Chapter 88: Reaching a Partnership
“Hancock! You—”
Gloriosa was furious and about to try persuading her again.
“Shut up!”
Hancock’s eyes were sharp, and she interrupted her impatiently, “Don’t forget, you, who once abandoned the country, have no right to tell me what to do!”
“Old Hag, I am the King of Amazon Lily!”
“You’ll regret this, Hancock.”
Gloriosa sighed deeply.
“Shall we talk?” Cain stepped past everyone, appearing beside Hancock like a ghost.
Hancock was about to sharply drive away this man she disliked, but a thunderclap seemed to explode in her ears.
Cain’s voice was low and clear, yet it carried the power to shatter all her pride and pretense: “It must have been painful all these years, right? Because of the mark of the Hoof of the Celestial Dragon on your back.”
Boom!
This sentence was more lethal than all of Yamato’s attacks combined.
Hancock was struck by lightning, her body trembling violently.
“You, how do you know, no, I, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
In an instant, Hancock seemed to revert to the desperate little girl in the Mary Geoise dungeon, no longer able to be arrogant, and her speech became stammering.
No! This secret must never be leaked! Otherwise, everything will be over!
Thinking this, Hancock kicked out her left foot at Cain without hesitation.
“Your heart is in disarray,” Cain said calmly.
As his words fell, his pitch-black right hand easily grasped Hancock’s slender yet terrifyingly strong ankle.
“Damn it!”
Hancock gritted her silver teeth, her right leg instinctively gathering strength, attempting to attack again.
“I can get rid of that mark.”
Cain’s gentle voice was like a second thunderclap, exploding again in Hancock’s chaotic heart.
Her right leg could no longer be lifted.
Hancock stared at Cain in disbelief, her beautiful blue eyes filled with surprise and a faint glimmer of hope that even she hadn’t noticed.
She desperately wanted to find a trace of deceit or mockery in Cain’s eyes.
But all she saw was sincerity.
“Trust me, okay?” Cain’s eyes were sincere.
What shocked Hancock even more was that Cain actually voluntarily released his grip on her left ankle, taking a small step back without any defense, giving her space.
Hancock was completely frozen in place, her mind blank.
The immense temptation to erase that shameful and painful past instantly overwhelmed her deep-seated aversion and fear of men.
“If, if—” She lowered her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, “You, if you can truly do that. I, I will reluctantly form an alliance with you.”
Cain’s lips curved into a knowing smile: “In that case, I’ll trouble you to first un-petrify my companions.”
“Hmph! Don’t order me around!”
Hancock pouted playfully, then obediently un-petrified Kozuki Hiyori and the others.
Kozuki Hiyori, Violet, Reiju, and the other petrified individuals rapidly shed their grayish-white color, regaining their flesh and blood bodies, and cautiously moved their stiff limbs.
Witnessing this scene, Gloriosa’s eye twitched uncontrollably.
This scene was far too familiar.
It was a clear sign of a Nine Snake Maiden falling in love.
She just hoped Hancock wouldn’t abandon the entire country for love, like her and Shakky!
At least leave an heir for Nine Snake Island before leaving.
“No more fighting?”
Violet patted her chest, breathing a sigh of relief.
Seeing that the tense atmosphere between the two sides had dissipated, she curiously observed Hancock, who had a strange expression and slightly flushed cheeks.
She then glanced at Cain, who was calm and seemed to have everything under control.
She lightly nudged Kozuki Hiyori beside her with her elbow, lowering her voice with a mischievous smile: “Hey, hey, Hiyori,
do you think Lord Cain might have used a honey trap to win over the Empress? I knew he had a penchant for collecting noble beauties.”
Let alone Cain, even she, a woman, felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Hancock’s breathtaking beauty.
She didn’t think Cain would miss such a beauty.
That was the Pirate Empress, known as the world’s most beautiful woman.
“Dong~”
A crisp knuckle rap landed precisely on Violet’s forehead.
“Ouch!” Violet clutched her forehead, looking aggrievedly at Cain, who had appeared behind her at some point.
“Don’t think I can’t hear you just because your voice is quiet,” Cain glared at her grumpily.
Violet stuck out her tongue, made a face, and didn’t care.
After all these years with the Beasts Pirates, she was no longer the trembling Princess of Dressrosa she once was.
Since the two sides had reconciled, and even formed a partnership.
Then, naturally, the next step was the usual custom of the pirate world.
A banquet!
Cain and his group were invited into Nine Snake Island.
The entire Amazon Lily Kingdom was like a giant bowl, tightly enveloped by towering, steep circular cliffs, with only a few narrow and hidden passages connecting to the outside world.
Passing through the passage, Cain immediately felt a sense of openness.
What greeted his eyes, besides large tracts of farmland and a few small villages, was the central royal city.
However, although called a royal city, its scale was more like a large town due to limited space.
To alleviate the pressure of living space, the skilled craftsmen of Nine Snake Island had embedded a large number of houses like a honeycomb into the surrounding cliffs, forming a visually striking three-dimensional architectural complex.
As rare male visitors to Nine Snake Island, Cain and his group immediately became the absolute focus as soon as they stepped into the royal city.
“Look, look! Why are their chests so flat?”
“Idiot, they seem to be the legendary men.”
“What?! They are men?!”
“So that’s what men look like—”
The maidens who had never left Nine Snake Island chattered, uninhibitedly pointing and gesticulating at Cain and the others.
Normally, being observed by so many young and beautiful maidens should be a source of pride for any man.
But the Nine Snake Maidens were too innocent; their clear eyes held only pure novelty and curiosity, completely devoid of any romantic interest.
Cain felt like a strange creature in a zoo, being watched by everyone, just short of being touched.
Even Cain felt a bit uncomfortable, not to mention the naturally taciturn Kuma and Zoro, who just wanted to hide themselves at this moment.
The only one enjoying it, even wishing to actively go closer to be studied, was Sanji, whose eyes were filled with hearts and who was so happy he was about to faint.
After finally escaping the baptism of curious gazes from the maidens, Cain and the others finally entered the royal palace.
Although Nine Snake Island had a closed environment, special ingredients were not uncommon, and coupled with the spoils of their raids, the banquet table was indeed lavish.
Sanji even abandoned the opportunity to admire the many beauties and exchanged cooking tips with the banquet chef.
“This is a poisonous mushroom. If eaten raw, mushrooms that absorb human vitality will grow on the body, but after careful cooking, it is a rare delicacy.”
The chef explained while Sanji took notes.
As for the others, they naturally feasted heartily.
After two and a half hours of revelry, the banquet finally concluded.