THE STRONGEST CREATURE OF THE BEAST PIRATES

She could hear the footsteps of the man behind, growing closer and closer to her.

The Empress felt goosebumps rising on her fair skin.

"Is this the painful memory you least want to be seen?"

A large, warm hand rested on the Queen's back, right over the scar that bore the mark of the Celestial Dragon's hoof from that fateful day.

Hancock's usually cold and proud eyes began to water, and two lines of tears fell down her face.

These tears spoke volumes.

"Relax. All Celestial Dragons will die," Alastor murmured.

The Empress's tears grew more intense, and for a fleeting moment, she was overwhelmed by the urge to throw herself into the arms of the man behind her and cry her heart out.

But she held back. She was the Empress—proud and dignified.

"Do you want to remove this mark?"

At his words, Hancock's beautiful eyes widened in shock. She took a deep breath, and with a voice thick with hatred, she responded:

"If you can do it, then do it. I will thank you."

Alastor nodded.

In truth, he knew he couldn't remove the mark without causing her pain. The only one who could likely do that without damaging her was Trafalgar Law, whose Ope Ope no Mi abilities allowed him to manipulate and remove parts of the body. But at that moment, there was no need to call him. In the face of this kind of pain, sometimes only more pain could alleviate it.

"Be patient. It will hurt," he warned.

The next second, an electric current surged over her back, and the Empress shuddered as the current numbed her limbs. The pain from the electric shock was excruciating as it emanated from the scar.

She gritted her teeth and remained still, sweat dripping from her smooth forehead.

After several long seconds, the pain gradually faded, but it felt as though an entire year had passed before she could regain her senses.

She didn't realize what had happened until she felt a bandage wrapped around her chest, securing her body. A voice, calm yet authoritative, spoke:

"I killed the cells on your back with the electric current and removed that piece of skin. I'm afraid it'll take a year or so for new epidermal cells to form. During this time, you should be careful and avoid touching your back."

The Empress didn't respond. When she tried to stand, she realized she had no strength in her legs.

Her body felt weak, and she stumbled backward into the arms of Alastor.

He caught her effortlessly, his hands resting on her stomach where her vest-like waistline curved perfectly. The subtle fragrance of the world's most beautiful woman filled the air as Alastor's body seemed to absorb the softness of hers.

In that moment, he relished the feeling of the Empress's body, but he failed to notice the soft gaze in her eyes, her flushed cheeks, and how her icy heart seemed to melt little by little, bit by bit.

Time passed, and eventually, the Empress broke free from Alastor's embrace, regaining her strength. She donned her clothes, and with her bright red lips parting slightly, she spoke:

"Are you planning to join the war? You've killed a Celestial Dragon. Once you appear in Marineford, the reaction from the Navy Headquarters will be unpredictable."

Alastor noticed the change in the Empress's attitude, especially her concern for his safety. He couldn't help but laugh and said:

"Compared to Whitebeard, who represents an entire era, I'm just a small fry. The Navy Headquarters won't be so foolish as to risk everything to kill me and avenge the so-called Celestial Dragons. They know the bigger threat is Whitebeard."

In truth, the Navy was divided into factions. Not all were loyal to the Celestial Dragons. Some genuinely sought justice, others were forced to submit to the World Government, some simply wanted power and wealth, while others were obsessed with hunting pirates. Among these contradictions, there were those like Garp, the "Hero of the Marines," who saved the Celestial Dragons and their slaves during the Valley of the Gods, yet whose own family was marked as criminals by the World Government.

And now, the godson Ace was about to be executed publicly by the Navy.

What was Garp truly doing? His pain, to some extent, was self-inflicted, and he had failed to guide his children.

Wasn't it ridiculous for him to claim to be a "just" marine when his son was a leader in the world's most notorious revolutionary army?

Hancock agreed with Alastor's assessment that the greatest threat to the Navy was Whitebeard, and Alastor, who had killed a Celestial Dragon, was relatively secondary.

