"Wait, who's marrying who?"
At the top floor of the main tower on Amazon Lily, Sanders lay lazily on a couch. His face was flushed from drink, and his entire body had a woozy, relaxed air.
He was holding a Den Den Mushi in one hand, and upon hearing King's words, his eyes flew wide open in disbelief.
Leaning shyly into his arms was Boa Hancock, dressed in a purple qipao embroidered with floral patterns. Her jade-like fingers gently pinched a piece of fruit, which she had been feeding into Sanders' mouth one by one.
But as soon as she heard King's voice from the Den Den Mushi…
Hancock's expression instantly darkened.
The fruit in her hand froze mid-air.
"Lord Kaido has a daughter in her twenties," King explained succinctly.
"He intends to arrange a political marriage between her and Mr. Sanders."
Oh. Yamato, huh.
Hearing that, Sanders instantly sobered up.
The image of Yamato popped into his mind:
Twin horns, sweet face, tall figure...
A type he hadn't exactly "sampled" before.
But Kaido, that guy—
Why would he suddenly want to marry his "son" off to Sanders?
After all, publicly Kaido treated that son like punching practice.
Even strapped explosive handcuffs on her.
But deep down—
Did Kaido really want to kill Yamato?
Sanders didn't think so.
With Kaido's strength, he could've killed Yamato with a single swing when she was a child.
Yamato had rebelled countless times, and yet she was still alive and kicking.
Those explosive cuffs?
Might as well have been toys.
She had all three types of Haki, could use Advanced Conqueror's Haki, and wielded a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit.
If such a person died from a pair of handcuffs, it'd be downright laughable.
To Sanders, Kaido was like a dad who had no idea how to raise kids—
Using only what he understood as parenting.
Kaido grew up without parents himself—
His brain just didn't work the same as normal people's.
Not really surprising.
Even Garp raised Luffy in a "violent" way.
If Yamato didn't have her obsession with becoming Kozuki Oden, maybe Kaido would just seem like a really harsh dad.
As all those thoughts flooded his mind, Sanders suddenly felt a sharp pain at his waist.
Looking down—
He saw Hancock, face as dark as thunder, glaring straight at him.
Danger alerts blared in his head.
He quickly cleared his throat, trying to cover up:
"Ahem, let's talk about the marriage thing... later."
Though Sanders wasn't particularly opposed to the idea of a political marriage—
He politely declined, mostly because Hancock was right beside him.
Damn Kaido.
If he wanted to set up a marriage, why not say so ahead of time?
Now Hancock was sitting here looking ready to blow up.
Sure enough, when Sanders gave his vague rejection, Hancock's expression softened slightly.
She picked up a fruit and stuffed it into his mouth.
"I understand. I'll report everything to Lord Kaido as is," King said from the Den Den Mushi.
He wasn't surprised by Sanders' rejection at all.
In fact, he had anticipated this before even setting off.
Or rather—
The chance of Sanders refusing was far higher than accepting.
No one would agree to a political marriage so hastily before even meeting the other party.
And besides, Sanders himself was one of the strongest beings in the world—he probably didn't care for such things as political marriages in the first place.
King paused for two seconds, then changed the topic slightly:
"Lord Kaido's meaning is this—if Mr. Sanders doesn't agree to the marriage, then Lady Yamato will still stay with the Thunder God Pirates for a period of time."
The marriage was purely Kaido's wishful thinking.
If it worked out—great. If not—no big deal.
What Kaido really wanted was to change Yamato's way of thinking.
After all, how could the "son" of Kaido of the Beasts be idolizing a dead enemy like Kozuki Oden?
"Huh?"
Sanders was a little puzzled.
Was Kaido… planning to dump his daughter on him?
Still, freeloading a commander-level powerhouse? Sanders saw no reason to refuse.
Just as he was about to agree, King continued:
"Lady Yamato staying with the Thunder God Pirates will serve as a bridge between the two crews."
"At the same time, we hope that Mr. Sanders… might help guide her a little."
To Kaido, Yamato idolizing Whitebeard or even Sanders would be better than her obsession with Kozuki Oden.
If being around Sanders could reframe her ideology, even if it meant she'd turn on him someday—so be it.
And who knows?
Spending time together might even allow that marriage talk to come back around.
Feelings take time to grow, after all.
"Alright."
Sanders agreed without much thought.
Even though Hancock was now pinching the soft flesh of his waist with a dark expression, he didn't care.
Refusing a free powerhouse like that?
He'd have to be brain-dead.
On the other end, King let out a sigh of relief.
Being able to offload Yamato already meant this trip was more than halfway successful.
"I'll leave a Den Den Mushi behind for future contact between the two crews."
King added, then stepped aside, indicating that his business was concluded.
"Captain, if there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."
"Oh, right. Marco is here too."
Issho, still holding the Den Den Mushi, informed Sanders of Marco's arrival.
"Marco too?"
Sanders raised an eyebrow.
Damn. The second-in-commands of two Yonko crews bumping into each other in Dressrosa—right after clashing, no less?
Good thing Issho was present.
Otherwise, Dressrosa might already be in ruins.
"I'll leave the territory handover to you, doc."
"Also, take care of Yamato. I'll be back soon."
With that, Sanders ended the call.
The moment the Den Den Mushi clicked off—
Sanders immediately cried out,
a pained expression appearing on his face.
Hancock was twisting the soft flesh on his waist with her fingers.
"Stop, stop!"
"I didn't agree to the marriage, did I? Why are you still doing this?"
Sanders pretended to be overwhelmed and begged for mercy.
"Then why did you still let that person stay?"
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Hancock's expression darkened.
She felt like her position was being slightly threatened.
Sanders was her future husband—
No one was allowed to steal him.
Not even the daughter of Kaido of the Beasts!
"Hehe, I only took a liking to Yamato's combat ability."
Sanders quickly explained.
He swore on his life—
He hadn't even seen Yamato in person.
"Combat ability?"
A look of doubt covered Hancock's beautiful face.
She had never even heard of this person.
If Kaido's daughter was really that powerful, she would have already made a name for herself on the seas.
How could she still be unknown in her twenties?
Sanders quickly explained Yamato's situation in more detail.
After hearing it, Hancock's expression eased slightly.
"As expected of Kaido of the Beasts—
He and his daughter both have screws loose in the head."
Sanders nodded in agreement.
Exactly.
If either one of them had a properly working brain,
none of this would be happening right now...
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T/N:
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