Chapter 169: The Empress's Plan
While en route to Stripe Island, Boa Hancock was also pondering how she should act.
To help that black-clad man escape, she naturally had to obstruct the Marines' capture operation. However, if she did it too obviously, it would arouse the Marines' suspicion.
As the Empress of Amazon Lily, Boa Hancock still needed the protection and privileges that came with her Warlord status. Although she was proud, she genuinely cared about her people. If her appearance hindered the Marines' operation and it was eventually reported up the chain, the World Government and Marines might, in their fury, revoke her Warlord status—that would be troublesome.
Although Amazon Lily was located in the Calm Belt, where ordinary people couldn't reach, the Marines' technological advancements in recent years had given them the ability to travel through the Calm Belt. Once she lost the protection of her Warlord status and returned to being a pirate, Amazon Lily would likely come under Marine attack.
This stunningly beautiful Pirate Empress furrowed her brows slightly, gently biting her nails as she considered her next move.
Even in this state, she looked breathtakingly beautiful, captivating the Kuja warriors around her. If they weren't afraid of disturbing her thoughts, they would have long been shouting "Snake Princess!" and fainting from infatuation.
"By the way, didn't the Marines mention something about a Dragon Hunter Pirates?" Boa Hancock suddenly realized, thinking to herself, "Maybe I can use this pirate crew as a pretext?"
Soon enough, Boa Hancock came up with a plan. She rose from the snake chair formed by her snake, Salome, and announced, "Pass on my orders: This time, we are here to take revenge on a pirate crew called the Dragon Hunters. Once we land on the island, capture that crew!"
"Yes, Snake Princess!" the Kuja warriors responded in unison.
Just as the Kuja Pirates' ship was nearing Stripe Island, Vice Admirals Momonga and Fighting Dog led the Marine soldiers in launching their assault on the island!
After entering the harbor and docking, a large number of fully armed Marine soldiers jumped off the ship. Under the command of officers at various ranks, they quickly sealed off the entire harbor while a large force began moving toward the town.
"Damn it! Marines!?" Ramos, a member of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division whom Ian had seen at the harbor earlier, received the news and rushed to the harbor with his men. He stomped his foot and cursed at the Marines, "Don't you know this is Whitebeard's territory!? What the hell are you doing bringing so many soldiers onto the island!?"
The Marine soldiers raised their guns warily, aiming at him. Momonga stepped forward from the crowd and said to Ramos, "We know this is Whitebeard's territory. However, we also know that the mastermind behind the Mary Geoise arson—that black-clad masked man—has appeared on this island. He is a major criminal wanted by the World Government. Even if this is Whitebeard's territory, we have no choice but to offend."
"Are you trying to start a war?" Ramos asked furiously.
"We will send special personnel to negotiate with Whitebeard afterward," Momonga replied.
But Ramos wasn't buying it. Negotiate afterward? If the Marines actually caught someone and took them away from this island, the Whitebeard Pirates would lose face completely. What was the point of negotiating then?
So he grabbed his weapon—a massive iron club—and waved at the Whitebeard Pirates members behind him, shouting, "Attack! Take out these Marines!"
"Roooar!"
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division let out a battle cry and charged into the Marine ranks, launching a full-scale attack.
Thus, the battle finally erupted!
Although Momonga and Fighting Dog had anticipated this scenario, they couldn't help but feel a headache when it actually started.
Once the fighting began, there was no room for restraint. If they injured members of the Whitebeard Pirates, Whitebeard would certainly not let it slide. But if they held back, they would be risking the lives of their own Marine soldiers.
The only consolation for the two Vice Admirals was that the position of commander for the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division had been vacant for some reason. That meant if only the Second Division was stationed on this island, there was no commander-level figure present.
Momonga glanced at Fighting Dog and said, "Let's step in. Just subdue them."
Fighting Dog nodded and drew the sword from his waist.
This was a last resort. The Marines weren't afraid to go to war with the Four Emperors, but they weren't prepared for it yet. So Momonga and Fighting Dog couldn't afford to seriously injure Ramos and his group. They had to personally intervene, using their superior strength to quickly overpower them—neither killing them nor endangering their own soldiers.
However, just as they were about to move, a Marine soldier ran up to report, "Vice Admiral Momonga! Vice Admiral Fighting Dog! A ship has appeared on the sea! It's... it's a Warlord's ship!"
