INIIDF-Chapter 171 Bounty

''Chapter Serial・Big News 23''

East Blue, Shimotsuki Village. A green-haired toddler, just over a year old, crawls all over the place chasing a newspaper fluttering in the wind. By the time he realizes it, he has no idea where his home has gone...

---

Once they reached the open sea, Hancock became like a curious child, asking questions about everything she saw.

When she spotted an unfamiliar sea beast, she asked about it.

When the weather suddenly changed, she asked about that too.

When she saw a female warrior take out a strange object, she ran over and asked about it, learning that it was something called a Log Pose.

"And what is that?" Hancock asked, pointing at a water spout rising from the sea not far away.

One of the crew members thought for a moment and guessed, "Not sure, maybe it's some sea beast spitting out water— like a whale or something."

Hancock was disappointed. "There's really no difference from the sea beasts in the Calm Belt…"

The only real difference was that the Sea Kings in the Calm Belt were much larger, and the climate was singular— always calm and windless.

---

Hancock lay at the bow of the ship, holding a telescope and scanning the sea ahead.

Suddenly, through the lens, a dark shadow seemed to flash by. She blinked and looked around, spotting a two-masted merchant ship in the distance.

"It's a merchant ship!" A female warrior from behind her shouted.

Inside the cabin, Snake Princess remained calm and raised her hand slightly. "Since we've encountered them, it must be fate. Let's check it out."

"Turn the ship and speed toward that vessel," A voice commanded from the deck.

The Kuja Pirate Ship didn't really need a rudder, as it was pulled by two massive sea serpents that had grown up in the Calm Belt. These serpents were very intelligent and quickly changed course, swimming toward the merchant ship.

Hancock felt a mix of excitement and anticipation. It would be the first time in her life seeing people from the outside world! She wondered if they were anything like what she'd read about in books. Were men really as bad as the stories claimed?

Hancock had her doubts about that book for a very important reason— first of all, Giorno was a man. 

And while Giorno could be rude when he spoke to her, was ruthless in battle, and became indifferent when he was training, overall, the way he looked at her was no different from how the women of Kuja did. He certainly wasn't as despicable or wicked as the book described men to be.

Through her telescope, Hancock watched the crew of the merchant ship as they rushed onto the deck. It looked like they were gathering together and looking in their direction.

Did they notice us? Hancock felt a little happy.

But the next second, her happiness vanished. The people on the merchant ship suddenly began jumping overboard, throwing lifeboats and small rafts into the water. These people were abandoning the ship and fleeing!

Someone on the merchant ship seemed to be cursing at those escaping in the lifeboats, but after glancing at the fearsome snake-skull flag and the two giant serpents pulling the Kuja ship, even this person trembled, shut their eyes tight, and jumped into the sea.

"Don't run away!" Hancock was so frustrated she almost wanted to smash her telescope.

The fleeing crew scrambled into about a dozen lifeboats and rafts, paddling furiously and quickly distancing themselves from the merchant ship.

The massive Kuja ship, pulled by the serpents, slowly closed in and sailed alongside the now-abandoned merchant vessel.

The Kuja warriors weren't surprised at all, chatting and laughing as they jumped onto the merchant ship's empty deck.

The Snake Princess remained composed and said, "The usual— take half of their food, weapons, and cloth."

The female warriors responded in unison, "Yes!" and with grace and beauty, they began ransacking the ship, moving crates back onto their own vessel.

In the distance, the people on the lifeboats and rafts sat silently, watching the Kuja pirates plunder their ship.

A young sailor, visibly upset, muttered, "I don't understand, why did we run away? They're just women!"

A burly guard next to him scolded, "What do you know, idiot? Didn't you see that huge Kuja pirate flag? The women of Kuja— is that what you call women? Any one of them could cut you to pieces so badly your own mother wouldn't recognize you!"

An old merchant, puffing on a wet cigar, sighed, "Kuja pirates always only take half of what they find. They don't push things too far, so we won't fight them to the death. Let's just consider ourselves unlucky this time." The old man's voice was raspy as he added, "Not that fighting them would help us anyway. We'd only end up dead…"

Someone nearby muttered, "Well, they're not always that scary…"

After drifting for a while longer, seeing the Kuja ship slowly sail away, the people in the lifeboats and rafts began to row back to the merchant ship, comforting each other as they went.

---

"This is so boring!" Hancock complained on the Kuja ship's deck. "Can't we find an island to land on?"

A nearby female warrior passed by, carrying a crate, and laughed, "Of course we'll land, but we're not there yet."

