"Where is the Pirate Empress?"
"Hey! What exactly did Demon Eye Ryūjin do to the Pirate Empress?!"
"Where did you take her?!"
At the entrance to Amazon Lily, the members of the Kuja Pirates erupted into chaos.
One moment Hancock had been standing before them, and the next she had vanished without warning.
Nobody understood what had happened.
Even the veteran warriors of Amazon Lily were completely dumbfounded.
As for Kizaru and Aokiji, both Admirals wore unusually serious expressions.
Even with their Observation Haki, neither had been able to perceive what had happened.
Not only had Hancock disappeared, but Ryūjin's presence had vanished as well.
It was as if both of them had been erased from existence.
"A spatial ability?"
Kizaru frowned slightly.
"Possibly."
Aokiji nodded.
They had already witnessed Ryūjin's Space Gate and dimensional abilities on Skypiea.
However, those techniques always left some kind of trace behind.
This time was completely different.
There had been no warning.
No fluctuations.
No signs whatsoever.
It simply happened.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, everyone's vision blurred.
The next moment, the vanished pair reappeared before everyone's eyes.
"Pirate Empress!"
"Pirate Empress, are you alright?"
"What happened?"
The Kuja warriors immediately rushed toward Hancock, surrounding her from every direction.
"Enough!"
Hancock raised her hand impatiently.
"This concubine is perfectly fine."
The crowd instantly fell silent.
Then Hancock gave an order that left everyone frozen in place.
"Prepare to welcome Ryūjin-kun as an honored guest of Amazon Lily!"
The surroundings became deathly quiet.
Every warrior stared at Hancock in disbelief.
Men were forbidden from entering Amazon Lily.
That rule had existed for generations.
Yet Hancock was personally inviting Ryūjin onto the island?
Many of the Kuja warriors subconsciously glanced at Ryūjin.
Just what had happened during that mysterious disappearance?
One of the senior members carefully stepped forward.
"Pirate Empress, according to Amazon Lily's laws, men are prohibited from entering the island."
"Are you questioning my decision?"
Hancock's eyes narrowed dangerously.
The woman immediately lowered her head.
"Ordinary men are not permitted to enter Amazon Lily."
Hancock lifted her chin proudly.
"But Ryūjin-kun is not an ordinary man."
"He is an exception."
No one dared argue further.
Hancock's authority on Amazon Lily was absolute.
Regardless of their confusion, the order was carried out immediately.
Then Hancock turned toward Ryūjin.
"Ryūjin-kun, I apologize."
"The women accompanying you may enter, but the men on your ship cannot."
Ryūjin shrugged casually.
"Yeah, whatever."
Seeing that he didn't mind, Hancock visibly relaxed.
Soon afterward, Ryūjin boarded the Kuja Pirates' ship alongside Nami and Robin before sailing toward Amazon Lily itself.
Throughout the journey, Nami's eyes darted everywhere.
Everything fascinated her.
The ship.
The warriors.
The customs.
Even the architecture visible along the shoreline.
"Ryūjin-san really is unbelievable."
Nami silently sighed.
It felt as though there wasn't a problem in this world he couldn't solve.
Within such a short time, he had somehow convinced the Pirate Empress herself.
The news of a man entering Amazon Lily spread across the island like wildfire.
Countless residents rushed outside to watch.
Many peered from rooftops and windows.
Others gathered along the streets.
To many of them, this was their first opportunity to see a man with their own eyes.
The sight was so novel that excitement spread throughout the entire island.
Ryūjin couldn't help finding the situation somewhat amusing.
At the same time, a certain question briefly crossed his mind.
How exactly did reproduction work on an island populated entirely by women?
Still, he wisely kept that question to himself.
Some things were better left unasked.
After arriving, Hancock enthusiastically offered to host a grand banquet in Ryūjin's honor.
Unfortunately for her, Ryūjin wasn't interested.
He had business to handle.
As a result, he declined the invitation and requested that every Haki user on the island be gathered as quickly as possible.
Not long afterward, a large group of women assembled before him.
Rows upon rows of warriors stood at attention.
Many of them possessed varying levels of Haki proficiency.
"Alright."
Ryūjin stepped forward.
"One at a time."
The scene looked rather bizarre.
Almost like an emperor reviewing candidates.
"Next."
A warrior stepped forward.
Bang!
One punch.
She collapsed.
"Next."
Bang!
Another one went down.
"Next."
Bang!
The process repeated endlessly.
One Kuja warrior after another challenged Ryūjin.
One after another, they were defeated.
Watching from the side, Nami slowly developed a strange expression.
"Robin..."
"What is it?"
Robin glanced toward her.
Nami hesitated before speaking.
"Don't you think Ryūjin-san enjoys beating people up a little too much?"
Robin opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
After thinking carefully, she finally answered diplomatically.
"Perhaps he has his reasons."
Within roughly ten minutes, every Haki user gathered by Hancock had already sparred with Ryūjin.
As a result, he successfully harvested numerous Haki rewards.
Individually, each gain was relatively small.
Combined together, however, they became a substantial improvement.
After accomplishing his goal, Ryūjin prepared to leave.
There was no reason to remain any longer.
Following a brief farewell, he departed Amazon Lily and resumed his journey.
Before leaving, however, he captured a genuine Sea King to tow the ship.
The results were immediate.
Their sailing speed increased dramatically.
Only then did Nami finally understand why Ryūjin had specifically made a detour to Amazon Lily despite the urgency of their schedule.
The Sea Kings of the surrounding waters were perfect transportation.
As for his visit to Amazon Lily itself...
Nami still wasn't entirely sure what to make of that.
After handing control of the ship to Crocodile and the others, Ryūjin entered the Kamui Dimension once more.
