Chapter 525: Arriving at Amazon Lily
As promised, Nagasawa made dango for Perona.
Perona had never eaten dango before. Looking at the five soft, glutinous-looking dumplings on the plate in Nagasawa’s hands, she became curious.
Nagasawa generously gave one to everyone. Tina and Mihawk each got one as well.
"Go ahead, but remember to take the one on the left." Nagasawa reminded Perona.
Although Nagasawa had made five dango, the one intended for himself was prepared according to his own taste. The others were made at a sweetness level that ordinary people could accept.
After all, while he loved sweets, he never forced others to share his preferences.
Hearing Nagasawa’s reminder, Perona paused.
Then she suddenly thought of something. Instead of taking the dango Nagasawa had pointed out, she deliberately picked another one.
"Hmph! I’m not falling for the same trick twice! You specifically told me to take that one, so there must be something wrong with it!"
A smug smile appeared on her face.
"Did you put some weird seasoning in that one? Perona isn’t getting fooled."
As she spoke, she saw Mihawk and the others already eating theirs, so she immediately took a huge bite of the dango in her hand.
"Wait, that’s the..." Nagasawa opened his mouth to stop her, but it was already too late. By the time he finished speaking, Perona had already taken a bite.
The moment she bit into Nagasawa’s specially made dango, the smug expression disappeared from her face, and her pupils instantly dilated.
She immediately floated over to the trash bin, spat it out, and complained,
"What is this? It’s way too sweet!"
"That’s why I told you to take the one on the left. That one was made for me." Nagasawa shrugged helplessly.
"I don’t believe you. Nobody could possibly eat something this ridiculously sweet." Perona said suspiciously.
A moment later, the pink-haired girl suddenly looked enlightened before staring at Nagasawa in shock.
"I can’t believe a Marine could be this devious! You even predicted I’d be on guard beforehand, so you deliberately pointed at the normal one, making me choose the problematic one instead!"
She had thought she was on the second level while Nagasawa was only on the first.
Who knew Nagasawa had actually been on the third level all along?
Nagasawa couldn’t help but sigh at her wild imagination.
Before Perona could react, he flicked her forehead.
"This is the first time I’ve ever made sweet red bean dango in this world. Stop overthinking it."
As he spoke, Nagasawa took the dango out of Perona’s hand and replaced it with the normal one left on the plate.
"You really are a liar. Earlier you said everyone who eats it says it’s delicious." Perona puffed out her cheeks.
"What’s wrong with that? I ate it myself and said it was delicious. Doesn’t that mean everyone who’s eaten it says it’s delicious?" Nagasawa replied with a grin.
For a moment, Perona found herself unable to refute him.
She could only vent her frustration on the dango itself, treating it as though it were Nagasawa. She opened her mouth wide, preparing to take a huge bite.
Then she suddenly remembered what had just happened.
This time, she cautiously took only a tiny bite first. After confirming there was nothing wrong with it, she finally relaxed and began devouring it fiercely.
...
When Nagasawa had stayed with Mihawk for ten days, he announced that it was time for him to leave.
"Wait for my challenge. I hope you won’t regret teaching me the Breathing Technique after I defeat you." Mihawk’s eyes had regained their usual sharpness.
"Hahaha! If you truly gain strength from it, I’ll be sincerely happy. I’ll be waiting for your challenge from the throne of the strongest." Nagasawa laughed heartily.
He genuinely hoped Mihawk would gain some insights from it. That way, it would also count as a worthwhile achievement.
"If you’re leaving, then hurry up and go already, you lying Marine." Perona turned her head away, looking as though she couldn’t wait for Nagasawa to leave.
"You two! One day, no matter which of you it is, I’ll defeat both of you and become the World’s Greatest Swordsman!" Zoro shouted while clenching his fists tightly.
Ever since childhood, Zoro’s dream had been to become the world’s strongest swordsman. After Kuina’s death, that goal became even more resolute.
It was no longer just his own dream—it was Kuina’s as well.
He intended to carry both their dreams until he finally reached the title of World’s Greatest Swordsman.
Therefore, even though Nagasawa and Mihawk had displayed strength far beyond anything he could currently handle, Zoro did not despair. Instead, he only became even more determined.
Both Nagasawa and Mihawk remained completely calm.
Although the three of them possessed vastly different levels of strength, they all shared the same absolute confidence in themselves.
Seeing this, Tina almost wanted to arrest Zoro on the spot.
She had a feeling that this companion of Straw Hat Luffy would one day become someone extraordinary.
If Tina had truly been on vacation, she might actually have arrested him as overtime work.
Unfortunately, this so-called vacation was actually punishment in disguise. In reality, she had merely been forced to accompany her unreliable superior on his antics.
