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

"Lord Luffy said I'm the most trustworthy person?!"

Hancock's eyes lit up instantly, and most of the impatience on her face vanished in an instant, replaced by an undisguised joy.

"Did Luffy really say that?"

"Uh-huh!"

Lily nodded repeatedly. Although she wasn't entirely sure whether Luffy had actually said those words, it was more important to appease the Empress in the current situation.

Shirahoshi also remembered how Luffy taught her, so she quickly chimed in:

"Yes! Lord Luffy said that Lady Boa Hancock is one of the people he trusts the most, which is why he entrusted you with such an important task as protecting the ship!"

Hancock's eyes suddenly turned into hearts, and she looked completely infatuated, though it was unclear what she was thinking.

After she realized that someone was watching, her expression changed for a while before she finally snorted, crossed her arms again, and raised her chin slightly.

"Hmph, since Luffy has said so, then I'll reluctantly stay here."

She spoke reluctantly, but the smile on her lips was impossible to hide.

She exuded an air of smug satisfaction, as if to say, "Luffy really values ​​me."

Shirahoshi never expected this trick to be so effective!

Lord Luffy... knows Lady Hancock way too well!

This has all turned into a mandarin fish...

The image of Hancock before my eyes is so similar to that of a certain fish that Shirahoshi knows.

Frye, the giant chef, stood on the ship's railing, holding a huge cleaver in his hand, and couldn't help but mutter to Lily, "Captain Luffy is really amazing, he even knows how to coax people so well."

"Shh! Dad, keep your voice down."

Lily quickly tugged at Frye's sleeve.

What if someone hears this?

However, despite her constant complaints, Hancock's protective measures were indeed impeccable.

Those Beast Pirates members who tried to bypass the main battlefield and flank the Thousand Sunny were turned into stone statues by a few prisoner arrows casually thrown by Hancock before they even got close to the Thousand Sunny. Then, Lily and Frye each kicked them into the sea.

"Hmph, how dare this kind of trash bother me?"

Hancock glanced disdainfully at the sinking statues, then her gaze involuntarily drifted toward the center of the battlefield.

Just then, a white figure drifted in from afar like a wisp of smoke and landed on the deck.

"Hancock! Shirahoshi! You're both here!"

The visitor was none other than Perona.

She also has some insights into the development of Devil Fruits, and can already briefly enter her ghost form.

In that state, she could ignore the terrain and obstacles and float directly from the underground cave to the surface at a very fast speed.

After landing, she looked around and, to make sure no enemies were chasing her, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Perona!"

Shirahoshi greeted him with delight, "Why are you back? Where's Robin-neechan?"

"Sister Robin is still downstairs copying things, so I came up here to tell you something."

Perona waved her hand, then said seriously, "I found the red Road Poneglyph down there, and I also met an old man who said he was the former shogun of Wano Country, Kozuki Sukiyaki. Guess what? The Ancient Weapon Pluton is in Wano Country!"

"Pluto?!"

Hancock raised an eyebrow. "That legendary ancient weapon that could destroy an island with a single shot?"

As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, I have some knowledge of ancient weapons.

"Yes, yes, that thing is at the bottom of the sea in Wano Country!"

Perona nodded vigorously, "That old man said that because there are two big mountains blocking Wano Country, Pluton is stuck at the bottom of the sea and can't come out. Only when Wano Country opens up and breaks through those two mountains can Pluton reappear in the world!"

As she spoke, she turned her gaze to Shirahoshi: "That's why I thought I'd come and inform you. Shirahoshi, you are the Fishman Princess, and Jinbe is also a Fishman. Isn't the ocean your home turf? Although we can't bring out Pluton yet, at least let you know about this. Maybe it will come in handy later!"

Shirahoshi probably also knows what ancient weapons are.

Because her own identity seems to be the Sea King that Luffy and the others mentioned.

Bai Xing blinked her big eyes, a serious expression on her face. "If Hades were here, I could go and explore the seabed... but I don't know how to sail a boat."

"..."

"no,"

Hancock couldn't help but say, "Are you really going to go into the sea alone in this situation? I'm a Devil Fruit user, and I can't protect you if there's danger in the sea."

There must be some guys in those two Yonko pirate crews who can go to sea.

Even though Shirahoshi is a fish-man, she is still a fish-man who is powerless to even kill a chicken.

At least that's how Hancock sees it.

Bai Xing wanted to try her luck; after all, she was a superstar.

