One Piece: Saving Hancock with the Batto Batto no Mi

Sabaody Archipelago, Island 41

In a three-story villa, within a room dominated by black Gothic decor, Perona lay fast asleep on a large pink bed. She clutched a teddy bear in her arms, a trickle of transparent liquid escaping the corner of her mouth.

From outside the hallway, Sephiroth gently pushed the door open and walked in. He extended his right hand, pinching the pink-haired lolita's chubby cheek.

"Wake up! Wake up for breakfast, everything's on the dining room table."

"Woo~!" Perona whined, her expression hazy. She reached out and wiped the corner of her mouth, then, without opening her eyes, pulled the pink blanket tighter, burying herself beneath the pillows and duvet.

Seeing her antics, Sephiroth couldn't help but feel a twitch at the corner of his eye, but he ultimately shook his head, giving up on persuasion. After spending so much time together, he knew perfectly well that Perona was an… otaku!

Sephiroth had once asked Perona if she wanted to go to school or make friends, but the girl refused without even thinking! In her daily life, unless Sephiroth took her out to play, she could stay in her room all day long simply by giving her dolls, ghost storybooks, or even letting her create some of her own Hollows.

After some thought, Sephiroth finally decided it would be better to let Perona live as she wished… Whatever she liked! After all, this world spoke through strength, and Perona, possessing the abilities of the Horo Horo no Mi (Hollow-Hollow Fruit), had already reached a level of power that was difficult for ordinary people to achieve. Even Sephiroth, if he didn't use Armament Haki to take precautions first to dispel the Hollows created by the opponent, would be depressed for a long time if hit by a Negative Hollow. In that state, he wouldn't even want to mobilize his Haki, he would just want to be a tranquil, never-moving 'salted fish'…

Shaking his head and dispelling the "bad" memories in his mind, Sephiroth drew the Butcher's Blade from his waist, opened a door to a specific space, and arrived directly at Marine G-4 Headquarters, in his own office.

This morning there was a routine work meeting for the top leaders of various departments at Marine Headquarters. Although most of the time boring things were discussed at routine meetings, there were occasional talks about special instructions from Marine Headquarters, as well as messages about specific pirates that required special attention, so he needed to take the time to attend.

Sephiroth glanced at the clock on the office wall: eight fifty-six, five minutes before the meeting. He casually picked up the large "Justice" cloak hanging on the hanger, wrapped it over his body, opened the office door, and walked out leisurely.

At exactly nine o'clock, he happened to arrive at the conference room door. He glanced inside and saw that seven people had already taken their seats, all of whom were heads of major departments. Sephiroth sat at the chairman's table, in the position closest to the right of the main seat.

Everyone waited a few more minutes before Brigadier General Kesha, who arrived late with his aide, entered the meeting room.

"Today, in addition to discussing daily work matters, let's talk about three special pirates..."

At Brigadier General Kesha's signal, the aide standing beside him immediately distributed the large stack of documents he held to everyone.

Sephiroth picked up the bound documents and looked through them. The bounties that caught his attention made a flash of surprise cross his eyes: a 100 million Beli bounty for Boa Hancock, 91 million Beli for Boa Marigold, and 79 million Beli for Boa Sandersonia.

"Carman, tell them about these three pirates." Brigadier General Kesha took a cigar from his pocket and lit it, then waved and let his aide narrate the contents of the document.

"Yes!"

Carman, the bearded aide, immediately opened a document and attached six wanted posters with magnets to the whiteboard next to him.

"The three women on the whiteboard are named Boa Hancock, Boa Marigold, Boa Sandersonia. Among them, Boa Hancock is the current captain of the Kuja Pirates, while the other two are her cadres. Recently, they defeated four solid pirate groups in a short period."

As Carman spoke, he attached four more bounties to the whiteboard: Nico Val offering a 96 million Beli bounty, Yumaz Tapa 92 million Beli, Atel Dole 88 million Beli, and Adil Mason 78 million Beli.

