Chapter 200 (Patreon)

“Are you ready to admit defeat?”

Mihawk looked down at Hancock with an unreadable expression.

She was still sitting among her fallen crew after being kicked across the deck. The high slit of her soaked dress had shifted during the impact, leaving her in a far more exposed position than she realized.

Mihawk slowly returned Nemesis to its sheath.

The sight made Hancock’s dark-blue eyes narrow.

His sword might have been sheathed, but the pressure surrounding him had not weakened at all. His stance remained flawless, and the sharp presence he gave off made her skin prickle.

Hancock’s Observation Haki screamed a warning.

It was not true future sight, yet every outcome she could sense ended the same way. If she resisted, Mihawk’s sword would leave its sheath before she could stop him.

She would fall.

The Kuja ship would be cut apart.

Was this Conqueror’s Haki pushed to its highest level?

Was he one of the rulers standing at the summit—the kind of person that old woman Gloriosa had once warned her about?

Hancock looked at Sandersonia and Marigold lying unconscious nearby, then at the rest of her fallen crew.

Frustration tightened around her heart.

She hated men. Her pride would normally never allow her to lower her head before one.

But that arrogance was also a shield she had created to hide the shame and terror of her past.

Now, for the sake of her sisters and her people, she was forced to put it aside.

Hancock lowered her head.

“I... admit defeat.”

She still possessed the strength to continue fighting.

Hancock was a wielder of Conqueror’s Haki and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Her mastery of the Love-Love Fruit made her dangerous even among the strongest pirates in Paradise.

Combined with her natural beauty, her charm could overwhelm even experienced Marines. Vice Admiral Momonga had only resisted petrification by stabbing his own hand and using the pain to suppress his desire.

Her physical attacks were even more dangerous.

Anything struck by her kicks could be partially petrified and shattered. Against most opponents, a single clean hit was enough to cripple or kill them.

Yet Hancock could not bring herself to resist Mihawk.

His Conqueror’s Haki made one thing unmistakably clear: he was not merely someone born with the disposition of a king. He had mastered that power to a level only a handful of the strongest could reach.

A will like his would never yield to something as simple as charm.

Worse, his Haki carried a killing intent so dense that it revealed just how many lives he had taken despite his youth.

Faced with the choice between survival and a proud death, Hancock chose to live.

Not for herself, but for her sisters and Amazon Lily.

“Smart choice,” Mihawk said.

The crushing pressure filling the ship gradually disappeared.

Mihawk gestured toward Hinata, who was still floating above the sea, then looked back at Hancock.

“Wake a few of your people. After that, bring me everything valuable aboard this ship.”

Hancock’s expression stiffened.

Ever since escaping from Mary Geoise, she had sworn never to bow to another person’s commands.

Her teeth caught her lower lip.

In the end, however, she nodded.

Hancock moved over to her sisters and crouched beside them.

“Sandersonia. Marigold.”

She shook them firmly while calling their names.

“Sister...?”

Sandersonia slowly opened her eyes.

Marigold woke beside her, looking equally disoriented.

The two sisters stared at Hancock for a moment, still struggling to understand what had happened.

“The battle is over,” Hancock said. “Come with me.”

Those words immediately brought their memories back.

Their expressions changed as they looked toward Mihawk.

After remembering the suffocating pressure that had overwhelmed them, neither dared to make a sudden move. They silently followed Hancock into the cabin.

A short while later, the three sisters returned carrying several wooden chests and heavy sacks.

They placed everything before Mihawk and Hinata.

Gold, jewelry, weapons, and other valuables soon formed a small mound on the deck.

“That is everything of value aboard this ship,” Hancock said, meeting Mihawk’s gaze without lowering her own. “What else do you want?”

Mihawk did not even look at the treasure.

“Hinata.”

He glanced toward her and gave a slight gesture.

Hinata understood immediately.

“Yes.”

She stepped forward and raised her right hand.

A silver-white spirit sphere formed above her palm.

“Sister!”

Sandersonia and Marigold sensed danger and moved to stand in front of Hancock.

Before either could take a second step, an immense gravitational force descended upon them.

Their bodies froze in place.

It felt as though invisible restraints had bound every limb.

Hancock stared at the spirit sphere in Hinata’s hand.

After a moment, she slowly closed her eyes.

“So this is it...”

Her voice was calm, despite her exhaustion.

“I lost, so I’ll accept whatever punishment you choose. But if you intend to kill me, spare my sisters and the people of Amazon Lily. They have nothing to do with this.”

Hinata’s expression softened.

Seeing Hancock place her sisters before herself reminded her of the bond she shared with Hanabi.

“Don’t worry,” Hinata said gently. “It will only take a moment.”

She pressed the silver-white spirit sphere against Hancock’s chest.

The sphere flowed into her body without leaving a wound.

Hancock’s eyes flew open.

A moment later, her beautiful face went blank.

The light disappeared from her eyes as though her consciousness had been pulled somewhere far away.

“Sister!”

“What are you doing to her?!”

Sandersonia and Marigold screamed as they struggled against the force restraining them.

Their efforts changed nothing.

The same gravitational power could drag meteorites down from the sky. There was no possibility of the two sisters breaking free through physical strength alone.

Mihawk watched with his arms folded, showing no intention of interfering.

Hinata’s hand passed into Hancock’s body alongside the spirit sphere as though both had become intangible.

After several moments, she slowly withdrew it.

The sphere reappeared in her palm.

Images flickered across its surface one after another, displaying scenes from Hancock’s life like fragments of a film.

The spirit sphere gradually shrank before sinking into Hinata’s palm.

Its contents flowed into her mind.

From a third-person perspective, Hinata began searching through Hancock’s memories.

Ten minutes later, her awareness returned to the deck.

Hancock remained conscious, but the technique had drained much of her mental energy. She sat weakly with her lips parted, struggling to steady her breathing.

Hinata looked at her, and a trace of pity appeared in her eyes.

After witnessing Hancock’s memories—especially what she and her sisters had endured as children—it was impossible for Hinata to feel nothing.

She returned to Mihawk’s side and whispered what she had learned into his ear.

Mihawk listened quietly before giving a slight nod.

“Let’s go.”

Hinata raised one hand.

The chests and sacks of treasure floated from the deck under the pull of her gravity.

Before leaving, she looked back at the three Boa sisters and offered them a gentle smile.

“Wait...”

Hancock’s weakened voice stopped them.

Mihawk turned and looked at her without speaking.

Hancock forced herself to raise her head.

“Why didn’t you kill me?”

Sweat ran down her forehead and along the side of her face. Despite her exhaustion, stubborn pride still burned in her eyes.

Mihawk gave a quiet, dismissive laugh.

“Why would I?”

He glanced at her before continuing.

“After that little performance earlier, I couldn’t take you seriously enough to be angry. Adults don’t hold grudges against children throwing tantrums.”

Hinata’s gravity lifted both of them into the air.

“You arrogant man...!”

Hancock bit her lower lip hard.

“I will never forget this!”

Her furious gaze remained fixed on Mihawk as he and Hinata flew back toward their ship.

His words sounded as though he had found her charm entertaining, but Hancock understood the insult behind them.

The attacks of the Kuja Pirates, her authority as Empress of Amazon Lily, her strength as a Warlord, and even the beauty praised throughout the world—

Mihawk had dismissed all of it as nothing more than a child’s tantrum.