"Is that Amazon Lily ahead?"
On the deck of the Gale Breaker, Karin looked at the faint outline of the island in the distance and asked nervously.
Naruto, standing beside her, simply nodded gently.
After parting ways with Byrnndi World, they had sailed back into the Calm Belt.
With only ten days left until Ace's execution, and no way to confirm where the World Government was hiding him before then… possibly Mary Geoise, possibly Egghead Island, or even Marine Headquarters Marineford itself…
They didn't have many chances for trial and error, so they might as well head straight for the inevitable war.
But before that, Naruto wanted to see Hancock on Amazon Lily.
On one hand, he had learned from his future daughter, Kousei, the approximate time Hancock became pregnant.
On the other hand, he was concerned about whether Hancock's assistance during the Whole Cake Island battle might affect her status as a Warlord.
As for the thoughts of the young girl Karin beside him... Naruto understood them too-
Of course, he'd rather not understand.
Bringing her here was also meant to discourage those very thoughts.
Naruto's thinking was simple.
It wasn't about making Karin back down from a challenge, but rather to show her:
See? The Naruto-san you like is already entangled in complicated relationships. Don't add another layer to it.
After all, by age, Karin wasn't even an adult yet, perhaps just entering adolescence.
Whereas Naruto, Hancock, and even Stussy...
All three were well into the age suitable for childbirth... or considered late for marriage and childbearing by some standards.
If Naruto had given in to Hancock back when he was twenty, Kousei might already be as old as Karin is now.
Naruto harbored no inappropriate thoughts towards Karin, who could practically be his daughter.
Ignoring Karin's visible nervousness, Sasuke walked over effortlessly despite a blindfold, and Konohamaru wiped away his morning training sweat with a towel.
"Are you... imitating someone?" Naruto asked, seeing Sasuke's blind man act, instinctively overlapping his image with that of another friend in his mind.
'Hmm… Maybe I should find time to teach Sasuke swordsmanship.'
Upon hearing Naruto, Sasuke turned naturally as if the blindfold wasn't there.
"No. This is a method Redfield taught me to train my Observation Haki."
Redfield's Observation Haki was naturally powerful from birth.
But precisely because of that, he deliberately underwent rigorous training in this area.
In Redfield's perception, the thoughts and memories of others played out like an automatically repeating movie, broadcasting over and over without reservation.
It was a terrifying form of mental pollution.
It once drove him to the brink of madness.
Therefore, when the young Redfield learned this supersense came from his innate Observation Haki, he developed the idea to shut down the constantly running 'radar'.
Blindfolding himself during combat and daily life was one such method.
Sasuke was no longer relying on his own innate Sharingan, instead using other parts of his body to perceive his surroundings.
His body hair felt the sea breeze, his ears heard the deck's creaks, every inch of his skin perceived everything it touched.
His intangible Observation Haki became sharper and more controllable at this moment.
"You'd definitely have common topics with that guy."
Naruto didn't specify who 'that guy' was, just casually adjusted the Gale Breaker's helm and said to everyone,
"Get ready. We'll be landing soon."
"Naruto Aniki, is it true that everyone on this island is a warrior proficient in Haki?"
After what he considered a substantial period of rigorous training, Konohamaru, who had only just mostly mastered Haki, was still amazed by Naruto's description.
"Yeah... so you still have a long way to go, kid."
Hearing this, Naruto reached out and ruffled Konohamaru's hair into a bird's nest, then laughed heartily.
Amazon Lily, also known as the Island of Women, officially named the [Kuja Kingdom].
All citizens of this kingdom were women, and all were warriors.
Decades ago, they maintained a relatively isolated way of life.
The current Empress would lead a group of elite warriors as pirates, plundering other ships on the Grand Line.
The island's female warriors might return pregnant from a voyage, then give birth to their own children.
Miraculously, all children born were female.
The unnamed father could not set foot on this 'men-repelling' island.
-Of course, that was all in the past.
After Naruto set foot on this island over a decade ago, many changes occurred on Amazon Lily.
For example, the large pier they were now docking at didn't exist before.
"Halt the ship! Prepare for inspection-"
Perhaps influenced by the mercenary system, ships from other forces would occasionally cross the Calm Belt to establish mercenary contracts with them.
Therefore, the Amazon Lily's warriors wouldn't immediately attack normally docking ships.
