Chapter9 Ragnars question and Hancock's silence.
The next day, Ragnar woke up. He stretched, and after washing up, he walked towards the girls' room.
"Yo, you all up?" he knocked on the door.
"Hmm, strange… why isn't anyone answering?" He opened the door and entered without any hesitation. Well, the girls inside are my future wife, sister, and my sisters-in-law.
"Hehhehehhe… let's see if I have a protagonist halo," he grinned devilishly as he opened the bedroom door.
His mood instantly fell. Inside, Hancock, Yamato, Sonia, and Mari were fast asleep.
"Tsk, no walking-in-when-girls-are-changing scene," he complained.
He dashed towards Yamato and Hancock. Both were asleep.
"Well, on second thought, this might be more beautiful," he said, smiling.
"Why are they so cute?" Ragnar said as he poked Hancock and Yamato's cheeks. Both stirred in their sleep. Ragnar giggled.
"It's morning, wake up, sleepyheads." He shook them. He couldn't just sit around watching them—they still had to find a way to send Hancock and the others back. Though he just wanted to kidnap her, he couldn't.
Hancock wanted to go back to Amazon Lily.
"Hmmm… Ragaggy, five more minutes," Yamato muttered in her sleep.
"Stop disturbing…" Hancock complained.
Ragnar's mouth twitched. "You sleepy girls…" A mischievous grin appeared on his face.
He leaned in close to Hancock's ear. "Hey, if you don't wake up, I'm gonna kidnap you."
Hancock shifted in her sleep. "Shut up…"
"Fine then."
A cloud started forming inside the room, and soon it began raining.
"Waa! How is there rain inside?" Yamato jolted awake, along with Hancock and the others.
"Tsk, now that you're awake, go and wash up. We still gotta find a way to send Hancock back to Amazon Lily," Ragnar said.
"Y-you bastard! You made that rain, didn't you?" Yamato pointed at him, clenching her fist.
"Tsk, don't accuse people. Do you have any proof?" Ragnar shot back.
Yamato pounded on him. "I don't need stupid evidence! Oi, stupid girl, come here!"
"Who are you calling stupid, you idiot white-haired girl?" Hancock shouted as she joined Yamato. She was still angry that this bastard had kissed her.
"Hey, don't you have any honor? Come one-on-one, one of you—"
Yamato punched him. "Who cares about honor?"
"H-ha—hey, my cute, adorable sister… h-how about we forget this and mov—"
Yamato and Hancock started beating him up.
"S-sorry!" Ragnar was beaten black and blue. Even Sandersonia and Marigold felt pity looking at him.
"Damn, when did big sis become like this?"
"Yeah, she really doesn't hold back."
Hancock looked at Ragnar's beaten face. A slight guilt rose in her heart. Did I go too far? After all, it was Ragnar who had saved her and her sisters.
Yamato didn't care—it was practically daily for her and Ragnar. She grabbed Hancock and looked at her sisters.
"Let's go and wash up."
"But—" Hancock looked hesitantly at Ragnar, just as he vanished in a burst of speed, appearing in front of them with one arm draped around Yamato and Hancock.
"As an apology for waking you up, how about I help you wash?"
Hancock had a black line forming on her forehead.
"You—" she gritted her teeth. This bastard was acting all along. Her guilt vanished.
"Pervert!"
"Shameless!"
Mari and Sonia shot him a glare.
Yamato and Hancock kicked him out of the room. "Fuck off!" and walked to the bathroom.
Ragnar rubbed his back. "Heartless girls…"
He walked out of the hotel and arrived at the backside.
"So, what do you want, pretty big sister?" he asked, smiling.
But everything around him was empty.
"My! What a young monster we have here," a woman's voice rang out as a black-haired woman looked at Ragnar from a mangrove tree, puffing on smoke.
Ragnar looked at her, still smiling, but the clouds above them were shifting.
The woman smiled. "Well, I was just curious about two Oni kids appearing on Sabaody Archipelago… and the suddenly appearing aurora."
"Then you might not have heard the saying—curiosity killed the cat," Ragnar replied, still smiling.
"My, but this cat is really good at surviving, you know," she winked at him.
Ragnar looked at her. "You know, I really don't understand something."
"Oh? What might that be?" the woman asked curiously.
"Well, I just wanted to know—were there really that few beautiful women on the sea in your era?"
"What do you mean?" the woman tilted her head, confused.
"I don't really understand what made you the beauty that started a war that changed an era."
The woman paused. "My! Little brother, you really talk carelessly. Be careful—some people might not like it."
"So what? Why should I care what others like or don't like?" Ragnar asked. He only cared about his girls' likes and dislikes—and as for others, what did that have to do with him?
The woman blinked. "Boy, if you don't, then they won't leave you alone. You think you have the strength to protect yourself?"
"Well, not now, but I have a father and an entire nation," Ragnar grinned.
