Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 250 Pirate Empress Boa Hancock!

South of the windless zone, at the edge of the waters around Snake Island.

Several warships were anchored here quietly, showing no intention of attacking, but rather as if they were guarding Snake Island.

There weren't many sailors left on the warships; each warship had only about a hundred people on board.

On the flagship deck, Borsalino sat in a comfortable chair, holding a cup of black tea, enjoying the sea breeze and basking in the sun.

Nearly 10,000 sailors on the island were petrified, including six rear admirals and four vice admirals.

But Borsalino's expression was very calm and natural, leisurely and lazy, as if he didn't care about these situations at all.

"Another leisurely day. I hope Bane comes a little later." Borsalino took a sip of his slightly sweet black tea, smacked his lips, and sighed contentedly.

He had already sent a naval officer to the island several days ago to inform Amazon Lily of the conditions offered by the Navy Headquarters.

Although that naval soldier has not returned yet, and is most likely petrified, the fact that Amazon Lily has not launched any attack against him shows that Boa Hancock actually wants to talk.

In reality, although the navy suffered a crushing defeat here, the one truly in crisis was Amazon Lily and Hancock.

After all, the Navy is a large and powerful organization. Even if things get really bad, they can still fight Amazon Lily to the death despite these "injuries." As long as the Navy is determined, they will definitely be able to completely eliminate Amazon Lily.

On the other hand, the country is right here on Amazon Lily, and there's no way to escape it. Hancock might survive, but what about her people?

So even though Hancock hated the World Government to death, in the end she only petrified these Marines instead of smashing them to pieces and taking their lives. This can be considered as "showing weakness" or "making a statement" from the very beginning.

It is highly likely that the Kuja Pirates had already adopted this strategy after learning of the abolition of the Seven Warlords of the Sea Act, intending to use this method to gain leverage and bring the matter to the negotiating table.

It was precisely because Sakazuki understood the key to this that he considered such an arrangement, allowing Borsalino to enjoy his "vacation" so relaxed.

Just as Borsalino was refilling his teacup, a naval soldier on guard duty on the mast suddenly leaned out and shouted, "Admiral Kizaru, we have spotted our fleet on the horizon to the northeast. The flag signals indicate that Admiral Bane is approaching."

"How did you get here so fast?" Borsalino scratched the back of his ear with a slightly helpless expression.

As a fellow admiral, Borsalino didn't need to go to greet anyone. He waited in place for more than half an hour until Bane's large fleet arrived in the area and joined up with the surrounding fleets.

A plank was laid between the two warships, and Bane walked steadily onto Borsalino's warship.

"Judging from your expression, I can tell you've been treating this time as a vacation, Borsalino," Bane couldn't help but remark as he looked at the teapot on Borsalino's table.

"There's nothing I can do. I'm too old to handle this little thing properly, and I have to trouble you to clean up the mess," Borsalino said calmly, without any hesitation.

Bane paused for a moment, then shook his head helplessly and said, "You've already said everything, what else am I supposed to say?"

Then, the two of them couldn't help but laugh, as if neither of them had taken the matter to heart.

"I knew that Aramaki guy was unreliable, and he dragged so many marines into this mess," Bane said with considerable dissatisfaction. "If he were the only one on the island, I wouldn't have wasted any words; I would have opened fire immediately."

"I can only say that the Pirate Empress is terrifyingly strong. She took care of Vice Admiral Aramaki and the others in almost a single move. If I hadn't run away quickly, I might have been finished too," Borsalino said, feigning composure.

"You're kidding me. Headquarters already told me you didn't even go to the island, and you even ran away quickly." Bane didn't believe him at all, and then asked, "What's the situation on the island now?"

"Nothing's up. I sent someone to inform them of the results of headquarters' discussions, but there's been no response. Of course, for us, this silence is a signal in itself; I believe they won't want to get entangled with us to the end." Borsalino said, pouring Bane a cup of tea. "Want to take a break?"

Bane took the teacup, took a sip, then his expression turned serious as he asked, "What's the environment like in the surrounding waters?"

"The marine environment?" Borsalino looked at Bane with some confusion, seemingly not quite understanding what he meant. However, seeing Bane's serious expression, he felt it might be something important, so he pressed on, "Which aspect are you referring to?"

"Are there many fish? Are they easy to catch? I caught a five-meter-long fish in the Devil's Triangle before, but unfortunately, I haven't caught anything since then. I heard that the Calm Belt is sparsely populated, so I thought this place might be a good fishing spot," Bane said to Borsalino with a serious expression.