"The pirate groups under these four pirates vary in size from large to small. The smallest only has eighty-seven people, while the two largest have over 1,500 and over 1,200 people! According to the information we have received, when Boa Hancock led the Kuja Pirates in supplying at Saint Falt Island, the large pirate group of one thousand five hundred people led by Nico Val was preparing to plunder Water City. But she directly released her Conqueror's Haki and stunned over a thousand people, while the remaining cadres were petrified without even the strength to resist.

When the Kuja Pirates encountered Yumaz Tapa's pirate armada of twelve pirate ships at sea, Boa Marigold's Logia-type Devil Fruit ability showed extremely terrifying long-range offensive capabilities. Based on the strong power and danger level shown by the three in many campaigns, the Naval Department awarded the first high bounties of 100 million Beli, 91 million Beli, and 79 million Beli respectively."

The officers in the conference room didn't actually care much about the bounties offered by the three women. They simply quietly noted their Devil Fruit abilities in their hearts. If they met them in the future, they could be cautious. Since the beginning of the Great Pirate Era, the number of pirates had surged. On this sea, it could be said that demons danced wildly. Faced with various high bounties, the Marines had long since grown numb!

In the past, weak pirates who couldn't command bounties over 10 million Beli seemed a little helpless because the Marines were too short-staffed. They could only choose to casually issue bounties of tens of millions, so that Bounty Hunters or civilians could spontaneously deal with them.

Thump-thump-thump!

"Everyone, I hope you pay attention! If you encounter these three pirates in the future, please do not take rash action. You can apply for support from your headquarters first. The other party has the ability to kill over a wide range and can cause large casualties to our army.

I don't want it to happen again, incidents like Rear Admiral Dolo embarrassing Marine Headquarters! Otherwise, I'll let you eat and take a walk. Do you understand?"

Brigadier General Kesha's eyes, one by one, stared at the faces of the crowd, filling his tone with seriousness.

The oil and water in the Sabaody Archipelago were excellent. After he took office, he made a lot of money. He was "preparing to accumulate a few years and find an opportunity to compete for the position of a Four Seas Admiral. Compared to the extremely dangerous Grand Line, the Four Seas can be said to be as high as the mountains and as far as the emperor, with great oil and water. If he became a real emperor, he would definitely be able to fish." Full pot!

Therefore, Brigadier General Kesha did not want his subordinates to cause him trouble during this period!

Sephiroth, looking at the three wanted posters in his hand, couldn't help but ponder. After all these events, Hancock had now gained a considerable reputation. Next, awaiting her would be either a crusade by a High-Ranking Officer or an invitation from the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Although in the original story, Hancock was recruited soon after she went to sea, many things had changed under my butterfly effect! The Marines have always been the strongest party in this sea. It's better not to be an enemy or not to be an enemy. For the sake of safety, I have to use the corrupt forces at the top of the Marines to get Hancock an invitation to the Seven Warlords of the Sea letter!

After the routine meeting, Sephiroth was called to the office by Kesha, who presented him with a chest full of banknotes containing 100 million Beli. This was the share Kesha deserved since he last conspired with him to conduct a warship exchange. Although Sephiroth didn't look down on this small sum of money, he still accepted it.

There are things you can choose to ask for less, but you cannot choose not to do! Rules are rules. If you refuse or don't follow the rules, then others might not trade with you again next time... Therefore, Sephiroth chose to accept this small gain out of long-term consideration. He sharply noticed that, when he unhesitatingly took the box of money, there was also a similar added identification in Kesha's eyes when he looked at him.

Five days later, with Sephiroth's deliberate operation, he spent two billion Beli to enlist the corrupt power of the Marines to help Hancock secure an invitation to the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Since he had already greeted Hancock, the girl, after making certain agreements with the Marines, naturally became a Seven Warlord of the Sea.