Although both Luffy and Robin instructed her not to let too many people know her identity or show her power in front of outsiders.

But in this situation, she also wanted to help.

"Alright, alright, my original intention was for Shirahoshi and Jinbe to go and take a look together."

Perona stuck out her tongue: "I'm telling you now, you never know when it might come in handy."

For example, after this battle is over, we can figure out a way to break down those two mountains, and then have Shirahoshi and Jinbe bring Pluto out of the sea.

"That's not a simple matter either."

Hancock said this aloud, but she also made a mental note of it.

Hades is an ancient weapon capable of changing the world order.

If the Straw Hat Pirates can really obtain Pluton, they will be one step closer to becoming the Pirate King.

As Luffy's woman, she naturally hopes that Luffy can ascend to the throne of the Pirate King.

That way, I can have kids with Luffy-sama!

"Anyway, I've already informed them of this!"

Perona clapped her hands, looking like she'd accomplished her mission. "Robin should be almost done too. I'll go meet her. You guys keep up the good work here! Don't let those small fry get near our ship!"

"Do you need to tell me this?"

Hancock snorted.

Perona waved to them, then transformed into a white shadow and floated away, returning to the underground cave along the same route she had come from.

The deck fell silent again.

But the silence didn't last long, because another earth-shattering roar came from the center of the distant battlefield, shaking the entire sea.

Hancock instinctively looked up and saw three enormous figures clashing fiercely in the sky. Each clash generated terrifying shockwaves that tore apart the surrounding clouds.

That's the battlefield where Luffy, Kaido, and Big Mom fought.

Similarly, the huge commotion also attracted everyone's attention.

Further away, on another battlefield, icy blue chills were spreading, freezing large swathes of the sea into solid ice.

Kuzan stood in the center of the ice, surrounded by several Big Mom Pirates officers who had been frozen into ice sculptures.

"Katakuri, you're the only one left."

Kuzan exhaled a breath of cold air and looked away. "It seems like I don't need to worry about that side much."

"Hehe, Mom won't lose."

Katakuri's body was half covered in frost, and his breathing became noticeably rapid.

His Observation Haki was constantly running at full power, and his ability to see the future allowed him to avoid fatal attacks many times, but such high-intensity combat had taken a heavy toll on him.

"Shall we continue?"

Kuzan glanced at the surrounding ice sculptures. "Your captain and Kaido teamed up against our captain, but it doesn't seem like they gained any advantage. If you keep fighting, you'll just be wasting your energy."

Katakuri gritted his teeth: "I won't retreat until Mom gives the order!"

The surrounding ice surface turned into glutinous rice ice surface again.

Unlike Luffy, who is a physical monster and can use Haki indefinitely, he is not like Luffy.

Using Devil Fruits and Haki still consumes too much physical strength.

"They're really stubborn. Their willpower is commendable, but unfortunately we're enemies."

As soon as Kuzan finished speaking, he stepped forward, gliding forward as if ice skating, his right fist radiating intense cold energy.

"Frozen Fist!"

Katakuri's pupils contracted; he had already seen the trajectory of the punch through his future vision. He quickly dodged to the side, but Kuzan's attack was faster than he had anticipated. A chill grazed his shoulder, leaving a patch of frost on his cloak.

As it turns out, the so-called vice-president and general could indeed fight, but that was all they could do.

There is a certain gap in terms of Haki, physical strength, and Devil Fruit abilities.

If the Navy had only needed to deal with the Whitebeard Pirates back in Impel Down, the Whitebeard Pirates would have suffered a crushing defeat.

Unfortunately, the arrival of Luffy and a whole bunch of troublesome war criminals from Impel Down ruined Sengoku's plans.

"Tsk! A glutinous rice ball is singing!"

Katakuri quickly locked onto Kuzan's location, and from among countless donuts, a giant arm strengthened by horned mochi extended and struck from multiple directions.

This is his signature move.

Kuzan maintained his distance from these attacks, dodging them swiftly. Then, he suddenly accelerated, appearing behind Katakuri and delivering a punch to his back.

Katakuri was prepared; he twisted his body into an incredible arc to avoid the attack, and at the same time, he thrust his halberd at Kuzan's ribs with a backhand motion.

clang!

A crisp metallic clang rang out as Kuzan's left arm was covered in Armament Haki, forcefully blocking the attack.

The two retreated simultaneously, widening the distance between them once again.