Level increased: Level 52 (318/42000)]

After leveling up again, his already hungry stomach growled even louder, and Sal began tearing into the pork without restraint. This time, the emotional notification had come from Phoenix Marco, commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' First Division.

After waiting for a long time, quite a few members of the Whitebeard Pirates also generated emotional notifications. Unfortunately, it was not even half their crew. Even Whitebeard himself, Edward Newgate, the strongest of the Four Emperors, had remained unmoved.

Sal truly wanted to know whether the golden player of this era qualified for an SSS rank, and whether the former Pirate King Roger might have qualified as well.

Suddenly, a commotion sounded nearby. Straw Hat Luffy charged up from the broken cliff at the back of the mountain, with the same group of female warriors still chasing him below.

Straw Hat Luffy held down his hat. The moment he saw a familiar face, he immediately broke into a smile and shouted.

"Sal, it's great to run into you here!"

"..."

Without even greeting him properly, Straw Hat Luffy grabbed Sal, who was in the middle of eating, and ran. The man who had been eating was a little bewildered. Why was he running? The one being chased was this brat.

The two leaped down from the cliff and landed directly on the rooftops of the Chinese-style buildings. At that moment, Sal suddenly had a premonition that kicking Straw Hat away would be the best choice.

The familiar sensation made him immediately kick Monkey D. Luffy away. His own force shattered the roof beneath his feet, and he fell straight into the room below.

He had experienced this familiar feeling in his memories before. It was a sign that the Voice of All Things was about to awaken.

Sal fell into a warm pool, splashing water everywhere. In the mist-filled room, a naked figure stood with her back to him. On her flawless white back was a brand: three triangles surrounding a large circle.

Sal knew exactly what that mark meant: the Celestial Dragon Hoof Mark. Only the slaves of the Celestial Dragons would be branded with it. With such a clue, Sal knew exactly who she was.

Sal slowly spoke.

"That mark looks familiar. How did you get it? Pirate Empress."

At his words, Hancock's body stiffened. She swiftly grabbed a bathrobe and wrapped herself in it, then glared furiously at the intruder through clenched teeth.

Hearing the commotion, the two younger sisters guarding outside also rushed in.

The green-haired woman was Snake Princess's second sister, Boa Sandersonia, a Snake-Snake Fruit—Anaconda Model user.

The plump orange-haired woman was Snake Princess's third sister, Boa Marigold, a Snake-Snake Fruit—Cobra Model user.

The three women glared angrily at Sal. Hancock then said in a trembling voice.

"This man saw my back. He knows where the mark came from too."

In her panic, Hancock even forgot to refer to herself as "this empress."

[S-rank character Boa Hancock has developed negative emotions toward the host. Moderate hostility (fear). Experience increased by 2000.]

[A-rank characters have developed negative emotions toward the host. Moderate hostility (fear). Experience increased by 200 x2]

So it really was the experience they most wanted to erase. It had already reached moderate hostility. Was the fear because they were afraid the world would find out, or because they feared the World Government would come looking for trouble?

"Kill him!" the three of them shouted.

As their voices fell, Boa Hancock immediately used Mero Mero Mellow. A wave of heart-shaped power passed directly through Sal's body, yet he showed no sign of being petrified.

The two sisters cried out in surprise.

"How is that possible? He saw our sister's back, yet he wasn't moved at all!"

Hancock's hatred grew even stronger. Not only had he seen her secret, he could also ignore her charm. Such a man could not be allowed to exist.

Sal curled his lip at that. Getting aroused just from seeing someone's back? They were underestimating people from Blue Star. Besides, he possessed peak Conqueror's Haki. He could still resist a Devil Fruit ability of this level.

However, Sal had no intention of fighting either. The woman opposite him was wearing only a bathrobe. If they fought and it came off, he really might get hit. Besides, he was confident he could handle this matter. After all, he still wanted the emotional experience from all of Amazon Lily.

Daughter Island had nearly ten thousand people, and even the weakest women on the island were C-rank. That was no small source of experience.

Sal raised his hands innocently and said.

"I surrender. I'm innocent. That damned Straw Hat Luffy pushed me, so I fell in here. I demand a fair trial."

"..."

The three women opposite him were rendered speechless by his surrender. Still, he had already surrendered. Hancock was willing to grant him a fair trial as well. After all, on Amazon Lily, without strength, no matter how fair the trial was, it could only end in death.