Borsalino realized what was going on and looked at Bane strangely, saying, "I'm not sure. I don't fish here, and I'm not really good at it."

"You can't fish!?" Bane asked Borsalino in surprise.

"Yes, I'm not really interested in that." Borsalino looked at Bane with surprise, thinking to himself, is there a problem with me not knowing how to fish?

Bane looked at Borsalino with a pained expression and said, "You old slacker, all you do is clock in and out, then slack off, drink tea and read the newspaper. Don't you think your life is meaningless? At least find yourself a hobby! Fishing is something I highly recommend; you should definitely try it sometime."

"Uh... okay." Borsalino was momentarily speechless.

"Alright, since the environment here is unclear, I won't show you my superb fishing skills. Let's deal with the Nine-Shell Island problem first." Bane finished his tea in one gulp, then asked, "Do you want to come up with me?"

"Isn't that unnecessary? If the two of us generals were to land on the island, the other side probably wouldn't agree. Too much pressure isn't suitable for negotiations. I'll just stay here in the rear. If anything happens to you on the island, I can call for backup for you." Borsalino laughed and immediately declined the invitation.

"There's no need to worry so much. Although I say I don't want to fight someone like Boa Hancock, if it's unavoidable, I'm confident I can handle her," Bane immediately waved his hand and said.

"Blinding yourself won't do. Her charm isn't just something you can perceive visually. Even fantasies in your mind can turn into real weapons. Otherwise, wouldn't it have been better to just let Issho handle this matter from the start?" Borsalino advised.

Hancock's charm is not just about her visual beauty. Her reputation as the "most beautiful woman in the world" is a powerful weapon, and it is even possible that it was intentionally created by her.

Even people who have never met her will imagine what she looks like just by hearing her name. And imagination is the most dangerous thing. If you have even the slightest thought or intention, you're doomed.

Therefore, blinding oneself is definitely not the way to defeat Hancock.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Bane nodded first, then ordered, "Send a signal to let them know that I am about to land on the island. I mean no harm, so don't cause any misunderstandings."

Soon, a naval lieutenant commander detonated a signal flare on the warship, and the orange signal light exploded in the air.

After waiting for about two or three minutes, a signal flare was also launched from the jungle of Amazon Lily. It was rather awkward, because even though the Seven Warlords of the Sea Act had been abolished, both the Navy and the Amazon Lily Pirates were still using the signals stipulated in the original act to communicate.

Soon, Bane arrived at the edge of the beach on Amazon Lily in a shallow boat. Then, some Amazon Lily female warriors emerged from the dense forest.

They stepped forward, their expressions wary, and looked at Bane and the others cautiously, saying, "Lady Hancock only allows one of you who can make the decision to attend the meeting."

Bane didn't mind, and waved his hand, saying, "Ain, you guys wait here, I'll go by myself."

"Are you really not worried?" Fubuki looked at Bane with amusement and said, "Don't get killed the moment we meet, that would be so embarrassing."

"If you make a fool of yourself like that, when we get back to Melvyn, I'll have Robin write a biography about it and spread it all over the sea. So for the sake of your reputation, you have to be careful!" Nami quickly added.

"Having you is truly my blessing." Bane rolled his eyes at Nami, then boldly boarded the Kuja and followed the warriors into the dense forest, quickly disappearing from sight.

Meanwhile, deep within the dense forests of Amazon Lily lies the land where the nation is located.

In the royal palace, Hancock looked at the documents in her hand with a disgusted expression and said, "Admiral. It's said that this guy only managed to rise from a nobody to the position of admiral in just two and a half years thanks to the support of Mary Geoise. He's obviously a lackey of the World Government. I'll teach him a lesson later!"

"Hancock, stop fooling around!" Gloria quickly warned, "There may be rumors that he has a close relationship with Mary Geoise, but you mustn't treat him as an incompetent person who rose to power because of that. Remember, his killing of Doflamingo and his fierce battle with Kaido are not rumors. He also personally annihilated the Red-Haired Pirates. Which of those people was simple? Yet they all fell to him. Don't be too arrogant towards such a top-tier fighter from the world's ruling class!"

"I don't need you reminding me of these things." Hancock glanced at Gloria with disdain, then said, "As for arrogance? The reason I could force him to come and negotiate is because I have enough strength!"

"Lady Hancock, the person has been brought here!" a maidservant outside the palace gates announced.

Upon hearing this, Hancock adjusted her posture and sat on her coiled serpent in a very elegant, yet incredibly sexy and alluring way.

Then, she said in a very calm tone, "Let him in, and dismiss everyone else."

(End of this chapter)