"Insolent wretch?"
Hearing that tone, Ozz was actually a little surprised. It had been a long time since anyone dared speak to him like that.
But when he remembered the Empress's personality…
"You really have no manners, Hancock."
Ozz's voice was calm. He was not being aggressive, not pushing, not even raising his volume, yet it carried an inexplicable pressure.
Especially for Hancock.
In the steamy bathhouse pool, Boa Hancock let her long hair fall loose as she washed her flawless, slender, pale body. As the Empress of Amazon Lily, she had always presented herself to the world as untouchably lofty.
Anything I do will be forgiven.
Because I am just too beautiful!!!
And there was a reason she could say that. She truly was one of the most stunning women in the world.
She had the right to be that arrogant.
Yet this was the same Empress who always looked down on everyone, leaning back so far her chin pointed nearly at the ceiling, striking the standard pose of disdain…
And the moment she heard that man's voice, her body still trembled.
She slipped, collapsing backward into the water. Her smooth hair scattered in a mess from the sudden movement, but she did not even have the presence of mind to care.
Staring at the Den Den Mushi by the edge of the pool, its expression calm and indifferent, Hancock's pupils shook violently. Her delicate face turned deathly pale in an instant.
"Moshi moshi. Are you listening?"
Not hearing a response, Ozz called again.
"…O… Ozz Saint…"
That voice. Even if Hancock had only heard it a few times, she could never forget it.
A nightmare given form.
She did not even bother putting on clothes. Hancock climbed out of the pool, trembling as she moved to the Den Den Mushi. She knelt on the floor and held it up with both hands, as if clutching something that could not be disobeyed.
On Ozz's side, the Den Den Mushi finally showed Hancock's features.
And that was what surprised him.
It was nothing like the difficult, arrogant, rude image he remembered. Right now, Hancock was clearly not normal.
Her eyes would not stop shaking. She could not even speak.
Ozz had no idea what was going on. He simply assumed that because she had once been a slave in the Holy Land, she still carried a psychological shadow, a "filter" that made him terrifying by default.
After all, before Luffy ever broke through her walls in the original story, Hancock's fear of the Celestial Dragons ran deep.
"I heard you escaped from the Holy Land."
Ozz meant it as nothing more than a casual greeting, but the moment Hancock heard those words, her expression changed drastically.
"N… no… I… I didn't mean to…"
Who would have imagined it?
In the eyes of her people, she was a proud, majestic Empress. Yet now, one sentence from Ozz made her think she was being interrogated. She curled into a trembling ball on the floor, naked and terrified.
Fortunately, Ozz was not using a video Den Den Mushi. Otherwise… he might have seen more than he needed to.
Seeing how abnormal she looked, Ozz was stunned.
It was just a few years as a slave.
He had not even done anything excessive to her, had he? Did she really need to be this frightened?
If not for that first line about insolent wretch and "this one," he would have suspected it was not even her.
Her panicked eyes, her disjointed words… Ozz lost interest in pressing further.
If he met her in person, maybe he would tease her a bit. She was, after all, the so-called most beautiful woman in the world, and Ozz did enjoy messing with people.
But arguing through a Den Den Mushi? What was the point?
"Well, whatever kind of master and servant relationship we may have had before, that's all in the past."
Even as Ozz spoke, Hancock's terrified gaze did not change at all. He sighed and stopped trying to correct her.
"Since you've joined the Seven Warlords of the Sea, then for the days ahead, when the other Warlords move, you'll contribute as well. Any objections?"
"…No."
How could Hancock dare refuse?
From childhood onward, the doctrine drilled into her bones was absolute. Ozz Saint was supreme. Ozz Saint could not be defied.
Even if Ozz killed her on the spot, she would probably just tremble in fear and still not dare resist.
"Then that's that."
Ozz was not some brainless lecher who got stuck the moment he saw a pretty pirate woman. If he wanted something, he could get it.
When he returned and saw Hancock face-to-face, then he could have his fun properly.
…
Once everything was settled, Ozz ended the call and glanced at Vegapunk, who was still busily working without pause.
"Ten years. That's a long time to research the projects I assigned. For the greatest mind in the world, it shouldn't be too difficult, right?"
Ozz looked at the special machine that carried the power of time, then asked casually.
Vegapunk stuck his tongue out as he scribbled and calculated, not even lifting his head.
"Should be fine, as long as the funding is there."
But after a moment, he still added a caution.
"If you're leaving for a long time, the World Government will probably send people to inspect. If they discover that thing…"
Just imagining the Government's agents made Vegapunk uneasy.
He understood all too well how explosive the connection between the name Joy Boy and the Nika fruit was to the World Government.
If Ozz were not backing him, Vegapunk would never have dared to even think in that direction. Some things were simply not allowed.
"The World Government…"
Ozz frowned. Thinking it through, it really was a problem.
So he left Vegapunk a Den Den Mushi.
"This one can contact all the Seven Warlords. If I'm not around, they can help you. You can summon them anytime under the excuse of assisting research on the Seraphim project."
"And before I go, I'll also inform the Five Elders that you're working for me, so your other tasks will be delayed. They'll give face, I'm sure."
Yes, Ozz had refused to give the World Government face more than once.
But Ozz refusing to give them face did not mean they were allowed to refuse him.
That was the Ozz face inequality.
Ozz could afford to lose anything, territory, reputation, whatever.
The World Government could not.
If the Five Elders lost control over even part of the seas, Im could erase them with a wave of the hand. New "elders" could always be installed.
To Im, they were nothing more than dogs.
"Then there shouldn't be a problem."
Vegapunk nodded.
The project to research the Dark Sun God officially began. Of course, it would not be conducted on Egghead, a place watched by the World Government.
With Ozz's money and influence, he could simply throw cash at the problem until a high-tech laboratory appeared out of thin air.
"Then…"
"Have a pleasant journey, Ozz."
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