Luffy, how can you become the Pirate King if you don't work hard!

Hancock took it with trembling hands and unfolded it.

The homepage features a photo taken from a unique angle with a strong impact.

In the scene, a man wearing a straw hat is wielding a strange, jet-black longsword and unleashing sword energy.

The sword energy stopped precisely on several figures wearing bubble caps and Celestial Dragon attire.

That fierce killing intent could be clearly felt even through the newspaper.

Hancock's pupils suddenly contracted.

Her gaze was fixed on the figure of the straw-hatted man in the photo, as if the whole world had disappeared, leaving only that figure wielding a knife towards God.

"Oh, someone actually took a picture of it?"

Luffy also saw the photo and raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Grandpa and Aokiji were both there at the time, and someone still dared to risk their life to take a picture. Impressive."

Moreover, the quality of this photo clearly indicates it was taken by a professional.

Perona, who was standing next to her, covered her face, but eventually couldn't help but look over.

He kept swallowing saliva.

Hancock's hands were trembling.

No wonder the World Government banned this report; if such images had such an impact on the Seven Warlords of the Sea, one can only imagine how shocking they were to ordinary people.

Why did you kill the Celestial Dragons?

Hancock gripped Luffy's shoulders tightly, her voice trembling uncontrollably.

"I want to make a deal with the World Government to get my brother Ace back."

Luffy curled his lip, his tone tinged with displeasure. "Those trash didn't agree to the deal, but if Ace knew I used them to make a deal with the World Government to get him out, he'd definitely throw a tantrum. Anyway, the deal's broken, so what if they're killed? They're just a bunch of pests that are harming the world."

I heard a couple of mentions from Xiao Ba, and then I witnessed firsthand what the Celestial Dragons were doing.

Luffy wouldn't dare say he's never done anything outrageous as a pirate, but compared to those Celestial Dragons...

Forget it, how can a person be compared to trash?

Hancock stared at his nonchalant attitude, stunned for a moment. Then, a look that was both crying and laughing appeared on her face. Finally, she couldn't hold back her tears and they rolled down in large drops, mixing with the tears she had been holding back.

She was both crying and laughing.

I never imagined there were such fools in this world who dared to challenge the supreme heavens.

And they actually did it!

Luffy couldn't help but look at Granny New, wanting to ask if their king was alright.

I feel it's a bit impolite to ask.

It seemed to sense Luffy's confusion.

"Let me tell you what this is."

Hancock took a deep breath, as if she had used all her strength.

She turned around, completely removed her top, and exposed her entire back, along with the ugly Sky Dragon hoof brand, to Luffy.

He deliberately reopened the deepest wounds in his heart.

"This is the Celestial Dragon's Hoof of the Sky-Soaring Dragon, a symbol of slavery!"

Hancock bit her lower lip. "This is proof of being an inferior human, branded on those raised by the world's nobles, a mark that can never be erased from their lives!"

She turned around, her eyes brimming with tears, and looked at Luffy, saying each word clearly, "We three sisters were once slaves of the world's nobles."

The Seven Warlords of the Sea are slaves?!

Not to mention Luffy, even Perona next to him was shocked.

Hancock begins to recount her and her sister's dark past.

She was abducted by human traffickers at the age of twelve and displayed like a commodity at an auction.

Then it was auctioned off by the Celestial Dragons and branded with this humiliating mark.

He was then fed a Devil Fruit, simply because the Celestial Dragons wanted to see the expression on a slave's face after eating something that looked like excrement.

The Celestial Dragons' interest came and went quickly; they didn't even wait to see them finish eating the Devil Fruits before abandoning them with a bored expression.

The three sisters then became the lowest-ranking slaves, serving as what Mary Geoise called automatic road pullers.

They toiled like animals in Mary Geoise for four years until a man named Fisher Tiger climbed the Red Earth with his bare hands, wreaked havoc in Mary Geoise, and freed countless slaves, including them.

"We don't want anyone to know about our past. If the people see it, we won't be able to stay on the island, even if it means deceiving the whole country!"

Hancock's tears fell like pearls from a broken string.

This is the secret hidden beneath the glamorous exterior of the Pirate Empress.

That's why she always presented herself as arrogant and aloof, never daring to open her heart to anyone.

Because slaves are at the very bottom of the social hierarchy in this world.

Once a slave, always a slave!

"That proves that I didn't make a mistake in killing those scumbags."

Luffy knew that this was what was medically known as psychological trauma, which explained why the woman in front of him had such a strange personality.

Her previous arrogance and disdain for everything were just a mask to disguise herself; now, the tearful appearance beneath that mask reveals the true Empress.

Doctors have a kind heart.

Once a doctor, always a doctor!

Let time heal the wounds of the past. But we still have a future, don't we?

Luffy extended his hand to Hancock and said with a smile, "If you'd like, I can take you with me to clean up that trash."

It was as if a ray of sunlight had suddenly shone into the dark corner of Hancock's house that had been closed off for over a decade.

Almost instinctively, she placed her hand in Luffy's palm.

boom!

Boom!

My heart has never beaten like this before.

For some reason, two blushes involuntarily rose on her cheeks.

"Alright, Snake Princess, you should put your clothes on properly!"

Grandma New interrupted inappropriately, pointing at Hancock's almost half-naked upper body, "What kind of person doesn't wear clothes! Especially in front of a man!"

"Shut up, you old hag!"

Hancock snapped out of her daze instantly.

Like a cat whose tail has been stepped on, she grabbed Grandma Niu's wrinkled cheeks with a mixture of shame and anger, and pulled hard.

Why does she always show up at such the worst possible time!

Thankfully, Sonia and Mary got up quickly, otherwise Grandma New felt like her face would be ripped off.

"Never mind, never mind,"

Although her face was pinched painfully, Grandma Niu's eyes showed a hint of relief. "It's been several years since I've seen you show your true feelings. It's good that you haven't become completely cold-hearted."

Hancock put on her clothes, glaring at Granny Newe through gritted teeth:

"Shut up! You traitor to Kuja!"

"You're the one who should shut up! I was the one who brought back those three little girls who were stranded and dying off the island!"

Grandma New retorted without backing down.

"Hmph! Don't flaunt your little bit of kindness!" Hancock turned her head away haughtily.

"What did you say?!"

Watching Granny Newt and Hancock bickering like grandmother and granddaughter, Luffy couldn't help but laugh and tried to smooth things over:

"Well, you two still have a good relationship."

"Who has a good relationship with her!"

Hancock and Granny New retorted in unison, then glared at each other.

Sonia and Mary, who were standing nearby, acted like firefighters and quickly stepped forward to separate Granny New and Hancock.

Hancock took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, and couldn't help but look at Luffy again.

Will you look down on us?

Hancock asked in a voice barely audible.

In this world, slaves are at the very bottom of the social hierarchy, beings that can be trampled upon at will even by commoners.

Hancock is no longer the Empress, nor one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea; she is merely a fragile, wounded patient.

For some reason, she felt a longing within her.

I crave an answer.

Never before had she felt such longing; her hands involuntarily gripped her sleeves, and she dared not look up at Luffy.

"What are you talking about? We're friends, aren't we?" Luffy grinned.

"friend..."

Hancock repeated the word to herself.

Are we already considered friends?

Luffy's conversion method is quite simple: Amazon Lily and Rayleigh have a good relationship, and Rayleigh is definitely his benefactor, so Rayleigh's friend is naturally his friend.

The logic is clear and there are no flaws.

Hancock smiled; the proud and confident pirate empress seemed to have returned.

"Then, friend, about our matter."

Luffy took out Margaret's petrified sculpture and patted it.