Chapter 80 : The Three Desperate Hancock Sisters

You can read the advance chapters here : patreon.com/Vigilante04

---------------

"Boom~~~Boom~~~"

Bubbles floated through the air, sparkling and beautiful.

Towering giant trees with lush branches and leaves covered the sky, blocking out the sun.

It was hard to believe that the entire island had been formed from the roots of the world's largest mangrove, the Yarqiman Mangrove, which stretched across the water.

"Da da--"

In less than three days, the massive Ark Proverbs had arrived at the fantastical Sabaody Archipelago.

At a hidden port, the Ark Proverbs slowly descended and landed.

"We're a step too late; the grand auction has already ended..."

Smoothie, using her vast network of information, spread her arms and spoke to Wilhelm. "But there are no Devil Fruits left!"

"I can't let you leak our whereabouts!" she added with a sneer.

With a flash of lightning, she shot off, covering hundreds of meters in an instant.

"What--"

"Sigh, chirp..."

Brilliant lightning flickered in the air.

Behind a massive tree trunk, a CP agent, who had been hiding and was just about to pull out his phone to report, was instantly reduced to ash.

She had wiped him out with no hesitation.

"Sigh..."

Another flash of lightning, and just like that, she was back on the Ark Proverbs.

With a smile, Smoothie turned to Wilhelm and continued: "What's interesting though, is that three girls from the famous Amazon Lily were caught and sold at the auction. The Celestial Dragons bought them."

"Oh?" Wilhelm raised an eyebrow and his massive Observation Haki spread outward.

A series of peninsulas fell within his sensing range, one after the other...

Peninsula One.

At the entrance of the auction house.

A large crowd of civilians, nobles, and pirates knelt there in fear.

"Saint Haridwar, take your time!"

A bloated and arrogant man, dressed in a space suit with a bubble hood covering his head, swaggered out of the auction house. He was flanked by a group of bodyguards in suits and leather shoes, walking past the kneeling "untouchables" without a second glance.

In his hand, he held a bracelet attached to several chains, the size of a fist, as though pulling some sort of pet. The chains dragged three terrified girls, their faces pale, their bodies trembling.

Their hands and feet were shackled, and each one wore a collar around their neck.

"Go, go to the port and set sail for Mary Geoise!" Saint Haridwar ordered, his voice full of entitlement.

He climbed onto a tall, human-shaped mount, its head bowed and a slave collar around its neck. The mount, a Murlock, with fins and strikingly blue skin, was clearly no ordinary creature.

The strength of Murlocks was ten times greater than that of a normal human, making them ideal "mounts" for the Celestial Dragons, aside from the Titans.

"Slap——" A leather whip with cruel barbs cracked across the back of the murloc slave.

A deep, painful bloodstain appeared instantly on his already bruised body. He groaned in agony.

"Useless filth, hurry up!" Saint Haridwar's grotesque, twisted face was full of malice as he continued to whip the murloc, shouting curses.

"D-Da..."

The three Hancock sisters, shackled and led by chains, staggered forward in horror. Their expressions were full of terror as they watched the brutal scene unfold, their faces pale with fear.

With wide, watery eyes filled with tears, the three sisters looked around, pleading silently for help.

But what met their gaze were only cold, indifferent eyes filled with fear and pity.

Clearly, no one was willing to step forward to save them.

In that moment, the hearts of the three Hancock sisters sank, consumed by a wave of despair.

"Whoosh----"

Suddenly, without any warning, the three slender figures—who should have been shackled by their collars—vanished in the blink of an eye.

They disappeared from sight, as if they had never been there.

"Eh?"

Saint Haridwar St. was momentarily stunned.

But he quickly recovered and roared angrily: "Where did they go? Where are my slaves?"

"Saint Haridwar, please forgive me, they just disappeared..." the bodyguard in front of him stammered, sweating profusely.

In a fit of rage, Saint Haridwar grabbed the bodyguard by the collar, his eyes bloodshot with fury. "Then find them! Hurry up, if you can't find them, your wives and daughters will become my slaves!"

"Yes, Holy Ward!"

The bodyguards, clad in suits and leather shoes, paled, cold sweat beading on their brows.

They rushed off in all directions, eager and anxious, searching desperately for the vanished girls.

"Hurry, bring them back!"

"Damn slaves, how dare they escape? They won't get away!"

"Damn it, do any of them have powers?"

"Or did someone dare to rescue them in front of Saint Haridwar?"

Meanwhile, at a secluded shore...

Above the great Ark Proverbs, the three Hancock sisters found themselves inexplicably transported to this new location. They didn't feel relief or joy at being saved—only confusion. They instinctively feared they had fallen from one dangerous situation into another.

They clung to each other tightly, their anxiety evident in their trembling forms. They looked around, helpless and lost.

"Wilhelm, why did you bring these three girls here?" Smoothie scoffed, eyeing the dirt-streaked and emaciated sisters. "They have no strength at all. Apart from their looks, they don't seem special."

The eldest sister, Hancock, her face pale with fear, gathered her courage and asked boldly, "Are you pirates?"

Shiryu of the Rain, the former Impel Down caretaker, who knew all too well the cruelty of the world nobles, took a puff of his cigar and added with a grin: "It doesn't matter why Master Wilhelm saved you. But you should be thankful. You just escaped becoming slaves of the Celestial Dragons."

He let out a small laugh before continuing: "You think that's freedom? Once you're marked by the Celestial Dragons—their 'Hoof of the Celestial Dragon'—you'll be nothing more than a tool for their abuse. Tortured, killed, or broken in spirit. You'll lose yourself entirely."

The three sisters went pale, trembling at the thought.

They didn't need to hear more; they had seen the madness of the Celestial Dragons firsthand. The idea of becoming their slaves was unimaginable.

"Master Wilhelm?" Hancock, her voice shaking, turned her gaze to the silver-haired boy who was referred to as "Master Wilhelm." He didn't look much older than her, yet there was something about his cold, noble aura that demanded respect.

She gritted her teeth, standing up with difficulty, and bowed her head to him. "Thank you for saving us..."

Wilhelm, sitting on the edge of the boat, remained expressionless. His gaze was cold and distant as he looked down at her.

"It's too early to thank me. I saved you because of your potential value, not out of kindness." His voice was flat, his tone indifferent. "Weak people can't control their own fate. If you want freedom, you need to become stronger."

He paused, letting his words sink in. "From now on, your lives are no longer your own."

He stood up slowly, walking toward them, his eyes assessing the three sisters.

"If your performance pleases me, I might consider sending your two younger sisters back to Amazon Lily."