In the world of the One Piece, measuring a fighter's strength with absolute precision is nearly impossible.
Because of "Life Return", a mysterious force rooted in the very essence of all living beings on this sea, the result is both absurd and awe-inspiring. When a person's will burns bright enough, when their determination reaches the point of madness, they can ignite an unthinkable fire within themselves and unleash power beyond imagination.
This is why Roronoa Zoro can keep pushing forward, cutting through any obstacle even as his body is covered in wounds.
This is why Monkey D. Luffy, with the sheer intensity of his spirit, always finds a way to grit his teeth and stand up until the last moment, even surviving countless brushes with death inside Impel Down.
Those with strong wills are terrifying.
In the world of the One Piece, those with strong wills are even more terrifying.
And in this world, those whose will is so unshakable that they would lay down their lives without hesitation… they are the most terrifying of all.
Because of this, unless the gap in power between two fighters is as vast as the Grand Line itself, the outcome of any battle is never set in stone.
The veteran Warlord Crocodile, a formidable Devil Fruit user, and the towering giant Gecko Moria have both been defeated by Monkey D. Luffy, despite his relative lack of strength, experience, and age.
The reason for their downfall? Their resolve simply couldn't match his.
How strong is Hancock?
Liam's Observation Haki is finely tuned to sense the strength of others' auras. From what he can tell, Hancock's presence isn't as overwhelming as his own.
But that doesn't mean he believes she is weaker than him.
Even though she has yet to win against him in their countless sparring matches over the years, Liam never assumes she will lose.
She is the strongest Amazon warrior on Amazon Lily since the 'death' of Tulip.
And what about her will? Is it strong?
Liam believes that, to Hancock, the question has probably never even crossed her mind. Born with a natural sense of superiority, possessing a Conqueror's Haki that makes her feel above all others, Hancock never doubts herself.
To waver? To hesitate? Those things do not exist in her world. She sees herself as the center of everything, the most beautiful woman in the world, the undisputed ruler of Amazon Lily.
Is extreme narcissism not a form of indomitable will?
In the original timeline, Boa Hancock carried deep psychological scars from her past as a Celestial Dragon slave, a hidden vulnerability that could be exploited. But this Hancock, the one who nearly fell victim to human traffickers as a child, no longer carries such weaknesses.
Even if someone were to expose her past and try to use it against her, it would not shatter her. It would only invite ruthless retaliation.
How strong is Giorno?
Even Hancock herself finds it harder and harder to tell. That is why she insisted on this duel before he leaves.
She still remembers their first meeting years ago, how their greetings came in the form of fists.
And yet, this man has continued to grow, day by day, year by year, to the point where she can no longer even keep up with him.
It infuriates her.
Before he leaves Amazon Lily, she wants a proper fight. A real battle where they both go all out.
The Amazons of her homeland value strength. They are a warrior race.
She wants him to remember her like this. And in turn, she hopes to leave her mark on him.
Then again… how could anyone ever forget her?
With dark golden, serpent-like pupils, Hancock smiles, a bewitching, almost invincible beauty radiating from her every movement. Her long black hair coils like a living snake, hissing as it slithers toward her opponent.
The serpentine strands dart toward Liam's neck, their fangs gleaming, but, clank, clank, clank!, each bite meets nothing but resistance. They cannot pierce his skin.
Liam raises an eyebrow.
Hancock, realizing her attack has no effect, furrows her brows in frustration.
…
A full day and night pass.
The once-thriving forest is now a wasteland. Trees lie shattered, boulders reduced to rubble, the earth itself scarred by the intensity of their battle.
The animals that once roamed these woods have long since fled. The sheer ferocity of these two fighters is more terrifying than any wild beast.
As dawn begins to break…
Bonney yawns, rubbing her drowsy eyes as she leans lazily against a tree. She had dozed off for a while, worn out from simply watching the clash.
But before she can fully wake up,
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A series of deafening impacts erupt from not far away, jolting her wide awake.
"Are they still fighting?!" she exclaims in disbelief.
Sandersonia turns and smirks. "You're finally up?"
Marigold remains silent, staring at the battlefield.
In the distance, amid the wreckage, two figures continue their relentless exchange. Fists and feet collide, Haki clashes in bursts of energy, every strike powerful enough to shake the ground.
The sight is breathtaking.
Bonney watches in stunned silence.
"Are they even human?"
A full day and night have passed, yet neither of them shows any sign of stopping.
Their stamina… is monstrous.
And as Bonney watches the two warriors continue to push each other past their limits, she realizes something that fills her with despair.
Her dream of escaping Amazon Lily?
It's slipping further and further away.
As she stirs awake, Bonney realizes the "blanket" covering her isn't a blanket at all, it's her own clothes.
Startled, she looks down and finds herself fully dressed, not stripped as she had feared. But then... where did this identical outfit come from?
