Lott turned his gaze to the Celestial Dragons before him, who usually acted like they were number one and the sky were number two, and said indifferently:
"Hancock, do as you please."
Hancock's gaze shifted from Lott to the Celestial Dragons.
The infatuation in her eyes gradually transformed into boundless hatred.
"Boa Hancock! What do you think you're doing? Don't forget, as a Warlord of the Sea, you must..."
Saturn's voice trailed off, his own confidence faltering.
Compared to being Lott's follower, what was a Warlord worth?!
Hancock raised her beautiful leg and kicked the nearest Celestial Dragon, Saint Charlos, in the head.
She didn't even need to use her Devil Fruit's awakening ability, as pure physical strength was enough to burst his skull open.
After killing the first Celestial Dragon, Hancock took several deep breaths to calm down.
The Pirate Empress revealed an unprecedented look of relief.
At this moment, she had conquered her deep trauma.
'The Celestial Dragons... were nothing to be afraid of!'
'Next!'
Hancock's stunning face had a smile that, to the Celestial Dragons, was like that of a demon.
She walked towards the nearby Saint Roswald.
"Damn it! I don't want to die here!"
One of the Five Elders activated his Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit ability, transforming into the bird of myth.
But he wasn't using his ability to attack Hancock.
He was fleeing.
After all, Lott was here, so how would he dare lay a hand on Hancock?
He might end up worse than that Momonosuke!
But before he could spread his wings and fly, a beam of light shot over.
It directly pierced through his knee.
The Elder stumbled, falling face-first.
He reverted from his Mythical Zoan form back to human.
"Who said you could leave?"
Lott said, glancing sideways.
At this moment, not just the Five Elders, but even Imu wore expressions of despair.
Fight back together?
That would only mean dying faster!
The various Celestial Dragons exchanged glances and instantly understood the meaning in each other's eyes.
'Run!'
'Escape with all our might!'
'With so many people fleeing in different directions-'
'Either toward the small islands formed by the collapsed Red Line, or directly jumping into the sea and swimming desperately-'
'Surely at least one could grasp a sliver of hope, right?'
Thinking this, whether it was the combat-capable Five Elders or the fat-headed, parasitic ordinary Celestial Dragons-
They all immediately scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing desperately in the opposite direction.
Hancock's eyes showed a flicker of hesitation.
'Who should I kill first?'
Suddenly, ice walls hundreds of meters high rose abruptly within a one-mile radius, trapping everyone inside.
The Five Elders' expressions changed dramatically.
'Was it Aokiji!?'
'No, that's not right!'
Everyone looked towards the unfamiliar woman in the gray-white military uniform, whose beauty was almost a match for Hancock's.
"Alright, I've blocked them for your woman. Don't waste any more time, come and end me quickly."
Esdeath drew her sword and pointed it at Lott.
Hancock still thought this woman was crazy, but after a moment's thought, she decided to deal with the Celestial Dragons first.
Lott was also getting a bit annoyed and beckoned Esdeath over with a hook of his finger.
Esdeath revealed an ecstatic smile.
With the soundtrack of Celestial Dragons screaming and struggling in the background, she stepped forward with her high-heeled boot, coating her sword with ice, and charged at Lott.
"Come on-"
Slap!
However, the moment Esdeath shouted those two words, before she could even swing her sword, she felt something whip across the side of her face.
Her body was sent flying back, crashing hard into the ice wall she herself had created.
Clatter!
Her sword fell to the ground.
Esdeath endured the pain from her cheek, propping herself up with one hand to look across.
She found Lott's tail, which was usually wrapped around his waist, swaying flexibly back and forth towards her.
Now she knew what had hit her.
"It's not over yet-"
Esdeath forced herself up, wanting to use her ultimate move.
Slap!
The familiar sensation, this time from the other cheek.
Esdeath was once again slapped to the ground by a tail-swipe.
Enduring the pain, she looked up and saw that Lott had kept his arms crossed the entire time, only using his tail to deal with her.
"The gap... is even bigger than I imagined..."
Esdeath let out a bitter laugh, using both hands to push herself up from the ground.
She spread her arms open, revealing the figure under her military uniform, which, though slightly inferior to Hancock's, was still impressive enough.
"Come! Kill me! I've already said, the weak becoming food for the strong is only natural!"
However, Lott didn't immediately strike. Instead, he reached out and touched the cross-shaped mark in the center of Esdeath's collarbone.
That was the mark formed after Esdeath drank the blood-type Teigu!
Esdeath's body trembled slightly, nearly crying out, as it was the first time a man had touched her there.
"Lott..."
Miku walked over, her small face gloomy as she stared resentfully at Lott.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I don't have those kinds of feelings for her."
Lott withdrew his hand and gently tapped Miku's head as he explained:
"I was just thinking, if we killed her and had you drink her blood, maybe you could gain her powers."
This was the reason Lott had Boros bring Esdeath from the Planet Teigu.
Unlike Saeko, who had trained in martial arts since childhood-
Miku wasn't just untrained in fighting, as her academic grades were a complete mess too.
If there was a way to gain power without the need for rigorous training, that would be ideal.
While it might sound far-fetched, it wasn't impossible.
The most cost-effective option was Pokémon.
You wouldn't need to train yourself, just your Pokémon.
But you'd still need to develop your command ability, Pokémon knowledge, and synergy with your partner.
After learning Boros had visited the Planet Teigu, Lott thought Teigus might be acceptable.
However, most Teigus' power levels were far beneath his notice.
They'd struggle against even Demon-level threats.
Only Esdeath's Teigu was barely worth considering.
"D-Drink blood? I-I don't want to!"
Miku's face was full of refusal.
Esdeath also felt slightly displeased.
'Was I being looked down on?'
"Hmm... alright. We can't be sure drinking Esdeath's blood would definitely transfer her abilities anyway. Besides, her Teigu isn't particularly strong in the grand scheme of things."
After some thought, Lott decided not to force Miku.
Moreover, using Esdeath's Teigu abilities still required the user to train themselves.
Given Miku's stamina, which barely lasted half an hour, Lott doubted she could endure that kind of hardship.
Even Chika could last 45 minutes.
'Well, let's explore this planet a bit more. We might find a Devil Fruit suitable for Miku.'
Although Devil Fruits had the weakness of seawater aversion, they would be sufficient for Miku's needs.
Lott never intended to train his women to become extremely powerful.
No matter how much they trained, they'd never surpass him.
But since they were here anyway, grabbing a few extra things couldn't hurt.
"Hey, hurry up and kill me."
Seeing Lott continuously ignoring her, Esdeath couldn't help but shout again.
"What's wrong with your brain? Die, die, die! Fine, if you want to die so badly, the ocean's right there. Just jump in."
Lott pressed down on the blue hair atop Esdeath's head and roughly ruffled it like he was petting a dog.
"I-I will only die by the hand of a strong opponent."
Esdeath stammered, her once-straight blue hair now a messy mop.
'H-He actually dares to treat me like this!'
'But... why doesn't it feel unpleasant?'
This might mean that the end point of all sadists is masochism.
Just like how all pink-haired girls are secretly scheming when you look deeper.