I am "Snake Princess" Toritoma—one of the strongest contenders for the future Empress of Kuja Island.
Although my name itself is anything but beautiful, I have always believed this with absolute conviction:
Love?
Hah. That kind of thing is nothing more than an excuse for the weak.
After all, whether it was the previous Empress, Gloriosa, or the current Empress, Shakuyaku—both of them were hopeless love-brained fools!
One went mad for Roger, obsessed with Roger, and even abandoned her nation to sail the seas for love.
The other hid it better, but she exchanged letters with Rayleigh at every turn—she had barely ascended the throne before she was already planning to fake her death and run away.
Even my useless little sister, Firebrand Lotus (Toritoma), grew up following those two around, and now spends all day muttering about some "man destined by fate."
But Amazon Lily does not need a queen like that.
We are born warriors.We are sovereigns of the sea.We are the Kuja fighters who make enemies tremble in terror!
Love?
It only makes people lose their reason—turning them into lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
At least… that's what I believed.
Before I met that man.
Three years ago, at the Sabaody Archipelago.
It was my first time leaving Amazon Lily on an external mission.
Not long after Lady Shakuyaku ascended the throne, she hurriedly ordered me to go to Sabaody to "retrieve something."
Looking back now, she was clearly just using it as an excuse to have me deliver a letter to Rayleigh!
At the time, I stood atop the roof of the auction house, coldly observing the farce below—
A Celestial Dragon father and son trying to capture a Mink, indulging in the usual boring spectacle of World Nobles amusing themselves.
I was just about to leave—
When everything changed far too suddenly.
That Mink, as if he had received some unseen command, suddenly fought back—his fist smashing straight into the Celestial Dragon!
But what truly made my heart feel as if it had been violently struck by something—
Was him.
That man.
The man who crushed a Celestial Dragon's skull with his bare hands.
Watching that scene, I felt my blood boil inside my veins. My breathing became uncontrollably rapid.
Gern Reginald Sigmar.
A Rear Admiral of Marine Headquarters.
I had long heard of the fearsome name "Heaven-Shaking," but seeing it with my own eyes exceeded everything I had imagined.
Even when facing the World Nobles—the Celestial Dragons—he showed no fear whatsoever!
That strength.That recklessness.That gaze that treated the world as beneath him—
In that instant, I was drawn in completely.
The rationality I had always prided myself on collapsed utterly.
After returning to Kuja, I became possessed—collecting everything about him.
His battle records.His rumors.Even what he liked to eat… what color socks he wore…
One night, after finishing the very last page of information about him, I suddenly realized—
I was done for.
Just like Lady Gloriosa.Just like Lady Shakuyaku.
I had become a complete, irredeemable, love-brained idiot.
"No!" I slapped myself hard across the face."Toritoma! You're supposed to become the coldest, most ruthless Empress in Amazon Lily's history!"
So I devised a strict plan:
I would only allow myself to think about him three times a day—no more than five minutes each time.
I even had my little sister, Firebrand Lotus, supervise me—if she caught me zoning out, she was to splash water on me immediately.
And it worked.
Until today.
When that damned swimming serpent delivered him right in front of me, all my rationality—all my plans—went straight to hell.
His eyelashes are so long.His collarbones are so beautiful.The way his Adam's apple moves when he speaks…His warm, solid chest muscles…
...
Aboard the Kuja pirate ship—
"H-Hey…" Gern's mouth twitched as he tried to pry off the restless hand gripping him—only to find her grip terrifyingly strong."I say… are all women from Kuja Island this… enthusiastic?"
"Enough nonsense! Release Snake Princess-sama!" the leading warrior shouted sharply, though the hand holding her bow was trembling.
Gern sighed, suddenly feeling that this supposedly leisurely mission had become absurdly exhausting.
With one hand, he grabbed Toritoma by the back of her collar and lifted her up like a kitten, shaking her lightly in front of him.
"Wake up, um… Snake Princess-sama?"
Toritoma's eyelids fluttered as she groggily opened her eyes.
When she saw the enlarged handsome face right in front of her, her pupils instantly turned into heart shapes.