After all, wasn’t leaving because of an argument with the Fleet Admiral over a minor matter the very definition of acting recklessly?
If it had been Tina, she would have obeyed on the surface while secretly doing things her own way, rather than confronting Akainu head-on like Nagasawa.
Nagasawa’s style reminded Tina of an old acquaintance—Smoker.
Smoker also loved clashing directly with his superiors and was an absolute troublemaker.
Since Mihawk’s island rarely had visitors besides Mihawk himself, Nagasawa and Tina ultimately had no choice but to depart in a small boat.
Because it was such a small vessel, it relied almost entirely on rowing.
Fortunately, Nagasawa was incredibly strong, allowing them to travel surprisingly fast.
"Our next destination is Amazon Lily in the Calm Belt. I’ve heard the entire country has no men and even forbids men from entering. I wonder where their children come from." Nagasawa asked curiously while rowing.
"Tina doesn’t know." Tina answered simply.
Before Vegapunk invented Seastone warships, the Calm Belt had always been a mysterious sea. Tina herself knew very little about it.
"Tina is very curious. Admiral Nagasawa, are you planning to visit every single member of the Seven Warlords?" Tina asked.
First Mihawk, and now the Pirate Empress.
The shared identity between the two naturally came to her mind.
"If circumstances allow it, why not?" Nagasawa replied with a smile.
The Devil Fruits possessed by the Seven Warlords were all excellent. Copying any one of them would be a profit.
"Is there some special meaning behind it?" Tina admitted she couldn’t understand Nagasawa’s strange behavior.
Visiting Mihawk was understandable because Nagasawa was also a swordsman and wanted to test the World’s Greatest Swordsman.
But what was there to gain from visiting the Pirate Empress?
What exactly was worth challenging about her?
Tina simply couldn’t understand.
"Not really. Vacations are meant for enjoying yourself. A place as unique as Amazon Lily is naturally worth seeing. Besides, Boa Hancock is said to be the world’s most beautiful woman. I’m rather curious." Nagasawa explained with a smile.
Tina: ...
She truly hadn’t expected his reason to be nothing more than wanting to visit a strange island and look at a beautiful woman.
His motives were so ordinary that they sounded like those of a normal tourist rather than a superpowered Admiral capable of defeating the World’s Greatest Swordsman.
Tina lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, feeling thoroughly puzzled.
"Admiral Nagasawa, I have to remind you that the Pirate Empress is not someone who’s easy to get along with. She’s so arrogant that she literally looks down on people with her chin raised." Tina slowly exhaled a stream of smoke before warning him.
She had a feeling that if Hancock and Nagasawa met, a fight was almost inevitable.
Hancock hated men and was incredibly arrogant.
She would certainly treat Nagasawa with contempt.
Although Nagasawa usually seemed easygoing, Tina already understood his personality.
That easygoing attitude only lasted as long as people didn’t provoke him.
If he were truly that easy to deal with, he wouldn’t have argued with Akainu in the first place.
And Hancock definitely wasn’t strong enough to defeat him.
If Akainu later found out that Nagasawa had gone to a Warlord’s territory without reporting it and beaten up one of the Seven Warlords, the conflict between them would likely worsen once again.
Tina didn’t want to see that happen.
It would benefit neither Nagasawa nor Akainu.
"She looks down on people with her chin? Wouldn’t that mean she has to keep her head tilted up all the time? Wouldn’t that get tiring?" Nagasawa imagined the posture and found it rather exhausting.
"How could someone at the level of a Seven Warlord get tired just from tilting their head?" Tina couldn’t help but complain.
"But Tina, are you worried that I’ll end up clashing with the Pirate Empress?" Nagasawa asked with a grin.
Tina nodded.
"Tina believes that’s guaranteed to happen."
"Then how about we make a bet?" Nagasawa suggested after thinking for a moment.
"If I don’t end up fighting Hancock, then afterward I get to choose wherever I want to go, and Tina just follows me."
"And if you do end up fighting Hancock?" Tina asked.
"Then I’ll do whatever Tina says. If you tell me to return to Marine Headquarters, we’ll return immediately." Nagasawa answered.
After thinking it over, Tina accepted the wager.
She believed Nagasawa would never force himself to tolerate humiliation just because of a bet.
If Hancock treated him with the same disdain she showed everyone else, Nagasawa would definitely lose his temper.
In Tina’s eyes, Nagasawa had probably only heard rumors that the Pirate Empress was the world’s most beautiful woman and knew nothing about her personality.
What Tina didn’t know was that Nagasawa had already contacted Shakky and asked her to notify Hancock that he would be visiting.
Shakky had once been the Empress of Amazon Lily two generations ago and the former captain of the Kuja Pirates.
