"Your Majesty, the man found on the island has woken up." An Amazonian warrior, head bowed, reported to the figure behind the curtain.
"So he's awake, what does it matter? Why are you bothering me with such trivial matters?"
A lazy, seductive voice, tinged with annoyance, came from behind the curtain. Clearly, the Empress hadn't had a good night's sleep, and her temper wasn't exactly known for its sweetness.
"But Your Majesty, he claims to have been a slave of the Celestial Dragons and has important secrets about the World Government and Amazon Lily. He says only you are worthy of hearing them." The warrior outside the curtain was under immense pressure and risk. Especially with the Empress, a powerful and volatile figure, facing a male intruder who had arrived on the island due to a shipwreck. There was a chance the Empress might take her anger out on them.
However, even they were not allowed to know such secrets. The man insisted on seeing the Empress, refusing to speak to anyone else. This left them in a difficult position, and they had no choice but to report it to the Empress for her decision.
"Hancock, see him."
A raspy, old voice echoed through the room. A small, white-haired woman, barely reaching the warrior's thighs, emerged from behind the curtain, adorned in flamboyant clothing. Her voice caused the woman behind the curtain to flare up in annoyance. "Why are you back in here, you old hag?!"
"Hmph, for the sake of the nation, I'd face fire and sword!" The old woman, ignoring the Empress's outburst, continued in a serious tone. "Truly, you should see him, Hancock."
Normally, she showed the Empress respect, calling her "Your Majesty." But only in private, when she was serious, did she use Hancock's real name. As the one who brought Hancock to Amazon Lily and helped her ascend the throne, even though she and the Empress often bickered, Hancock would still consider her opinion in important matters.
Hearing her use her name so seriously, the woman behind the curtain fell silent for a moment before finally lifting her hand. "Let him come in."
"And have Sandersonia and Marigold come too."
Unaware that the Empress was trembling slightly behind the curtain, the warrior assumed the Empress was simply showing confidence in her sisters and wanted them to hear the information. But as the one who rescued the three sisters from the clutches of the Fishman, Tiger, and brought them back to Amazon Lily, the former empress, Gloriosa, knew the truth.
Hancock was afraid. She was afraid of the hoof mark on her back, afraid of the Celestial Dragon's reputation, afraid of the word "slave." Normally, she would dismiss the subject entirely, but now she was even calling for her sisters for support.
Who would have thought that the Pirate Empress, who mastered Haki and had incredible strength, was such a fragile girl at heart?
Soon, her two sisters arrived from the city, followed by the man who had been rescued from the shipwreck.
A kind man, saved by the warriors.
A former Celestial Dragon slave...
He was barefoot, wearing only an Amazonian bathrobe, revealing large portions of his chest. He had short hair, deep eyes beneath his sword-like brows, like stars twinkling in the dark night. His eyes seemed to speak volumes, overshadowing his other features.
"Thank you for saving my life!" He stood outside the curtain, looking at Sandersonia and Marigold, towering over him like guardian deities, and bowed deeply.
His demeanor immediately won over the three women outside. In this world, recklessness was the norm, rudeness was the standard, and illiteracy was the majority. Someone like him, polite and courteous, was an outlier, a strange anomaly. But who doesn't appreciate a little courtesy?
"Cut the pleasantries," the woman behind the curtain said, her voice not like those of cutesy loli or trendy influencers, but surprisingly beautiful, combined with her aura. It made one want to hear her speak more. "What are these secrets you have about Amazon Lily?"
The young man stood up. Marigold and Sandersonia noticed that, though not tall, he stood straight, reaching their waists, about six feet tall. His posture and back were incredibly straight, making him look like a pine tree, drawing attention.
"Then let me start from the beginning." He removed the top half of his bathrobe, turned around, and revealed the Celestial Dragon's hoof mark on his back.
"My name is Alistair. I was the steward of the Camael Saint Family, one of the twenty Celestial Dragon families. I was deeply trusted by them, and they even entrusted me with the power to interact with the World Government."
"So I know most of the secrets and information in this world, all stored in my mind." He revealed his Celestial Dragon mark but didn't look at the shocked Marigold and Sandersonia. He calmly put on the top half of his bathrobe, turned around, and looked directly at the woman behind the curtain, his gaze like a sword.
"I don't know how long I was adrift at sea or how long I slept on Amazon Lily, so I have a question to confirm this time."
"Is the current Empress a Shichibukai?"
Leo already knew the answer, judging from the expressions of the two women outside the curtain.
But he waited patiently in the quiet air for the woman behind the curtain to answer.
His target was never anyone else in this room.
It was the woman who controlled the entire Kuja Pirates, the one who ruled Amazon Lily, the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock.
The air remained silent for a while, until the woman behind the curtain calmed down and slowly spoke, "Shichibukai? What's that?"
Alistair smiled. He had achieved half his goal.
Now, he had to figure out how to continue his deception.
"It's a position that all pirates in the world dream of!"
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