THE STRONGEST CREATURE OF THE BEAST PIRATES

Alastor reprimanded, "Hurry up and get out of here! Don't just stand there and turn into stone. I didn't ask for you to stay here!"

Everyone felt embarrassed and quickly scrambled to set sail and escape.

One pirate hesitantly asked, "Lord Alastor, what about you?"

Alastor crossed his arms, a disapproving look on his face. "It's just the most beautiful woman in the world. What's the big deal? Don't think I'm like you kids!"

The Beast Pirates immediately looked up to him with admiration, shouting in unison:

"As expected of Master Alastor!"

"Alright," Alastor said with authority. "You go ahead and wait at the entrance of the New World. I'll catch up with you soon."

With the dragging of the golden ball, the speed of the Beast Pirates' ships would be slowed, and they would need some time to make their escape.

Alastor cast one last glance at Enel, who was lying motionless on the ground. Even if he were freed at this moment, he wouldn't have the strength to escape.

But that wasn't what concerned Alastor. What really caught his attention was that after these ten days of electric shocks and daily exposure to a thunderous ocean, his body seemed to have developed a resistance to lightning.

Originally, a shock of 100 million volts would have seriously injured Alastor, but soon it took 200 million volts, and even then, it was becoming less effective.

And 200 million volts was Enel's limit.

It seemed this "charging treasure" would soon be out of use.

With these thoughts, the Empress' pirate ship arrived.

Alastor raised his eyes to look, and the first thing he noticed was the Empress's chest, which seemed almost as large as Yamato's.

If he had to compare, he'd need to measure it properly, of course.

A trace of surprise flashed in Boa Hancock's eyes as she glanced at the fleeing Beast Pirates' ship. The man hadn't run with them, but stayed behind. Was he so confident he could resist her beauty?

She scoffed, a cold look crossing her face.

She pointed at Alastor with a delicate finger and said, "You, why haven't you run away?"

Alastor remained calm, replying coolly, "Boa Hancock, you are indeed beautiful, but not every man will be captivated by you. A truly strong man, with a strong will and arrogance, has no fear of you."

Boa Hancock's eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly recovered, her lips curling into a cold smirk.

"You rude person! How dare you call me by my name! I am as beautiful as a goddess—how can a mortal like you resist my charm?"

She raised her hands in a dramatic gesture, and her lips parted to say, "Sweet, sweet wind!"

Circles of pink hearts began to swirl toward Alastor.

Faced with this attack, which could petrify anyone who came into contact with it, Alastor didn't move to avoid it. Instead, he boldly stepped forward with his moonwalk.

Though Boa Hancock didn't show any visible signs of surprise, inwardly she was more stunned. Could it be that this man really didn't care about her unmatched beauty and could ignore the effects of her Mero Mero no Mi powers?

But just as she was thinking this, the unthinkable happened.

As the pink hearts drew near, Alastor suddenly changed direction, moving swiftly to the side and away from her, laughing loudly as he did.

"Boa Hancock, let me show you my courage next time. Goodbye!"

Using moonwalk to accelerate, Alastor quickly retreated.

Boa Hancock and her two younger sisters, Sandersonia and Marigold, looked at each other, their heads tilting in confusion.

"Huh?" they all thought in unison. He just ran away? Wasn't he just boasting about how confident and calm he was?

Sandersonia couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks to his bounty exceeding 600 million, he nearly managed to bluff us with all the big things he's done. I really thought he could resist my sister's charm."

Marigold smiled knowingly and added, "My lady is unparalleled in beauty, how could anyone resist someone as ethereal as her?"

Boa Hancock's expression turned even colder. She snorted with disdain and gave the order.

"Turn the ship around. We're going after that man. How dare he deceive me? That is an unforgivable crime!"

Although Alastor had run away, he hadn't gone too far. He was still within range of the Empress's observation.

The Queen's pirate ship was pulled by two enormous sea snakes, moving swiftly through the water. Additionally, Boa Hancock had a pet boa constrictor named Salome, who often helped her in battle and sped up the ship's movements.

Even though Alastor used moonwalk to fly through the air at high speed, he couldn't shake off the Empress. The Nine Snake Pirates' ship followed him from a distance.

Alastor gritted his teeth in frustration. He hadn't expected this.

What was even more annoying was the fact that the world's most beautiful woman had such a narrow mind. It seemed like she was determined to chase him, and after hours of pursuit, she showed no signs of backing down.

This was truly the Pirate Empress, known for her capricious and unreasonable nature!

Fortunately, Alastor had been training on Beast Island for the past ten days. Not only had his defensive power skyrocketed, but his physical strength and endurance had improved significantly as well.

But even so, continuing to run from her wasn't ideal.

Fighting with the Empress? If Alastor thought he could win, he would have done it already.

But it was a last resort.

The problem was the Empress's dangerous petrification ability. Once someone was affected, there was no way to reverse it—not even Blackbeard's Yami Yami no Mi could undo it.

Even if the Empress were killed or her Mero Mero no Mi power transferred, the petrification effect would still remain.

It could only be said that her beauty and the Mero Mero no Mi were too perfectly suited to one another. Only her peerless looks could maximize the effect of the fruit's powers. No one else could replicate it.