"Oh? And who might this father of yours be? And a nation?"
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself," Ragnar said apologetically as the wind shifted.
The clouds that had been gathering turned into thunderclouds. Lightning roared through the sky.
The woman looked around in disbelief as the sudden storm made her hair blow back.
"I'm Ragnar—the Shogun of Wano, the son of a dragon. The Beast Prince. Son of Kaido."
People on Sabaody Archipelago looked in horror at the suddenly arriving storm. Though it wasn't massive, it was unnatural—as if it had appeared only near the hotel grove.
In Sengoku's office, a Den Den Mushi rang.
"What do you mean a storm has appeared on a single grove?" Sengoku shouted in disbelief.
"Sir, it's true. Thunderclouds are gathered on the grove. The wind is turning violent in that area."
Sengoku heard the noise of public panic and lightning.
"What the hell is happening on Sabaody Archipelago? First an aurora, now a storm?" Sengoku had a headache.
"Calm the public. I will send a Vice Admiral there."
"Yes, sir."
The woman looked at Ragnar in disbelief.
"Kaido's son? Shogun of Wano? What the hell?"
Her mind raced. Him being Kaido's son might explain his Oni lineage and his confidence. But Shogun of Wano? How could he be the Shogun of Wano?
Weren't the Kozuki the Shogun family? Did Kaido take over Wano? If he did, what happened to Oden and the others?
Her eyes turned cold as a small amount of killing intent leaked out from her, directed at the hotel—
Just as lightning gathered in the clouds and struck down at her.
She dodged the attack and looked at the charred land. If she hadn't dodged in time—
"Yo—" Ragnar's voice came as his kick slammed into her face.
"Ara, what a rude kid you are, attacking a woman's face," the woman jumped back.
"Well, I'm a feminist, you see," Ragnar replied seriously. "And where the fuck do you think you're looking? Do you think you are still the Shakky everyone admired? Even if you are, I'm not one of them."
Ragnar disappeared at extreme speed as a spinning kick came at Shakky. She jumped back as bolts of lightning fell on her.
"Well, that was my fault. I shouldn't have lost my composure like that," Shakky said as she landed on a mangrove tree.
Ragnar looked at her coldly but didn't chase her. Shakky was stronger than him. Without Armament Haki, fighting her was stupid.
"Do that bullshit again, and I will kill you."
Ragnar was dead serious. If anyone dared harm Yamato or any of his girls, he would burn the whole world down to make sure they paid in blood.
"Ara, what a protective brother you are," she was genuinely surprised. Ragnar's killing intent was real. If she did anything, he really might fight her to the death.
"Well, I'm really curious about Kaido's son, but that earlier loss of composure was my mistake. Next time, let's have a good chat, Ragnar."
She waved and disappeared.
Ragnar looked back. "Were you just gonna stand and watch?"
Yamato giggled. "Well, you weren't really fighting her."
"And a good beating would have been perfect for a pervert like you," Hancock said.
"Wow, already teaming up with Yamato. What a good wife you are," Ragnar said in a betrayed tone.
Hancock instantly turned red. "Who is your wi—"
Ragnar appeared near her, pulled her into a hug, and lifted her chin with one hand.
"You really don't wanna be my wife?"
"I—I…" Hancock's mind went blank at the sudden hug and his thumb tracing her lips. Her heart pounded in her chest. He won't… would he? The question popped into her mind with embarrassment—and excitement.
"Oii!" Sonia and Mari rushed at them. "Stay away from our big sis!"
Just as an ice wall formed between them.
"Well, that black-haired stupid girl's expression is really funny," Yamato grinned as frost energy stopped coming from her kanabo.
"Yamato—" Sonia and Mari looked at the traitor.
Yamato ignored them. "Well, I'm his sister first. And that stupid girl is clearly enjoying this too," she muttered in self-justification.
Hancock's heart pounded faster as Ragnar's face was inches away from hers. Just a little more, and their lips would touch.
"Hancock."
"Umm…"
That was all she could muster.
"You really don't wanna?" he asked.
Hancock's heart pounded violently. She really don't know what she wanted.
Ragnar smiled. "Well then, that's it."
He separated from her. Hancock blinked in confusion.
"Well, sorry for calling you my wife."
Hancock's confusion deepened. "Wh-what?"
"Let's go and find a way to send you back to Amazon Lily," Ragnar said as he walked away.
"Wait—wh-what?" Hancock was still confused. Wasn't he just flirting with her? What happened?
"Well, let's go," Yamato said as the ice wall crumbled.
Mari and Sonia were also confused. "Did that pervert just leave like that?"
Yamato followed Ragnar. "Wait for us!"
The Boa sisters followed them, but Hancock's heart was still in chaos. She was trying to process everything. She opened her mouth, then closed it as she looked at Ragnar's back.
Though he was just a few steps away, she felt like he was far away.
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