Amazon Lily

The entire island looked like a cracked biscuit, crumbling away little by little and sinking.

In the direction of the port, a small boat was slowly sailing away from that collapsing coastline.

A woman with short hair down to her ears stood at the stern of the boat, silently gazing at the sinking land.

Beside her, a drenched Rayleigh sat leaning against the gunwale, coughing up a few mouthfuls of seawater and lowering his head with a bitter smile.

"...Sorry, I couldn't save them."

The woman did not reply, merely retracting her gaze in silence and looking toward the vast expanse of the sea ahead.

The sea breeze stirred the short hair across her forehead, obscuring her expression.

Seeing this, Rayleigh could only remain silent.

He had looked as though he were defeated at the time, but he had actually used the moment to slip away; otherwise, waiting around for the Marines would not have gone well for him either.

Even so, he had not expected to encounter such a tricky existence.

Meanwhile, in another expanse of the sea, a massive Marine warship was anchored at a safe distance not far from the collapsing island.

Garp stood on the bow deck, his hands resting on the railing, gazing for a long time at the remains of the island that were slowly sinking into the sea.

His adjutant Bogard walked up silently behind him, holding a ringing Den Den Mushi in his hands. The shell of that Den Den Mushi was decorated with the unique insignia symbolizing the Fleet Admiral, and right now it was glaring with a pair of round eyes, its mouth opening and closing as it emitted urgent rings.

Garp lowered his head to glance at the Den Den Mushi, and his old face immediately fell, looking as though he had bitten into a bitter melon.

"...You really aren't giving me any face at all. And to think I even took out my treasured senbei to offer as an apology."

He muttered a few complaints, but still reached out and took the Den Den Mushi.

"Buru buru-clack."

The moment the call connected, a deafening roar immediately came from the other end, causing even Bogard beside him to involuntarily take half a step back:

"Garp-!!! I told you to go protect the Celestial Dragons! And you! You went and attacked the Celestial Dragons?!"

Anticipating it, Garp held the Den Den Mushi thirty centimeters away, picked at his ringing ear with his pinky finger, and replied with a nonchalant expression:

"Oh, Old Man Kong, don't be so hot-headed either. That little Celestial Dragon brat is plenty strong, he didn't need my protection at all. You didn't see it, he tore that island all to pieces, old man here just went to watch the show..."

The other end of the line fell silent for three seconds, followed by a sound of grinding teeth: "...Get back to headquarters this instant!"

"No."

Garp refused cleanly and decisively.

"I'm taking leave to head back to the East Sea. My daughter-in-law is about to give birth, I have to go back and see my newborn grandson."

"You-!"

Before Fleet Admiral Kong could finish the second half of his roar, Garp directly snapped the Den Den Mushi shut with a "clack," casually tossed it back to Bogard, turned around, and continued gazing out at the sinking island while whistling a tune.

At the same time, Marine Headquarters, Marineford, Fleet Admiral's Office.

Fleet Admiral Kong held the already-disconnected Den Den Mushi in his hand, the veins at his temples throbbing violently.

He glared at the innocent Den Den Mushi, remained silent for a full five seconds, and then violently flung his hand-

"This bastard-!"

The Den Den Mushi described a parabola in the air, crashed into the wall, bounced onto the floor, rolled a few times, and shrank into its shell with a wronged air.

Chapter 14: Branded, Ouroboros Dragon

The culprit who caused all of this was currently stepping unhurriedly onto the gangplank returning to the treasure ship.

When the sailors on deck saw him return, they lowered their heads one after another, not even daring to draw a full breath.

Stussy hurried over to meet him, her lake-blue eyes swiftly sweeping over Saint Dio's bare upper body; although the wound on his chest was no longer bleeding profusely, the grisly laceration remained shocking to the eye, surrounded by several cuts of varying depths.

"Master, did you encounter a formidable foe?"

Saint Dio nodded slightly, offering no further explanation.

Stussy did not pursue the question either, simply gently supporting his arm and guiding him to sit on a chair inside the cabin.

Then she circled behind him, leaned down, and parted her cherry lips to reveal two sharp canine teeth.

She aimed right for the junction where Saint Dio's back and shoulder met, and bit down lightly.

Yet she did not suck blood.

As her fangs pierced the skin, a wave of warm and gentle life energy flowed slowly through her fangs and into Saint Dio's body.

That was a special ability Stussy had developed through the Bat-Bat Fruit, Vampire Form; she could feed back the life energy she stored through drinking blood to heal others' injuries.

The therapeutic effect of this ability far surpassed conventional medical methods, and it could even heal bone-deep wounds back to their original state in a short amount of time.

Only the edges of the grisly wound on Saint Dio's chest began to wriggle, close, and heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The newly grown skin was smooth and even, as though he had never been injured at all.

The remaining shallower wounds vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

After about a dozen seconds, Stussy pulled out her fangs, extended her tender pink tongue tip to gently lick the two tiny tooth marks, which then faded away, leaving the skin as good as new.

Saint Dio rolled his shoulders, felt that his body had recovered completely, and hummed in satisfaction.

"Where are they?" he asked.

Stussy stepped back, pointing her finger toward a cabin in the interior of the ship with a hint of meaningful amusement at the corner of her mouth: "Locked up inside."

Saint Dio nodded slightly and strode into that cabin.

The light inside the cabin was somewhat dim, with only a few wisps of sunset glow filtering through the porthole barely illuminating the space.

