Shakky

As the pirate ship drew closer, Hades gradually made out the figure standing at its bow.

She had long, lustrous hair, a sexy leather outfit, long tanned legs, and half her breasts exposed.

Hades thought she looked familiar.

Though her appearance and style were very different from what they would be in the future, he still recognized her: Shakky, the Amazon Lily queen and Kuja Pirates captain from two generations ago.

The timing fit, too. This was when Shakky had begun making a name for herself.

"My dear Nyx, you've kept me waiting!"

As soon as Nyx boarded the Kuja Pirates' ship, Shakky rushed over and hugged her tightly. Their breasts pressed together so hard they looked ready to burst.

She was every bit as uninhibited as he had expected from someone born in Amazon Lily, a paradise for men.

The twelve-year age gap had done nothing to diminish their friendship.

Judging by their looks, they really could have been sisters.

Shakky had made quite a name for herself since setting sail at seventeen, holding the dual roles of Kuja Pirates captain and Amazon Lily queen.

"Amazon Lily" was what outsiders called the island in the Calm Belt. All its residents were women, its people were fierce, and every one of them was a warrior.

For Amazon Lily to survive, it depended on the Kuja Pirates to plunder the outside world.

Some supplies had to be brought in from elsewhere, or the kingdom would slowly decline.

Without strength, its only fate was destruction.

That was why every captain of the Kuja Pirates became a powerhouse on the seas.

Shakky was still young, but she had already shown that potential.

She had also caught the attention of the Rocks Pirates. The person they sent to recruit the Kuja Pirates was Nyx.

Nyx thought highly of Shakky and gave her and the Kuja Pirates a great deal of help, showing them how to establish themselves quickly in the New World and what dangers to watch for.

The two naturally became close friends.

"Well, I'm here now, aren't I? Let me introduce you." Nyx pulled Shakky over to Hades and the other two.

"This is my son, Hades. You two should get to know each other."

"This is Ananke. And that's Titan."

"So you're Nyx's son?" Shakky folded her arms and studied Hades, a curious glint in her eyes.

"I've heard your name from Nyx more than a few times."

"Nice to meet you, Shakky," Hades greeted her.

He studied her in turn. She looked nothing like the woman he remembered from his previous life. She had healthy, sun-browned skin, eight-pack abs visible beneath her open leather jacket, and powerful arms and long legs.

Her athletic body was like a cheetah's, and there was a wild look in her eyes.

She wore her long hair in a ponytail and had a pert backside. Hades immediately thought of the female fitness instructor he had once been intimate with in his previous life, though Shakky was taller and more evenly built.

"Hoho! Little Hades!"

Shakky noticed Hades looking at her, but she paid it no mind.

Hearing how Hades addressed her, Shakky covered her mouth and laughed. "Find yourselves a room to rest in. We're heading back to Amazon Lily now."

"And don't go wandering around the ship!"

After giving Hades and the others that smiling warning, Shakky turned to Nyx. "You can sleep with me, big sis."

With that, she took Nyx's hand and led her toward the captain's cabin on the upper deck.

Nyx didn't object. She waved to Hades and the other two, then went along with her.

Hades was at a loss for words. Was that really all right?

Over the years, though, he had come to accept different ways of thinking. He had even adapted remarkably quickly.

He looked around. The Kuja Pirates were about as uninhibited as he had imagined, with most of the women showing plenty of skin and covering only their private parts.

Quite a few wore nothing but short skirts and bras.

Was this what he should expect from the legendary Amazon Lily?

The looks he was getting from all around made him uncomfortable, though.

He didn't let it show.

The Amazon Kingdom relied largely on its Kuja Pirates warriors to reproduce. When they sailed out to plunder, men were among their targets.

Once pregnant, they returned to Amazon Lily. If the child was a boy, they killed him. If it was a girl, they kept her and raised her.

Men were simply tools for reproduction to them.

The rumors that they adopted girls from outside were hard to believe. The residents of Amazon Lily were also known as the Amazon Snake Tribe, a people with a very long history.

Hades suspected that the blood of the Snake-People Tribe ran in their veins.

It wasn't just the symbol on their pirate flag. There was also the island's custom of raising snakes.

The Snake-People Tribe was a special race, like the Merfolk, with human torsos and snake tails. At a certain age, their tails could turn into human legs.

The Snake-Neck Tribe was said to have arisen from mutations in the offspring of the Snake-People Tribe and humans.

The Snake-People Tribe was extremely rare. The Kronos Kingdom knew a little about them, but they had all but vanished from the seas. To escape greedy human traffickers, they had reportedly gone into hiding in the Calm Belt.

Why did the kingdom have records of them? Because the Kronos Kingdom had once taken notice of them.

The Kronos Kingdom lay in the northern New World, and it was from that region that the Snake-People Tribe had fled to the Calm Belt.

Hades could understand their customs. He didn't care, and they had nothing to do with him.

But the hungry looks directed at him made his skin crawl. Two of the Kuja Pirates warriors staring at him were heavily pregnant.

These Kuja Pirates members had seen plenty of the world.

The warriors of Amazon Lily who had never gone to sea would be another matter.

Fortunately, that was only some of them. Other Kuja Pirates members seemed relatively "normal."

A Kuja Pirates warrior with a bow on her back and a snake coiled around her waist and shoulders walked up to the three of them.

"Follow me."

She turned and walked away, though Hades could tell she had given him an extra glance.

He paid it no mind. Noticing Titan looking rather awkward beside him, Hades patted him on the waist. "Let's go!"

The real world was very different from the one he had imagined in the past. Hades was beginning to realize that.

In any case, all he wanted was a place that would push him hard enough to hone his abilities.

Amazon Lily was indeed inhabited entirely by women, but the claim that every one of them was beautiful was nonsense.

There were plenty of beauties among the Kuja Pirates warriors, but some looked strange, fierce, or even deformed. They did not suit Hades's tastes.

He wouldn't spare those women a second glance.

By comparison, the Kuja Tribe warriors who had yet to leave Amazon Lily still had room to improve.

And in truth, Hades preferred the women of Wano Country to those of Amazon Lily.