Wandering Snake

Sanya led Lu Ge to the harbor and pointed at a fishing boat in front of them. "Lu Ge, this is already the best boat we could get. Aside from the Kuja Pirates' ship pulled by Yuda, Amazon Lily has no other large ships capable of going out to sea. We only have these fishing boats. Will this do?"

"..." Lu Ge stared at the fishing boat in front of him, speechless for a long while. I told you to prepare an ordinary-sized boat, and you really went and found such an ordinary little boat?

Even more absurdly, this fishing boat was powered by rowing. If they took such a tiny boat out to sea, one big wave could easily wreck the boat and kill everyone aboard.

Seemingly seeing Lu Ge's concern, Sanya said with a serious expression, "You're a Door-Door Fruit user. If we run into danger, we can just open a door and pass through it. It shouldn't be a big problem, right?"

What did she mean, not a big problem? It was a huge problem. On the vast ocean, sometimes one could sail for ten days or half a month without seeing land. His Door-Door Fruit had a range limit; it was not omnipotent.

I told you to find a small boat, not a human-powered fishing boat!

Lu Ge fell silent for a moment. For safety's sake, they definitely could not take such a manually rowed fishing boat out to sea. It was far too dangerous. He turned his head and looked at the splendid pirate ship docked not far from the harbor. "That should be the Kuja Pirates' ship, right?"

Sanya nodded seriously. "Yes, but the Yuda that pulled it returned to these waters after the Pirate Empress passed away. If we want to move this pirate ship, we need the Yuda tamed by the Pirate Empress to help us. Otherwise, it can't sail on the sea. But the Pirate Empress is gone, and we have no way to command them anymore—unless someone can tame the Yuda again."

Lu Ge asked, "Doesn't this ship have any other propulsion system? Does it have to rely on Yuda to move?"

Sanya replied, "No. We've always relied on Yuda to pull our pirate ship. It has been that way for generations."

Lu Ge asked, "Does it have to be Yuda?"

Sanya said, "If you have the ability to tame other Sea Kings, that would work too. But snakes are the national pets of Amazon Lily, so every generation of Pirate Empress chooses to tame Yuda."

Lu Ge nodded in understanding. After all, everyone here had a pet snake. For anyone afraid of snakes, Daughter Island was a truly overwhelming place.

Lu Ge asked, "How did the Pirate Empresses of every generation tame Yuda?"

"Naturally, by suppressing them with force. But most importantly, you must possess Conqueror's Haki. Only someone with that one-in-a-million Conqueror's Haki can force them to submit."

Lu Ge immediately smiled when he heard that. "If it's Conqueror's Haki, then I can use it."

Sanya's face instantly filled with shocked delight. "Really? You can use Conqueror's Haki? The Pirate Empress said that was something only those born with the qualities of a king could possess. Can you really use it? If so, you should be able to tame those two Yuda again, gain their recognition, and have them serve us."

As she spoke, she impatiently grabbed Lu Ge and headed toward the distant waters. "Come! Follow me!"

For a moment, the surrounding crowd became noisy as well. "Wow! Did you hear that? Lu Ge seems to be going to tame Yuda!"

"Will he succeed? It seems only the Pirate Empresses of every generation have been able to do it!"

"If Lu Ge really succeeds in taming them, does that mean he can become our new Pirate Empress? Then we won't need to look for the previous Pirate Empress anymore?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Lu Ge is a man. How could a man become our Pirate Empress?"

"That's true~ But if Lu Ge became our Pirate Empress, I wouldn't mind!"

"I told you, a man can't become our Pirate Emress. Amazon Lily's rules don't allow it either. Otherwise, those old fogies will lose their minds. Let's hurry and follow them to see whether Lu Ge succeeds!"

Lu Ge followed Sanya and the others to a beach in the northeast.

Sanya pointed at the waters before them. "This is where the two Yuda tamed by the Pirate Empress lived. Amazon Lily has not been attacked by the surrounding Sea Kings because their family built a nest here. Otherwise, we would have suffered plenty of harassment from Sea Kings."

As she spoke, Sanya took out a whistle from her waist. "As long as I blow this whistle, they'll appear. But no man has ever tamed them before, so I don't know whether they'll pay any attention to you."

Lu Ge said, "Try calling them out first. If it doesn't work, we'll think of another way."

"Alright." Sanya immediately blew the whistle.

In only a short while, Lu Ge saw waves rising on the distant sea. Before long, countless enormous shadows emerged from the deep waters. Then, amid a series of splashing sounds, more than a dozen gigantic Yuda raised their heads from the sea. They looked at Lu Ge's group with remarkably human expressions, occasionally hissing. The sight was truly striking.

Looking at the dozen or so enormous Yuda before him, Lu Ge could not help but sigh. These Yuda really were visually imposing, brimming with pressure. No wonder those Sea Kings did not dare approach them. They were indeed majestic, comparable to kings among Sea Kings.

Sanya pointed at two of them. "Those two are the Yuda tamed by the Pirate Empress. But after the Pirate Empress passed away, they regained their freedom. If we want to command them again, we must regain their recognition and tame them anew. I tried before. Although I could suppress them with force, without Conqueror's Haki, I couldn't make them submit."

Just then, the largest one—also one of the two Yuda tamed by the Pirate Empress—hissed several times at Sanya. Lu Ge could not understand it, but from its lively eyes, he could tell that it was not some mindless sea beast. It was an intelligent spiritual beast, and apparently a rather clever one.

Lu Ge could only marvel inwardly. As expected of the world of One Piece—it truly was extraordinary. This had really broadened his horizons.

Having dealt with snakes since childhood, Sanya seemed to understand what the Yuda meant. She said, "He is not a Pirate Empress chosen by us. We merely need to go out to sea to search for our previous Pirate Empress, so we need your help."

Upon hearing that, the Yuda immediately darted forward. Lu Ge instantly understood its meaning. "Does this mean I have to defeat it? Good. I like this straightforward personality."