Hancock stared at the newspaper—Vir’s eyes blazing with lightning, his charged kanabo crashing down onto Akainu.
When the blow landed, she saw Akainu’s eyes roll back.
A look of shock flashed across her face.
This man… what incredible strength!
He actually knocked out an Admiral!
But when she saw the countless orbs of light filling the sky, the arcs of terrifying purple lightning crackling with cold radiance—
Her astonishment grew even deeper.
Could she even stand a chance against him?
Hancock couldn’t help but wonder.
His strength might surpass hers.
But that didn’t mean he could defeat her.
No matter how strong someone was, if they so much as glanced at her with desire—
They would turn to stone in an instant.
Yet, it was undeniable—this man was formidable.
He killed a Celestial Dragons and walked away unscathed.
It was almost unbelievable.
The newspaper made it all clear.
This man called Vir had killed three Celestial Dragons. The Marines sent two Admirals after him.
And yet, he still managed to escape.
The photo on the front page said it all—he got away.
No one knew how, but after killing three Celestial Dragons, he successfully vanished.
Vir… What kind of person is he, really?
If she ever got the chance, she’d have to thank him.
Because among the ones he killed—that old bastard—was the very same Celestial Dragon who once imprisoned her and her sisters.
Now that Vir had taken him out, it was as if he had avenged them.
At this moment, Hancock felt a flicker of goodwill toward Vir.
Or rather, anyone who dared to publicly slaughter three Celestial Dragons would earn some of her favor.
But the degree of that favor still depended on one thing—looks.
And clearly, Hancock’s opinion of Vir was quite high.
She already considered him a good man.
Soon, Hancock’s two sisters came to see what was going on.
Soon, Hancock’s two younger sisters came over to look as well.
When they saw the three headless corpses, when they read the names of the dead—
Tears fell uncontrollably.
Dead.
They were really dead.
Their nightmare… had been slain.
“Big sis…”
The most timid of them, the green-haired sister, spoke through sobs and trembling words.
“Does… does this mean we don’t have to worry about being taken back anymore?”
Though Hancock didn’t turn to look, she could picture them perfectly.
And their voices brought back the memory of that dark, sunless prison cell.
The fear that haunted their dreams—that one day, their secret would be exposed, and they’d be dragged back to that hell.
If they were recaptured, their former master would have subjected them to the cruelest torture imaginable.
But now—Saint Roswald was dead.
They no longer had to fear him.
But if their pasts were uncovered… they’d still be hunted down.
“No! Do not let your guard down! Never reveal those scars! If discovered, death would be the only escape!”
Hancock spoke coldly.
Hearing their sister’s stern words, the two girls stopped crying and nodded solemnly.
This wasn’t the time to relax.
Unless every last Celestial Dragon died—which seemed utterly impossible.
“Hancock! That Vir is no ordinary person. You’d best stay far away from him.”
“Otherwise, all of Amazon Lily could be dragged into this!”
Elder Nyon had noticed the sisters distress.
She knew of their tragic past.
So she voiced her warning.
“I heard you, you old hag! And—address me as Empress!”
Hancock shot her a sharp glare.
Elder Nyon immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
Faced with Hancock’s overwhelming pressure, she relented with a sigh.
“Yes… Empress Hancock…”
“Hmph!”
Hancock snorted and ignored her.
Turning, she met Luffy’s confused gaze.
She had been ready to open her heart to him… but now, she was too happy to care.
Her enemy—someone she’d given up ever defeating—was dead.
How could she not be happy?
‘Vir… Huh?’
‘I hope I can find you.’
‘You’ve done me such a great favor. I must repay you.’
Just as she was about to order her warriors to gather information on Vir—
A naive voice rang out.
“Uh… so were you just talking about Vir?”
Luffy stared blankly at Hancock and the others.
He had been watching for a while but couldn’t make sense of anything.
But then—he thought he heard Vir’s name.
That, he couldn’t ignore.
Were they badmouthing him?!
As captain, he couldn’t let that slide!
Even if she just helped him to break petrification!
“Vir is our ship’s doctor! If you’re talking bad about him, I’ll knock you all flying!”
Luffy’s expression was dead serious.
Sure, Vir was usually ruthless and merciless with them.
But it was all to make them stronger—to survive when he wasn’t around.
Like that time they fought the zombie guy—it had been easy.
That was the first enemy they faced alone without Vir.
Even though they later got wrecked by that bear-hat guy, the fact that they didn’t feel pain was thanks to Vir.
Vir had always been trying to make them stronger.
So there was no way he’d let anyone insult Vir!
But to his surprise, the confrontation he expected never came.
Instead, the three sisters lit up with joy!
They rushed over and surrounded him.
Luffy blinked in confusion.
What kind of new attack is this!?
He was about to fight back when Hancock said something that stopped him cold.
“You know Vir?! He’s your ship’s doctor?! That’s perfect! Where is he now? Can we meet him?”
She looked at Luffy with excitement.
She’d just been wondering how to find Vir, and now—bam! His captain appears right in front of her.
What a coincidence!
This guy… is actually Vir’s captain!
Luffy: “Huh?”
They didn’t seem hostile toward Vir at all…
They were friends!
They were Vir’s friends!
Awesome!
Maybe he could borrow their ship to go find the others!
A goofy grin spread across his face.
It stayed there for a full two minutes—until Hancock smacked him across the head.
*SLAP!*
“Ow—ah, yeah! Vir? Of course I know Vir! He’s our doctor! And I’m the captain!”
Luffy declared proudly.
Hancock and the others eyes changed as they looked at him.
This guy… is Vir’s captain?!
Unbelievable!
“Empress Hancock! You just promised me you wouldn’t get involved with this Vir!”
Nyon finally couldn’t take it anymore.
What was this?! The backpedaling was too fast!
She had expected Hancock to at least respond—
Instead, she got a foot to the face.
*BAM!*
A familiar sound rang out as Nyon went flying—again.
“Now, speak!”
After kicking Nyon away, Hancock turned back to Luffy.
“I dunno where Vir is right now.” Luffy said. “We got separated on that, uh… Sabaody place. I wanted to borrow a ship to find him!”
Then his eyes lit up.
“Oh! Right! If you wanna find him too, we can go together!”
But Hancock frowned.
Separated?
“Then how are you going to find him? You don’t even know where he is.”
Luffy scratched his head. That was a good point.
But then—
A lightbulb went on in his brain.
Slowly, he reached into his pants and pulled out…
A piece of a Vivre Card!
The one Robin had made for Vir.
Every crew member carried a piece…