Chapter 26 The Player's Eloquence
A flash of cold light, and blood spurted from Basque Jote's chest.
The pirates still aboard the barrel ship stared in shock at their captain, who was clutching his chest and groaning in pain.
Facing the nearly six-meter-tall Basque Chote, Violet's gaze felt as if she were climbing a steep cliff; she even had to strain her neck to see the stubble on his chin.
With such a terrifying height difference, anyone would assume it was a one-sided, crushing battle, with the renowned and ruthless pirate Basque Jolt giving that arrogant half-fish-man girl a lesson she'd never forget.
But now, are they seeing things, or did they drink too much at the previous banquet? Why, why is it their captain now clutching his wound and bleeding profusely?!
The tentacles, excited by the taste of blood, wrapped around Violet's wrist, rubbing her skin with their soft, barbless tips, like a cute dog urging its owner to feed it a biscuit.
"Don't rush," Violet said, rubbing the glass between her fingers until it trembled. "The battle has only just begun."
Now it's the players' turn to shine!
Basque Chote: "I just had a bit too much to drink and was a little distracted, don't think... ah!"
Vera picked at her ear and asked in surprise, "Hey, is a dead person talking?"
Basque Jote: !
Basque Jotte watched as the girl smiled and raised that terrifying weapon again. Her gaze wasn't that of someone looking at an opponent, but rather at a pile of treasure waiting to be exchanged!
That was an attitude more chilling than malice, as if she regarded the whole world as her own personal playground!
So familiar...
Sweat beaded on his brow as he tried to defend himself with Armament Haki against Violet's attacks. But that guy—that guy's strength had become astonishing since the rain started—and that terrifying thing, whether it was a living creature or a weapon, shattered the Armament Haki that Basque Jot had painstakingly applied in just a few blows.
Before he was completely defeated, Basque Jotte finally remembered where he had seen the smile that gave him such a strong sense of unease and familiarity.
Loguetown, the execution platform, this is the smile that Pirate King Roger showed before his death.
This girl will surely be just like Roger in the future, stirring up the entire sea.
After Basque Jot was defeated, the remaining pirates were quickly subdued by the Amazon Lily warriors.
As the victor, Hancock walked onto the barrel ship, where Violet, who had been crouching next to the unconscious Basque Joet, waved excitedly at her.
Violet: "It's a pleasure working with you!"
Without Boa Hancock's constant support, preventing Basque Jot's subordinates from providing any assistance to the captain under the intense attack, Violet, who had penetrated deep into the enemy ship, might have won, but she would have won much more miserably.
Hancock narrowed her alluring eyes slightly as she and Vera headed toward the captain's cabin to take shelter from the rain, saying, "You're really crazy."
The girl never considered what would happen if they escaped, or what would happen if they couldn't suppress the pirates.
Hancock: "Pirates don't trust each other." Even though she's the Empress of Amazon Lily, she's still a pirate.
Violet: "Pirates don't trust each other, but they do trust their friends!"
Violet looked at Hancock expectantly: "Snake Princess, we made a deal. If you defeat them, you'll become my friend."
"Hancock".
Vera: "What?"
Hancock: "My name is Hancock."
Hancock: "Furthermore, besides being a pirate, I am also an empress. Pirates and friends can talk about friendship, but an empress can only talk about interests."
Looking at the colorless Vera, Hancock smiled: "It's a pleasure doing business with you."
[Pirate Faction]
[The Kuja Pirates (Neutral) have been upgraded to the Kuja Pirates (Allies)]
Violet was disappointed for a moment after failing to secure a stable supply of stone for free: "What does Hancock want to trade with me?"
Violet counted on her fingers and found that apart from a few plots of farmland where not even a green seedling had sprouted, there was nothing else to trade on R'lyeh!
Hancock frowned, looking troubled.
Amazon Lily is an island located in the Calm Belt, inhabited only by women known as the "Nine Serpents." The island is also surrounded by numerous Sea King nests, making it virtually impossible to approach Amazon Lily by ordinary ships.
There is only one ship on the entire island, pulled by a ferocious sea serpent to evade attacks from sea kings, and each Amazon Lily emperor serves as its captain.
This ship has an important mission. On the one hand, although Amazon Lily can be self-sufficient in most resources, some urgently needed supplies still need to be obtained through expeditions. On the other hand, if the female warriors of the Nine Serpent Clan want to have a child, they also need to use this ship to go overseas to find a suitable person, and then return to the island by ship after they are pregnant.
This ship cannot be used by Violet unless she obtains Seastone technology that can block the senses of Sea Kings; otherwise, the deal is almost impossible to complete.
As for Seastone, Hancock rejected the idea as soon as it came up. Seastone technology is strictly controlled by the Navy and the World Government, so how could Violet possibly obtain it?
But Hancock still said, "Medicines and seeds of various grains and vegetables, or intelligence from the outside world, as long as you can send them to Amazon Lily, we will take as much as you can."
Although almost all the female warriors could identify herbs, and every year they would send a fixed group to collect herbs in the jungle near the village for processing, those herbs could only treat some external injuries or basic illnesses such as colds and fevers, and were far inferior to external medicines.
There are also seeds. Due to the isolation of Amazon Lily Island, the variety of food on the island is relatively scarce, and the few seeds available have deteriorated with each generation. Several empresses have tried to introduce new seeds, but as non-member republics, they have no way to buy healthy and high-quality seeds.