Confused, she glances around and spots a pile of clothes on the ground. Nearby, Jolyne lies motionless, covered with a similar outfit, draped over her like a blanket.
Robin, though not deeply asleep, slowly opens her eyes. The distant echoes of fists clashing and feet striking confirm what she already suspected, Liam and Hancock are still fighting.
This is exactly why they rarely go all out in their duels. At their level, unless one side completely burns through their stamina, a match that isn't a fight to the death has no clear endpoint.
Robin notices Bonney's puzzled expression. Her long dark hair cascades as she sits up, stretching slightly before asking, "Something wrong?"
"These clothes…" Bonney mutters, still trying to make sense of it.
Robin shakes her head with a knowing smile. "The Hana Hana no Mi's clones don't appear naked. With precise control, I can make them form clothes as well."
As she speaks, the layers of fabric covering Bonney, Jolyne, and the ground suddenly dissolve into delicate flower petals, fluttering to the earth like falling sakura blossoms.
"…That's actually possible?" Bonney is no longer confused, just outright amazed.
It reminds her of when she first witnessed Liam's abilities…
Robin casually brushes her hair back and shifts her gaze toward the two still engaged in combat. Then, she turns to the younger sisters. "Are you two hungry?"
Unlike in the original timeline, where she had already matured, Mari, still in her youthful years, touches her stomach just as it growls.
Sonia chuckles. "Breakfast sounds good right about now."
Bonney watches the three of them casually prepare to gather food, probably just picking fruit from the forest, and feels utterly speechless.
She turns back to see Liam and Hancock still fighting, seemingly unchanged from yesterday. While those two are locked in a relentless battle, everyone else is casually heading off for breakfast.
The contrast is downright bizarre.
"Wait for me!" Bonney calls, quickly catching up, because if nothing else, she's definitely hungry.
As warriors, Sonia and Mari thoroughly enjoy the prolonged battle between their elder sister and Giorno.
Even though it isn't a life-or-death struggle, these duels serve their own purpose. Fair competition lets them witness incredible techniques, strategic maneuvers, and the application of Haki, all valuable lessons for warriors to study and imitate.
Robin watches for a while, then sits down with a book, taking the opportunity to rest.
Bonney, however, is the first to lose interest. After half a day of watching, she finds herself bored out of her mind. But since they won't let her leave, she sulks in the corner.
And since nobody pays any attention to her sulking, she eventually seeks her own entertainment.
Hancock's younger sisters are too intense and enjoy teasing people, so Bonney turns to Jolyne, figuring she might be easier to talk to.
Unexpectedly, Jolyne simply pulls out a few books, offering Bonney a choice and inviting her to read together.
Bonney flips through a few pages but finds it even duller than watching the fight. Before she knows it, she starts dozing off again.
…
The blazing sun hangs high… then slowly dips westward… dusk settles in… stars blanket the night sky…
When the next day dawns, Bonney is jolted awake by someone shaking her shoulder.
As she groggily opens her eyes, she's met with the sight of a green-haired woman with snake-like pupils staring down at her.
Bonney jumps. "Did they finally finish?"
Stretching as she stands, she mutters, "They actually fought for two whole days and nights… what kind of monsters…?"
Robin covers her mouth as she lightly yawns, her gaze shifting toward the battlefield. There, against the morning light, two tall figures stride toward them.
Marigold, rubbing the dark circles under her eyes, grumbles, "I just took a quick nap… and I missed the ending…"
Liam and Hancock walk side by side, both bearing the weariness of battle.
It seems they wrapped up the fight late at night or early morning, and from the looks of it, they've had some time to rest. They don't appear completely drained, no signs of collapse or exhaustion.
Which means…
No one can tell who gave in first.
Though they can make an educated guess, they still want to hear the result firsthand.
Marigold nudges her elder sister with a playful smirk.
"Big Sis, who won?" Sandersonia asks, curiosity clear in her tone.
"Hmph!" Hancock lifts her chin proudly, offering no answer, only her usual regal silhouette. "We're heading back. Let's go."
Marigold mutters, "Wait… did Big Sis actually win?"
A light tap from her second sister shuts her up, and they both hurry to follow Hancock.
Robin watches them go, amusement flickering in her eyes before glancing at Liam with an arched brow.
Liam meets her gaze and shrugs innocently, rubbing his stomach. "Jolyne, I'm starving."
Jolyne sighs. "Then let's go eat."
Robin chuckles, deciding not to press the matter.
Meanwhile, Bonney, who couldn't care less about the fight's outcome since she can't beat either of them, frowns at a completely different thought.
"…Hold on. Why does Giorno, who's older than Jolyne, still call her his sister?"
...
On Kuja Island, by the sea.
After the intense battle, it's finally time to relax.