Three girls were cowering in a corner, the chains around their necks hooked to iron rings on the wall, restricting their range of movement.

They clung tightly to each other like three frightened little beasts, shrinking back in unison when they saw that white figure walk in.

Those were Celestial Dragons.

Ever since they were little on Amazon Lily, they had heard legends about the "descendants of the gods."

Those monsters who lived atop the Red Line, wore bubble helmets, and viewed the people of the world below as mere ants.

Once caught in the hands of such people, what kind of fate awaited them?

Fear coiled around their hearts like cold vines, making even breathing difficult.

Saint Dio sat down on a chair in the center of the room, propping his face with one hand, his eyes calmly appraising the three shivering little girls.

Stussy followed behind him and walked straight up to the three girls.

She squatted down and deftly manipulated the collars around their necks with her fingers.

With a few crisp "click" sounds, the three explosive collars capable of shattering skulls detached on cue and dropped to the floor.

The three girls froze, not yet having time to breathe a sigh of relief before Stussy's next sentence made their hearts leap back into their throats.

"Take off your clothes."

The two younger sisters looked at Hancock in terror, and Hancock bit her lip, her eyes filled with humiliation and defiance.

Yet she also knew that resisting at this moment would only invite an even worse outcome.

She could only close her eyes, take a deep breath, and extend her trembling hands to undo the crude animal-skin garment on her body.

The garment slipped to the floor.

Three immature maiden bodies were exposed to the dim light.

Stussy's gaze swept over the three sisters and finally landed on Hancock.

She stepped forward, grabbed Hancock's wrist, brought her before Saint Dio, and made her kneel with her back to Saint Dio.

Hancock bit her teeth and obediently knelt down.

Her spine was held straight, as if she intended to use this last shred of stubbornness to preserve her remaining dignity.

Her body already possessed the graceful curves of an emerging maiden; the contour of her shoulder blades resembled butterfly wings, the line of her spine extended all the way down to her slender waist, and further down lay the curve of her hips, still green yet already taking initial shape.

Due to her young age, her skin was smooth as jade, clean and bare, without a trace of superfluous hair.

Stussy reached out and brushed her loose black hair to one side, exposing a patch of smooth, flawless back.

Saint Dio raised his right hand.

On the middle finger of his right hand wore a silver ring of ancient design.

This ring was not an ordinary ornament, but the product of his using his own ability to extract and seal a Devil Fruit power within it.

The Stamp-Stamp Fruit, the Devil Fruit borne by the ring.

The ability was the power to leave indelible stamps upon the surfaces of objects.

At this moment, an orange-red glow began to ripple across the face of the ring, as though it were an iron brand heated by a blazing fire, radiating a scorching temperature.

Hancock could not see what was happening behind her, but she could feel that approaching wave of heat.

Her body trembled involuntarily, her ten fingers digging tightly into the floorboards.

Saint Dio did not hesitate.

He pressed that hand glowing with orange light firmly onto Hancock's smooth back.

"Ahhhhh-!"

A shrill scream burst from Hancock's mouth.

That kind of pain was far beyond what ordinary flesh burns could describe.

It felt as though a red-hot iron rod had been fiercely branded onto her soul, and that scorching pain spread through her nerves to her limbs and bones, leaving her brain a complete blank, with only pure, excruciating agony remaining.

Her body convulsed violently, tears spilling uncontrollably from her eyes, but she bit down hard on her lip, keeping herself from passing out.

A few seconds later, Saint Dio withdrew his hand.

The orange light dissipated.

On Hancock's fair back, a distinct mark remained.

That was not the kind of hoof symbol commonly used by ordinary Celestial Dragons.

Instead, it was a much more mysterious pattern: a streamlined black dragon, tail biting head, coiled into a perfect circle, as though symbolizing some manner of eternal cycle and bondage.

The Ouroboros Dragon.

That was the personal mark belonging to Saint Dio.

Chapter 15: The Five Elders' Interrogation

After branding all three sisters with their own Ouroboros Dragon marks, Saint Dio paid them no further mind.

He left the initial training and breaking-in work to Stussy to handle.

He simply did not have the energy to manage such trivial processes of domestication in person.

Stussy was experienced in this regard, knowing well how to make these three little wild cats gradually come to terms with their situation.

The return journey differed not at all from the outbound one.

It remained that blue expanse of sea, that same bunch of trembling sailors, and that same figure swinging a sword at the bow.

Only now the cabin contained three girls bound by chains, along with the fresh brand upon their backs.

Several days later, the treasure ship sailed slowly into the port of Mary Geoise.

The shadow of the Red Line once more loomed overhead, and the air was once again permeated with that solemn and oppressive atmosphere belonging to the "Land of the Gods."

Saint Dio stepped onto the white stone pavement of the port, preparing to lead Stussy and the three girls back to their residence, when two figures in white suits and masks appeared silently before him.

It was Cipher Pol Aigis Zero.

One of them bowed slightly and said in a respectful tone: "Lord Saint Dio, apologies for the interruption. The Five Elders have issued an order wishing for Agent Stussy to proceed and report on her work."

Hearing this, Stussy raised the outer edge of her eyebrow slightly.

She turned her head sideways, glanced at Saint Dio, and awaited his instructions.

The two Cipher Pol Aigis Zero members also stood in place, neither urging him on nor making any further move.

Although they were conveying the orders of the Five Elders, everyone knew that while Stussy nominally belonged to Cipher Pol Aigis Zero, she had long since become Saint Dio's private property in reality.