Vera: "Okay, it's a deal then!"
Vera finalized the deal immediately. While she might not be able to provide other things, seeds, medicine, and other necessities... with her already established farming and infrastructure projects underway and with the help of the capable Luo, Vera should have no shortage of such things in the future.
For Violet, exchanging seeds and medicine for stable stone was a very worthwhile deal.
At Hancock's instruction, a female warrior handed a Log Pose to Vale, which contained the magnetic field of Amazon Lily. She could reach it by following the direction of the Pose.
Vera took the pointer, she looked at Hancock, and Hancock looked at her.
Vera: "...That's it?"
Wait, is this all the reward for the "Pirates Attack!" event?
"Lady Snake Princess, we've found a wanted poster!"
A female warrior escorted a yellowed wanted poster into the room. Vera curiously peeked at it and saw that the wanted poster clearly showed the picture of the captain from before, with his code name, name, and bounty written below.
"'Big Barrel' Basque Jort, dead or alive, bounty... 69 million Berries?!"
Violet could almost hear the delightful sound of tiny coins clinking together.
"Don't even think about it." Hancock interrupted Violet's fantasy of getting rich overnight. "The World Government will never pay the bounties to pirates."
Violet looked around and said, "What? Pirates? Where are the pirates? I'm just an innocent farmer."
Violet: "We were eating hotpot and singing songs when we were suddenly robbed by pirates. Luckily, the kind, gentle and enthusiastic Hancock led a group of brave and friendly female warriors to our rescue, saving the innocent and weak farmers!"
Violet slammed her hand on the table: "This is great news! It's fantastic news! The World Government should not only pay the bounty, but also give you high praise!"
Buy headlines, create short stories, and let people see how the world government's reputation spreads throughout the world!
Hancock and the female warrior both froze, the female warrior looking at Violet blankly: "Didn't we tie you to the ship in the first place...?"
Violet slapped her thigh: "What do you mean by 'tied up'? The Amazon Lily sisters are using too crude language. Can this be called 'tied up'? This is clearly called, 'Knowing that this sea area is dangerous, for the safety of innocent people, we have no choice but to take this measure to get them out of danger as soon as possible'!"
The female warrior murmured, "Is this right? This isn't right, is it...?"
Hancock rubbed her temples: "Amazonia is not a member state of the World Government."
Violet looked at Hancock with a disappointed expression: "That would be even better!"
Hancock was now completely bewildered: "Huh?"
“Look,” Vera told Hancock, “who robbed me? Pirates! And who designated them as pirates? The World Government!”
"What do you call this? This is called 'The world government is taking precautions, worrying about civilians, and has already marked dangerous criminals with their faces so that everyone can stay away from danger'!"
Hancock and the female warrior: "Hmm?"
Violet: "Also, although Amazon Lily is not a member state of the World Government, she still carries a bounty issued by the World Government, accompanies evil pirates identified by the World Government, and goes to the World Government's territory to exchange them for the World Government's currency. What is that called?"
Violet: "This is called 'Although Amazon Lily is geographically distant from the World Government, your hearts are with the World Government!'"
Hancock and the female warrior: "Huh?"
Violet rolled up the wanted poster, put one hand behind her back, cleared her throat twice, and said righteously, "Remember this: although you are no longer with the World Government, your hearts are always with it. You even collect information from the World Government from time to time, precisely to listen to its wisdom."
The female soldier suddenly realized: "So that's why we've been gathering information!"
Even as a stunningly beautiful woman who's somewhat conscious of her appearance, Hancock couldn't help but cover her face, abandoning all pretense of decorum.
No, they gather information only so they can better rob other pirates and double-cross them during their expeditions.
Female warrior: "That's not right. If that's the case, then since we Amazon Lily admire the World Government so much, why don't we just join the World Government now and everyone would be happy?"
"It's because Amazon Lily is geographically remote and the land is barren. It's already very difficult for them to feed their own civilians. The great empress can only try her best to keep them from causing trouble for the World Government."
"But that's alright. Once you've developed and saved enough money to pay the Heavenly Gold, you can join the World Government!"
"...And what if you save enough?"
"Tsk!" Violet slapped her hand dismissively, then winked at her. "There's never enough money in the world."
She taught the simple female warriors a trick that modern netizens have repeatedly found effective.
"I'll definitely do it next time."
Just kidding, these bounty posters must be rewards for this mission, and Violet doesn't believe she can't redeem them.
"That's it." The female warrior, with a serious expression, showered the bewildered World Government staff with compliments, the core of which revolved around "We Amazon Lily really admire the World Government."
"Can you give us the bounty?"
The expressionless, tall, and strong female warrior, carrying a longbow and a machete on her back, forced me to listen to a load of nonsense... No, the staff member who held the World Government in high esteem: "..."
"...We have no precedent for exchanging bounties for the kings of non-member republics. Wait a moment while I make a Den Den Mushi call."
Half an hour later, the female warrior and the World Government staff found Hancock sitting in the reception hall, in the center of a group of gray-white stone statues with heart-shaped eyes.
Hancock lazily raised her eyes: "The bounty has been collected?"
Female warrior: "It's been removed, but the World Government said..."
"Uh, having heard of your loyalty to the World Government, we think you are very suitable, so we invited you to become... one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
Hancock: ?
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Author's Note: Hancock: Is that right? [melts emoji]
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