Boa Hancock

The villa compound was already littered with people lying everywhere.

A young girl wearing a Slave Collar and with a figure that had begun to take shape was struggling to drag two sturdy, snake-like girls out of a ring of fire. She shouted anxiously, "Sandersonia, Marigold, wake up! Wake up! What happened to you two? Wake up!"

She didn't understand. Everyone had been fine just moments ago, so why had they suddenly fainted?

Well, in truth, everyone here had passed out because of the impact of Lu Ge's Conqueror's Haki.

Only this girl, who also possessed Conqueror's Haki, hadn't been stunned unconscious by the intimidation. That was because she was the future empress, Boa Hancock.

When calling the two younger sisters failed to wake them, Hancock turned her head and fixed her gaze on the richly dressed man who had likewise collapsed nearby. Boundless hatred flashed through her eyes. It was him. He was the one who had trafficked the three sisters and subjected them to inhuman treatment over the past year.

Just moments ago, he had even forced her two younger sisters to dance in the fire, saying he wanted to see how "snakes" struggled in the flames. If everyone hadn't inexplicably fainted just now, her two sisters would have been tortured until they were covered in wounds, just as they always were.

At that moment, her hatred erupted without limit. The devil was right before her, unconscious and completely defenseless.

"Kill him! Kill him!"

It seemed as though a voice had been constantly urging her on inside her head. She silently rose, picked up the sword belonging to a guard who had fainted nearby, and walked step by trembling step toward the Celestial Dragon.

Looking at his loathsome face, Hancock shakily raised the blade in her hands. Several times, she nearly swung it down, but stopped herself each time. In the end, she collapsed onto the ground in defeat, tears sliding uncontrollably from her eyes.

It wasn't that she was overflowing with sympathy or afraid to strike. She had thought of her two younger sisters. She wasn't afraid of dying, but she knew that if she killed this Celestial Dragon, her two sisters definitely wouldn't survive. She couldn't do it.

Just as Hancock was at a loss, a voice suddenly came from behind her. "What, don't dare to do it? Or has a year of slavery already worn away your courage?"

"Who?!"

Hancock was startled. She practically sprang to her feet at once and turned around, staring warily at Lu Ge.

The instant Lu Ge saw the girl's face, he froze for a moment. His heart began to beat uncontrollably, but he quickly recovered. He was filled with emotion. As expected of the future world's most beautiful woman—even at such a young age, she already possessed the beginnings of beauty capable of toppling kingdoms. The exaggerated portrayals in the anime hadn't been exaggerated after all. There really were women in this world who could make a person fall for them with just one glance.

"Maybe her ability has influenced me to some extent? The Mero Mero no Mi truly complements her beauty perfectly. They're a match made in heaven!"

After sighing inwardly, Lu Ge looked at Hancock and revealed what he thought was a very kind smile. "Don't be nervous. I'm not your enemy. On the contrary, I just killed three Celestial Dragons to save you."

As he spoke, he reached into his robes, pulled out a sheathed dagger, and tossed it to her. "This is Sanya's keepsake. She said that if I gave it to you, you would believe me."

Hancock caught the dagger, her delicate body trembling uncontrollably. "This really is Big Sister Sanya's personal dagger. You... were you sent by Big Sister Sanya to rescue us? Did you really kill Celestial Dragons? F-for me?"

Lu Ge said, "This isn't the time to talk. We need to leave quickly. Otherwise, things will get a little troublesome once the Marine Admiral arrives."

"Okay, okay." Hancock immediately stood up. The moment she saw the dagger, she had more or less believed Lu Ge. When she heard that they could leave, boundless hope appeared in her excited eyes. But then she subconsciously touched the Slave Collar around her neck, and her movements stopped. "No, I can't leave while this is still on..."

Lu Ge said, "Don't worry. Someone will remove the Slave Collar for you. There's no need to worry."

Hancock nodded silently, then looked at her two younger sisters and said, "What about my sisters...? I don't know why, but they suddenly fainted."

Lu Ge shifted his gaze to her two sisters and said, "It looks like they passed out after being struck by my Conqueror's Haki. They probably won't wake up for now, but it's fine. It isn't serious."

As he spoke, Lu Ge walked over and casually stomped on the Celestial Dragon's chest. The man let out a miserable howl and abruptly opened his eyes, but before he could say a word, he felt the entire world gradually sink into darkness.

"Ah~ You—!!!"

Seeing this, Hancock's pupils suddenly contracted. She covered her mouth with one small hand and stared at Lu Ge in shock. This man... he had actually dared to kill a Celestial Dragon?

Watching Lu Ge's back as he turned away from her and carried one of her sisters under each arm, Hancock suddenly felt her heartbeat inexplicably quicken.

She wasn't boy-crazy. It was just that she had been trapped in darkness, and a sudden ray of light had illuminated her entire world. She found herself somewhat lost in it.

Lu Ge weighed the two girls in his arms and said, "Good thing they're still young. If they were any older, I wouldn't be able to carry them both. Don't just stand there. It's time to go, Hancock."

As he spoke, he opened a door and walked through it.

"Ah~ Oh~ Okay~!" Hancock followed him in a daze.

Seeing Lu Ge and Hancock suddenly emerge from the door, Rayleigh smiled after just defeating his opponent. "Looks like the mission is complete. We need to leave quickly. I can already sense that the Marine Admiral is about to arrive."

"The Marine Admiral!" Hancock's heart tightened at his words, and her face immediately grew tense.

Lu Ge said, "Remove their Slave Collars first. If we get far enough away while these things are still on, they'll detonate automatically."

Hearing this, Rayleigh walked up to Hancock and examined the collar around her neck.

Hancock immediately asked nervously, "How is it? Can you remove it?"

Rayleigh said, "Don't worry. It's not a problem."

As he spoke, he gripped the collar with both hands and forcibly dismantled it with a sharp crack.

Through Lu Ge's Observation Haki Perception, he could tell that Rayleigh hadn't simply torn it apart blindly. Instead, he had used Haki to directly destroy the detonating mechanism inside, only then forcibly dismantling it.

"So it's that simple?" Lu Ge lowered Sandersonia and Marigold to the ground. After seeing in his precognition that he had successfully dismantled the Slave Collar, he finally relaxed and helped remove the collars from the two girls.

Rayleigh watched from the side with an admiring look. "He understood the principle just by looking at it once. This kid's talent is truly incredible!"