"Then I'll take my leave first. By the way, regarding Empress Snake—it's best not to kill her. After all, she's a Shichibukai officially recognized by the World Government. If Mr. Kain still chooses to kill her, the World Government will be even more dissatisfied with you."
Before leaving, Aokiji casually revealed the World Government's stance toward Kain. He then waved and rode off across the sea on his small bicycle.
Before he left, he also took the video recording of the entire event. Kain had given it to him—if he brought it back to Sengoku, at least it would spare him from some nagging.
"The World Government is dissatisfied with me? Did they find Nico Robin?"
Kain was puzzled by Aokiji's words. But Aokiji had no reason to lie, and even an admiral knew about it—so the World Government's attitude must be quite clear within the Marines.
"I've helped the Marines eliminate so many pirates, and even provided them with new weapons to help secure their hold in the New World. And they're still dissatisfied with me?"
Kain suddenly thought of Doflamingo—not so much the World Government, but the Celestial Dragons, the Five Elders... or even the legendary Lord Im?
As he mulled this over, Kain still couldn't figure out their exact intentions. But one thing was certain—he would no longer take the World Government lightly. In his mind, their credibility had already dropped below 10%.
Once Aokiji had vanished into the distance, Nico Robin stepped forward to report:
"All the Snakes pirates have been captured. Every Devil Fruit user has been restrained with double sea prism stone cuffs. Quite a few survived."
Kain nodded as if it were expected. "They're the elites of Amazon Lily, after all. If they used Armament Haki to defend against damage and jumped into the sea quickly, survival is likely. Those who died must have been weak in Haki."
He turned to Robin. "You should also work on your Haki—or develop your Devil Fruit powers. Or… let me examine your body."
Nico Robin interrupted him with a blank expression. "Please don't say pervy things in a serious tone, boss. It's terrifying."
"Hey now," Kain grinned, "people who are shy tend to see things as dirty. I was talking about using scientific methods to help you gain better control over your Devil Fruit abilities. I didn't expect you to twist it. Tsk tsk, so this is the real Robin, huh?"
After laughing a few times, Kain turned and walked off, leaving Nico Robin behind. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to vent her frustration before going to handle the aftermath.
After the public witnessed the power of the God Missile and the P-3 Howitzer, the Kain Chamber of Commerce was flooded with orders.
Pirates couldn't buy directly, of course—but merchants, royals, and other powers were eager to purchase these powerful weapons.
Even if pirates stole them, they would be useless without ammo supplies. At that point, they were just hunks of metal.
Alabasta was the first to respond. King Cobra himself came to Rainbase in slippers and intercepted Kain at the Chamber of Commerce entrance.
In the end, Kain gave him a discount and sold him the Fifth Gate God Missile and Fifth Gate P-3 Howitzer—finally sending the nagging king on his way.
"Big News! Shichibukai Nemesis Strikes Again: The Fall of the Empress?"
Morgans of the World Economic News was thrilled. He documented the entire bombing incident and introduced Kain's weapons—declaring the God Missile and P-3 Howitzer as the world's latest anti-pirate weapons.
He even brought up the first two Shichibukai Kain had taken down and dredged up their past defeats. Crocodile was already dead and no longer a hot topic—but Doflamingo's defeat stirred things up again.
Many pirates, reading the news, began to think: If we beat Doflamingo, maybe we can become Shichibukai too.
The paper quickly spread across the New World.
Two years ago, the Four Emperors saw Kain as a staunch Marine. But now? He looked more like a pirate.
Despite capturing many pirates, Kain had also taken down three Shichibukai. Doflamingo was still alive, but his reputation had been shattered. And Kain's march forward remained steady and unstoppable.
"Kuhahahaha, what a scary kid! The Thunder Fruit has appeared too."
Whitebeard laughed heartily, then asked about Ace:
"Marco, how long has Ace been gone?"
"It's been over two months. Don't worry, Dad—Ace's strength is reliable," Marco replied.
He glanced at the newspaper and added,
"But this new Shichibukai deserves our attention. He's not only powerful, he also wants the Marines to buy a ton of weapons."
"Dad, the Beasts Pirates seem to be eyeing the Kain Chamber of Commerce. That guy has way too many goodies!"
Whitebeard gulped down his drink and let out another loud laugh.
"Kuhahaha! That brat Kaido—I bet he'll suffer a big loss!"
The Beasts Pirates weren't the only ones targeting Kain, but due to various limitations, most couldn't act on their desires. And now, with Kain's strength exposed, particularly his possession of one of the most powerful Logia abilities, 90% of those interested were already reconsidering.
