"Blub… Blub… "
It was hard to tell how much time had passed.
Suddenly, the nearby Den Den Mushi started ringing.
With puffed cheeks, Hancock hesitated, her lips parting as if she wanted to speak but then holding back.
After a pause, she stammered: "Luke…"
It was the long-distance Den Den Mushi that Luke had given to the Kuja Pirates, a means to keep the isolated Amazon Lily connected to the outside world. That way, they wouldn't be caught completely off guard if the Marines ever decided to turn against them and come knocking at their door.
"I am Luke!"
Luke raised his eyebrows and connected the Den Den Mushi.
"Ah… Little Luke, you are there too!"
The Den Den Mushi mimicked the face of a short-haired woman who gave off an air of competence. She sounded slightly surprised to hear Luke's voice.
"Shakky, what's the matter? I'm busy right now..."
Luke was not surprised and asked directly.
At the same time, he patted Hancock's head, indicating that the other party should keep working hard.
With his help, the Kuja Pirates maintained stable contact with Shakuyaku, the former Empress of Amazon Lily from two generations ago, who had been living in seclusion under the alias Shakky in the Sabaody Archipelago, making a living as an information broker.
Kuja Pirates often obtained intelligence from her, learning about the changes in the world's situation.
"Young people are full of energy, which makes us old people envy them!"
Shakky understood immediately and teased him.
Luke did not blush and fought back unceremoniously: "If you kick that old man Rayleigh to the curb, I might consider you!"
"After all, I am still very interested in the previous generation empress of the Kuja Tribe…"
"How about we team up and take Rayleigh down? Maybe even trick Red-Hair and the others over so we can take them all out in one go..."
Hearing Luke's blatant teasing.
Hancock, who was working hard on the side, couldn't help but widen her eyes and almost choked.
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Shakky was left speechless, and she rolled her eyes helplessly: "Ah, little Luke, your ambition is exposed. Rayleigh is my man, and he's already retired..."
"Please, don't involve him again!"
She knew very well how terrifying this Luke was and how massive his shadow legion, which was almost everywhere across the seas, gathering intelligence for the Netherworld Pirates.
And he himself can freely shuttle in the shadows, making it difficult to defend against his sudden attack.
If he set his sights on someone, it was practically a death sentence.
"Of course, for Hancock's sake and yours..."
Stroking Hancock's pretty face, Luke said indifferently: "Although I don't expect him to stand on my side, the premise is that he can't hinder me!"
"Alright, you're no fun. The moment I bring up Rayleigh, you use him to threaten me..."
Shakky, through the Den Den Mushi, pouted and said. "But since you're there, I guess I don't need to worry."
"Ahem…"
Hancock on the side coughed dryly, then she skillfully downed the delicious milk Luke handed her.
After carefully wiping her lips, she asked curiously. "Did something important happen outside, Shakky?"
"Well, well, I never expected the usually aloof Hancock to have such a side..."
Hearing those movements, the experienced Shakky instantly understood what was going on.
"Shakky, no matter how much you envy me, I will not agree with you and Luke!"
Having been guided and trained by Luke, Hancock had long since let go of her emotional burdens. She was no longer the cold woman on the outside, fragile on the inside, as she once was.
Now, she was just as domineering as ever, completely unfazed by the teasing.
Seeing how much Hancock had changed from her past self, Luke smiled.
As expected of women from Amazon Lily, she's fierce and fearless.
"Hehe, you've been corrupted by Little Luke, Hancock..."
Shakky surrendered and changed the topic.
"Jack the Ripper, who had just accepted the invitation of the World Government and became the new member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea a year ago, was killed by Byrnndi World. Luke, you should have known about this, right?"
"I haven't had time to tell Hancock about this…"
Luke said with a smile.
No way, after not seeing him for a long time, Hancock had been too enthusiastic.
"What's wrong? Is there any problem?" Hancock didn't care
Just an insignificant little character.
Even among the Seven Warlords, there was a clear power gap between them.
Especially in the past two years, she has been practicing unremittingly at Luke's request. She often sparred with Luke and had followed him to the New World many times.
Without using her Devil Fruit powers, she had battled formidable zombie kings and fought against ruthless criminals from the deepest levels of Impel Down to hone her skills.
During this time, she was also injected with a genetic enhancement serum developed by the Germa research team, significantly enhancing her physical abilities.
Having already been exceptionally talented, strong enough to be invited as a Warlord of the Sea at just eighteen, Hancock had originally been held back by her responsibility to protect Amazon Lily, keeping her in the relatively safe first half of the Grand Line.
This meant she had rarely fought truly powerful opponents, leading to stagnation in her growth.
But now, she has broken through those limits.
With Luke's relentless training and the cheat-like power of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, her mastery of Haki had made tremendous progress.
Not only had she learned how to infuse her attacks with Conqueror's Haki like Yamato, but her physical combat skills had also reached a whole new level.
She could easily crush her past self.
And with the broken abilities of the Love-Love Fruit…
She wasn't even afraid of an Admiral.
That so-called Jack the Ripper? Not even worth her time.
Among the Warlords, the only one she truly respected was Hawk Eyes, the world's strongest swordsman and former Marine Hunter.
"I just got word, Byrnndi World isn't just after the Warlords..."
Shakky didn't keep them in suspense.
"He plans to declare war on the World Government. Not long ago, he used the exaggerated powers of the More-More Fruit to fly to Marine Base G-3 and wipe it out!"
"The World Government has already issued a summons for the Seven Warlords, preparing to take down the World Pirates… I believe someone will contact you soon!"
Luke, on the side, did not care.
Robin's intelligence network had already informed him of all this.
He had specifically traveled back from the New World for this matter.
If Byrnndi World was truly seeking his own demise, Luke wouldn't mind acquiring the More-More Fruit.
"Seven warlords call? I won't help them!"
Hancock snorted coldly and said unceremoniously. "The problem is, even if you don't go looking for trouble, trouble will come looking for you..."
Shakky, understanding Hancock's personality, didn't try to persuade her.
Instead, she continued. "That guy wants to force the World Government to gather the Seven Warlords and then wipe them out in one go!"
"Hmph! Just because he killed a mere Jack the Ripper doesn't mean all the Warlords are weaklings. What an arrogant fool..."
Hancock snorted. She was extremely confident in her own strength. Even such a strong man would be petrified so easily by the power of the Love-Love Fruit.
With her Haki and physical skills alone, she was not afraid of Byrnndi World, the World Destroyer.
"Well, can you blame him? It's all because of your dear Luke; he completely shattered the credibility of the Warlords as a major power in the Grand Line."
Shakky sighed.
"First, he easily took down Gecko Moria and Donquixote Doflamingo. After that, the world naturally started seeing the Warlords as nothing special. At least, that's how the big-time pirates view them now."