Pat.
Aeridar lowered his head and found that his hand was being held by Hancock. He looked up to see her sad face, her beautiful deep blue eyes filled with pleading.
"Do you... do you look down on me?" Hancock asked pitifully, tears on her face.
"Onee-sama~" Sandersonia and Marigold also had tears in their eyes.
Aeridar turned his hand and held Hancock's, then knelt down. He gently touched her soft face with his other hand, wiping away the tears from her eyes, and whispered, "Hancock, my goddess, your beauty only makes me admire you more. Ah~ it's too dazzling, you're blinding me."
For the last part, Aeridar covered his eyes, pretending to be funny.
"Hehe~ Hmph~ You're so mean!" Hancock couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle. She then playfully pulled her hand away and lightly hit Aeridar's shoulder.
Da!
Gloriosa's mouth curved into a smile, and she jumped onto her snake staff, sighing with relief. "It's been so long, Nyo~ that you've been able to show your feelings like this, Nyo~ For the past few years, I thought my Empress had turned into a block of ice."
Upon hearing Gloriosa's words, Hancock quickly wiped away her tears, stood up with her coat still on, and walked over in two big steps. She shouted, "Be quiet, you traitor who abandoned our country!"
"You're the one who should be quiet!" Gloriosa moved closer to Hancock, pointed at her, and said loudly, "Even though you escaped the Celestial Dragons' clutches, you didn't know how to return to the island! You were just three heartbroken little girls wandering the streets. Do you remember who brought you back? Wasn't it all thanks to me, who was living overseas?"
Hearing these words, Sandersonia and Marigold's faces turned red with embarrassment.
"Hmph," Hancock sniffed arrogantly and turned her back. "Don't go on and on about your tiny kindness."
"Nyo, nyo! What did you say?!" Gloriosa was so angry that she jumped off her snake staff and lunged at Hancock, but she was caught mid-air by Sandersonia and Marigold, one on each side.
"Nyon-ba~" Sandersonia and Marigold said with a helpless tone.
"I've been protecting you like a mother, and you call it a tiny kindness?! Nyo~ You, my Empress..." Gloriosa waved her hands and feet in the air, yelling with a snarl, "Let go of me, Marigold, Sandersonia!"
"Yes, yes, yes..." Sandersonia and Marigold replied with a smile.
"Nyon-ba, you're an elder, so don't stoop to our level. I have some good liquor on my ship. I'll get some for you to try later, but I don't know if you'll like it," Aeridar said with a smile. For such a senior, as long as they weren't being arrogant and condescending, Aeridar respected them. After all, their life experiences and rich wisdom could provide great guidance to the younger generation.
"Nyo~ I'll like it, I'll like it~" Gloriosa's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly. She knew that Aeridar, as a king, was much wealthier than an ordinary king. At the very least, Amazon Lily was nowhere near as wealthy. If he said it was good liquor, it wouldn't be bad.
At this moment, Hancock had put her clothes back on. After all, it was not good to be naked in front of a man. With the Boa sisters' biggest secret revealed, the atmosphere in the room became more lively. Especially Hancock's gaze toward Aeridar, her eyes were watery and filled with an indescribable emotion.
....
Meanwhile, in the New World, in the Micity Port of the Clifford Kingdom...
Rumble~
A huge explosion echoed in the streets, creating a powerful shockwave. Countless shattered bricks flew everywhere.
"Ah~ Run!"
"Damn it, that bastard actually dared to attack here."
"That guy can even fight against Abel-san! He's a monster too!"
"This is a neutral zone! Does he have a death wish?" The people on the street screamed and scattered, their faces filled with terror.
"You bastard, I'm going to rip you apart!" Abel, wearing a white fur coat, had his neck turn red with rage. He flashed forward, raised his red, steaming right arm, and punched out.
Bang!
The solid ground was instantly punched into a two to three-meter-wide pit, and the bluestone bricks on the surface were all pulverized.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and a pitch-black bullet flew straight towards Abel's forehead.
Clang!
Abel's forehead was immediately covered with a metallic black coating. The black bullet instantly hit his forehead, and the powerful force made his head snap back.
"It's infused with Haki, so it hurts a little!" The next moment, Abel straightened his neck, shook his head, and looked at the person opposite him.
Ten meters away stood a tall, skinny man with a ferocious face, a slicked-back hairstyle, and a sloppy outfit of a short-sleeved shirt and shorts. He wore a spiked black brass knuckle on his right hand and held an exquisite flintlock pistol in his left.
He was the captain of the Fiend Pirates, The Fiend Urtes. His latest bounty was 320 million berries.
"Damn it, a Steel-Steel Fruit user with Haki defense. He's like a turtle shell," Urtes said with a vicious look, spitting on the ground.
Urtes was a rookie from the same era as Aeridar and Abel. In recent years, he had caused a lot of trouble for the Marines while they were weak. Two years ago, he even imitated Aeridar and attacked a World Government affiliated country in the New World, but he was stopped by the country's army as soon as he landed. Then he was defeated by the Marines who came to reinforce them, losing more than half of his crew. After that, he fled.
"You bastard, you dare to cause trouble here? You must have a death wish." Abel's face was ferocious, and both of his arms began to turn red and steam. Then, he pointed to the long scar on Urtes' right eye and sneered, "Did Onigumo not beat you enough to wake you up?"
"You damn bastard, do you want to die?!" Urtes was furious. The scar on his eye was a sensitive topic for him. When he had imitated Aeridar and attacked a World Government affiliated country, the main officer of the Marine fleet that came to reinforce them was Onigumo.
As a veteran elite Vice Admiral, he was not someone Urtes, who had only been active for a few years, could fight. At the time, he thought that a Marine Vice Admiral was nothing special. However, after less than ten moves, he was almost decapitated by Onigumo. Even though he managed to escape in the end, the scar on his eye remained.
The enraged Urtes hardened his right arm with Armament Haki. The bulging black muscles almost tore through his clothes. He then flashed forward, charging toward Abel.
"So you got a bit of Haki, and now you think you're hot stuff?" Abel also used Armament Haki. His two steaming arms turned a glowing reddish-black, like red-hot iron arms.
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