Before parting ways, they decide to enjoy a proper meal together.
Liam temporarily removes the Mythical Beast Chips from the Boa sisters, allowing them to swim freely in the hidden sea beneath the island without fear of drowning.
Sonia and Mari are ecstatic; ever since eating their Devil Fruits, they had lost the ability to swim. But with Giorno's help, they can once again experience the joy of the ocean.
Liam would have offered Bonney the same temporary relief, but the self-proclaimed "Queen Mother" shakes her head vigorously, she refuses to risk losing her powers, even momentarily, and aging into an old woman.
Meanwhile, Robin maintains her disguise as "Jolyne." She lounges by the shore with a book in hand, smiling as she watches the others play in the water.
Hancock, like her sisters, dons a simple yet elegant swimsuit. Stretching out her long limbs, she floats effortlessly atop the waves.
As she gazes at the clear blue sky and listens to the sound of laughter around her, her mind drifts back to the events of the previous night...
---
'Under the starry night sky.'
In the midst of the disheveled forest, a tall young man, over two meters in height, stands beneath the moonlight, his breath steadying as he finally begins to relax.
"Oi." Liam nudges the leg of the snake-empress, who is now sprawled on the ground like a ragdoll. Her eyes are unfocused, her breath coming in ragged pants. "You're not dead, are you?"
"Haa… haa…" Hancock's chest rises and falls erratically. She meets his gaze briefly but has no energy to respond.
Liam smirks. "Looks like I won again, Empress."
Reaching down, he hooks his arms under hers and lifts her up. It's almost unbelievable, Hancock is a monster in combat, her stamina nearly endless. Liam had spent two full days and nights wearing her down, yet now, holding her, she feels strangely light, as if weightless despite her nearly 1.9-meter stature.
Hancock slumps against him, her chin resting on his shoulder, her breath warm against his skin, carrying a faint, intoxicating scent.
Liam mutters, "You really are like something out of a legend… Even your sweat smells nice. That just doesn't make sense."
Hancock, barely conscious, whispers, "Does it… really?"
''Thump. Thump. Thump.''
At such close proximity, Liam can hear her heartbeat clearly.
"Your heart's racing, Empress."
"Don't call me that," she murmurs. "Just… call me Hancock."
Liam raises an eyebrow but obliges. "Alright, Hancock. You nervous? That's not like you."
"Shut up."
"…Alright."
'Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.'
Just as Liam wonders how she's still conscious, Hancock suddenly stirs. A moment ago, she had been as limp as a snake basking in the sun, but now she's moving again, her flushed face drawing closer.
Liam barely has time to react as she leans in.
A short distance away, Sander Sonia dozes against a tree, Marigold sprawls out on the ground snoring, and Robin slumbers beside Bonney.
Under the vast starry sky, with the full moon hanging high, a towering young man and a strikingly beautiful woman sit by the coast, gazing out at the Calm Belt's dark waters.
Liam exhales. "…What's going on here?"
Hancock, breaking the silence, asks, "Will you come back?"
Liam snorts. "You make it sound like a dramatic farewell."
He clicks his tongue. 'Girls sure are sentimental.'
Hancock lightly punches him, pressing her fist against his cheek, her nose scrunching in mock annoyance.
Liam chuckles. "The world is vast, and time is long. Who knows? Maybe after a few years of sailing the Grand Line, I'll get bored and come back." He grins. "Or maybe one day, you'll find being an Empress dull and decide to come explore the seas with us."
Hancock grinds her fist against his face in response.
"You're so willful, domineering, unreasonable, always doing whatever you please." Liam grabs her wrist, pulling her fist away. "Honestly, if one day you suddenly announced that you were dissolving the entire Kuja nation, I wouldn't even be surprised."
"…." Hancock lowers her head slightly, her ears tinged red.
Liam blinks. "Oi… You don't actually think that was a compliment, do you?"
In the distance, the first light of dawn begins to creep over the horizon. The dark sea turns a deep red, kissed by golden rays, while the edges of the waves shimmer with an enchanting shade of blue.
Liam stretches. "You know… If you think about it, we actually come from the same place."
Hancock frowns slightly. "What?"
"This journey… it's to fulfill someone's last wish," Liam admits. "She left me a letter before she passed, asking me to return to my homeland, Kano Country. I made a promise at her grave… and a promise is a promise. If I don't keep my word, how could I still call myself a man worthy of the sea?"
Hancock's voice softens. "…Was she your mother?"
"Something like that."
After resting for a while, Liam and Hancock rise and walk back together.
As they step into the golden morning light, they spot Robin stretching, covering a yawn as she slowly wakes up.
---
Giorno and Jolyne are finally ready to depart.
The three Boa sisters accompany them to the city gates, seeing them off with a quiet dignity that betrays their emotions.
(End Of This Chapter)
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