She looked at Alastor, then raised her long hair, which swept across his cheek like a gentle breeze.

Twisting her waist with a fluid, snake-like grace, she entered the back room.

"This concubine has decided to accept the Navy's Warlord summons. You'd better be careful not to be petrified by me on the battlefield."

As she spoke, she changed into battle attire, unbothered by Alastor's presence.

Alastor took in the sight of the world's number one beauty changing her clothes, thoroughly enjoying the view. Every movement was mesmerizing.

After a while, Alastor left, satisfied.

Hancock watched him leave, her expression turning contemplative. A small smile played at the corner of her lips.

She had noticed the fascination in his eyes, and she knew that no man could resist her beauty.

Surrender to the beauty of this concubine. Though she despised men, she would grant him some special treatment.

With her chin held high, Hancock walked out of the palace.

Her two younger sisters, Sandersonia and Marigold, were stunned to see the Empress, who had been so furious moments ago, now smiling with a serene expression.

"Go tell the Navy ships outside that the concubine will arrive at Marineford on time. I will spare them this time."

Her smile disappeared as she regained her usual aloof demeanor.

"Yes, Your Majesty," they responded.

As they made their way to the port, the two sisters discussed in low voices, unable to comprehend the sudden change in their sister's mood.

"Maybe it's because she's in a better mood?" Sandersonia guessed.

Marigold was even more confused.

"But what made her feel better?"

Sandersonia shrugged, not knowing the answer. She casually remarked, "Anyway, it can't be because of a man. My older sister hates men the most!"

Marigold nodded, agreeing.

If they had seen Alastor pass by above them at that very moment, their jaws would have hit the floor in shock.

The most difficult to deal with, the Pirate Empress, accepted the Warlord of the Sea summons, and the elite lieutenant generals of the Navy Headquarters breathed a sigh of relief.

Although what he said earlier was forceful, claiming that if the Empress refused to accept the Warlord of the Sea summons, she would lose her position, the Navy Headquarters would never push a powerful Empress like Boa Hancock to the enemy unless absolutely necessary.

After all, the true enemy of the Navy was the Whitebeard Pirates.

The Flying Squirrel also knew that the World Government, through Vegapunk, was developing secret weapons. The pacifists, which combined the abilities of Bartholomew Kuma and the Navy Admiral Kizaru, were one of their latest creations.

However, while pacifists were formidable, it was still too early for them to replace the Shichibukai. Both the World Government and the Navy needed the Warlords to maintain the balance of power in the world.

At the same time that the Flying Squirrel returned to Navy Headquarters on official business, Alastor quickly arrived at the Beast Island, which was not far from the Kuja Kingdom.

Standing on the top of a mountain, arms crossed, he looked down at the situation below with a smile on his face.

Onimaru's swordsmanship had become more and more refined, and his black sword, Qiu Shui, was so sharp that it could kill a beast tens of meters tall with a single strike.

Sai, inspired by Alastor, was also drenched in sweat as he fought against the beasts, secretly competing with Onimaru to see who could kill the most.

To the northwest of them, a pink-haired girl, far slimmer than the two men, faced the attack of three wild beasts alone. Her delicate face showed no sign of fear.

She held a long sword, parrying the beasts' claws with a loud clang, sparks flying from each impact.

Suddenly, a lion beast came up behind her, its massive jaws aimed at her slender neck.

But the girl seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. She kicked her legs, leaning backward as her pink braid spun through the air. She flipped onto the lion's back, landing on its belly.

In one swift motion, she plunged her sword into the lion's throat, hot blood spurting from the wound.

The lion's massive body collapsed, twitching before it died.

Despite the lion's defeat, the other two beasts, now enraged by the scent of blood, attacked more aggressively.

The girl had no time to escape.

