"Empress of the Kuja, please don't misunderstand."
In the end, it was Rayleigh who had brought everyone here. Although it was undeniably unlucky that they had somehow run straight into a Kuja pirate ship, Rayleigh still stepped forward. He looked up at the many female warriors on the crimson ship, as well as Empress Galahad Anne herself, and calmly explained.
"Our destination isn't the Island of Women. We're heading to Rusukaina Island."
Galahad Anne's voice was as languid and seductive as ever.
"Rusukaina? That's a very dangerous island, isn't it? Dark King Rayleigh, what business do you have going there?"
Rayleigh shifted slightly and gestured toward Yemu beside him, as well as the Sky Pirates behind him.
"These are some friends of mine. I'm taking them there to train. The harsh environment is well suited for them."
Galahad Anne's cold, emotionless eyes swept over every member of the Sky Pirates. Her sensual lips pressed together lightly, gleaming with an enticing sheen.
"Sorry. I refuse."
Rayleigh didn't get angry.
"Empress of the Kuja, Rusukaina Island doesn't seem to belong to Amazon Lily, does it?"
But Galahad Anne merely smiled with amusement.
"So what if it doesn't?"
Sometimes, when a woman decided to be unreasonable, there was simply nothing you could do about it. Especially when that woman was both beautiful and powerful.
Even Rayleigh felt a headache coming on.
Just then, Yemu spoke up.
"Rayleigh-san, leave it to me."
Rayleigh looked at Yemu in surprise, only to see him reach out and pat Flare on the head.
Flare, who had been completely absorbed in Galahad Anne's beauty and presence, snapped out of it at once and shouted at Yemu in annoyance.
"You idiot! Why did you hit me?"
"It's nothing," Yemu replied casually. "Just letting you know not to get jealous later."
Flare froze, utterly confused.
"Jealous… jealous of what…?"
But Yemu was already moving. He leapt into the air, his body arcing straight toward the crimson pirate ship.
Seeing this, Rayleigh seemed to understand Yemu's intention and could only smile wryly.
He wanted to warn him that this woman was extremely dangerous, but it was clearly already too late.
On the Kuja pirate ship, the moment the warriors saw Yemu leap toward them, they exploded with fury.
"A man! Get off our pirate ship!!!"
"Fire!"
Countless arrows wrapped in Haki shot toward Yemu. He merely raised his palm, and an invisible barrier appeared, knocking every arrow away.
"Oh?"
Galahad Anne's gaze remained as cold as ever.
"Not bad."
At the same time, Yemu landed steadily on the deck.
In an instant, the female warriors of the Kuja Pirates surged forward, weapons raised, surrounding Yemu tightly.
Yemu said nothing. Encircled by hostile warriors, he simply began walking forward at an unhurried pace.
Watching him stride ahead as if no one else existed, the surrounding warriors grew even angrier.
The eleven powerful warriors guarding Galahad Anne immediately stepped forward, positioning themselves at their Empress's sides and raising their weapons.
If this man hadn't been a friend of the Dark King Rayleigh, they would have already torn him to pieces.
But even for the Kuja warriors, who had long lived in isolation on the Island of Women, the name Dark King Rayleigh carried a thunderous weight.
"Halt, 'man'!!! Take one more step forward, and even if you're the Dark King Rayleigh's friend, don't blame us for taking action!"
Yemu didn't push his luck any further. After all, he was already close enough.
So, under the slightly stunned gazes of the surrounding female warriors, he casually sat down on the deck without any guard up, wearing the same relaxed expression as before. From below, he looked up at the ruler of this nation, the Empress of this generation, Galahad Anne.
This move left the female warriors at a complete loss.
Since he was a friend of the Dark King Rayleigh and clearly showed no intent to become an enemy, they didn't dare act on their own. All they could do was turn their eyes toward their Empress and wait for her command.
At that moment, however, their Empress showed no intention of making a move either. She sat there lazily, looking intrigued, her slender arms propping up her delicate head as her long pinky traced lightly across her red lips.
And so, time slowly passed…
The surrounding female warriors had no idea what to do and could only stand there awkwardly, guarding their Empress.
Meanwhile, aboard the Twin Goddesses, everyone watching the scene was just as confused.
"Th-this… what's going on?"
Flare wanted to ask more, but Rayleigh stopped her.
"Don't rush it. Since Yemu plans to handle this himself, we just need to trust him. As for you, Flare…"
Flare froze. What did this have to do with her?
"Just like Yemu said, I hope you won't get jealous later on. Wahaha…"
Flare was completely dumbfounded.
And so, no one knew how much time passed.
The two seemed locked in a silent standoff, staring at each other, neither willing to speak first.
Until Yemu's voice slowly rang out.
"Being alive really is a wonderful thing."
The sudden, out-of-place remark left everyone momentarily stunned, but they quickly understood.
"Being able to witness such a beautiful sight… no matter how long I look, it never feels like enough."
At this point, even an idiot would know that the "beautiful sight" he was talking about was none other than their Empress.
"You bastard! That kind of sweet talk won't work on Lady Anne!"
"Lady Anne's beauty is something even women can't resist!"
…
Galahad Anne's gaze never changed. She watched Yemu with a teasing look at the corner of her lips, as if waiting to see what other ridiculous trick this little man might pull.
Then, unexpectedly, Yemu suddenly took a deep breath, stood up, turned around, and leapt back onto the Twin Goddesses.
"Eh?!"
Everyone froze.
"W-what does that mean?"
On the Twin Goddesses, Flare stared at the returning Yemu, her face full of confusion.
"Is it settled? Did they agree to let us pass?"
Yemu looked even more confused than she did.
"Agree to let us pass? What are you talking about?"
Flare's face darkened instantly.
"Weren't you going up there to negotiate with them so they'd let us go to Rusukaina Island?"
"Uh!!! You might have misunderstood!!!"
Flare's brows knitted tightly.
"!!! Then what did you go up there for?!"
"Well, about that…"
Yemu turned his head and looked toward the second-floor terrace of the Kuja pirate ship, where Galahad Anne still sat seductively atop the black panther, unmoving, her expression unchanged.
"I just didn't expect there to be such a beautiful woman in this world. How could I not take a closer look?"
Flare felt like a volcano was about to erupt inside her head.
"You did all that just for that?! You idiot! Then what are we supposed to do now?!"
"That?" Yemu replied casually. "No need to worry."
As he spoke, he looked toward Tiger.
"Prepare to set sail, Tiger. If they dare block our way…"
Yemu drew the sword at his waist, Shishimaru.
"Then we'll just cut our way through!"
In the next instant, Rayleigh's cheerful laughter echoed across the vast sea…