There, he took out the Mero Mero no Mi obtained from Hancock.
Without hesitation, he absorbed it.
The fruit's power merged into his Yin Release Chakra.
The enhancement wasn't dramatic, but Ryūjin remained satisfied.
Every improvement mattered.
Strength accumulated over time.
Not every Devil Fruit could provide a revolutionary transformation.
If becoming stronger were that easy, power would lose its value.
As for the Haki rewards from Amazon Lily, Ryūjin naturally focused primarily on Observation Haki.
Not every warrior possessed Observation Haki, however.
As a result, he also gained several Armament Haki rewards.
Conqueror's Haki was a different story.
Only Hancock possessed it on the entire island.
Since Ryūjin had chosen the Mero Mero no Mi as his reward from her, he naturally missed the opportunity to obtain her Conqueror's Haki.
After conducting several experiments, Ryūjin discovered that Armament Haki could indeed enhance physical combat to a certain extent.
For him, however, the improvement was practically negligible.
The most useful aspect was probably being able to punch Logia users more conveniently.
Not that they had been particularly difficult to deal with before.
A short while later, Miss Friday approached with fresh intelligence.
"Lord Ryūjin."
"It is being reported throughout the world that Fleet Admiral Sengoku has left Marineford."
"Vice Admiral Garp has also disappeared."
"It is highly likely they departed together."
"Additionally, Kaido and Big Mom attempted to advance toward Marineford but suddenly halted their movements."
"I understand."
Ryūjin nodded.
"You may leave."
Crocodile casually dismissed Miss Friday afterward.
Unlike the rest of the world, Ryūjin already knew where Sengoku and Garp had gone.
They were heading toward the agreed meeting location.
The only curious development involved Kaido and Big Mom.
They had acted aggressively while Sengoku remained at Marineford.
Yet the moment he departed, both Yonko suddenly became cautious.
Naturally, Ryūjin had no way of knowing the real reason.
Kong had appeared.
That was all it took.
He didn't fight.
He didn't make threats.
He simply showed himself.
For pirates from the Rocks era, that alone was enough.
Both Kaido and Big Mom understood exactly how terrifying Kong truly was.
His strength alone commanded respect.
His position commanded even more.
Unlike Sengoku, Kong represented the World Government itself.
The Navy and the World Government were not the same thing.
Pirates occasionally challenged the Navy.
Very few dared challenge the World Government directly.
As a result, the two Yonko chose caution and temporarily remained in a standoff.
Eventually, Ryūjin looked toward Crocodile.
"Crocodile."
"Keep tracking the Yonko."
"Also gather information on the Revolutionary Army."
The request immediately attracted attention.
Kizaru and Aokiji exchanged looks.
"Demon Eye Ryūjin."
Aokiji frowned.
"Are you planning to oppose the World Government?"
If someone like Ryūjin joined the Revolutionary Army, it would become a nightmare scenario.
The consequences would be impossible to predict.
Ryūjin simply shrugged.
"Who knows what the future holds?"
Neither Admiral liked that answer.
Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about it.
Thanks to the newly captured Sea King, the voyage progressed rapidly.
Although the detour to Amazon Lily had cost several days, they still arrived at the designated meeting island a full week ahead of schedule.
Nami carefully examined the map.
Then she nodded confidently.
"Ryūjin-san, this is the place."
Using Observation Haki, Ryūjin immediately scanned the entire island.
It was deserted.
No civilians.
No settlements.
Only a temporary base constructed near the center.
Within it waited Sengoku, Garp, and several accompanying personnel.
"Crocodile."
"Dock the ship."
"Understood, Lord Ryūjin."
Crocodile immediately complied.
After disembarking, the group headed inland.
Kizaru and Aokiji walked in silence.
Nami and Robin followed behind.
Soon, they reached the temporary base.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
One Marine guard hurried inside.
"Demon Eye Ryūjin has arrived!"
Inside the base, Sengoku and Garp simultaneously stood.
Both wore solemn expressions.
Without exchanging many words, they exited together.
Moments later, they saw Ryūjin approaching.
The young man matched every photograph in Marine intelligence records.
There was no mistake.
This was Demon Eye Ryūjin.
Beside him stood Nami.
Robin.
Crocodile.
And the two missing Admirals.
At least Kizaru and Aokiji appeared unharmed.
That much relieved Sengoku slightly.
Still, one absence immediately caught his attention.
Sakazuki was nowhere to be seen.
As the two groups stopped before each other, Ryūjin smiled.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"We finally meet."
Anyone unfamiliar with the situation might have mistaken them for old acquaintances.
Sengoku remained expressionless.
"I can't say I've been looking forward to this meeting."
"That's a shame."
Ryūjin grinned.
"I've been looking forward to it quite a bit."
That statement was entirely genuine.
Sengoku and Garp were both top-tier powerhouses.
For Ryūjin, they represented a tremendous opportunity.
At that moment, Garp stepped forward.
"Demon Eye Ryūjin."
"Where is Sakazuki?"
Without answering verbally, Ryūjin activated Kamui.
The space beside him distorted.
A figure was expelled from the dimension.
It was Akainu.
The moment he regained his freedom, rage exploded across his face.
"You bastard!"
He lunged straight toward Ryūjin.
Bang!
Ryūjin casually kicked him aside.
The Admiral crashed across the ground.
"Demon Eye Ryūjin!"
Garp's expression darkened instantly.
"You've gone too far!"
Without hesitation, he shot forward.
His legendary fist tore through the air.
"Iron Fist Garp?"
Ryūjin laughed.
He stepped forward and met the attack head-on.
Boom!
The two fists collided violently.
Crack!
The unmistakable sound of bone breaking echoed across the island.