"Ah~ it's Lord Gern~"
Her voice was so sweet and sticky that everyone present broke out in goosebumps.
Gern: "..."
Silently, he stuffed the woman into the arms of the nearest Kuja warrior.
"I think you ladies might need a new captain."
"N-no, that's not it!"Snapping back to her senses, Toritoma suddenly woke up completely. She sprang upright, straightened herself, and tidied her disheveled red hair.
Her original cold, proud demeanor returned as she forced herself to appear calm.
"I was careless just now… as expected of 'Heaven-Shaking.'So… so…"
She sneaked a glance at Gern's chest muscles, then hurriedly looked away, cheeks flushing scarlet.
"S-so powerful… Conqueror's Haki."
Gern: "I saw you sneaking a look at my chest, you know."
"Damn it! To think you'd dare make a move against me—looks like you underestimated the Kuja Pirates!"
The moment Toritoma drew her black-sheathed longsword, cold light flashed like snow. The blade sliced through the air with a piercing shriek.
Fast. Precise. A direct thrust toward Gern's chest.
Clang!
Black Blade Eight Desolations blocked the strike perfectly. Sparks burst as two famed blades collided.
Gern raised an eyebrow, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"You're a great swordsman?"
The Snake Princess didn't answer.
With a flick of her wrist, her blade slid along Eight Desolations' edge, slashing straight toward Gern's wrist.
Gern stepped back half a pace, the blade grazing his sleeve and tearing a thin rip in the fabric.
"Hey, are you getting serious now?" he joked, though his eyes sharpened.
He twisted aside to avoid the horizontal slash that followed, then countered with a backhand strike aimed at her shoulder.
Toritoma bent backward with serpent-like flexibility, the blade passing mere millimeters from her nose.
A crafty glint flashed in her eyes.
Borrowing the momentum of Gern's swing, she suddenly closed the distance—left hand forming a claw as it shot straight toward his chest.
Smack!
Gern caught her wrist in a firm grip, the two locking in place.
Her face was inches away. The pressure of her chest against his made Gern acutely aware of the situation—he could even smell the faint fragrance in her hair.
Toritoma's breathing grew uneven. Looking at their tightly pressed bodies, her cheeks flushed faintly, yet her eyes shone with startling brightness.
"This technique of yours…" Gern narrowed his eyes."Doesn't it look a lot like you're taking advantage of me?"
"Vice Admiral Gern," the Snake Princess said, a faint smile curling at her lips."In battle, one must seize every opportunity—don't you agree?"
Before he could reply, her knee shot upward toward his abdomen.
Gern released her wrist and twisted aside, the back of Eight Desolations lightly tapping her back.
But Toritoma seemed to have anticipated it—her waist twisted, borrowing the force to close in even more, practically crashing into Gern's arms.
"Hey!" Gern laughed helplessly."This isn't a fight anymore—you're practically throwing yourself at me!"
The Kuja warriors watching nearby were completely dumbfounded.
They had never seen Snake Princess-sama fight in such a… "passionate" manner.
For a moment, none of them knew whether they should rush in to help—or politely pretend they were seeing nothing.
...
Meanwhile, on the distant merchant ship—
Lipo held up a telescope, munching on a carrot as she tilted her head. Suddenly, she cried out:
"Oh no, oh no!"
"Tessoro, did Gern get kidnapped by pirates?!"
Tessoro's mouth twitched as he slowly turned his head.
"Lipo… do you really think the phrase 'Gern got kidnapped by pirates' actually exists in this world?"
"Look, look!"
With a sigh, Tessoro took the telescope and focused.
In the lens, Gern was being steadily pressed back by the Kuja Pirates' "Snake Princess," her body practically glued to his. Her blade was sharp yet always holding back—
Less like combat, more like some strange form of… intimate interaction.
"Tch. Broad daylight… and when there's already one real rabbit and one fake rabbit around, now this…"He fell silent for two seconds, then slowly lowered the telescope and let out a long sigh.
"It seems… Vice Admiral Gern really ought to attend Admiral Sengoku's ideological education lectures once he gets back."
..
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