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_[Cover Story Serial · Big News 6 · “Can I exchange this… for some old newspapers?”]_
_[South Blue. An old man wearing a pointed hat returns to his vehicle, a basket resembling a small boat hanging beneath a balloon. The basket is connected to the ground by a chain. As the old man looks up, he sees a newsbird, smartly dressed, perched on his “boat.” Upon his return, the bird flaps its wings and flies down to him, eagerly offering the latest edition of the newspaper for sale…]_
—
“Don’t run!”
A black-haired girl shouted as she chased, continuously drawing her bow and releasing arrows.
One arrow after another flew out.
Each one is entwined with Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki).
Like most female warriors on this island, she used Busoshoku Haki not by hardening the arrows, but by flowing the Haki around them like a stream of air. When the arrow hit its target, it would unleash explosive force.
However, every one of Hancock’s arrows was effortlessly dodged by the strange black shadow she was pursuing, leaving her quietly frustrated.
What exactly is that thing? Hancock focused harder, sharpening her Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki). The shadow became slightly clearer in her vision.
“Is it a person? Or… armor?” she wondered. “Could it actually be a ghost?”
“The arrows are powerful, yes, but they’re still just arrows.
“The movement is obvious, the speed average, and the trajectory easy to predict.”
Liam sat in Stand City Fortress, calmly analyzing. “At this point, I could probably dodge bullets, let alone a few arrows.”
Whoosh, Whoosh, Whoosh!
Suddenly, Kuja warriors appeared on the rooftops on either side of the street. Trained in unison, they drew their snake bows, and a rain of arrows came pouring down.
“Reinforcements have arrived,” Robin said, her voice tinged with anxiety.
She wanted to use her Hana Hana no Mi (Flower-Flower Fruit) to help.
If she could make arms grow from their snake bows…
Even if these female warriors were well-trained and not easily disrupted, she could at least interfere with their “bows.”
Those snake bows were made from the taut bodies of living creatures—snakes. Robin figured that if she could make flowers sprout and grab the snakes’ heads, the bows would at least be useless for a while.
But Liam stopped her.
It wasn’t because he was worried that using the Hana Hana no Mi (Flower-Flower Fruit) would reveal Robin’s identity.
This isolated Kuja Island, and the women of Amazon Lily, might not even know who Nico Robin was.
Liam said, “Calm down. Not all of them are proficient in Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki).”
Robin paused and realized that the rain of arrows from the Kuja warriors on the rooftops wasn’t as precise as it seemed.
Some arrows were way off the mark—it was clear that the archers hadn’t really locked onto the position of ‘B.I.B.’
“This is just ridiculous… Are they shooting to give us a grand send-off?” Liam quipped from within the fortress. Outside, ‘B.I.B.’ seemed like a ghost, effortlessly dodging the rain of Busoshoku Haki-infused arrows as it raced toward the Kuja City walls.
The Kuja warriors, in groups, continued their relentless pursuit.
Realizing that the strange shadow was too quick and elusive, the Kuja warriors, in an effort to conserve arrows, began picking up stones from the ground and hurling them at the shadow.
They could entwine their Haki around arrows.
Naturally, they could also wrap it around stones.
Whoosh, Whoosh, Whoosh!
Unlike the arrows fired from their snake bows, the stones hurled by the female warriors with their incredible arm and wrist strength were even faster!
The stones enveloped in the flowing power of Busoshoku Haki, sliced through the air with a sharp whistle.
If ‘B.I.B.’ were hit by one of these fierce stones, it would surely suffer serious damage.
“Playing dodgeball now? So enthusiastic!” Liam chuckled from within the fortress. ‘B.I.B.’ had fully copied his abilities, so if ‘B.I.B.’ couldn’t dodge the stones, Liam himself wouldn’t have fared any better.
Inside Kuja City, the dispersed girls were spreading the word, alerting others to the presence of an unknown enemy intruding into their country. They were also helping to evacuate the area to give the warriors more space to fight without being hindered.
“An enemy intrusion?”
“How surprising…”
“Do they have any idea what they’re getting into, messing with Kuja Pirates?”
The gathered women paid attention to the situation, but there wasn’t much worry in their voices. They even started chatting and laughing, placing bets on what the intruder might be.
Some guessed it was a pirate.
Others thought it might be someone who drifted into the Calm Belt and managed to survive.
Some even suggested it could be a strange beast of some kind.
But the overwhelming majority— around ninety percent of the women— bet that it was a man.
“I’ve never seen a man before! I hope it’s a man,” One woman said, full of curiosity.
“Don’t be foolish. If it’s a man, he’ll be executed immediately according to our laws by the Snake Princess,” Another woman retorted.
Meanwhile, some of the older women who had sailed on Kuja pirate ships outside the Calm Belt reminisced, clicking their tongues and remarking, “Ah, the taste of men… it’s something else.”
Curious younger girls asked, “Why is it forbidden for men to enter our country?”
“Because men are dirty, ugly, and vile creatures!” A stern voice interrupted.
The women looked over and quickly said, “Lady Suzuran!”
The elderly former regent of the previous Emperor, Suzuran, walked over, her wrinkled old face dark with anger as she scolded, “The previous Emperor was killed by a despicable man! Remember this well: never trust men…”
Her voice grew more furious as she spoke, as though reliving painful memories. She shook with rage.
Rumor had it that Lady Suzuran was very close to the late Emperor… The woman kept silent, not daring to provoke her any further.
Meanwhile, the young girls watched the graceful Kuja warriors chasing after the intruder across the rooftops, admiration in their eyes. “The Guardian Warriors are so cool… I wish I could be as strong as them.”
Someone enviously said to Sandersonia, the green-haired second sister, “Your elder sister Hancock is amazing too, not losing to the warriors at all!”
The orange-haired third sister, Marigold, chimed in, “Of course she is, she’s our elder sister!”
Sandersonia nodded proudly. Their elder sister was the strongest.
—
Still in pursuit, Hancock leaped onto a rooftop.
Bowing her snake bow and nocking a wooden arrow.
Like the calmest of warriors, she placed the last arrow from her quiver onto the snake bow and drew it back effortlessly.
Her sharp black eyes, seemingly able to see through everything, locked onto the shadow dancing between the arrows raining down.
For a moment…
She saw a shadow split off from the main figure.
“That’s where you’re going to dodge!”
Thwack, the arrow was released.
Just as ‘B.I.B.’ dodged another dangerous Haki-infused arrow and tried to steady itself, it noticed a new arrow flying toward it, so close it almost brushed against its dark armor.
Its glowing white eyes lifted, looking toward the rooftop where the black-haired girl stood, snake bow still in hand.
Got it!
Hancock lowered her snake bow with a confident smile.
The other Kuja warriors thought that no matter what the shadow was, the battle was over.
Just as they were about to praise Hancock for the perfect shot…
The Busoshoku Haki surrounding the arrow began to shrink the moment it got close to ‘B.I.B.’’s armor.
At the point where the arrowhead touched, the surface of the armor suddenly opened up a portal.
The Arrow of Time…
Liam watched as the arrow shot into ‘B.I.B.’, passing through the fortress within. He bent and twisted, watching it closely as the arrow narrowly missed him.
Liam resisted the urge to touch the Haki surrounding the arrow, letting it fly across the fortress and straight out of the other wall through a newly opened hole on the opposite side.
(End Of Chapter)
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