Her beautiful light red eyes filled with resolve as she tossed her hair back and let out a clear, loud roar. In the blink of an eye, her body began to transform, turning into a colorful pink dragon, more than ten meters long.

Alastor, watching from the mountain top, couldn't help but be impressed.

When they first met, Rebecca's pink dragon form had barely reached ten meters. Now, just a few days later, it had nearly doubled in size. This demonstrated how much Rebecca had grown in both control and proficiency with her powers, able to transform between human and dragon forms with ease.

While Rebecca might not be the kind of genius who could achieve her strongest dragon form in a short time, it didn't matter. As long as she continued to develop her skills, even with just basic abilities like breathing fire, she would be more than capable of making someone like Doflamingo sweat in fear.

Every ability of Kaido's dragon form carries the potential for natural disasters.

After the war, Alastor thought he might train with Rebecca to further refine her dragon form skills and possibly learn more from Teacher Kaido's techniques.

Otherwise, it would be embarrassing to not be able to land a blow when it was time to face such power.

Rebecca, now in her dragon form, didn't use any major abilities at first, only generating small flame clouds for low-altitude flight. But with the durability of her dragon scales, she swiftly defeated the two remaining beasts and made her escape.

Dragons were the true kings of beasts, and no mere beast could compete with them.

Alastor's gaze shifted from Rebecca to Trafalgar Law, who was using his Ope Ope no Mi powers to transfer the slain beasts and hand them over to Bepo and the Heart Pirates for processing.

Afterward, he used his ability again to cut the meat into smaller pieces and compress them. This continuous use of his powers was exhausting his physical stamina.

The Ope Ope no Mi was indeed a versatile fruit, but its true limitation was the user's physical strength.

If Law's stamina were unlimited, even the Four Emperors would have a hard time against him.

It was no wonder that the Ope Ope no Mi was considered the ultimate Devil Fruit, worth five billion berries.

But Law's physical strength wasn't infinite, and it was difficult to improve. He could only strengthen it through continuous training.

Alastor had instructed Trafalgar Law to continue this task, not only to stock up enough food for the coming war but also to help him build his physical stamina for the battles ahead.

The war at Marineford would be on a grand scale, and the danger would be at its highest level.

At Alastor's current strength, he was still not among the strongest at the top level of the Four Emperors. What set him apart was his extreme speed, thanks to thunder.

Only someone like Admiral Kizaru, with the Pika Pika no Mi (Glint-Glint Fruit), could keep up with him.

This was why Alastor needed Trafalgar Law to be at full strength. If Alastor found himself in a deadly situation, Law would have to transfer him out and inject food into him quickly, which required Law to have enough stamina.

Even if there wasn't much time, Alastor hoped to strengthen his endurance as much as possible.

The time was ticking. Only two days remained until the execution.

Soon, the world would be shaken to its core—not just by the top battle at Marineford but by the clash between the Four Emperors in the New World.

It would be the Beast Pirates versus the Red-Haired Pirates!

Alastor somewhat regretted not being able to participate in that royal battle, as he was curious to witness the clash between Kaido and Red-Haired Shanks, both of whom claimed to possess the strongest Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki).

As for who was stronger, Alastor had no doubts—Kaido, without question.

In this world, if there was anyone who could 100% defeat Kaido at his peak, Alastor believed there was no one—not even Whitebeard.

Kaido was a complete fighter, excelling in every aspect: Kenbunshoku (Observation Haki), Busoshoku (Armament Haki), fruit abilities, defense, attack power, vitality, and recovery. No one could match him in these categories.

Whether in land battles, aerial combat, or naval warfare, Kaido was a top-tier combatant, the strongest creature in the world.

In the original timeline, the Straw Hat Luffy was able to defeat Kaido, but the main reason wasn't just Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Mi (Gum-Gum Fruit) and his Nika transformation. A big factor was that Kaido had fought many battles already, and Luffy had died and been resurrected multiple times, coming back with new strength. It was a victory born out of sheer will, not an even fight.

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