269 Compensation, Unusual things about Amazon Lily

'Okay… I have to admit, I kind of enjoy watching this,' Nyonba thought to herself.

She always suspected Whitebeard and Ms. Bakin had a history, but she never expected they actually had a child together.

Behind her, the Empress gazed at Lynch, who was casually eating popcorn. "As expected of you, Lord Lynch. Even eating popcorn looks handsome~"

"Sister! Sister, look at where the needle was inserted, it's bleeding!" Marigold screamed strangely. 

Unfortunately, Whitebeard and Ms. Bakin had stopped arguing, and the drama had come to an end.

Whitebeard walked straight to Lynch. "Lynch, do me a favor. Let me take the kid, and let Stussy go. From now on, I won't have anything to do with her."

Thinking of their past friendship, Whitebeard softened. Even knowing what kind of woman she was, he couldn't bring himself to let her die here.

"Hey, hey, Whitebeard. We invited you here out of kindness, and now you're trying to use that kindness against us?"

Lynch remained silent, but Rayleigh spoke up first.

"You saw what this mother and son did to Amazon Lily. And now you want Brother Lynch to just let them go?"

"Even if he's your kid, you can't just cover it up like this."

Lynch was about to respond when he noticed Rayleigh blinking at him wildly.

Having known Whitebeard for decades, Rayleigh understood him well.

Did he really think he could cause trouble on Amazon Lily and walk away without consequences?

Whitebeard took a deep breath. "As you can see, the kid is a fool. The attack on Amazon Lily wasn't truly his doing—he was just manipulated by Ms. Bakin."

"Without him, Ms. Bakin is just an old woman with one foot in the grave. She won't be a threat to you."

"I know words alone can't make up for what happened here."

With that, Whitebeard pulled out 15 Devil Fruits—ones he had obtained in Sabaody Archipelago. "These are yours."

"On top of that, I owe Lynch and Amazon Lily a favor. Before I die, you can call it in anytime."

Rayleigh raised an eyebrow. Damn, that's a real offer.

Fifteen Devil Fruits were more than enough compensation. In the end, while the incident seemed serious, Amazon Lily hadn't suffered major losses.

But Whitebeard's favor? That was something else entirely.

Whitebeard's favor is incredible.

Favor debts are the hardest to repay.

Whitebeard's favor is no less than a nuclear weapon.

Whitebeard had already mentioned this and showed full sincerity to compensate.

Lynch stood up, clapped his hands, and said, "I admire love and justice. I admire you—I really do."

"But I have one more condition."

"Name it," Whitebeard replied.

Lynch smiled. "You were right about one thing—Weevil is a fool."

"I don't argue with fools."

"But the mastermind… she can escape the death penalty, but not the consequences."

With a swift motion, Lynch drew the Demon Cutter Sword. A flash of steel, and Ms. Bakin's arm was severed at the root, flying more than ten meters before landing—where it was promptly swallowed by the Empress's pet python.

Blood soaked Ms. Bakin's clothes as she trembled violently, biting her lip to stifle a scream.

Whitebeard's expression was complicated. "I'm leaving. I hope you'll keep your word and spare her life."

After what had happened, he couldn't stay on Amazon Lily any longer, even to wait for Crocus' treatment.

With a quick bandage to stop the bleeding, Whitebeard took Weevil and left.

But he didn't take Ms. Bakin with him.

Whitebeard wasn't certain if Weevil was truly his son—but he was willing to take the boy in and give him a home.

"Whitebeard, you're so cruel!" Ms. Bakin trembled as she watched him walk away.

The shaking before was from pain, but now it was from rage.

This old man took the child and left her behind!

"I'll keep my promise. I'll have someone bring you a small boat on the beach. Whether you make it out of the Calm Belt alive depends on your luck." Lynch ordered someone to take Ms. Bakin away.

"I'll also leave." Rayleigh suddenly stood up from his chair.

"Why are you leaving? Uncle Rayleigh, you can't stay a little longer?" Lynch tried to convince him to stay.

"Whitebeard's gone. What am I supposed to do here, be a light bulb?" Rayleigh said with a sly grin.

"I wish you two a happy marriage, and a son soon. Don't forget to invite me to the wedding banquet."

The Empress' face turned bright red, her opinion of Rayleigh improving instantly.

If you can talk like that, you'll be popular wherever you go.

After Rayleigh left, Lynch handed the Devil Fruits from Whitebeard to Nyonba.

"Take this. It's Whitebeard's compensation for Amazon Lily."

"Use it to strengthen Amazon Lily's foundation. Otherwise, we won't even be able to defeat Weevil."

The Empress wanted to explain that Amazon Lily was strong enough, and that the only reason they couldn't defeat Weevil was because he was a fool who didn't recognize beauty or ugliness.

But when she met Lynch's gaze, her eyes softened. She hugged his arm like an obedient woman and sweetly said, "Everything Mr. Lynch said is right~"

Marigold couldn't help but feel a toothache at the sight of her sister's behavior...

The nearby citizens were shocked, mouths hanging open. Some even pinched themselves, wondering if they were dreaming.

Was this really their overbearing Empress?

"Oh, I don't know how to thank you." Nyonba reluctantly accepted the Devil Fruits. "Thanks to you, you must stay here tonight. We'll take care of you."

"Okay."

Lynch agreed right away.

There was something strange about Amazon Lily—every pregnancy resulted in a girl, never a boy. 

And every citizen could use Armament Haki, which was unusual. Even ordinary people had mastered it.

Lynch planned to take the opportunity to investigate the island and see if he could find any clues.

Thanks to his role in the rescue and the Empress's protection, Lynch's reputation on the island had soared. He could move freely without being stopped.

Leaving the Empress and Nyonba to deal with the aftermath, Lynch set off to investigate Amazon Lily.

In the forest, on the back mountain:

"What did you say? You can feel powerful ghost energy on Amazon Lily?"

"Isn't it different from normal ghost energy? Why does it feel so unusual?"

"It's like the ghostly aura from the resentment of thousands of harem women left alone for thirty years, then abandoned by a scumbag and hanged to death. What are you even describing?"

Lynch looked at the Demon Cutter sword floating in front of him, feeling like slapping it.

Much like the Dragon Slayer sword that ate a Devil Fruit, the Demon Cutter had developed its own intelligence long ago.

As a demon sword, it was highly sensitive to both demonic power and ghost energy.

Being the sword's master, Lynch could communicate with it.

Since entering the back mountain, the Demon Cutter had been trembling, as if it sensed something.

But the way it described what it sensed was... strange.

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TO BE CONTINUED

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