Alastor couldn't understand what Blackbeard was thinking in the original story. He actually wanted to take the Mero Mero no Mi. Did he also want to launch that "Sweet Wind"?

Shaking his head, Alastor pushed those thoughts aside. The more he thought about it, the more frustrating it became.

"I need to find a way to shake off this troublesome woman."

He took out the nautical map, and noticed several islands within a ten-kilometer radius of his current location.

One of them caught his eye: The Chambord Islands.

The Chambord Islands, located at the end of the first half of the Grand Line, are in close proximity to the Marine Headquarters and the Red Line. Countless pirates aiming to enter the New World pass through here, and the Marines have numerous deployments stationed throughout the area.

Chambord is home to many industries, such as casinos, entertainment venues, and even slave auctions, drawing in a wide range of visitors. Even the Celestial Dragons, known as the so-called "nobles of the world," frequently visit to indulge in the island's offerings.

This chaotic place, where the underworld and lawless pirates mix, is a perfect spot to take advantage of the turmoil.

After a moment of consideration, Alastor hurried toward Chambord Island.

Behind him, on the Perfume Snake, Marigold held a telescope and reported, "My lord, he's heading toward the Chambord Islands. Should we continue to pursue him?"

The Empress, without a second thought, responded coldly, "Of course! Anyone who provokes a concubine should never think of escaping."

Thus, the two sides—one in front, one behind—quickly drew closer to Chambord.

Meanwhile, the situation on the Chambord Islands was becoming more chaotic than ever.

In the first half of the Grand Line, the most dangerous of the Supernovas, all with bounties exceeding 100 million berries, had arrived on the island!

The citizens of Chambord wore expressions of fear, cautiously hiding in the shadows to observe these infamous Supernovas.

"That's Captain Eustass Kid! He's so ruthless, you can smell the blood from him from miles away. How many people has he killed?"

"Who knows? He doesn't care if you're a Navy, pirate, or civilian—he'll kill anyone. His bounty's up to 315 million berries, the highest among the Supernovas!"

"The second highest is Straw Hat Luffy, the one who caused all that chaos on Judiciary Island, with a bounty of 300 million berries. I heard they've docked here, and their ship's parked at the port."

"There are also ships belonging to Trafalgar Law, Capone Bege, Jewelry Bonney, Basil Hawkins, and the other Supernovas. The worst of the worst are all here!"

"Who knows what kind of trouble these so-called 'Worst Generation' will stir up?"

Panic spread through the crowd.

Suddenly, a sharp-eyed individual spotted something in the distance. "Look! A Navy ship—looks like they're here to maintain order!"

People quickly turned to see several naval warships approaching, but these weren't large battleships. They were frigates, designed for speed.

The frigates cleared the way, making space for a large, luxurious ship to sail ahead.

The flag flying above this ship bore the symbol of the World Government!

Seeing this flag, both common folk and pirates—including the Supernovas—gasped in shock.

This flag meant that Celestial Dragons were aboard!

Sure enough, a grotesque figure appeared on the deck. His face was hidden inside a glass box, his nose running with mucus.

"Is this the so-called Celestial Dragon? The descendants of the gods?" someone murmured.

The presence of the Celestial Dragon immediately drew everyone's attention.

On Chambord Island, Kid grinned with a twisted smile. "That's it?"

Killer, his second-in-command and a member of the Supernovas, reminded him, "The Celestial Dragons themselves might not be anything, but if they're attacked, it'll bring an Admiral. Kidd, we'd better get away from the coast."

Though Kid was notorious for his bloodthirsty nature, he wasn't foolish enough to attack a Celestial Dragon. However, he was curious to see if any of the other Supernovas would take the risk.

"Wait a minute, I want to see what the other Supernovas do. Especially the Straw Hat Pirates."

Kid was particularly interested in Luffy, who had gained fame for defeating Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and causing a ruckus on Judiciary Island.

However, his curiosity was short-lived.

As expected, Luffy was completely unconcerned with the Celestial Dragons. In fact, he didn't even know what they were. He was more preoccupied with playing with the resin bubbles on the ground.

"Hey, Luffy, that's a Celestial Dragon arriving. Can you take this seriously for once?" Sanji called out.

"Celestial Dragon? I think I've heard of them somewhere," Zoro yawned, rubbing his eyes. "What's the big deal? What happens if I cut them?"

"Idiot mosshead, are you trying to get us all killed?" Sanji yelled.

Zoro immediately shot back, "I was just asking, Curly Brow!"

Meanwhile, from a distant rooftop, the Heart Pirates watched the Straw Hat crew.

They weren't only observing Luffy and his crew; they were watching Kid and the rest of the Supernovas, too.

"Trafalgar, you're sneaky, hiding in the shadows like that," a man with a cigar remarked.

Trafalgar Law glanced at him and said coolly, "As the leader of a gang, calling me sneaky seems a little rich."

It was Capone Bege, the boss of the Firetank Pirates.

Beside him stood Basil Hawkins, the "Magician," with his mysterious powers.

The three Supernova captains met on the narrow rooftop, exchanging tense glances.

Bege took a puff of his cigar, his eyes gleaming with malice. "Do you want to fight? Our forces aren't on the same level."

Despite his fruit being formidable, Capone's strength was not just in his Shiro Shiro no Mi (Castle-Castle Fruit), but also in the massive army of underlings he could summon from his body.

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