"Shut up! Boo-hoo, waaaah!"
The same thing happened all over the world.
As the world's most beautiful woman, she had countless men putting her posters up in their rooms, deeply infatuated with her.
But it was all bark and no bite.
The ones imprisoning the Pirate Empress were the Beasts Pirates. No amount of courage would make those men dare to rescue her; even shouting a few words was commendably brave.
Sabaody Archipelago, Island 17.
Shakky's Rip-off Bar.
"Hancock."
"She picked a fight with someone she shouldn't have."
Rayleigh stared at the newspaper, his eyes filled with worry.
Behind the counter, Shakky also wore a worried expression, a cigarette between her lips.
As the Pirate Empress from two generations before, she considered the Kuja her family. Seeing Hancock in trouble, she naturally wanted to rescue her.
But of all the people she could have provoked, why the Beasts Pirates?
Not long ago, Shanks had visited them while passing through Sabaody and talked about the Battle of Gottel.
That Earth Calamity was very strong.
And this was on the Beasts Pirates' own turf, no less.
Rayleigh took a swig of liquor.
Even as the legendary Dark King, his chances of rescuing Hancock from the Beasts Pirates' home base were practically zero.
A long silence passed.
Shakky finished her cigarette and sighed. "The Beasts Pirates want the World Government to strip Hancock of her Shichibukai title, don't they?"
"Yes."
Rayleigh nodded slightly.
For a Shichibukai, defeat meant being stripped of their title. The Beasts Pirates had most likely released the news for that purpose.
Losing a Shichibukai was no small loss for the World Government, either. Finding a successor would take quite some time.
That would make Hancock an ordinary pirate, and knowing Kaido, he would very likely want to recruit her.