The two sea serpents were seriously injured.
No matter how Hancock urged them forward, they simply refused to move.
They were truly terrified.
All Hancock could do was watch helplessly as the three squadrons of Jun Lin warships slowly tightened their encirclement.
Eventually, they surrounded her pirate ship from all three directions—closing in to less than 300 meters away.
On one side was her pirate ship, with nearly a hundred female warriors aiming black-tipped arrows with their bows drawn.
On the other side were thirty warships of varying sizes, dozens of cannons aimed directly at the ship, and over ten thousand soldiers pointing their guns.
If a battle were to break out…
There was no need to guess the outcome.
It was far too obvious.
"Hancock, come out and have a talk!"
Gion—also known as Momousagi—stepped out from the bridge and leapt into the air.
She called out loudly toward the pirate ship.
A moment later, Hancock leapt from her ship as well. Unlike Gion, however, she couldn't use Geppo (Moonwalk).
So she only managed to land on the head of one of the sea serpents.
Still, that position—while not as high as Gion's—was certainly more elevated than simply standing on the deck.
"You know who I am?" Hancock asked coldly.
In response, Gion removed her mask.
Revealing her identity meant nothing to her now.
After all, today's mission would end in either capturing Hancock or eliminating the entire Kuja Pirates.
No matter the outcome, no one would be left to leak the news.
"We may not be close, but we've met before," Gion replied.
Hancock frowned.
"State your name. I don't know you."
...
Gion felt a little awkward.
Back then, even though she was only a colonel, she had accompanied Vice Admiral Tsuru to negotiate with Hancock about joining the Shichibukai.
She had even fought Hancock once.
And yet, Hancock didn't recognize her?
And what was with that bizarre posture—bending backward with her head tilted so far it looked like she might snap her spine?
Gion remembered that Hancock had always been a bit eccentric, even back then.
But at least she made some effort to maintain eye contact during conversations.
This was new.
Gion sighed. Whatever. There was no point talking further.
With a wave of her hand, hundreds of figures launched from several battleships.
They used Moonwalk to rush toward the Kuja Pirates' ship.
"HOW DARE YOU!!" Hancock roared, unleashing her Haoshoku Haki.
A powerful wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from her body, sweeping outward.
She had expected the Jun Lin soldiers to collapse like falling dumplings—losing consciousness and plunging into the sea.
That was why she hadn't panicked despite being surrounded by thirty warships.
If they had stayed two kilometers away, she wouldn't have been able to do anything.
But they had come within 300 meters.
Why worry?
And yet, the expected result didn't happen.
Yes, most of the soldiers paused for a moment—some flinched, others stiffened—but not a single one lost consciousness.
Not a single one.
Gion smirked.
So what if it's Conqueror's Haki?
In Jun Lin, all soldiers undergo Conqueror's Haki resistance training every few days.
And the one leading that training… is Luo Lan himself.
Gion had seen just how terrifying his Haki could be.
Compared to his, Hancock's…
Was far too weak.
Soldiers who had endured Luo Lan's Conqueror's Haki dozens of times found Hancock's pressure laughably easy to endure.
Seconds passed.
Realizing her Haki had failed to achieve anything, Hancock frowned deeply.
She moved to strike the approaching soldiers—
But suddenly, a figure appeared beside her: Gion.
The sword Yōmei, photographed once on Volcano Island, was now drawn and pointed straight at Hancock.
"Don't move. Your opponent is me," Gion declared.
"Out of my way!" Hancock shouted, her patience gone.
She launched a kick, but Gion calmly coated Yōmei in Armament Haki and blocked it with ease—then retaliated.
The two clashed furiously atop the head of one of the trembling sea serpents.
The poor creature shivered, terrified that one of these monstrous women would accidentally unleash a powerful technique right on its head.
One hit might be enough to kill it.
On the other side—
Though Hancock could no longer intervene, her nearly hundred warriors were prepared.
Their black arrows flew, aimed at the incoming Jun Lin soldiers.
These weren't ordinary arrows, but ones imbued with Armament Haki—significantly stronger than regular shots.
Even Luffy, in the original story, had struggled against similar attacks.
And those hadn't even come from Kuja Pirates, but from the Amazon Lily's regular guard.
The women on the Kuja ship were the elite of Amazon Lily.
Their arrows were much more dangerous.
But unfortunately…
The Jun Lin warriors were no ordinary troops. Even the weakest among them had a power level (Doriki) of at least 800.
Many were over 1,000.
In other words, they were like dozens—hundreds—of pre-elite Hinas.
When Hina first joined Jun Lin, her Doriki had barely reached 1,000.
The soldiers used Moonwalk with practiced ease, dodging the incoming arrows effortlessly.
Armament Haki enhanced the arrows' strength, but not their speed.
Dodging them was relatively easy.
Seconds later—
Hundreds of Jun Lin elite had boarded the ship.
Without the advantage of ranged attacks, the Kuja warriors quickly found themselves outmatched.
One by one, they were knocked down and restrained.
In just one minute.
Just one minute.
Nearly all of the Kuja's nearly hundred warriors on deck—except for Sandersonia, Marigold, and a few senior officers—were defeated.
Some had lost consciousness. Others had been handcuffed after being subdued.
"Marigold, what now?" someone asked.
"What can we do? I've got nothing," Sandersonia shrugged bluntly.
She wasn't too worried about the Kuja's fate, though.
From the cannon barrage to the close-quarters battle, she had noticed something.
The Jun Lin forces had been holding back.
Even the woman fighting her sister… had gone easy on her.
What did Jun Lin really want?
That, she still couldn't tell.