Chapter 795: Is This a Marriage?
"You!!" When Teach staggered to his feet, dizzy and disoriented, and saw clearly who was standing before him, he flew into a furious rage.
He wiped his face and realized that half of it had completely lost sensation. When he reached out to touch it, all he felt was cold, hard stone.
"You damn woman!" Teach tried to contort his face into a menacing scowl, but with half of it petrified, the muscles wouldn't obey him, leaving his expression grotesque and twisted. This only fueled his anger further as he roared at Boa Hancock: "Do you want to die!?"
But Boa Hancock didn't waste a single word. She pulled a pink heart-shaped object from her palm, yanked it back with her other hand, and then suddenly released it!
A torrent of pink Slave Arrows shot forth, whistling as they streaked toward Teach.
Hancock was utterly consumed by hatred for Teach. If not for him, how could Amazon Lily have suffered such unwarranted calamity? So now, she couldn't even be bothered to demand he kneel—she struck to kill the moment she saw him!
Teach was startled. He quickly grabbed a large stone from the ground and held it up as a shield to block Hancock's Slave Arrows. He knew full well what her ability could do, and he had no intention of being turned into a stone statue by those arrows.
But just as he blocked the arrows, he noticed Hancock suddenly leaping backward. At the same time, Teach felt a shadow loom over him from above.
Damn it! Teach reacted instantly, dropping into a donkey roll without a second thought!
*BOOM!* A massive dragon claw slammed down from the sky, smashing into the spot where Teach had been standing just a moment ago...
Shit! I forgot Uranus was still behind me! Teach scrambled to his feet, still shaken, and bolted away!
But Hancock had no intention of letting Teach escape so easily. As she ran in the opposite direction to put distance between herself and Uranus, she drew back another volley of Slave Arrows and fired them at Teach. From the look of it, she was dead set on using Uranus to finish him off right here and now!
"A... Azathoth!" Teach roared as the arrows came flying toward him again.
A shadowy mass shot over from a distance, instantly blocking Teach's path. Hancock's Slave Arrows all struck the shadow, vanishing into it like stones dropped into the sea—completely swallowed up!
After devouring those petrifying arrows, Azathoth's body swelled even larger, engulfing both Teach and Hancock in its darkness.
Trapped within this shadowy realm, Hancock suddenly felt her strength drain away. She stumbled and fell mid-stride, tumbling to the ground.
"What is this!?" Hancock forced herself to her feet, only to find herself in a pitch-black world where she couldn't make out her surroundings. Just as she tried to find a direction to escape, a powerful suction force yanked her off her feet, pulling her helplessly through the air.
A dirty, furry hand reached out from the darkness, catching Hancock's flying body and clamping down on her neck!
"Zehahaha!" Teach, having grabbed Hancock with his Dark Water, pulled her close and sneered, "Got you now, Pirate Empress!"
He held her by the throat, lifting her off the ground. Her feet dangled in the air as she struggled to breathe. She tried to pry his hand away, but with her Devil Fruit ability suppressed, she lacked the strength to overpower him. So instead, she spat a glob of saliva that landed on his half-petrified face.
Seeing the cold, hateful look in Hancock's eyes, Teach's anger flared. He leaned in close and snarled, "Crazy woman! What do you think would happen if I ripped out your soul!?"
But Hancock showed no fear. She kicked out fiercely, aiming for Teach!
Even though he knew her Devil Fruit ability was neutralized, Teach still flinched, instinctively hurling her away. He had no intention of letting that kick land.
At the same time, another thunderous crash echoed as Uranus's massive dragon claw struck again, this time landing near Teach but missing him entirely.
Because Azathoth had shrouded the area, Uranus couldn't see what was happening on the ground and was just blindly smashing its claws down...
"Damn it!" Teach broke out in a cold sweat. It was clear that Uranus wouldn't stop until it killed him. Watching Hancock struggle to her feet, trying to escape the dark zone, Teach's eyes darted with a wicked idea.
