Chapter 346: Occupy the Devil's Triangle
With her eyes reddened, Hancock stood at the side of the ship, watching the Fearless leave, her left hand rubbing the hard ring on her ring finger.
"Sister," her younger sister, Boa Sandasonia, called out with concern.
"Mm?"
"Well..." Boa Marigold was at a loss for words, the familiar language turning into strange, unfamiliar words, collectively blocking up her vocal cords.
"Don't worry about me." Hancock turned her head and smiled, "Eric and I have made an agreement."
"He will definitely, definitely come back for me..." She tightened her grip on the ring, her knuckles turning white from the force.
Charming, sweet, pure, dignified—all the words that describe a woman's grace and beauty came together, yet none could fully describe Hancock's smile at this moment.
Though she hadn't used the Sweet Sweet Fruit's powers, the warriors of the Kuja tribe were all turned to stone.
"Snake Queen, you are so beautiful!"
...
"Eric, what did you say to Hancock?" Akame asked curiously. "Why is she crying and laughing at the same time?"
"I didn't say anything," Eric answered. "We just made an agreement."
"An agreement?"
"We agreed that I'll come back to pick her up," Eric said, glancing back at the Kuja pirate ship, which was gradually being swallowed by the sea, before turning to walk into the cabin.
In the cabin, Kurumi was the first to approach, flaring her delicate nostrils and sniffing lightly. "Hmm..."
"What... what?" Eric took a step back.
"You've gotten quite a bit of Hancock's scent on you." Kurumi tilted her head with a mischievous smile. "You and Hancock were hugging all the time in the meeting room, weren't you?"
"…Mm," Eric nodded in acknowledgment.
Kurumi's smile faded, and she sharply elbowed Eric. He braced himself for a hard hit but was surprised when the seemingly forceful elbow only lightly brushed his abdomen.
"Come on, at least lie to me." Kurumi pouted. "You know this will make me angry."
"I don't want to lie to you," Eric opened his arms and hugged the playful Kurumi. "When I see something I like, I want it. I guess that's just a man's nature."
"Hmph." Kurumi snorted in Eric's arms, her thumb and index finger tracing around his abdomen, considering where to pinch him.
After thinking for a moment, she gave up, and the two quietly enjoyed the brief, peaceful moment in the embrace.
The Devil's Triangle is an area always shrouded in thick fog, and the calm sea is broken by the steel warships.
"We're back again, to the Devil's Triangle..." Perona said softly, somewhat emotional.
The surroundings were completely covered in white mist, filling every inch of space. The sunlight couldn't penetrate, and the thick fog obscured the view, giving the environment a rather gloomy atmosphere.
"Ugh, it's so creepy here!" Porgy complained, feeling uncomfortable.
"This place is perfect!" Perona and Porgy, usually playful together, immediately began to argue.
Their arguing voices echoed over the empty sea, masking the sound of flapping wings.
"Who goes there?" Erza , the guard on duty during the day, immediately spotted the newcomers.
"Is she a new member?" A deep voice seemed to lower the temperature by a few degrees.
"Probably." An even colder voice came from above.
Two figures landed on the deck, one carrying a money box, wrapped in a black trench coat, with a dark mask obscuring his face.
The other had black wings sprouting from his back, Ulquiorra, with his emotionless green eyes, stared at the Fairy Queen in front of him.
"Not going to answer?" Erza frowned, drawing her sword.
"Wait, wait!" Perona and Porgy quickly ran over to stop them. "They're also our companions!"
"Really..." Erza sheathed her weapon and extended her right hand. "Sorry, I just joined the Dawn Pirates a month ago."
"...?" Ulquiorra silently extended his right hand and asked, "Where is Eric?"
"I'm here." Eric appeared on the deck, patting the shoulders of the two newcomers. "It's been a few months, how has life been on the road alone?"
"Aside from a shortage of crew and the occasional sinking, nothing much else."
"Sinking is serious, you know!"
"Luckily this guy can fly. Otherwise, the unpredictable weather on the Grand Line would have been a real challenge," Kakuzu gestured towards Ulquiorra with his thumb, handing the money box to Eric. "This is half the bounty for capturing the wanted criminals, a total of 400 million Beli."
"Good work." Eric happily took the box, grinning. "I won't forget what you did!"
Kakuzu rolled his eyes. "That sounds like you're saying I'm dead."
"Eric, you called us here to gather for what reason?" Ulquiorra asked, getting straight to the point.
"Oh!" Eric slapped his forehead, finally remembering. "We've got a big ship here, it can serve as your flagship."
"Big ship?" Kakuzu spread his hands. "Without a skilled navigator, even a big ship will still sink in the Grand Line."
"But you'll need to recruit more crew," Eric shrugged. "This ship isn't something one or two people can handle."
"We've recruited some pirates during this time," Ulquiorra's voice was as calm as water. "But after a few sinking incidents, most of the crew died."
Eric: "..."
"There's still a few left," Kakuzu continued. "They're on a pirate ship not far from here. We didn't want to bring them over."
Eric glanced between the two, "Looks like your relationship has gotten pretty close after a few months together."
"Hmph."
At that moment, Scáthach and the others walked out of the cabin.
"Thank you, Master."
Scáthach extended her right hand and chanted, "The door to the realm of death!"
A huge black hole appeared in the sky, and with a loud boom, an island-sized object passed through the hole, falling into the sea and splashing a massive wave.
The dense water mist dispersed, and when they focused their eyes, they saw, "Is this... a ship?"
"Yes," Eric said, introducing, "The Terrifying Three-Mast Ship. From now on, you two will take care of it."
"The Terrifying Three-Mast Ship..." Perona gazed at it with nostalgic eyes, her shimmering gaze telling the stories of countless past events. Porgy reached out and gently placed her arm around Perona's shoulder.
"Recruit enough crew, use the Terrifying Three-Mast Ship as your base, and take control of the entire Devil's Triangle, waiting to catch passing pirates."
Kakuzu nodded in agreement. "A ship this size won't be unstable. Honestly, the long-term life at sea has been quite uncomfortable."
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Johanssen10