506 Starting from One Piece

Using snakes as bows was a culture unique to the land of women. This was Shirahoshi's first time seeing such a bow. She mustered her courage and stepped forward again to touch it. The little pink snake felt cool and smooth to the touch, surprisingly pleasant.

After petting it for a while, Shirahoshi realized the little pink snake was indeed very docile, though its pupils looked as if it bore some kind of grudge, each eye fixated to one side, making it seem rather intelligent.

Seeing that Shirahoshi liked it, Marguerite directly took the pink snake bow down. She held it with both hands before Shirahoshi and said,

"This bow is yours. It's an honor for it to belong to you!"

Shirahoshi felt embarrassed taking something for free. She fumbled around herself in a panic, seemingly wanting to find some Belly to pay with, but she had come out in a hurry this time. After searching for quite a while, she only found a few pretty seashells.

She blinked her large azure eyes and cast a pleading look toward Kaito. Without hesitation, Kaito placed a chunk of gold onto the counter and said boldly,

"Even a king can't just take people's things for free. I'm buying this!"

Marguerite was stunned by the shining gold on the table. When she recovered, she hurriedly waved her hands.

"Kaito-sama, that's far too much! This gold could buy ten bows like this!"

As she spoke, she picked up the gold, intending to return it to Kaito. At the side, Hancock spoke,

"Enough, Marguerite. Since Kaito-sama gave it to you, just accept it."

Since even Hancock said so, Marguerite stopped refusing. She quietly put the gold away, standing there without another word.

Kaito pinched his chin, thinking that if it were Orochimaru, the bow made from him would probably be even better.

But now that Orochimaru had gone straight and his position as head of the Konoha Scientific Department was thriving, Kaito would no longer have the chance to test the idea.

Kaito walked to the counter and glanced through Marguerite's little notebook. Inside, he found detailed listings of materials and purchase prices for each weapon—quite professional-looking.

After reading it, Kaito looked up at Marguerite. Being stared at like that made her face instantly flush. She lowered her head, not daring to meet his golden eyes.

Hancock saw this scene and instantly misinterpreted it.

"Kaito-sama is interested in Marguerite?"

Kaito didn't look for long. He suddenly smiled, said nothing, and then left the shop with Hancock and Shirahoshi, leaving a completely confused Marguerite behind.

On the way, Hancock couldn't help asking,

"Kaito-sama, you seem quite interested in Marguerite?"

Kaito nodded.

"Marguerite may be young, but she works in an orderly and clear manner. I think you should pay more attention to her."

"Kaito-sama, you mean… to train her as my successor?"

"Mm. I think she's very suitable. Since she was able to participate in the warriors' selection, her combat power isn't weak. And she's also quite pretty, isn't she?"

"Uh… that last part…"

Kaito shrugged and continued,

"From what I see, every previous empress of the land of women looks like they were chosen from a beauty pageant. If you suddenly put someone with average looks on the throne, I doubt the people would accept it."

Hancock thought about it and realized he was right. Though very few could surpass her beauty, every previous empress was still a stunning beauty by outside standards.

Don't be fooled by Granny Nyon's current appearance—she had been breathtakingly beautiful in her youth.

Speaking of the former rulers of Amazon Lily, Kaito suddenly remembered Shakky, who still ran a bar on Sabaody Archipelago, and Rayleigh, whom he once fought.

At that time, Kaito was still in his developmental phase, so the battle with Rayleigh had ended quickly. He had even thought about turning Rayleigh into a Six Paths Puppet afterward.

Thinking of this, Kaito asked Hancock,

"Hancock, you should know Dark King Rayleigh, right?"

Hancock froze for a moment, surprised he would suddenly bring up Rayleigh.

But she would never hide anything from Kaito. She nodded and said,

"I know him. After I was rescued back then, he even taught me haki for a period of time."

Kaito wasn't surprised. Hancock's mastery of haki was extremely strong; reaching such a level alone was nearly impossible.

With Hancock having that connection, Kaito no longer had any thoughts about Rayleigh. He'd let him retire peacefully on the Sabaody Archipelago.

Kaito and Shirahoshi stayed on the island of women for a few days. During this time, Hancock brought Marguerite into the palace and had Granny Nyon teach her.

Granny Nyon seemed to understand Hancock's intention immediately and directly began training Marguerite as her final disciple.

Marguerite was dazed as she learned how to govern a nation, not yet realizing she was being groomed to become the next empress.

With Marguerite there, Hancock finally felt relieved. She had already begun dreaming of her future life in Marineford.

After making all arrangements, Kaito took Shirahoshi and left the island of women. He planned to visit Dressrosa, where Gion and Conis were still waiting.

Compared to the island of women, Dressrosa was far more prosperous. Men and women walked the streets in pairs, and the shops on both sides were filled with dazzling goods.

Seeing couples nestled together, Shirahoshi blushed and glanced at Kaito. Kaito immediately understood her thoughts, gently took her small hand, and said softly,

"Come on, I'll show you around."

A bright smile bloomed on Shirahoshi's face. Maybe it was the passionate atmosphere of Dressrosa, but she suddenly became much bolder and directly kissed Kaito on the street.

The surrounding pedestrians all looked toward them. Some young men went stiff on the spot when they saw Shirahoshi's face, not noticing their girlfriends' expressions growing darker by the second.

Since Kaito wore tea-colored sunglasses, no one recognized him. Even if they felt he looked familiar, they didn't think much of it.

Only after Kaito and Shirahoshi disappeared down the street did the stunned young men finally come back to their senses, unable to help but sigh,

"What a beautiful girl! She's like a princess from a fairy tale!"

But when they turned to see their girlfriends' expressions, they all shivered at once.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Endless slapping sounds echoed through the street, followed by desperate pleas for mercy. If they didn't bleed a little today, these women's anger probably wouldn't subside.

Meanwhile, the ones responsible—Kaito and Shirahoshi—had already arrived at the King's Plateau, where soldiers stopped them at the gate.