Chapter 515: Amazon Lily Bathhouse
About two days later, off the coast of Amazon Lily in the Calm Belt.
On the sea surface here, a standard Marine battleship was anchored, and beside it, a massive Sea King lay dead, its blood nearly staining the entire sea red.
This slain Sea King was the work of Vice Admiral Momonga, who was aboard the Marine ship. Although the bottom of the Marine vessel was lined with Seastone, allowing it to avoid attracting the attention of Sea Kings beneath the surface, this neglect wasn't absolute. In the Calm Belt, a nest for such creatures, occasionally a Sea King would inadvertently surface and spot the Marine ship, triggering an attack.
Aside from killing this Sea King mid-journey, Momonga had been waiting on the battleship's deck.
He had been ordered by Marine Headquarters to come and pick up the Seven Warlord Boa Hancock. However, Amazon Lily forbade men from approaching, and their timing was unfortunate—the Kuja Pirates, led by Boa Hancock, had already set out to sea to "hunt." So Momonga could only wait here.
In fact, he had already been waiting here for two days!
Just then, a Marine soldier suddenly ran up to report that the Kuja Pirates' ship had been spotted on the sea—they were back!
Momonga shot to his feet, grabbed his sword, and strode to the ship's railing.
The Kuja Pirates' vessel was still being towed by two fierce sea serpents. Clearly, the Kuja Pirates had also spotted the Marine battleship and were now approaching it.
When the two ships drew close, Momonga shouted toward the Kuja Pirates' deck: "We've been waiting for you! You've finally returned, Kuja Pirates! I am Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Momonga. Boa Hancock of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, I have been ordered to escort you. Marine Headquarters has issued a mandatory summons for you!"
However, Momonga's shout only drew laughter from the female warriors of the Kuja Pirates.
"We've already answered you many times. Sorry, but Snake Princess won't come out!"
"Is that a man? So tacky, shouting like that..."
Momonga glared at these Kuja female warriors with a dark expression and said: "This summons for the Seven Warlords is a strict order from the World Government. Refusal means the agreement is broken. Your title and privileges as a 'Seven Warlord' will be revoked. Boa Hancock, even so, you still refuse to appear?"
Perhaps because she heard Momonga's words, Boa Hancock finally emerged from the cabin.
She was still as stunningly beautiful and endlessly charming as ever...
"So you've come after all, you meddlesome lot..." Boa Hancock stood at the bow, one hand on her hip as she lightly brushed her jet-black hair. "I don't want to participate in any war. However, I hope you won't revoke my Seven Warlord title. Also... everything on your ship belongs to me now!"
"...!" Momonga's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but roar: "Don't dream! You're not some spoiled little girl. Do you think I'd accept such an unreasonable demand?"
But before Momonga could finish, the Marine soldiers, already bewitched by Boa Hancock's beauty, had frantically started hauling out all the valuables from the battleship...
Momonga had to roar at these fools again.
"Listen carefully, Boa Hancock!" Momonga said grimly. "Two days ago, Whitebeard Edward Newgate was gravely wounded by Blackbeard Teach and may not live much longer. Marine Headquarters' Vice Admiral Akainu has already led a fleet to surround the Whitebeard Pirates' home base on a small island in the New Edd War Sea. They've defeated the Fifth and Sixth Divisions of the Whitebeard Pirates, who tried to break out. This is a golden opportunity for the Marines. The Seven Warlords agreement clearly states your duty: when the Marines fight the Four Emperors, you must unconditionally follow Marine command. Within the next week, all pirates from Whitebeard's territory will come to rescue him. Marine Headquarters has already deployed the three Marine Admirals as vanguard to confront the entire Whitebeard Pirates. You now have two choices: either accept the summons, or have your Seven Warlord title revoked!"
"But I hate the World Government and don't want to obey them!" Boa Hancock said with a pitiful expression. "Yet I really like being a Seven Warlord and don't want it taken away... How about this? The Marine battleship escorting me encountered a strange accident at sea, and the entire crew perished..."
"!!!"
Hearing this, Momonga's heart jolted. But before he could react, Boa Hancock suddenly clasped her hands to her chest and emitted a series of pink light waves toward the Marine battleship.
"Slave Arrow!"
The moment he saw Boa Hancock's movement, Momonga realized something was wrong. He immediately drew his sword and stabbed it into his own thigh.
The pain saved him from being turned to stone, but the Marine soldiers behind him weren't so lucky. Already captivated by Boa Hancock's beauty, they were all transformed into stone statues...
"A... bunch of idiots..." Momonga lowered his head, turning to look at the petrified soldiers behind him.
"Using pain to divert your attention—not bad!" Boa Hancock stood before Momonga. "But now you're all alone. Do you still want to continue?"
"One and zero... are different!" Momonga replied bitterly.
"Whatever you say!" Boa Hancock turned to leave.
But just then, Momonga called out to her: "I'll wait until the deadline. I won't return empty-handed... If you still don't show up in two days, then the agreement is broken..."
"..." Boa Hancock glanced back at him but said nothing. She led the Kuja Pirates toward their island, leaving Momonga alone on the battleship, accompanied only by the foolish stone statues of the Marine soldiers...
After returning to the Celestial Palace on Amazon Lily, the first thing Boa Hancock did was take a bath.
Although the slave mark on her back had been erased by Ian, her years-long habit still made her seal off the inner city.
"Ahh!" As the warm water soaked her body, Boa Hancock let out a contented sigh, then relaxed, enjoying this rare moment.
But just then, she heard a faint dripping sound.
"Who's there!?" Boa Hancock immediately became alert. She knew that when she bathed, no one should be within two miles of her!
However, to her surprise, as soon as she turned around in the water and looked toward the source of the sound, she froze.
A very familiar figure was crouching in the corner of the pool, staring straight at her, with a mysterious red liquid dripping from beneath his nose...
"I... Ian!?"
After recognizing his face, Boa Hancock suddenly panicked. She grabbed a towel to cover her chest, her cheeks flushed, and stammered: "Why... why are you here!?"
"Well..." Ian wiped his nose, looking a bit embarrassed. "I came to find you. I heard you were about to bathe, so I waited here in advance to meet you alone. I just... didn't expect you to be so quick..."
Ian really hadn't meant to peep. He just hadn't expected Boa Hancock to start undressing as soon as she entered the bathhouse. He had forgotten to stop her in time...
Hearing Ian's explanation, Boa Hancock was at a loss. Finally, Ian came to his senses first and turned his head away, saying: "You... you should put your clothes on first..."
After Boa Hancock shyly dressed herself, Ian turned back. But seeing her wet hair and the moisture radiating from her body, he couldn't help but feel the urge to have a nosebleed again.
A peerless beauty was indeed a peerless beauty—beautiful in clothes, and tempting without them...
Once the awkward atmosphere had eased a bit, Boa Hancock suddenly remembered something and asked Ian anxiously: "A few days ago, while I was out at sea, I heard news that Marine Headquarters revoked your Seven Warlord title. Is that true?"
"Yeah, it's true!" Ian nodded.
"Why would they do that!?" Boa Hancock said angrily. "Was it because of the mandatory summons too?"