Hancock had only taken a few steps when another powerful suction force pulled her back, dragging her to Teach once more.
This time, after catching her, Teach sneered, "If you die, that bastard Ian will probably be heartbroken, right? But since he and I are already locked in a fight to the death, one more of you won't matter! You can take my place as Uranus's meal!"
Without waiting for Hancock to react, Teach ordered Azathoth to withdraw the shadowy mist, revealing themselves again.
The moment they reappeared, Uranus spotted them. It opened its massive jaws and lunged toward Teach.
But Teach was faster. He hurled Hancock straight at Uranus's gaping, monstrous maw, then turned and fled!
"Is this... where I die?" Hancock spun through the air, watching the blood-red mouth rushing toward her. Before it even reached her, a stench of rot and intense heat washed over her, forcing her to close her eyes in despair...
But just as Uranus's jaws were about to close around her, a roaring sound filled her ears. Suddenly, a powerful arm wrapped around her body, yanking her away from the beast's bite in the nick of time!
Hancock heard the wind howling past her ears, but the pain she expected never came. Confused, she opened her eyes.
And then she saw a familiar face. Overcome with joy, she cried out, "I... Ian-sama!?"
The one who had saved her from Uranus's mouth was Ian! He and Ace had just arrived above Amazon Lily when they saw Teach throw Hancock toward the creature. Without a second thought, Ian dove down at top speed, catching her in the nick of time!
Hearing her voice, Ian slowed his descent and looked down at her with a smile. "Long time no see. Are you alright?"
"I... I'm fine..." Hancock's cheeks flushed crimson. She shyly lowered her head, taking a small sniff of Ian's scent. Finding it as familiar as ever, she felt an unprecedented sense of peace.
She asked softly, "Ian-sama, how... how did you end up here?"
Ian slowed to a halt in midair, holding Hancock in a princess carry. His eyes were fixed seriously on the Uranus below. "I came for that monster."
"What is it?" Hancock asked.
"The Ancient Weapon, Uranus!" Ian said coldly. "The Celestial Dragons' last trump card. Just over two hours ago, it annihilated tens of thousands of pirates from the Beast Pirates!"
"The Celestial Dragons!?" At the mention of that name, Hancock gritted her teeth in fury. "Them again! My Amazon Lily has been destroyed by them once more!"
"Leave it to me," Ian said, looking down at her. "Get out of here. Take your people and move farther away."
"Mm!" Hancock nodded.
Ian descended to a distant spot on the ground and set her down. The sea snake that had carried her to the island earlier swam over from the shore. Before jumping onto its head, Hancock said, her face bright red, "You... be careful!"
Ian said nothing, just nodded, then spread his Flame Wings and flew back toward Uranus.
Standing on the sea snake's head, watching Ian's retreating figure, Hancock suddenly crouched down, cupping her burning cheeks in her hands, and murmured, "I... I was held by Ian-sama! Is this... is this marriage!?"
………………
As Ian flew off, Ace, who was hovering in midair with Doflamingo dangling upside down from his hand, spread a pair of white Flame Wings and blocked Teach's escape route.
Looking down at Teach, Ace grinned. "Teach, I've finally found you! Where do you think you're running this time!?"
The moment Teach saw Ace appear, he knew exactly what was happening. He glanced back and, sure enough, spotted Ian's figure. For a second, he felt like he was about to piss himself!
When people are extremely anxious and tense, they often feel this way. Ian had always been Teach's worst nightmare. He had been hiding for so long just to avoid running into him again. Originally, allying with Golden Lion and Kaido was meant to seize Uranus and use the Ancient Weapon to kill Ian, his nemesis. But now, Uranus was out of reach, and here he was, being hunted down and running straight into Ian and Ace, who had just arrived!
Weren't Ian and Ace supposed to be far away in the New World? How did they get here so fast!?
Even Teach felt his scalp crawl. A grim premonition crept over him—he had a sinking feeling that this time, he might not escape...