"HEHEHE... Hancock is so beautiful... Her head would make a nice trophy after I cut off her neck." Catarina Devon had hated Hancock ever since she saw her face on the bounty poster.
"You can do whatever you want after we take her power." Kurohige didn't care about Catarina's cruel actions.
"Wait!!! Wouldn't it be more fun if we captured her alive!" Vasco Shot objected.
He couldn't possibly let Catarina kill Hancock before he got to feel the world's most beautiful woman's body!
*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
The Marines aimed their rifles at Kurohige and the other two, firing Seastone bullets.
*CRUSCH-BANG*
"GYAHHH..."
Kurohige didn't even turn around, his hand glowed white, and his punch caused the very space around him to crack like glass.
The attack killed dozens of Marines nearby.
This was the terror of the Gura Gura no Mi power, widely acknowledged as the strongest Paramecia Devil Fruit!
Arriving in front of the palace, now surrounded by Marines, Kurohige shouted loudly.
"COME OUT, BOA HANCOCK!"
Meanwhile, Koby heard Kurohige's voice and knew the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable for the Marines.
The Kuja tribe alone was already giving them trouble. With the addition of Kurohige Pirates, it was almost certain that the operation to capture Hancock would fail.
"No surprise. We already figured other pirates would be tempted by the former Shichibukai."
Despite the chaotic situation, Koby remained optimistic. After all, the Marines had brought two Seraphim.
"Hancock-san! The Marines don't want to fight! If you surrender, I promise you'll be taken away immediately!"
Standing in front of the palace, Koby shouted loudly so Hancock could hear.
Finally, the woman at the center of this event emerged from the palace.
Her beauty immediately attracted the attention of everyone present.
Boa Hancock!
"Don't waste my time! I will never be captured again!"
She was sure she would become a slave of the Tyamakajito again if she were captured by the Marines. After all, there was a precedent for that in the past.
"Wait, big sister! Don't do that!"
Hancock's two younger sisters, Boa Marigold and Boa Sandersonia, both worried about their older sister's safety.
"That's right! Maybe we can survive with that person's help!"
Sandersonia suddenly remembered the promise Eiji had made and left the Den Den Mushi to contact him.
Hancock didn't care about any other man besides Rayleigh and Luffy, so she never took Eiji seriously and let the Den Den Mushi gather dust in the warehouse.
Seeing that they were being cornered by the Marines and a Yonko, Sandersonia could only place her last hope on Eiji. Therefore, she rushed to the warehouse under Marigold's confused gaze.
Meanwhile, Kurohige, walking confidently, heard his crew's shouts behind him.
"Commodore Teach! Help us! Any attack is ineffective against this thing!"
"HUH?"
Turning around, Kurohige's expression was dull.
"Wait... Wait!!! White hair, brown skin, and black wings?!"
"Are you serious? This kid already defeated you all by himself?!"
*WHOOSH*
S-Hawk made a slashing motion towards Kurohige.
"PX...?! Could it be he's a Pacifista!"
Realizing this, Kurohige jumped to the side to avoid the incoming sword energy.
*SWOOSH*
"ARGH!"
The sword energy cut through a building hundreds of meters tall.
Seeing this scene, Kurohige cursed loudly.
"Damn it! There's a Pacifista kid! What the hell is going on!"
If it were a Devil Fruit user, he could defeat them with the power of the Yami Yami no Mi, which negates the power of other Devil Fruits. But Kurohige was reluctant to fight Haki users, and Pacifista, the Yami Yami no Mi power was useless against individuals in both categories.
Even after becoming a Yonko, his cowardly mentality hadn't changed. Kurohige avoided fighting non-Devil Fruit users if he wasn't sure of winning.
"URGH!!! This is a big problem!"
His hand was enveloped in black matter, a manifestation of Busoshoku Haki, Kurohige blocked S-Hawk's sword attack.
"Black Hole!"
Darkness spread from his feet and enveloped the surrounding area.
As Kurohige struggled against S-Hawk, Hancock fought the Marines who came to capture her.
"Slave Arrow!"
"GYAH!"
"OOH!!! ❤️"
Anyone hit by the heart-shaped arrows fired by Hancock, without exception, would turn to stone.
"Helmeppo-san!!!"
"You too, Vice Admiral Yamakaji?!"
Seeing his comrades turn to stone, and even the Vice Admiral, Koby could only lament sadly.
There was no other choice, only Hancock could undo the petrification.
In fact, it wasn't just the Marines who were petrified, Catarina and Vasco were also turned to stone.
"Hey Pacifista, stop that! You could destroy the people who turned to stone!"
"Stop it right now! This is an order!"
Seeing the impact of S-Hawk's fight against Kurohige, which could cause the stone statues around him to shatter, Koby issued an order to stop.
"Perfume—"
Before Hancock could continue her attack, Kurohige took advantage of S-Hawk stopping his attack, arrived in front of Hancock, and without hesitation choked her neck as he activated the power of the Yami Yami no Mi.
As a result, Hancock couldn't use her Mero Mero no Mi power.
"ZEHAHAHAHA!"
"Hebihime!"
"She can't use her power!"
The Kuja tribe warriors were anxious and worried seeing Hancock fall into Kurohige's hands.
"Get your dirty hands off me!!!"
Even though her neck was being choked by Kurohige, Hancock didn't show any fear and looked at him with contempt.
"Turns out your title of Empress isn't just empty words. You turned most of my stupid crew to stone. Your attack isn't bad!"
Kurohige desired the power of the Mero Mero no Mi even more after seeing its abilities firsthand.
"I've been eyeing your power for a long time."
"Ptui! It's my beauty that makes this power great! If you kill me, all your crew will become stone forever! Someone else inheriting my power won't be able to bring them back!"
Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, Hancock stared coldly at Kurohige.
'I already suspected, Boa Hancock is much harder to deal with than people think!' Koby thought, trying to find an opportunity to save Hancock from Kurohige's clutches.
Besides wanting to restore the petrified Marines, he didn't want Kurohige to get the Mera Mera no Mi. Surely, world peace would be further threatened.
"Looks like we're on the same side, aren't we, hero! You did me a favor at Rocky Port, allowing me to chase Ochoku away and become the ruler of Pirate Island!"
Because Koby stood out among the remaining Marines, Kurohige immediately recognized him.
"If I let this woman go, do you think she'll be kind and bring everyone back?"
"It would be a problem for me if she didn't bring back the Marines... Huft... Huft..."
Facing Kurohige, Koby didn't falter in the slightest.
"I will do it... As long as you two leave my island..." Hancock said helplessly.
"UGH!!!"
Tightening his grip on her neck so Hancock groaned in pain, Kurohige sneered in disgust.
"I don't believe you at all! I think if I let you go, you'll immediately turn us all to stone, right? Honestly, I'm not sure any man could resist your charm."
"This is really making my head spin... But I think I'll just kill you."
"WAIT! DON'T SACRIFICE ALL THESE LIVES!"
Before Koby could move to stop Kurohige from killing Hancock, someone acted faster.
*Pu-chi*
A severed hand floated in the air before falling to the ground.