"Why have you come here? Or has our [Great Hero] finally finished with the matters at hand?"
Hancock's tone was exceedingly arrogant, making Karin feel displeased, but only Naruto could detect the unique sense of resentment hidden within that woman's haughty words.
The Great Hero, who always yielded to softness rather than hardness, could only scratch his head sheepishly, pretending not to understand. After gulping down several tropical fruits whole, he finally looked up.
"Hancock, I'll tell you all about those things slowly later."
Upon hearing the latter part of the man's sentence, Hancock's cheeks flushed with a barely noticeable blush… no one knew what she was thinking of, but it was quickly concealed.
"Hmph, I don't care."
Faced with such a tsundere attitude, Naruto simply smiled lightly, then his expression gradually turned serious.
"Hancock, and Stussy, I hope you two won't attend the execution day ten days from now."
Upon hearing this, everyone present displayed different reactions.
The two younger sisters knew about this matter, and their attitude aligned with Naruto's… they also didn't support their elder sister going alone into danger.
Especially after realizing that the World Government's underlying motives seemed to point toward Naruto, Hancock's situation became even more perilous.
Karin and the others showed little change in expression, after all, Naruto had already briefed them before coming here.
Elder Nyon opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Hancock preemptively refused.
"Impossible."
"Those people have already set their sights on me. If I refuse and don't go, their Buster Call fleet will probably pay Amazon Lily a visit first."
Yes, Amazon Lily indeed produced high-end combatants, but compared to the behemoth that was the Marine, it wasn't enough.
Faced with that kind of coordinated naval bombardment capable of utterly destroying an island, even if Hancock could withstand one round, she couldn't possibly block it every time.
Unless she stayed on Amazon Lily indefinitely, sooner or later this country would be destroyed by the ships the World Government continuously dispatched.
Wealth… that was their confidence.
Even if it meant piling up people, cannonballs, and warship wreckage, the Marine could overwhelm them.
As she spoke, Hancock didn't conceal anything, recounting how she had gone out to meet the Golden Emperor, Tesoro, and sought his help.
"I must agree to their demands to buy as much time as possible."
Hearing this, Elder Nyon's gaze shifted from Stussy's face, which she was very interested in, back to Hancock.
"Hancock, now you are a qualified Empress..."
Hearing Hancock's difficulties, Naruto also nodded slightly.
"I know, but regarding this point, I have a solution too."
As he spoke, he casually formed a hand seal and used Shadow Clone Technique.
The people from the pirate world looked at his actions somewhat puzzled.
In contrast, Sasuke and the other two seemed to understand Naruto's meaning immediately.
Sasuke's face remained expressionless, Karin gently bit her finger, while Konohamaru was full of anticipation.
"Like this-"
Poof!
Smoke dispersed within the dining hall. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Naruto's clone transformed to look exactly like Hancock.
"I... Cough... anything I do can be forgiven!"
After slightly adjusting his voice, the fake 'Hancock' emitted an identical voice.
This scene left the people from the pirate world utterly stunned.
To be honest, about the Transformation Technique, he had only demonstrated it in detail when he was on Roger's ship.
After leaving the Roger Pirates, Naruto had kept this Ninjutsu as a trump card for escape, never revealing it to others.
-This included Hancock and Stussy.
"So... you used this method to slip away from us silently, didn't you?"
True to being the World Government's ace agent, Stussy instantly grasped the key point and steered the topic back toward a direction unfavorable to Naruto.
"This... Cough... this..."
Hearing this, Naruto also didn't know how to reply, could only use his eyes to plead with Stussy, begging this agent to rein in her extraordinary skills. He would surely repay her generously in the future.
Seeing this, Stussy let out a light laugh, finally letting go of the flustered man.
She stood up very familiarly, walked around Naruto toward Hancock, then whispered something into her ear.
"...How about that?"
"!!"
Hancock immediately showed a very shocked expression, as if her pure heart had never imagined such gameplay.
Slap!
The Empress's palm slammed onto the stone dining table.
Perhaps because her mind was shaken and she didn't hold back her strength, this slap directly cracked the dining table.
Fortunately, most of the food on the table had already been eaten.
"Cough, Marigold, Sandersonia, you two first take these three young ones to rest."
Elder Nyon's eyes shifted between the two women and one man, then promptly had the two younger sisters take Sasuke and the others away temporarily.
Because she understood that the following conversation might only be suitable for these three to hear themselves.
Seeing this, Karin still seemed to want to say something but was promptly pulled back by Sasuke.
"Endure... now is not the time."
To be honest, perhaps Sasuke, this third-party observer, saw things most clearly.