Naval Headquarters
After watching the full video recording, Sengoku didn't bother reprimanding Aokiji for his laziness or for sparing the Snake Empress. Instead, he immediately convened a headquarters meeting to discuss the situation. Even Akainu, who wasn't present, participated remotely.
After seeing the devastation wrought upon the Nine Snake Pirates, no one questioned the destructive power of Kain's new weapons.
However, purchasing in large quantities wasn't straightforward. The Kain Chamber of Commerce wasn't particularly interested in money—Baileys didn't appeal much to him. Instead, he preferred bartering.
Rare metals, Devil Fruits or Demon Fruit powers, famous swords, or even powerful pirates—these were the things Kain valued.
What puzzled Sengoku most was that the Kain Chamber of Commerce also requested the ivory of Jack the Drought from the Beasts Pirates.
That was purely Kain's personal taste. Since he could travel through multiple worlds, few things interested him anymore. In the world of Harry Potter, only magic books caught his eye; in the world of One Piece, it was limited to rare ivory and renowned swords.
Rare metals, famous blades, and Devil Fruits were relatively accessible through Marine influence. But the others? Sengoku couldn't agree so easily.
"Demon fruit power" could only come from either Marines or the pirates imprisoned in Impel Down—and Sengoku couldn't just trade away those prisoners.
As for Jack's ivory, unless the Marines planned a full-scale operation to wipe out the Beasts Pirates, that wasn't happening either.
Kain Chamber of Commerce Holding Cell – Rainbase City
The detention level here was nearly on par with Impel Down. Reinforced with sea prism stone and a special alloy, the cells also had high-voltage electric currents running through every surface—up, down, left, and right—designed to instantly subdue any resistance.
When Boa Hancock was retrieved, her body was scorched black. She was still breathing, but her injuries were critical.
Kain's 100-million-volt (Thunder Eagle) had annihilated nearly half the warriors of the Nine Snake Pirates.
Those who were seriously wounded were injected with a recovery potion before being salvaged—after all, the price of a live captive far exceeded that of a corpse, easily justifying the potion's cost.
Surprisingly, Boa Hancock recovered the fastest—likely due to her strong physique and mastery of Armament Haki. Thanks to the recovery potion, her body bounced back quickly.
"Here it is."
After slowly opening her eyes, Boa Hancock saw a metal ceiling above her. She sat up immediately, only to realize her body felt extremely weak.
"Seastone handcuffs…"
She looked down at the cuffs around her wrists. Memories of what had happened before she lost consciousness came flooding back—artillery fire, falling into the sea, a rescue… and then a terrifying thunderbolt striking from the sky.
She had lost. And lost so miserably, she hadn't even seen her opponent's face.
At that moment, Hancock remembered her granny's warnings. A sudden chill ran down her spine, and instinctively, she reached behind her back—only to find nothing covering it.
It was discovered! Someone saw it!
Panic surged through her. That shameful truth being revealed was even more unbearable than her defeat—it was the one thing she never wanted anyone to know.
Just then, footsteps echoed outside the cell. Hancock looked toward the cell door as a young man approached. The moment she saw him, she instinctively knew—this man was her worst enemy.
"So you're finally awake. I was considering giving you another dose of the recovery potion… Looks like I saved some money."
Kain spoke casually as he sat down in a chair beside her. He took a key from his pocket and tossed it toward her.
"That's the key. But just so you know, I've got a chain lock even stronger than seastone."
Boa Hancock didn't register most of what he said. The moment she had the key, she struggled to unlock the cuffs. Even though the seastone had weakened her, she managed to slip the key into the lock with trembling hands.
Once the cuffs were off, Kain instructed the Red Queen to open the seastone-powered cell door, removing all restraints on her.
"What a foolish man. Letting his enemy out of her cage—what are you thinking?"
Before she could finish her proud declaration, Kain casually tossed a photo in her face.
She peeled it off, and when she saw what was on it, her expression turned as pale as death. Even with the seastone no longer suppressing her, she felt all her strength drain away.
"You saw… my back…"
"Ah, yes. Not only did I see it—I took a picture. I won't lock this door, but if you dare step outside, this photo might just make its way to the World Economic News. Though… your back is quite beautiful, Hancock."
Kain stepped closer with a smirk, gently brushing another copy of the photo against her cheek before continuing:
"Young people shouldn't be so arrogant. Do you really think you can take whatever you want?"
With that, Kain turned and walked away.
The cell door remained open, but Hancock didn't dare move.
After a long silence, soft sobs began to echo from within the cell.
….
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