Volume 2 Chapter 11

"Congratulations Rose D. Ezra! You performed excellently. Not only did you rescue marines from certain death, but you also returned the 5 billion berries that would have otherwise been stolen. You managed to save one of our own, Capture a traitor and rescue an innocent young boy who happens to be the lone survivor of Flevance. You orchestrated the capture of the entire Barrels Pirates and the liberation of another young boy from his oppressing father. With all this said I have enough evidence to recommend you for the rank of Captain.

Congratulations once again" Vice Admiral Tsuru said in a formal manner which was very different to her usual self.

"Here is a letter with my seal for your recommendation. You are to proceed to the nearest division for transfer to HQ as soon as possible. Your crew will remain with me for now, when all the procedures are complete and you have been assigned an area, your officers will be sent there with you. Don't worry, I will handle any necessary promotions while you are away. Good luck stinky brat, it's a good thing you didn't die on me. I have great expectations of you, don't let me down" she added.

"Vice … Granny Tsuru, thank you for all you have taught me, I won't let you down. I will be an impartial marine, I won't turn my eyes away from injustice be it an enemy or a friend, this is my justice," Ezra said wholeheartedly

"The path you have chosen to thread is a very dangerous one, but since you have chosen it, walk it to the end," She said before hugging Ezra, like a mother hugging her son.

A few days before the battle at Minion Island in the North Blue. A Small ship was slowly moving away from the Sabaody Archipelago. The ship had a white sail and there were no signs of a jolly roger on any of the sails or flags. The crew was also non-existing, one man single-handedly performed all the tasks involving navigating the ship as it rode on the waves. The man was tall with a very strong defined physique. His hair which should have been a clean-cut blonde slightly grey hair and moderate facial hair was now wet as he performed various tasks on the small deck. He had a scar over his right eye which could not be hidden with his round glasses.

On the ship, there were the 3 rescued Boa sisters; Hancock, Marigold and Sandersonia. With them was a short elderly lady with very thick lips and wrinkling skin due to old age. She wore a black cape that covered most of her body only revealing a sea-green bubble belt, her name was Gloriosa. Another person on the ship was a slim, tall woman with short black hair with two tufts pointing upwards. She was wearing a black jacket with pink lines running down the sleeves which had collars with wing-like cuffs, inside the jacket she wore a body-hugging pink t-shirt spider-motif. She wore white short pants and knee-length boots, she was known as Shakky, she also happened to be the wife of the blonde-slightly grey-haired Rayleigh.

"Rayleigh, I just need to get back to Kuja island, you and Shakuyaku did not need to escort me and the girls. As you know I am the former empress of the Kuja kingdom. I will go and atone for my crimes, I only hope the punishment from the current empress is light. These girls are originally from the Kuja tribe so they would be welcomed back to the tribe with open arms." Gloriosa said.

"Don't worry, I know your people oppose having a man on that island. We will stop when we get close enough to drop you 4 off by boat. We will have to find some work to do for some gold when we return to the archipelago" Rayleigh said as he laughed.

"Thank you very much Rayleigh for the past few months," Hancock said as she bowed.

"Don't thank me, You were entrusted to me by a friend. Lucky Gloriosa recognised the three of you straight away. Having heard the story of your rescue, you should thank the marine boy who risked everything to save you and the others. People like this are very scarce these days, you should always remember his kindness" Rayleigh said as he gulped some alcohol from the bottle in his hand.

The trip back to Amazon Lily Island was very comfortable for the girls, they heard stories about the world from Gloriosa and Shakky. The ship sailed on a remote unused sea route from Shabaody to Amazon Lily. Amazon Lily is home to the Kuja which was made entirely of women. This island is located on the calm belt in between the Grand Line and South Blue. The Kuja are a tribe of all-female warriors, who are strong enough to claim the whole island for themselves while keeping men at bay.

"Rayleigh, There is an Island called Rusukaina on the northwest of Amazon Lily, can you stop there. It should not be difficult for us to make our way from there. The patrols should spot us easily after leaving Rusukaina. If I am spotted with a man, my punishment will increase" Gloriosa said solemnly.

"No worries Gloriosa is that not the island you mentioned where all those beasts could be found. Didn't you say it was a harsh island with its 48 seasons that changes almost weekly? I think we will have a short vacation on this island before making our way back to Sabaody" Rayleigh replied.

Rusukaina Island looked like a forest. The overgrowth of flora could be seen even from the sea. Shortly after arriving at Rusukaina, the 4 Kuja ladies boarded a lifeboat as they rowed away from the shores. Several different Footprints could be seen in the sands of the shore, signs of destruction could also be seen on some of the trees.

"Rayleigh, why don't we just go back, why do we have to stay here?" Shakky asked, as she asked the question an oversized ape made its way towards the shore. Having spotted its prey it could not wait to devour them before others came to contest for it.

Rayleigh at this point was still busy gulping his alcohol as if he did not notice the enraged oversized ape rushing in his direction, a cloud of dust and sand rose behind the ape as it destroyed everything in its path.

All it took was a look from Rayleigh, a look, it was as if a force emitted from Rayleigh's eyes. This force though unseen was capable of knocking out the ape, bringing it to a stop right in front of Rayleigh.

"Shakky my dear, it looks like we are having ape soup. Before we leave" Rayleigh laughed

"I don't know why I worry, You are still as sharp as ever Dark King Rayleigh, The Right-Hand Man of the King of Pirates," Shakky said as she hugged Rayleigh.

As the boat moved further away from Rusukaina, Gloriosa brought out a chest.

