Chapter 171: Beautiful Lady, Care for a Dance?
The leg that came kicking toward him was a very beautiful one.
Its curve was perfect and slender, and the fair skin shimmered with a warm, moist luster. Just by looking, one could tell it was as smooth and delicate as silk. Such a long leg, clad in a high heel, kicked out from beneath a high-slit cheongsam. Before it even arrived, a faint, subtle fragrance could already be detected.
If it had been any other time, Ian might have thought to himself, "I could play with that for a whole year."
But now, as that leg came flying toward him, the only thing Ian felt was immense danger!
He absolutely could not be touched!
Although this was Ian's first time meeting the world-renowned Pirate Empress, he knew her ability well. Hidden beneath that peerless beauty was a power that was quite deadly.
Just like the most beautiful roses often carry thorns... Ian knew very well what would happen if he was kicked by this Pirate Empress.
It was her "Aromatic Foot," where wherever she kicked, that spot would turn to stone!
Even though he couldn't understand why Boa Hancock had attacked him right from the start, he knew he had to dodge this kick.
He swiftly pulled back, and Boa Hancock's long leg swept past right in front of Ian's nose, leaving behind a tantalizing fragrance that could stir one's desires.
"Hey! Why are you attacking me!?" Ian shouted at Boa Hancock after retreating. "I don't have any grudge against you, do I!?"
Not only was there no grudge, Ian could swear that this was the first time he had ever seen Boa Hancock, and he was certain he had never encountered her Kuja Pirates before.
So Ian's first thought was: Is this woman crazy?
"Shut up!" Boa Hancock pointed at Ian and said, "All you need to know is that I won't allow you to escape now!"
With that, she kicked at him again.
Boa Hancock had started fighting Ian the moment she arrived. Such willful behavior gave Vice Admirals Momonga and Fighting Dog a headache. They had hoped that the captain of the Dragon Hunter Pirates could be swayed to help the Marines with the capture. But Boa Hancock's willfulness had ruined that potential aid.
However, they didn't regret it for long. After all, Ian's Dragon Hunter Pirates were also targets Momonga wanted to capture. It was fine if the Pirate Empress kept him occupied.
Once the black-clad masked man was caught, they could turn around and capture the captain of the Dragon Hunter Pirates as well, avenging Rear Admiral Morny.
"Zehahaha! Is that the Pirate Empress? What a fiery beauty!" Blackbeard laughed heartily as he watched Ian being forced into a flustered defense.
But at that moment, a sword swung fiercely toward him: "You'd better worry about yourself first!"
Momonga had made his move. He and Vice Admiral Fighting Dog Doberman each took on one opponent, Momonga going after Blackbeard and Fighting Dog targeting the black-clad masked man.
Although Boa Hancock was fighting Ian, her mind wasn't really on him. When she saw Fighting Dog charging at the black-clad man, who remained motionless, she grew a bit anxious.
"Slave Arrow!"
She suddenly formed a heart shape with her hands and aimed it toward Fighting Dog's direction.
Ian happened to be roughly with his back to Fighting Dog at that moment. Thinking the attack was aimed at him, he silently cursed and quickly dodged to the side.
Actually, even if he hadn't moved so fast, he would have been fine, because Boa Hancock wasn't aiming her Slave Arrow at him at all. As Ian dodged, the heart-shaped rays shot straight toward Fighting Dog.
Fighting Dog noticed the rays coming and quickly used a Shave to evade. The rays passed beneath him and hit the Marine soldiers in the distance.
Those Marine soldiers, though not directly engaged in the fight and only standing by, had most of their attention on Boa Hancock. It wasn't their fault; many of them were seeing the Pirate Empress for the first time, and the allure of a beautiful woman was naturally strong.
And that was the terrifying power of Boa Hancock's Love-Love Fruit. As long as someone had even a slight thought about her, her Slave Arrow could turn them to stone!
Not just the Marine soldiers—even Ian, who was currently hostile toward her, would be petrified if hit by this attack.
In other words, as long as someone thought Boa Hancock was beautiful or pretty in their heart, that was enough to trigger the petrification condition.
The Marine soldiers caught in that straight line were turned to stone, startling everyone else. After landing, Fighting Dog Doberman angrily shouted at Boa Hancock, "What are you doing!? Boa Hancock!"
"Shut up!" Boa Hancock's aura was even more commanding. She was naturally a queen, and upon hearing Doberman's accusation, she pointed at him and said, "How I fight is my business. I don't need you to interfere!"
Hearing this, Ian's mind stirred.
He looked at where he had been standing, then at the petrified Marine soldiers, and seemed to understand something.
