"Thank you, Rayleigh-san!"
Being able to receive guidance from the Pirate King's right-hand man, the Dark King Rayleigh, was an unexpected joy for everyone.
The charm Rayleigh had shown the day before had already won over the entire crew, Erik most of all. With just a few casual words, Rayleigh had pointed Erik toward a broad and clear path leading to the realm of great swordsmen.
Now that Rayleigh was willing to personally guide them, how could anyone not feel excited and deeply grateful?
At that moment, Flare asked the question she cared about the most.
"What about ingredients on the island? If we're training, we can't do without proper nutrition."
After all, she was the ship's head chef. Making sure everyone's daily meals and nutritional needs were covered was her responsibility.
"Haha, there's no need to worry about that," Rayleigh said with a laugh. "It can't compare to the Gourmet Kingdom where you were born, but because it's in the Calm Belt, the vegetation and wildlife there grow extremely well. Made into dishes, the flavor won't be bad at all. You do need to be careful, though. There are plenty of poisonous plants on the island. Still, with your ship's doctor around, it shouldn't be much of a problem."
As he spoke, Rayleigh glanced at Ayala, the shy-looking young girl.
Ayala immediately tensed up, but she still nodded with confidence.
"Flare-san, leave it to me!"
Flare smiled and rubbed Ayala's head encouragingly.
"Alright, then everyone's meals will be handled by Ayala and me."
After that, she looked out at the calm sea in the distance and spoke again.
"Still, it's really surprising that there are islands in the Calm Belt. I always thought it was nothing but open sea!"
Rayleigh smiled.
"There's more than that. Not only are there islands in the Calm Belt, there are even human kingdoms there."
"H-human kingdoms? You're kidding, right?" Flare exclaimed. "I've heard my dad say that the Calm Belt is the nesting ground of Sea Kings. Can humans really survive there?"
"Of course they can," Rayleigh replied. "In fact, near the island we're heading to, Rusukaina Island, there's another island nearby that's home to a group of extremely powerful female warriors."
"Female warriors!!!"
Those four words, deliberately stressed by Rayleigh, immediately drew everyone's attention.
Rayleigh continued calmly.
"Yes. It's a place known as the Island of Women. Just as the name suggests, it's an island inhabited solely by women."
"Eh… a women-only kingdom?!"
Tiger cried out in surprise. When everyone turned to look at him, he hurriedly explained.
"I've read about it in books before. I thought it was just a legend."
"It's not a legend," Rayleigh said. "The Land of Women truly exists. Its real name is Amazon Lily. The island is home to a matriarchal warrior tribe known as the Kuja. They're natural experts at using Haki. Their current empress, Galahad Anne, even possesses Conqueror's Haki. In terms of strength, she's absolutely no weaker than Young Yemu."
"Eh?! That's amazing! So girls can be that strong too?!"
Flare's eyes lit up at once.
Rayleigh nodded.
"Yes. Girls can become just as strong as boys."
At that moment, Enel, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly asked a very critical question.
"If there are only women, then how do they have children?"
As soon as he said it, everyone froze, then turned their curious gazes toward Rayleigh.
Seeing this, Rayleigh's expression became a little strange. He rubbed his beard thoughtfully.
"Well… Amazon Lily may be a nation, but in a sense, they're also pirates. Many of their warriors leave the Island of Women once they come of age to venture into the outside world, and they only return after becoming pregnant. On top of that, the women of Amazon Lily have a special constitution. They only ever give birth to girls."
"Is that so? That's amazing! I really want to go see it someday!"
Flare blurted it out without thinking. Rayleigh, however, replied with a slightly awkward expression.
"Well… how should I put it. Because it's located in the Calm Belt, Amazon Lily is an extremely closed-off country. If women approach it, there won't be any danger. But as for men… that place strictly forbids males from setting foot there."
Rayleigh didn't finish the rest of the sentence, but everyone clearly understood what he meant.
"Then if we get close, won't we be discovered?"
"There's no need to worry about that," Rayleigh said confidently. "Rusukaina Island lies within the same sea region as the Island of Women, but it's still some distance away from Amazon Lily itself. And because the Island of Women is in the Calm Belt, they've never had to worry about ships entering their waters. They've always had very little vigilance toward the outside world. As long as we don't approach the Island of Women directly, we won't be discovered."
However, the world often had a sense of irony.
Four days later, as the Twin Goddesses sailed slowly across the calm sea, a massive red ship appeared on the horizon, heading straight toward them.
At that moment, even Rayleigh's face showed a hint of awkwardness…
...
On the tranquil sea, the two pirate ships faced each other in a tense standoff.
Compared to the Twin Goddesses, the pirate ship flying crimson sails emblazoned with the characters "Kuja" was truly enormous, easily rivaling a Marine warship in size.
Even when they looked up, no one could clearly see the deck. All they could make out were rows of towering, palace-like buildings rising above it, filled with the mysterious atmosphere of an ancient eastern kingdom.
Along the railings of those buildings stood female warriors of all shapes and builds. Their clothing was simple, yet every one of them looked incredibly strong, gripping a variety of weapons in their hands.
Their eyes were filled with vigilance as they stared fixedly at Yemu and the others, fingers tight around their weapons, as if ready to rush forward and tear them apart the instant they made a wrong move.
Just then, crisp footsteps echoed through the quiet air.
On the spacious second-floor terrace facing the bow, eleven female warriors emerged. They were clearly different from the others, each radiating a fierce and dangerous aura. Tall and short, lean and heavyset, every one of them exuded overwhelming strength.
At the same time, a seductive yet lazy voice rang out.
"So, we meet again, Dark King Rayleigh."
"I believe I told you before that if I ever saw you again in the waters near Kuja, I would kill you."
As her words fell, the eleven warriors parted down the middle.
A ferocious-looking black panther and a vulture that radiated danger slowly stepped forward.
Yet no one paid any attention to those two fearsome beasts.
All eyes were drawn to a single woman.
Seated atop the black panther's back was a woman dressed in a crimson qipao embroidered with golden Kuja patterns. Her long, pale, slender legs swayed lightly as she sat with one leg crossed over the other.
Her long black hair flowed naturally down to her slim waist. On her exquisitely beautiful face, a pair of crimson pupils gazed out coldly. One hand rested against her swan-like, jade-white neck, while the other held a long smoking pipe. Her alluring red lips exhaled clouds of smoke.
"So… so beautiful… such presence…"
At that moment, even Flare, who was confident in her own beauty as a woman, felt her heart completely stolen by this figure.
As if responding to Flare's gaze, the woman, whose every movement radiated an irresistible queenly charm and whose entire being carried a cool, distant air, merely lifted the corner of her lips slightly. That single motion was enough to make Flare's heart start pounding wildly.
Fortunately, Yemu's voice broke the spell and brought everyone back to their senses.
"Rayleigh-san, this must be the Empress of the Island of Women."
"Yes," Rayleigh replied. "She's the ruler of Amazon Lily, the Island of Women I told you about. The current Empress."
"Galahad Anne!!!"