He deeply understood that Naruto's feelings for Karin did not involve any romantic affection.
Therefore, whether for the sake of the team's harmony or to care for Karin's feelings as a comrade, it was best to separate them temporarily for now.
Fortunately, Karin wasn't someone who would make unreasonable trouble.
Ultimately, it was only because this matter involved Naruto that she had lost her composure.
When she went alone to the other era's Ninja World, her behavior was far less anxious than it was now.
Konohamaru, meanwhile, secretly gave Naruto two thumbs up, then followed the two very tall older sisters to the buildings specially opened by Amazon Lily to accommodate foreign guests.
After the few of them left, Elder Nyon also prepared to leave, leaning on her snake staff.
But just before exiting, she turned her head back, her eyes meeting Stussy's.
"I am Stussy, an agent of the World Government, and also a 'clone' of that acquaintance of yours… can you understand it this way, Captain Gloriosa?"
As if knowing what Elder Nyon wanted to ask, Stussy directly revealed part of her information in one go.
"..."
"After I joined the Rocks Pirates, I was no longer a captain."
Saying this, Elder Nyon shook her head, then gave Naruto a 'good luck, kid' look before also walking out of the hall.
"Alright, now it's just us here."
"Let's hear it... those things you haven't told us yet."
…
(A little common knowledge reminder:
During the first two months of pregnancy, pregnant women are in a high-risk period, and intercourse is not recommended.
Generally, it's advisable to wait until the second trimester (i.e., weeks 13-28) when the fetus's condition is relatively stable before resuming intercourse in moderation.
Of course, I imagine most of you probably won't need this point.)
The conversation in the dining hall continued from afternoon until evening.
Today, with the Empress's return to the island, Amazon Lily also held a celebration.
Watching Konohamaru already blending in with a group of Amazon Lily's warriors at the celebration site, and Sasuke quietly savoring the unique delicacies and wine of Amazon Lily.
-He still couldn't escape the fate of appreciating fine wine.
Karin looked toward the palace, her eyes filled with longing.
'Naruto-san still hadn't come out.'
And Naruto, whom she was longing for, had already arrived at an enormous bath with Hancock and Stussy.
The few of them faced each other openly… this time, there were no drugs as a pretense.
Of course, everyone was just bathing.
But it was clear that the cold expression Hancock had at the beginning was now gone.
These women were either rulers who stood their ground and carried their nations on their shoulders alone, or agents with multiple identities walking on a knife's edge. Their mental fortitude wasn't as fragile as that of ordinary young girls.
Besides, they weren't exactly young anymore. After so many years of push and pull, reaching this point, they simply went along with it in a muddled way.
Middle-aged people... that's how it is.
"You said... our daughter is called Kousei, right?"
Hancock gently leaned against Naruto, feeling his scalding body temperature, her hand unconsciously resting on her lower abdomen.
Beside them, Stussy spoke somewhat enviously.
"How nice, a happy family of three..."
Naruto didn't neglect one for the other, also gently pulling Stussy into his embrace.
The female agent, who rarely let her guard down, once again felt that sense of security, and the provocative words she had intended to say vanished without a trace.
'Just like this, this is fine too.'
Naruto didn't mention whether there was another child, and Stussy didn't ask.
She didn't voluntarily reveal the 'deal' between her and Hancock, whether she intended to keep it as a surprise remained unknown.
Seeing that Stussy, this always fox-like, viperish bad woman, could also show such a side, Hancock was somewhat surprised, but then also felt a sense of relief.
This time, everyone could be said to have truly gotten to know each other.
During the indescribable afternoon, the two of them had also learned from Naruto's mouth about how he completely mastered the ability to travel between the two worlds, successfully avenged his parents, and even met his daughter who crossed time and space.
"Incredible... Do you experience so many bizarre situations every time you disappear?"
"Not always..."
Asked this by Stussy, Naruto scratched his cheek somewhat guiltily.
The sharp Stussy immediately reacted, grabbing Naruto's hand with displeasure.
"Alright, back when we couldn't catch you, did you use that shape-shifting ability to secretly deceive young girls?"
Hearing this, Hancock also turned her face, as if recalling similar experiences.
"Back then..."
"I was still thinking about finding my way home."
As he spoke, Naruto's tone gradually slowed, beginning to reveal thoughts he had kept hidden for many years to his two confidantes.
"I wasn't sure if, given a real chance to return to where I came from, I might lose the possibility of coming back here."
"Back then, I couldn't be certain I could remain in your futures indefinitely."
"So you just kept dragging it out?"
Hancock's gaze burned as she stared at him.
"Then now..."
"Now, this is my home."
"I have a home."