"Girls, listen to me carefully. No one can know of you 3 being enslaved, they must remain oblivious to what is happening outside of the island. To make your story believable, here you will find all my treasure." Gloriosa said.

Inside the chest were 3 fruits.

"They are devil fruits, I managed to acquire them using various means over the years. I was able to confirm that the small red fruit is Mero Mero no Mi (Love Love Fruit ), the green fruit with the orange dot is the Hebi Hebi no Mi (Snake Snake Fruit ) Model Anaconda, and lastly, the pure green fruit is the Hebi Hebi no Mi (Snake Snake Fruit) Model King Cobra. From the information I gathered, the Mero Mero no Mi can transform people to stone, the only condition is that they must feel some type of attraction to the user." Gloriosa explained

"Just like the Gorgons of legend," Marigold said thoughtfully.

Gloriosa could only look on as the sisters discussed a plan, she had done all she could for the girls and bringing them home would be her last act of kindness. She knew she had her own problems to face when she returned to Kuja. "The other two fruits allow the user to transform into a king cobra and an anaconda at will"

"What have you decided?"she asked

"Thank you, Elder. We will take the fruits. We will be the 3 sisters who killed a gorgon and survived its curse." After saying this Hancock picked up the Mero Mero no Mi, Marigold picked up the Hebi Hebi no Mi (Snake Snake Fruit) Model King Cobra and Sandersonia picked up the last fruit the Hebi Hebi no Mi (Snake Snake Fruit ) Model Anaconda. They ate it all at the same time.

Gloriosa could feel the determination to survive radiating from the girls. She had heard about their experiences at the hands of the nobles and knew they would be broken mentally, emotionally if they were to be exiled also.

"STOP, Identify yourself" A female warrior on the patrol squad said dominantly.

"Pansy, You have grown. I see you are now a warrior" Gloriosa replied

"Empress, No, Former Empress! You came back" Pansy replied

Pansy was an obese woman, with round eyes, a double chin and a big nose. She had light makeup on her face with her lips bright red. Her hair was brownish-red which flowed in the back with two big curls in the front. Like the other warriors in the squad, she wore a very revealing top that showed most of her breast and stomach.

Come on board our ship, the waters around here are not safe for a boat of this size. The ship was red in colour. It was a small ship used for patrolling with only one mast. It had a red sail with a jolly roger depicting nine snakes coming out of a skull. The most distinguishing feature of the ship was the enormous sea snake called a Yuda chained to the ship.

"Take us to the Island," Pansy said as she looked at the Island up ahead with giant curved snakes statues and the name of the native tribe of the island, Kuja, engraved on it.

Upon arriving at Amazon Lily, a group of female warriors dressed in armour were already waiting for the arrival of the guest. Due to the island's geographical location, there were no wind or storms ever on Amazon Lily, the weather was just perfect.

Gloriosa was not welcomed by the tribe women, but the respect they had for her could not be hidden. On the way to the palace, the guards surrounded the guest as they made their way past a crowd of women dressed in armour. "I don't know how much you remember but this town was built at the centre of a large crater on the island, utilizing the landscape for security," Gloriosa spoke to the girls as they moved, she was unbothered by the curiosity of the crowd towards the four of them.

Going deeper into the crater, the company arrived in the front palace inbuilt into the walls of the crater.

"Your Majesty" All the guards dropped to a knee as they saluted the current empress.

"Thank you sisters, you can return to your posts," the empress said. "Gloriosa, You came back. I thought when you fell prey to the "Love Sickness" disease. All these years you have found a way to defeat this sickness, why didn't you return to the island?" Mia the current empress said.

"Empress Mia, it's fine. I know according to our laws anyone who abandons the tribe will be exiled. I am ready to face the punishment for my actions, I know you mean well, and would like to reintroduce me as a hero but can that be passed on to these 3 ladies? You 3 introduce yourselves," Gloriosa said quickly before the empress could ask any further questions.

"Your majesty, We are the Boa sisters. We got lost at sea on a trip to Rusukaina and ended up facing a gorgon. The battle was long and hard, but we were victorious. We 3 suffered its curse and could only find our way back to land where we met Elder Gloriosa. My name is Boa Hancock and my sisters are Boa Marigold and Boa Sandersonia." After speaking both Marigold and Sandersonia transformed into their snake forms.

Hiss!

"Unlike the others, my powers turn people into stone, but it has some conditions for it to be activated. This is the curse we sisters had kept a secret until today. Your highness" Boa Hancock said respectfully.

The empress was shocked. There were no holes in their story. They really did fight a gorgon to obtain such powers which have been unheard of.

"You 3 will be inducted back into the tribe. You will be adopted into the palace where you will be taught how to fight. I expect a lot from you 3 heroines" Empress Mia replied after thinking about how to handle the situation.

"Gloriosa, I don't care if you like it or not. From now on you are Elder Nyon of Amazon Lily. Your crimes are hereby pardoned. I know your pride will not let you continue to remain in the crater, so a new house will be created for you in the outskirts. Since no one here knows about the girls other than you. I hope you can help guide them as you guided me in my youth" Empress Mia said respectfully to the former empress.

"You can count on me," Elder Nyon replied.

*** One year later.

"Congratulations Empress, we just succeeded on a huge raid," a few women sang praises to Empress Mia as she walked with her entourage to the docks. A red ship being pulled by Yuda's was making its way to the docks on it where the loots and riches plundered by the Kuja pirates led by the 3 gorgon sisters.

As soon as the ship pulled in, all the warriors saluted the empress.

"From this day on, The new empress will be Boa Hancock, with her strength and the support of the gorgon sisters, the Kuja tribe will continue to flourish under them" Empress Mia announced.