Of course, warnings were still necessary.
Along with the warning, two arrows wrapped in Armament Haki thudded into the ship's rail.
Naruto wasn't too bothered by the minor scrape. His gaze was fixed on the lead Amazon Lily's warrior who issued the warning.
She was a black-haired warrior with a quite hot figure, wearing very revealing clothing.
Seeing the attire that barely covered the essentials, even more daring than a swimsuit, the three inexperienced youths on board froze on the spot.
"This... this... so bold!"
Even Karin, who usually liked wearing belly-baring tight outfits, had a hard time accepting such open and daring clothing at first.
Not to mention Konohamaru, the young kid.
"So cool-"
His eyes showed not a trace of shyness, only delight at the potential to refine his [Sexy Technique].
One could only say the Ninja World wasn't open enough in this regard… the Sexy Technique Naruto secretly taught Konohamaru simply didn't have enough reference material for proper learning.
As for Sasuke... thankfully, the cloth covering his eyes was large enough to maintain his cool, aloof image.
In fact, it wasn't just this black-haired warrior… the vast majority of warriors on the island wore similar outfits.
After all, the island was populated solely by women, and the climate on Amazon Lily was summer-like year-round. They naturally dressed for comfort.
Plus, such light and airy clothing facilitated combat.
"Ah, Kikyo! Long time no see, you've grown into a fine woman."
Naruto clearly recognized the warrior, greeting her familiarly.
The warrior named Kikyo was momentarily stunned, then quickly reacted, signaling the surrounding warriors to lower their weapons.
"It's Uzumaki Naruto-sama! Stand down!"
The 'bow' in her hand, sensing its master's mood, transformed back into a coiling long snake, wrapping around Kikyo's shoulders.
After docking the ship, Naruto and his group disembarked.
"Wow, lots of new faces."
Looking at the youthful, vibrant faces averaging seventeen or eighteen years old, Naruto clicked his tongue.
"Hahaha, Naruto-sama, it's been too long since you visited Kuja. The older warriors have all taken on independent guard duties. Only these young ones haven't qualified to work alone yet, so they're stuck with dock duty."
Kikyo wasn't usually a very approachable figure.
In fact, this was the first time the surrounding young warriors had seen their Captain of the Guardian Warriors and instructor make such an expression.
Also, having always lived on the island, this was their first time seeing men.
After some pleasantries, Naruto got to the main point.
"Is Hancock back? I need to see her now."
Hearing this, Kikyo shook her head.
"Hancock-sama returned once before, but she seemed to have some business and left again temporarily. Judging by the time, she should be back within the next couple of days."
Then Kikyo added,
"But Marigold-sama and Sandersonia-sama are both on the island. They will be very happy to see you."
Seeing the confused looks from his three companions, Naruto explained,
"Marigold and Sandersonia are Hancock's sisters."
Then he said to Kikyo,
"Then please lead the way, Kikyo."
"Naruto-sama, you jest. You will always be a friend of Kuja. This is your home."
Clearly, Naruto's status on Amazon Lily wasn't as simple as the 'friend' he usually claimed.
Led by Kikyo, the group headed towards the palace at the island's center.
Along the way, many warriors were curious about the unfamiliar faces.
After all, when Naruto last visited, most of them were little girls... or even babies.
There were also some older warriors, around Kikyo's age, who greeted Naruto.
These women were almost all beautiful with impressive figures.
It made even Konohamaru start to blush.
But it also made Karin's heart sink gradually.
No one knew the little calculations going on in Karin's mind.
'Hmm... Judging by the average appearance of the women on this island, it indeed produces many beauties.'
'But!'
'That doesn't necessarily mean this Empress is prettier than me!'
'Maybe their aesthetic standards are different!'
Karin thought, somewhat deceiving herself.
Clearly, the sights along the way had made Karin aware that 'Boa Hancock', her unseen 'rival', was widely recognized as the world's number one beauty.
This realization put considerable pressure on her.
'Since they're biological sisters, their appearances shouldn't differ too much, right?'
Thinking this, when Karin finally saw the two sisters, both over four meters tall with somewhat humorous body proportions, she mentally started popping champagne early.
'Good, good, good! Just as I thought!'
'It seems my advantage is huge!'
Having gained confidence from the appearances of Hancock's two younger sisters, Marigold and Sandersonia, Karin had no idea what she was about to face.