"Really?" Hancock's eyes lit up, and she eagerly raised her hand. "When we do, I want to go ashore!"

Snake Princess stepped out gracefully and said gently, "That depends on the island, Hancock."

Hancock was confused. "Why would it be different?"

"Snake Princess! There's a pirate ship ahead!" A lookout warrior suddenly shouted.

In an instant, the female warriors on the ship gripped their weapons. Some held swords, while others gently stroked their companion snakes, ready to transform them into bows and shoot arrows at any moment.

As the Kuja pirate ship slowly approached the pirate vessel, the pirates on board, gripping their swords, stood at attention, nervous and on guard.

Hancock jumped onto the railing of the ship, delighted. "They didn't run? That's great!"

The pirate captain, who appeared to be in charge, started to shout, "You..."

But Hancock ignored him, scanning the pirates on the deck. Her face wrinkled in disgust.

Although their appearances resembled men, like Giorno, they were filthy, and their clothes were an absolute mess. 

And they looked so weak!

Especially their eyes— dull, shifty, and completely uninteresting.

This is it?

A hand suddenly grabbed the back of Hancock's neck and lifted her away— it was Snake Princess.

Standing at a towering two meters, Snake Princess exuded a gentle yet imposing presence. She barely glanced at the pirates on the other ship, and without even using her Haoshoku Haki, the pirates suddenly let out a scream, sheathed their weapons, and leaped overboard in a panic.

Hancock, already frustrated, felt even more disappointed watching this scene. Were people from the outside world, especially men, all this pathetic?

Nearby, the elderly warrior Belladonna had been observing Hancock's expression for a while, her thoughts unreadable.

"Board the ship," Snake Princess commanded with a wave of her hand.

The female warriors responded in unison, leaping skillfully onto the now-abandoned pirate ship and swiftly beginning to loot supplies.

A few of them patrolled the deck, ready to shoot any pirate who dared to show their head with their snake bows.

'Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!' Arrows imbued with Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) weren't something to joke about. Each arrow pierced the sea with explosive force, and unlucky pirates turned the waters red with their blood.

"There's no need to be lenient with them!" Belladonna scolded sternly. "Not a single man is worth saving. It's better if they all die!"

A younger warrior beside her hesitated and kindly reminded her, "But Belladonna San, if all the men die, wouldn't it be a problem if only women are left?"

Belladonna shot her a sharp glare!

"Ugh, so boring..." Hancock shot a few arrows as well but quickly lost interest. These targets weren't even as satisfying to hit as the animals on Kuja Island, let alone opponents like Giorno or the black-armored fighter she once faced. "I wonder what kind of stuff is on a pirate ship from the outside world?"

She had no intention of helping with the looting. But who could blame her?

Wandering through the pirate ship, Hancock didn't find much of interest, but she was overwhelmed by the foul smells— sweat, foot odor, fish stench, garbage... everything was in disarray, and the "toxic air" was unbearable.

"Wait, what's this…? A bounty poster?"

Hancock stumbled into the captain's cabin, finally catching a breath of fresh air. She quickly noticed the walls covered with bounty posters.

Most of them were faces she didn't recognize, with names she didn't bother to remember. 

But flipping through the posters casually, she found two familiar faces.

''Jolyne Kujo, 120 Million Berry.''

''Chopper Giorno, 150 Million Berry.''

Hancock tore the two bounty posters off the wall, examining them closely.

"They're quite well-drawn!" She murmured to herself. "But it looks like Giorno is a bit smaller than in real life, and Jolyne's face seems a little different…"

"Hancock! Time to go," Belladonna called out, passing by the cabin window.

"Okay," Hancock responded half-heartedly, lingering in the captain's cabin for a moment longer before finally returning to the Kuja pirate ship.

While the other warriors carried crates of food, clothes, and treasure, Hancock returned empty-handed— except for the two bounty posters she'd picked up.

One of the warriors handed something to Snake Princess. "We found an Eternal Pose on the pirate ship, my lady."

Snake Princess took a look. The name of a location was engraved on the wooden frame of the Eternal Pose.

(End Of The Chapter)

You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my patreon and I've also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/marvel6395

 As long as I reach 200 dollars on my Patreon, I will post 10 extra bonus chapters per month in batches of 5 for that month. If I reach 300 dollars then I will post 15 extra bonus chapters in batches of 5 for that month. If I reach 400 dollars then I will post 20 extra bonus chapters in batches of 5 for that month. So come and support me.