With Hancock's Conqueror's Haki no longer acting as a barrier, Mikita's overwhelming Conqueror's Haki struck every member of the Kuja Pirates.
Members of the Nine Snake Pirates who had managed to hold on we're now falling unconscious once more. Even Sandersonia and Marigold, Hancock's powerful younger sisters, found themselves half-kneeling on the deck, using their weapons to steady themselves.
"As expected, even the Empress's Conqueror Haki can't withstand Mikita's Conqueror's Haki! At this moment, that woman is more like an Empress who rules the world..."
Gion supported Hina, struggling to maintain their balance. Although Mikita's Conqueror's Haki didn't affect the Black Pearl Pirates' crew, Gion, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but be influenced. Additionally, she was still under the influence of potent anaesthetics, rendering her unable to counter the Conqueror's Haki.
Further behind Gion and Hina, Nami, Carina, and the others observed the contest between Mikita and Hancock with great interest. As comrades, they naturally hoped that Mikita, the deputy captain, would gain the upper hand in the clash with Hancock.
"My body…can't move!? How can her imposing presence render me helpless?!"
Marigold, who was half-kneeling on the ground, looked up at Mikita with difficulty and muttered to herself in shock.
"Is the ship shaking? How can this be? I've never heard that the Conqueror's Haki can shake a pirate ship!"
Sandersonia, equally bewildered, surveyed the scene around her. In a short time, additional decks on the Nine Snake Pirates' ship had sustained cracks and damage, which continued to worsen. Even the two special Sea Kings that powered the ship had been cowed by Mikita's Conqueror's Haki, refusing to move!
"Heh, is this the extent of the so-called Empress's ability? It doesn't seem all that special," Mikita remarked, gradually retracting her Conqueror's Haki, and grinned mockingly at Hancock and the others.
Hancock gazed at her fallen comrades and the damage to the ship's hull, her expression darkening. But deep inside, she harboured a deep fear of Mikita's Conqueror's Haki! It's her first time facing someone with a stronger Conqueror Haki than her!
"I've never heard of anyone wielding Conqueror's Haki to this extent," Hancock mulled over. "Even the old man Rayleigh probably couldn't match this. How did she cultivate her Conqueror's Haki to such a degree?"
Hancock pursed her lips and stared intently at Mikita, who was looking down at her. Observing the disdainful expression on Mikita's face, Hancock couldn't help but feel several veins pop on her forehead.
"Accursed woman!" Hancock burst out, her temper flaring. "Don't think that you can look down on the me just because you bested me in Conqueror's Haki!"
Hancock took a deep breath, calming herself slightly. She rearranged her expression and once again adopted a feeble posture toward Mikita.
"Would you kindly refrain from underestimating this empress like this?" Hancock beseeched.
Upon hearing this, Mikita immediately frowned and, in her mind, summoned the image of Rifan. As memories of baking pastries with Rifan resurfaced, Mikita subconsciously ignored Hancock before her.
This time, Mikita opted to intensify her love for Rifan to counter Hancock's charm.
"Mero Mero Mellow!"
Hancock, noticing Mikita's momentarily distant expression, believed her charm had succeeded and immediately launched an attack.
Hancock extended her hands in a heart shape, releasing a pink light that quickly passed over Mikita's body.
"Huh? Is this some kind of slow ray?" Mikita wondered aloud. "No, my movements haven't slowed down…"
Mikita quickly snapped back to reality and regarded Hancock with confusion. She was unharmed by the attack because she had previously demonstrated her ability to resist Franky's slow rays using her exceptional Haki.
"What's happening? Why didn't my sister's ability work!?" Marigold queried.
"Could it be that she resisted it somehow!?" Boa Sandersonia suggested.
Gion, who was standing near Mikita, was as perplexed as Marigold and Sandersonia. "Why wasn't this woman petrified by Hancock?" Gion wondered. She had witnessed Hancock's ray hitting Mikita, yet Mikita remained unaffected.
"Your ability didn't work?" Mikita raised an eyebrow and glanced at some stone sculptures on the Smoothie pirate ship. "I remember Captain Rifan mentioned that you have the power to turn people into stone. It seems that as long as someone falls for your charm, they're petrified, right?"
Mikita chuckled and patted her chest, which was slightly green from her earlier experiences. She looked at Hancock with pride. "Let's be clear, it won't work on me. I'm immune!"
