Arrangements

"I never expected becoming empress to come with conditions like these!" Lu Ge was filled with emotion after hearing that. He had seen the Kuja Pirates' two Yuda in the anime as well. They were two fierce venomous sea snakes—even the Sea Kings of the Calm Belt dared not attack them. Ordinary people really couldn't drive them.

He never expected the first requirement for Amazon Lily's empress election to be gaining the recognition of those two Yuda. It seemed that the position of empress truly wasn't something just anyone could take.

The enthusiasm they had just shown was immediately crushed by reality, and all the women wilted like eggplants hit by frost.

They wanted to save Hancock and the others, but they couldn't leave the island. There was nothing they could do!

Just then, a young woman in the crowd suddenly looked at Lu Ge and said, "Since she was able to cross the Calm Belt and reach this place, doesn't that mean she's very powerful? Do you think she could gain the Yuda's recognition?"

"Exactly!"

At once, the women turned toward Lu Ge with burning gazes. "Why not let her try? If she can do it, we'll let her become our empress!"

"Ah~! No, wait. Are you really that casual about this?!" Lu Ge was dumbfounded. You wanted to let an outsider you had just met become your empress? Could you be any more naive? Were they serious?

"No! He can't."

At that moment, a steady voice rang out. A burly female warrior was seen approaching with several others.

The nearly three-meter-tall older sister asked in confusion, "Why not? She crossed the Calm Belt and came here, and she knows where Hancock and the others are. As long as she can rescue them, I'll accept her as our empress."

"Yes! This was Her Majesty's dying command. We have to rescue Hancock and the others!"

The strong female warrior ignored the three-meter-tall older sister and fixed her gaze on Lu Ge. The moment Lu Ge saw this group, he inwardly cried, This is bad. There was no need to guess. They were definitely members of the Kuja Pirates, which meant they had surely seen men before. The fact that he was a man was about to be exposed.

Sure enough, the burly female warrior said solemnly, "I'm not denying whether he has the ability to lead us through the Calm Belt or whether he can gain the Yuda's recognition. The problem is that he's a man. Amazon Lily has a rule that men cannot set foot on the island, much less join the Kuja Pirates, let alone become our empress."

"Huh?!!! A man?!!!!"

The women widened their eyes. In an instant, everyone's gaze swept toward Lu Ge, their eyes filled with boundless curiosity, as if they were looking at some rare and exotic beast.

"He's a man? Do men really look like this? No wonder he seemed different from us."

"Oh my heavens, I actually saw a man!"

"So men grow mushrooms on their bodies. Men are so strange."

Listening to the chatter around him and watching them point at him, Lu Ge was speechless once again.

Fortunately, it didn't last long. The female warrior shouted them down. "Quiet! This is no time for fooling around."

Clearly, this woman held considerable prestige and status. Her rebuke immediately silenced the surroundings.

She then walked up to Lu Ge and said seriously, "My name is Sanya. I'm under the empress and serve as a squadron commander in the Kuja Pirates. Man, tell me your name."

Lu Ge straightened his expression at once. "Lu Ge."

Sanya nodded gravely. "According to the rules, we should immediately send you off the island. However, we currently lack the ability to leave the island ourselves. Therefore, we should lock you in prison, but you brought us news of Hancock and her sisters, and we owe you a debt. We should treat you with courtesy. However, Amazon Lily does not permit men to enter, so before the new empress takes office, we'll arrange for you to stay in a house outside the village. Do you object?"

"I don't." Lu Ge nodded. As long as he could stay, that was enough. He still planned to learn Haki here. After all, Daughter Island was the best place to learn Haki.

The new empress would inevitably be Hancock, but that would not happen for another three years. He could make good use of those three years to develop properly on Daughter Island.

Sanya nodded silently. "In that case, we should discuss Hancock and her sisters. Can you tell us about their exact circumstances?"

Lu Ge lied without even blinking. "I'm really not sure about that. I only know that they were taken to an auction house and bought by someone. I don't know what happened afterward. I didn't know the buyer either, but we can find out who bought them by asking at that auction house."

Lu Ge wasn't worried that they would ask him to take them to the auction house. After all, they couldn't leave the island either. Three years later, Hancock and her three sisters would be brought back by Shakuyaku and the others, so there was no need to panic.

He would lie low here for three years and talk about leaving after becoming stronger. As for leaving Daughter Island, he had no such plans before gaining the ability to protect himself. The outside world was far too dangerous. Going out would be no different from throwing his life away.

Sanya nodded and turned to the large women nearby. "Cosmos, Stobi, Lu Ge was brought back by the two of you, so take him to the wooden house outside the village."

"All right." Cosmos immediately turned to Lu Ge with enthusiasm. "Hello, my name is Cosmos. Um, are you really a man?"

Lu Ge was speechless, but could only answer helplessly, "Yes. Thank you very much for saving me earlier."

If these two hadn't brought him back to the village, he might have been eaten by wild beasts. The beasts here were truly monsters, so he was quite grateful to the two of them.

Stobi said, "It was nothing. But are the injuries on your body all right? They look quite serious—no maki."

Lu Ge casually waved his hand. "I'm fine. I can't feel any pain anymore."

Strangely enough, after such a short while, he could no longer feel any pain. A moment ago, it had hurt so badly that he had nearly cried out for his mother.

Stobi said, "That's good. I can tell you're very strong—no maki."

Lu Ge smiled and glanced at his beggar's clothes. "Um, is there a bathhouse here? Can I take a bath and change into some clean clothes first?"

Cosmos nodded enthusiastically. "Sure, follow me. The bathhouse is just ahead."

Stobi said, "Then I'll go find you some clothes that fit—no maki."

With that, she left.

Lu Ge followed Cosmos toward the bathhouse...

Before long, the two of them arrived in front of the bathhouse.

No, strictly speaking, it should have been a bathing pool. But when Lu Ge saw the scene before him, he was instantly stunned. He instinctively blurted out, "What the hell?" and had no idea whether he should look or not.