*Chapter 154: Successful Invasion*

Hancock lay in the palace, her figure incredibly alluring. Her body alone was enough to captivate countless men.

However, an old woman beside her seemed displeased.

"Hancock, as I suggested, you must discuss matters with Dressrosa."

"You’ve seen the commotion Dressrosa has caused recently. If that monster comes here, it will be a disaster. Yet, you ignored their invitation and threw it away. Aren’t you making an enemy out of them?"

Granny Nyon struck the ground with her snake staff, her face full of dissatisfaction.

She hadn’t expected Hancock to be so stubborn, even going as far as killing the Dressrosa envoy without even meeting him.

This was practically pushing a powerful figure into opposition and treating the survival of Amazon Lily as nothing.

"Hmph, what right does that man, who is also a Warlord of the Sea, have to marry me?"

"And besides, I’ve already seen that man in the newspapers. I have no interest in him whatsoever."

Hancock said impatiently.

She hadn’t ignored the world’s news during this time.

Uchiha Raijin had caused quite a stir, having even taken another Warlord under his wing.

There were also rumors of an alliance with the Charlotte family, all of which she was aware of.

But no matter how much chaos Uchiha Raijin caused, it made no difference to Hancock.

A filthy man is still a filthy man; she would never have any feelings for such a person.

"Even if you’re not interested, we can’t afford to turn this man into an enemy!"

"We’re not just facing Uchiha Raijin alone but also the entire nation of Dressrosa."

"Even the Big Mom Pirates’ stance is unclear. You’ve really made trouble this time."

Granny Nyon, feeling slightly anxious, sensed that the situation was becoming troublesome.

When Dressrosa first came to them, Granny Nyon hadn’t been interested in this rising power either.

But now, over three months later, what was once a small power had grown immensely in their eyes.

Moreover, many were standing behind Dressrosa. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t seen the recent news.

It seemed that the current Fleet Admiral Sengoku was the protector behind Dressrosa, even showing favoritism towards them.

And now, there was even a new Admiral candidate who had emerged from Dressrosa.

It was clear that Dressrosa had become a formidable force, one they could no longer resist.

"Hmph!"

Hancock listened to Granny Nyon’s nagging without responding.

Even if Dressrosa was arrogant, they hadn’t touched her. After all, Amazon Lily was located in the Calm Belt, and not even the Navy could make a move here.

Dressrosa was merely raging impotently; they didn’t have the power to break through the Calm Belt.

"Sigh, I’ll try to contact someone from Dressrosa."

"Hopefully, the relationship can be smoothed over."

Granny Nyon, seeing Hancock’s stubborn attitude, felt helpless.

As the former queen of Amazon Lily, she still held some authority.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A series of rapid explosions echoed, and even those at the center of Amazon Lily, in the heart of Nine Snake City, felt the tremors.

"What’s happening?" Granny Nyon quickly steadied herself with her cane to avoid falling.

Hancock, too, hastily grabbed a coat and got up from the bed.

Hancock’s face showed confusion. Today wasn’t any Amazon Lily festival or celebration, so why were there such massive explosions?

"Boom!"

The explosions continued to erupt.

"What’s going on?" Hancock stumbled as she made her way to the window.

Grabbing the window, she looked outside.

In that brief moment, Hancock froze. She no longer saw the flourishing Nine Snake City.

Instead, explosions were happening everywhere, with black smoke rising, and countless people were fighting in the streets.

There were even bodies blasted from the buildings, scattered all around.

In that brief moment, the Empress felt a true chill in her heart.

"What’s going on? Why didn’t the patrolling army issue any warnings?"

"Where did these people come from, and why wasn’t there any alarm from the Calm Belt?"

Hancock’s face turned icy, her whole demeanor as cold as frost.

Unwittingly, she had let the enemy invade her home.

"Ninjas… They must be the ninjas from Dressrosa!"

Granny Nyon, her face showing a mix of shock and anger, watched as figures spat fire, water, and summoned walls from the earth with a single touch.

These were unmistakably Dressrosa’s ninjas.

But why?

Why had Dressrosa’s ninjas traveled such a long distance to be here?

And why hadn’t they received any warning, not even about the invasion?

"Boom!"

Another building was blown to pieces right in front of them.

In the next moment, countless ninjas emerged from the shadows, wielding weapons and slaughtering the people of Amazon Lily.

Hancock’s face was covered in frost. She hadn’t expected Dressrosa to be so bold.

"Where’s the Kuja Pirates? Granny Nyon, you’re in charge of gathering them."

Hancock, wearing her coat, stepped outside.

She leaped into the air, spinning, and then slammed down towards the figures below.

"Crack!"

One ninja was completely petrified, a part of his face crumbling into stone.

Hancock moved like a gust of wind, not stopping as she charged towards the next person.

She weaved through the crowd, turning dozens of ninjas into stone statues.

"Ha!"

Hancock struck fiercely, turning anyone she touched into stone.

"Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

A calm voice appeared behind Hancock.

"Who’s there?"

Hancock quickly turned, kicking backward.

But she hit nothing, and Hancock realized what had happened.

In the next moment, the entire Nine Snake City was engulfed in thick mist.

It had reached the point where you couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face.

Hancock could only hear the sounds of battle around her but couldn't see any of her opponents.

“Swish!”

“Swish!”

“Swish!”

A figure darted through the thick fog repeatedly.

Each time it moved, a flash of red light followed!

"Such killing intent can suppress even my Haki. I wonder how many souls have fallen to this person."

