At the edge of the Calm Belt, three massive warships painted in marine blue advanced in a triangular formation, cutting through the waves.
This was an elite fleet specially dispatched by Marine Headquarters for the mandatory summoning of the Seven Warlords.
The hulls of each ship were inlaid with Seastone, enough to avoid detection by most Sea Kings.
On the flagship’s deck.
Vice Admiral Onigumo — wearing his Justice coat, sporting a mohawk and handlebar mustache — stood with arms crossed, his expression grave as he stared ahead.
“Vice Admiral!
We’ve spotted the Kuja Pirates’ ‘Perfume Snake’ ahead!” the adjutant lowered his binoculars, voice tense.
“But… something’s off.”
“Off?” Onigumo frowned.
“Is Boa Hancock refusing negotiations again?”
“N-No, that’s not it.” The adjutant swallowed hard and handed over the binoculars.
“You… you should see for yourself.”
Onigumo took the binoculars and looked forward.
The next second, this battle-hardened Vice Admiral — a man who wouldn’t blink even against an Emperor’s commander — had his pupils shrink to pinpricks.
“That is…”
Behind the Kuja Pirates’ ship, they were dragging an enormous floating “meat mountain.”
It was the corpse of a gigantic Lantern Anglerfish.
Even from several nautical miles away, Onigumo could clearly see the horrifyingly massive hole in its abdomen and the thick stench of blood still lingering in the surrounding water.
“A Lantern Anglerfish of this size… must have lived for at least five hundred years as a deep-sea tyrant,” Onigumo’s voice was hoarse.
“Even a Vice Admiral would have to avoid a monster like this in the sea.
Who killed it?
Boa Hancock?”
“It looks… like it was killed in one strike,” the adjutant wiped cold sweat from his brow.
“And from the inside.
That method is too brutal.”
Onigumo took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his shock.
“Approach them.
Regardless of whether she’s showing off this power as a warning, the World Government’s order must be delivered.”
The ships drew closer.
The atmosphere became extremely tense.
Marine soldiers held their rifles, nervously watching the opposing deck.
The Kuja female warriors had their bows fully drawn, Haki-coated arrows ready to fire.
“Boa Hancock!”
Onigumo stood at the bow and shouted loudly, “I am Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Onigumo!
Final ultimatum!
The World Government has issued a mandatory summons for the Seven Warlords to Marineford!
If you refuse again, we will strip your Warlord title and treat this place as hostile territory for extermination!”
On the Perfume Snake’s deck, Hancock sat lazily on a luxurious couch that had been brought out, legs crossed elegantly, a glass of red wine in her hand.
She didn’t even spare Onigumo a proper glance, simply swirling the wine in her glass as she said indifferently, “So noisy.
I already told you — I’m not going.”
“You…” Onigumo’s face darkened.
“You should know the consequences!”
“Consequences?” Hancock sneered contemptuously, tilting her head up.
Her peerless beauty made the Marine soldiers across from her momentarily forget to breathe.
“No matter what I do, I will be forgiven.
Because… I am simply too beautiful!”
“Ooooh!
Empress-sama is too beautiful!”
“I’d die for Lady Empress!”
More than half the previously hostile Marine soldiers instantly switched sides, hearts in their eyes, guns clattering to the deck.
“A bunch of useless trash!”
Onigumo roared in fury.
He pulled out a small knife and stabbed it into his own palm without hesitation.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed.
The sharp pain instantly snapped him out of the charm.
“Using pain to resist my beauty?
You have some backbone.” A hint of surprise flashed in Hancock’s eyes, but her disdain remained.
“Still, that’s all you’ve got.”
“Boa Hancock!” Onigumo wrapped his bleeding hand, his gaze turning razor sharp.
“Since you insist on defying orders, don’t blame me for being ruthless!
All hands, prepare for com—”
“Hiss— (So noisy.)”
At that moment, a lazy, low hiss (which sounded like mere snake sounds to humans) suddenly rang out.
Onigumo paused.
Only then did he notice the black python coiled casually on the armrest of Hancock’s couch.
Earlier, Hancock’s overwhelming presence and the massive fish corpse had made him subconsciously overlook this “pet.”
But now, when he met those dark-golden vertical pupils, a chill shot straight from his tailbone to the top of his head.
What kind of gaze was that?
Arrogant.
Indifferent to all life.
It wasn’t just a beast’s ferocity — it carried a cold, rational look as if viewing him as nothing more than “food” or “trash.”
Zane slowly raised the upper half of his body.
As he moved, an invisible wave spread outward.
[Skill Activated: Deep-Sea Intimidation (Beginner)!]
Although the skill mainly targeted aquatic creatures, the primal life-level suppression of an apex predator worked on humans as well.
“Buzz——”
In that instant, Onigumo felt as if he were plunged into the darkness of a ten-thousand-meter-deep sea.
A colossal maw capable of swallowing the heavens was staring straight at him.
“This is…” Onigumo’s body stiffened.
The hand gripping his knife trembled slightly.
Conqueror’s Haki?
No, not quite!
This wasn’t Conqueror’s Haki!
This was pure, primitive biological pressure from the top of the food chain!
“What the hell is this snake?!” Onigumo’s heart surged with shock.
He could sense that this seemingly ordinary black snake contained enough terrifying power to destroy their entire fleet.
Could that Lantern Anglerfish… have been killed by it?!
Zane gave Onigumo a indifferent glance, then turned and gently poked Hancock’s cheek with the tip of his tail.
“Hiss— (Agree to him.)”
Hancock blinked, her icy expression melting instantly.
She leaned close to Zane and whispered softly, “Night?
You want to go?”
Zane nodded.
If they didn’t go to Marineford, how could he harvest that unprecedented feast of experience points?
Whitebeard, the three Admirals, Blackbeard… all of them were walking top-tier ingredients.
Plus, Luffy should be arriving soon.
He needed to make space for that kid.
“Since Night wants to go…”
Hancock turned around, her expression changing as easily as flipping a book.
She once again wore her arrogant imperial demeanor and spoke to the bewildered Onigumo, “Fine.
I accept the summons.
However, I have one condition.”
“Wh… What condition?” Onigumo felt his brain struggling to keep up.
They had been on the verge of battle moments ago — how did one hiss from this snake make the Empress change her mind?
Just what the hell was this snake?!
“I will bring Night with me.” Hancock pointed at Zane beside her.
“He is the Vice Captain of the Kuja Pirates.
If any of you dare show him disrespect…”
Crack.
The wine glass in Hancock’s hand was crushed into powder.
“I will turn Marineford into a city of stone.”
Onigumo looked at the black snake flicking its tongue at him mockingly, then at the Empress who wore the expression of a full-blown “protective wife” demon.
His eye twitched violently.
He had a bad feeling.
Inviting this great god (and her monstrous snake) to Marineford might be the biggest mistake Marine Headquarters had ever made.