She had also helped Hancock before, and the two shared an extraordinary relationship.
However, Nagasawa hadn’t asked Shakky to reveal his identity as a member of the Revolutionary Army.
She had only been told to say that although Nagasawa was a Marine, he was a genuinely good Marine and also a friend of Shakky and Rayleigh, asking Hancock to treat him politely.
Because of that, the scenario Tina imagined would never happen.
With Shakky’s advance notice combined with Nagasawa’s status as an Admiral, Hancock would at least behave normally.
...
Amazon Lily had a rather unique appearance.
At the center of the island stood an enormous mountain.
Its summit was covered with gigantic sculptures of fierce-looking serpent heads, giving it a terrifying appearance.
Elsewhere across the island were mountains of various sizes, though none came close to matching the central peak.
Not long after Nagasawa stepped onto the island, he was discovered by the female warriors patrolling the area.
Seeing strangers land on the island, they immediately raised their bows and aimed at Nagasawa.
Nagasawa casually glanced over the warriors.
Perhaps because the entire country consisted only of women, their clothing was extremely revealing—essentially underwear covered by a white cloak.
"Lower your weapons. We are Marines. Do you want your Empress to lose her status as one of the Seven Warlords?" Tina folded her arms and stepped beside Nagasawa, her Justice coat fluttering around her long legs as she spoke coldly.
Several of the female warriors exchanged uneasy glances.
If it had only been Tina, things would have been one matter.
The real problem was that a man had landed on Amazon Lily.
Men were strictly forbidden from entering the island.
Moreover, the two of them hadn’t even arrived on a Marine warship.
In the end, a woman with a green snake wrapped around her body lowered her bow.
Marguerite said,
"We won’t attack you. However, you’ll have to remain here while we report this to Lady Snake Princess. She’ll decide what happens next."
"You expect us to wait here? Who do you think you are? Do you really believe the Marines are plotting against your island? This is Admiral Hakuba standing before you!" Tina immediately rejected Marguerite’s proposal.
Nagasawa glanced at Tina.
For some reason, she seemed unusually aggressive today.
Could she be deliberately trying to escalate the situation so he would lose their bet?
The possibility wasn’t small.
After all, Tina really didn’t want him wandering around outside any longer.
’Unfortunately, no matter how much you try to provoke things, it won’t work. I’ve already had Shakky notify Hancock in advance.’
Nagasawa thought to himself.
No matter how clever Tina was, she could never guess that he had already contacted Hancock through Shakky and Rayleigh.
"Th-this..." Marguerite hadn’t expected Tina to be so forceful and immediately found herself in a dilemma.
This was completely different from Luffy.
Luffy had entered the island by accident.
This man had walked in openly and confidently.
"Take us to your Empress." Nagasawa finally spoke.
"How dare you! Lady Snake Princess isn’t someone you can simply demand to see!" one of the female warriors, an obsessive Hancock admirer, shouted.
Most of Amazon Lily’s inhabitants had never left the island.
Many of them spent their entire lives there.
Some couldn’t even comprehend the significance of the title "Admiral."
As the atmosphere became increasingly tense, Tina smiled inwardly.
Everything was proceeding exactly according to plan.
However, Nagasawa merely glanced at the female warrior.
His overwhelming aura instantly locked onto her.
The next moment, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed unconscious.
The already tense atmosphere became even heavier.
The Amazon warriors immediately raised their bows again.
"Conqueror’s Haki!" Marguerite exclaimed in shock.
"Don’t waste any more time. Take us there. Once Hancock sees me, she won’t blame you." Nagasawa repeated.
"Would you rather I defeat all of you and go see her myself, or would you rather escort me there? Think it over carefully."
’It’s in the bag!’
Watching Nagasawa knock someone unconscious and then openly threaten them, Tina became certain of her victory.
Hancock already hated men and was famously arrogant.
Now Nagasawa had attacked one of her subordinates.
There was no way Hancock would greet him kindly.
’Admiral Nagasawa, no matter how strong you are, you’ll have no choice but to return to Marine Headquarters with me.’
At that moment, Tina was in an exceptionally good mood.
Marguerite had no choice.
The strength Nagasawa displayed was far beyond anything they could resist.
The woman he had just knocked unconscious wasn’t an ordinary warrior but an experienced Amazon fighter who had already mastered Armament Haki.
In the end, Marguerite and the others surrounded Nagasawa and escorted him toward Hancock.
That was still preferable to allowing him to rampage through the island until he found the Empress himself.
Officially, the Marines were allies of Amazon Lily.
This wasn’t even the first time Marines had visited the island.
However, since only two people had arrived—and not even on a Marine warship—Marguerite found the whole situation rather strange.