"What!?" Momonga and Fighting Dog were startled. They grabbed the soldier and demanded, "Which Warlord is it?"
Although the Seven Warlords of the Sea were nominally under the World Government and Marines, everyone knew they often paid lip service and were uncooperative. The Marines and World Government didn't fully trust them, and vice versa.
At a time like this, with a battle already underway, the sudden appearance of a Warlord made Momonga and Fighting Dog uneasy.
They asked who it was because the one they feared most was Sea Knight Jinbe. The World Government and Marines knew about Jinbe's relationship with Whitebeard. If he had come to stop the Marines' operation, things would get ugly.
"It's... it's the Kuja Pirates! It's the Pirate Empress!"
Fortunately, the soldier's report allowed them to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
Still, they were puzzled. "What is that woman doing here?"
Up ahead, Ramos and his men were locked in battle with the Marines, while Momonga and Fighting Dog turned to look toward the harbor.
"Who... placed these little dogs... and little cats in my path?"
A proud voice rang out, accompanied by barking and meowing. A small dog and a small cat were kicked aside by Boa Hancock, yelping indignantly at her.
With flowing jet-black hair, deep blue eyes, a tall figure, fair skin, and seductive attire radiating her stunning mature charm, the peerless Pirate Empress appeared before everyone. As she walked forward, the crowd parted automatically. Every Marine soldier who saw her fell into a trance.
"So... so beautiful!"
"Oh my god, is this the Pirate Empress?"
"The world's most beautiful woman—truly lives up to the legend!"
"Ah! I want to be stepped on by her long legs..."
Momonga and Fighting Dog, their faces dark, approached her and asked, "Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, why are you here?"
"Do I need your permission to be here?" Boa Hancock replied with her usual cold arrogance.
At that moment, the Marine soldiers fighting Ramos and his men were also distracted by the Pirate Empress's appearance. Ramos and his pirates were the same, all staring dumbfounded in her direction.
"What a beautiful woman..."
Her presence was like a brilliant light, instantly capturing everyone's attention. Every man present was staring at her.
But then, Boa Hancock suddenly adopted a shy expression, placing her hand against her cheek, and said, "Don't look at me like that... it makes me nervous..."
This coy demeanor only made things worse. The men felt their hearts pounding as if they might leap out of their chests.
"Not good!" Only Momonga and Fighting Dog realized what was about to happen, their hearts screaming in alarm.
Sure enough, the next second, Boa Hancock placed her hands in front of her chest, forming a heart shape, and aimed it at the crowd ahead.
"Slave Arrow!"
Pink heart-shaped rings radiated from her hands, sweeping across the crowd in front.
In an instant, Ramos and the Whitebeard Pirates members turned into stone statues!
Even as statues, they still wore the same lovestruck expressions from moments ago...
Not just Ramos and his men—some Marine soldiers were also hit, turning into stone statues.
"What... what are you doing!?" Momonga shouted angrily at Boa Hancock.
"Helping you catch them!" Boa Hancock sneered at him.
"Then why did my soldiers turn into statues too!?" Momonga roared.
"It doesn't matter," the snake Salome coiled up, and Boa Hancock sat on it, tossing her black hair, "Because no matter what I do, I'll be forgiven, right?"
"You...!!" Momonga's face darkened, but he didn't know what to say. He had heard of the Pirate Empress's ways. Finally, he said, "I warn you, if you obstruct our operation, I will report this. Don't blame us if we revoke your Warlord status."
"Don't worry, I quite like being a Warlord," Boa Hancock said. "I don't want it taken away... I'm here for the Dragon Hunter Pirates."
"Huh?" Momonga was taken aback.
"An offense against the dignity of a Warlord can't just be let go," Boa Hancock said ambiguously before turning to Momonga. "You catch your people, I catch mine. Agreed?"
Momonga and Fighting Dog exchanged glances and thought it over.
Regardless, Boa Hancock had at least helped them subdue Ramos and his group. Momonga couldn't really complain about that. As for the Dragon Hunter Pirates, they had destroyed a Marine warship. If the Pirate Empress wanted to trouble them, that was actually a good thing—it saved the Marines the effort.
In the end, Momonga and Fighting Dog nodded, agreeing to the arrangement...
All of this happened without Ian's knowledge. He never imagined that he would inexplicably become a target of the Pirate Empress's trouble...