"So this is a ninja from Dressrosa? I must admit, they have exceeded my expectations!"

The overwhelming killing intent filled the surroundings, and Hancock found it could suppress her Haki.

Her Haki was confined to a very small area, and she couldn't even pinpoint where the opponent was hiding.

This was a technique created by combining Zabuza’s killing intent.

Even Haki faltered in the face of this move.

“Whoosh!”

Suddenly, a cold flash brushed past her, and a long sword slashed down.

“Bang!”

At the same time, a long leg kicked out, intercepting the sword before it could strike.

In the next moment!

“What?”

Zabuza looked in shock as the sword in his hand rapidly turned to stone, then crumbled into dust.

He didn’t expect even the blade to be petrified. He saw the long leg still spinning in the air, heading toward him.

Zabuza dared not take any chances and quickly flipped away to retreat.

“How rude to dare sneak attack me.”

Hancock glanced at the figure lost in the fog, a hint of displeasure on her face.

But the killing intent around her had dissipated, and her Haki was functioning normally again.

Hancock’s face showed anger. In just a short moment, many of her people from Amazon Lily had already fallen.

“Snake Princess!”

“Snake Princess!”

A gust of wind swept through, dispersing the thick fog instantly.

The Amazon Lily warriors looked around until they spotted Hancock.

In the next moment, hundreds of them leaped down from the buildings and gathered around Hancock.

The Kuja Pirates gathered, gradually forming a protective circle around Hancock.

"Such unity, but it won’t do you much good."

"The moment you offended Dressrosa, you were marked for elimination."

"But I’m not without mercy."

Kakashi smiled as he walked to the center of Kuja City, looking at the group before him.

After the recent battle, he acknowledged that while these women were not the strongest, they had some merits.

At least this queen was quite strong.

"The so-called mercy is for me to surrender and marry your king?"

Hancock pushed through the crowd, her face frosty as she asked Kakashi.

Dressrosa had made this demand several times before!

But Hancock would never agree to such a request.

"That’s right! If you surrender, we will stop invading Amazon Lily."

"But if you continue to refuse, the king has ordered that no one be left alive!"

"I don’t wish to deal with you troublesome people, so this time we’re fully prepared to annihilate you."

"Queen of Amazon Lily, the fate of your country is now in your hands."

Kakashi tried to apply psychological pressure on Hancock with a smile.

He flicked the kunai in his hand, which disappeared instantly.

“Swish!”

It stabbed into the ground at Hancock’s feet.

This was Dressrosa’s stance.

Resistance was futile.

Even if they wanted to flee, it was impossible.

Dressrosa had vowed to hunt them down to the last man, no matter where they ran.

"I have no interest in the king of Dressrosa! My answer is still no!"

"But since you dared to threaten my country, Dressrosa has now made an enemy of me."

Hancock’s face remained calm as she stared straight at Kakashi.

Her attitude made Kakashi sigh slightly.

To be honest, she reminded him a bit of Lady Tsunade.

But this woman was far more beautiful than he had imagined.

Kakashi felt a twinge of concern. He trusted the Uchiha clan to resist her charms.

The Uchiha clan could hypnotize themselves into not liking women.

But what about the other clans?

Kakashi had to accept that losing a few men was within acceptable limits.

After all, in such battles, it was impossible to avoid casualties entirely.

"Since you refuse, I’ll stop only if you surrender."

A hint of ruthlessness flashed across Kakashi's face as he raised one hand.

In the next moment!

A pirate’s foot scraped the ground, brushing away a layer of sand and revealing a paper talisman stuck there.

The talisman began to glow red as Kakashi formed hand signs.

“Snake Princess!”

Several pirates noticed this and rushed toward Hancock.

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

Smoke rose before them, and fierce flames flickered within the haze.

Kakashi was used to such scenes from the Third Shinobi World War.

Countless enemies had perished under exploding tags.

Now, the deaths of these people caused no ripples in Kakashi’s heart.

Until the empress surrendered, these people would only be enemies.

Dressrosa had more options than just Amazon Lily!

“The grunts should be cleared out by now.”

Uchiha Hōshi walked up to Kakashi, looking at the smoke-filled scene.

Even he had to acknowledge the formidable physical strength of the warriors on this sea.

These exploding tags might only be effective against the weaker ones.

But hurting the empress was nearly impossible.

The empress, a powerhouse, must have Haki of unimaginable strength.

"Indeed! Now, let’s slaughter this island."

"Kakashi, it seems you had a tough time with the empress."

Kakashi glanced at Zabuza, slightly surprised.

Before coming here, Zabuza had spoken with great confidence.

But now, before the empress even struck, Zabuza had already lost his edge.

"Hmph! I underestimated this woman! It won’t happen again."

Zabuza’s face darkened as he picked up another ninja sword and vanished into the darkness.

He hadn’t expected to be so humiliated by Hancock the first time he used his Silent Killing technique.

After this, he planned to delve deeper into the art of Silent Killing.

Kakashi noticed that Katakuri and Hidan were missing now.

But it didn’t matter. Hidan loved tormenting people, and it was rare for him to have a chance to unleash himself.

“Boom!”

A group of people burst out of the smoke, two tall figures with dozens of bodies hanging from them.

Another group was led by the officers of the Kuja Pirates, charging forward.

“It seems it’s not over yet!”

Kakashi squinted and glanced up at the sky outside the island.

He noticed dark clouds gathering.

He wondered if their efforts would succeed.

(End of the chapter)