To verify his guess, Ian deliberately moved closer, positioning himself so that his back was in a straight line with Fighting Dog Doberman and the masked man.
Sure enough, as soon as Ian's position was right, Boa Hancock struck. She lightly touched her lips with her left hand, and a heart-shaped substance appeared in her palm.
"Slave Arrow!"
Boa Hancock grabbed one end of the heart, pulled it back like drawing a bowstring, and then released it!
A torrent of pink arrows shot out from the heart!
Ian had anticipated this and dodged in advance. Boa Hancock hadn't been aiming at him anyway. The arrows whistled toward Fighting Dog Doberman's direction.
Although these pink arrows didn't hit Doberman, they struck the Marine soldiers. Every soldier hit was turned to stone.
Not just their bodies—some trees and weapons that were hit were also petrified!
The petrification ability of the Love-Love Fruit was incredibly powerful. It didn't just affect living organisms; even inorganic objects could be turned to stone.
"You...!" Doberman had tried twice to attack the masked man, only to have Boa Hancock ruin it both times, and now the Marine soldiers near him had also suffered.
Ha! So that's it!
Ian almost laughed out loud. This woman, Boa Hancock, was quite cunning! She had used him as cover to help that masked man.
If Ian weren't a time traveler, he probably wouldn't have understood Boa Hancock's intentions. But now, putting it all together, he realized that Boa Hancock must have mistaken the masked man for the real mastermind behind the Mary Geoise incident.
The mighty Pirate Empress had once been a pitiful Celestial Dragon slave. She had always kept this experience well-hidden—not just from the Marines and the World Government, but even from her own people on Amazon Lily. She had fabricated lies like the Gorgon's Eye to conceal the truth from her subjects.
Given her position as a Warlord of the Sea, she must have learned that Ian had killed a Celestial Dragon and freed a group of slaves at Mary Geoise. Perhaps out of a desire to help Ian, she had followed the Marines to this island.
But...
Beautiful lady! You've got the wrong person! The guy you're trying to save is a complete fake. The real culprit is actually the one you're attacking right now!
Faced with this situation, Ian didn't know what to say.
Blackbeard was locked in combat with Momonga, and Fighting Dog had twice tried to attack the masked man, only to be thwarted by Boa Hancock's interference. Despite his anger, he couldn't find fault with her, because he had seen that Boa Hancock was actually attacking the captain of the Dragon Hunter Pirates. It was just that her attacks had been dodged and ended up hitting his men.
The only thing that puzzled him was why the masked man was standing motionless in the middle of the field. Was he charging up some big move?
Little did he know, the masked man was simply scared stiff. A Marine Vice Admiral personally coming after him? He had never experienced such treatment before!
Realizing Boa Hancock's intentions, Ian's eyes flickered, and he suddenly pulled back, running toward Fighting Dog's location.
Boa Hancock's eyes lit up, and she immediately followed.
When he reached Fighting Dog's area, Ian pretended that Boa Hancock had caught up to him, and the two began fighting again.
Most of the time, Ian only dodged and didn't counterattack. To be honest, he really could only dodge. When Boa Hancock used her Love-Love Fruit ability, if he didn't want to die, he'd better not let her touch him!
Fighting Dog Doberman knew this well. Whenever Boa Hancock's long legs kicked out, he didn't dare get close.
But Ian deliberately moved toward Fighting Dog, pressing close to him. This forced Fighting Dog to dodge if he didn't want to be accidentally hit by Boa Hancock.
"Damn it! Boa Hancock! You're getting in my way!" Doberman couldn't help but roar.
But Boa Hancock ignored him completely. She just felt that this man in front of her—wearing a bear-ear hat with bandages wrapped around his hands—seemed to perfectly match her intentions. With his help, she had successfully separated Fighting Dog from the black-clad masked man.
Earlier, she hadn't really looked at Ian closely. But now, she couldn't help but observe him.
Sensing her gaze, Ian smiled slightly and subtly winked at her, as if to say, "I've figured out your plan, so I'll reluctantly play along with you!"
For some reason, seeing Ian's wink made Boa Hancock's heart skip a beat.
Since he was consciously cooperating with her, she unconsciously slowed down her kicks, making it even easier for Ian to dodge.
The two of them were essentially fake-fighting. Boa Hancock kept kicking, and Ian kept dodging, making it look almost like a dance.
And the bells on Ian's wrist occasionally let out a crisp sound, as if accompanying their rhythm.
During a brief moment when Ian brushed past her, Boa Hancock caught his scent, and a tipsy feeling washed over her entire body...