Hancock ground her teeth in frustration and unleashed Mero Mero Mellow on Mikita once more.
However, the result remained the same as before. Mikita once again resisted Hancock's charms by reaffirming her love for Rifan.
Hancock, her eyes filled with disbelief, stared at Mikita, who remained unpetrified. "How is this possible?! Why aren't you being turned to stone!? I won't allow someone like you to exist!"
Hancock's original plan had been to petrify Mikita to blackmail Rifan and use her own charms to persuade Rifan to let them leave. The fact that Mikita was unaffected by her charms was inconceivable to Hancock.
"Hehe, I'd really like to see how you plan to erase me," Mikita responded, a sly grin forming on her lips. She decided to teach Hancock a lesson since Hancock had initiated the confrontation. She believed that as long as Hancock wasn't killed, Rifan wouldn't object.
With a swift kick, Mikita unleashed a Tempest Kick toward Hancock. Given Hancock's actions, Mikita had no qualms about retaliating.
As Mikita kicked, a colossal arc-shaped wind blade, longer than the Nine Snake pirate ship itself, shot toward Hancock.
Marigold, Sandersonia, and the other elite Kuja Pirate crew members, as well as other members of the Nine Snake Pirates that was still concious, were rooted in place as they witnessed the massive wind blade.
Though Hancock was also taken aback, she reacted swiftly. Before the wind blade reached her ship, she leaped from the deck and forcefully kicked the enormous wind blade.
Boom!
A deafening noise accompanied the wind blade's destruction. Hancock disappeared into a cloud of smoke and dust for a brief moment. Shortly afterward, Hancock's figure burst out of the smoke and dust, making a beeline for Mikita.
"Aromatic Leg!"
Utilizing both her fruit ability and her physical prowess, Hancock launched a powerful assault on Mikita. She locked onto Mikita with her seductive gaze, fully intending to petrify her.
Unbeknownst to Hancock, Mikita, who could predict the future with her Observation Haki, had already foreseen Hancock's movements. With a slight grin, Mikita enveloped her right leg in both Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki.
Just as Hancock's foot was about to make contact, Mikita abruptly raised her right leg and counter-kicked Hancock with her high heels.
"Tempest Kick!"
Boom!
A thunderous explosion reverberated through the air as their kicks collided. A black-red electrical surge erupted at the point of impact.
Hancock's kick, originally imbued with the power of her Devil Fruit ability, hung motionless in mid-air due to Mikita's overwhelming strength.
"No contact?!" Gion exclaimed, astonished. She couldn't believe what she was witnessing.
"Well, this is very interesting, right, Miss Gion?" Robin interjected, patting Gion on the shoulder before walking toward Nojiko. Gion watched Robin's retreating figure and remained silent for a moment. She now has to think about how she should compensate Rifan for the valuable information provided by Mikita and Robin. Or else she will be put to sleep…
"This is... no contact?!" Hancock exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise as she faced Mikita. "It's clear you're just a little Shichibukai. How could you possibly comprehend this power, a power that even some of the Four Emperors may not wield?"
Mikita's lips curled upward, and she increased the concentration of Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki around her right leg. Although her physical abilities were not on par with Hancock's, her mastery of Haki surpassed that of Hancock.
Even if Hancock employed the power of her Devil Fruit at this moment, it would be impossible to bypass Mikita's Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki to petrify her.
As Mikita enhanced her Haki, Hancock suddenly experienced an agonizing sensation in her own leg. Mikita's strength caused Hancock's leg to weaken, and a Tempest Kick wind blade, infused with black and red Haki energy, struck Hancock's body directly.
A red gleam flared in Hancock's eyes as she used the Tempest Kick wind blade as a platform to leap higher. Despite the excruciating pain in her ankle due to the close-range Tempest Kick, Hancock pressed on.
She knew that her only option was to defeat Mikita and petrify her after this skirmish. With Mikita's formidable power and the presence of Robin and the other Black Pearl Pirates members watching from the sidelines, Hancock believed that waiting for Rifan to emerge from Smoothie's ship was not an option.
She might not be able to resist their combined efforts!
"Slave Arrow!"
Hancock tapped her fingers to her lips, conjured a massive pink-peach heart-shaped object, and pulled it taut like a bowstring. A multitude of pink arrows rained down toward Mikita from the heart-shaped construct!