Chapter 90: "Pirate Empress", New Reward Order
The next day, a piece of news from the Newspaper caused a sensation worldwide, stirring turbulent waves on the sea.
The headline of this news reads in bold: "Pirate Empress, Ruler of Kuja Pirates!"
On the cover of the headline, there were two photos.
The first showed Hancock wearing a white cheongsam emblazoned with the red Hydra logo.
The second photo, with the reward frame removed, displayed Hancock in a black and white maid outfit, with blue and white arcs swirling around her. Her beautiful cheeks and dark blue eyes were full of disdain and arrogance.
Next to these photos, Morgans used many words to introduce the existence of the Nine Snakes to the world, the role of Cross Kahn in bringing the Kuja Pirates back to the New World, and the significant improvement of the "Cross Family."
People worldwide who read today's Newspaper were suddenly enlightened.
It turns out that the Kuja Pirates is a country and a nation, and it is also the name of a pirate group. Its real name is "Amazon Lily Kingdom."
After learning that the Kuja Pirates is an All-female Island, men all over the world were filled with envy and hatred toward Cross Kahn.
Mastering the legendary Female Island and having the world's most beautiful woman as a maid meant Kahn became the only male and the only male king of All-Female Island.
To many, this was the ultimate achievement in life!
However, the deeper knowledge and understanding of the world's forces painted a more complex picture.
All the forces in the Grand Line, particularly in the New World, felt an immense weight after seeing today's news.
Especially in the New World, even the three Yonko were challenged by Kahn's growing influence.
As for the other major forces, second only to the Yonko, they saw Kahn as a formidable obstacle, a mountain blocking their path.
They never imagined that the "Maid of Thunder," Boa Hancock, was actually the Empress of Kuja Pirates.
In other words, she was the candidate for Empress of the Kuja Pirates. The reason for her absence over the past three years was her return to Kuja Island to undergo the trials of becoming an Empress.
Now, having successfully become the new Empress of the Kuja Pirates, she led her "Amazon Lily Kingdom" and "Kuja Pirates" as part of the Cross Family.
To be precise, they were not merely a subsidiary force but the main force of the "Cross Family."
Boa Hancock, being Kahn's maid, did not sever ties with the "Cross Family."
With the integration of the Kuja Pirates, the "Cross Family" gained immense strength, boasting the "Strongest Twinstar" of Cross Kahn and Boa Hancock, along with the world's best-selling drug business, solidifying its status as a first-class power.
The Kuja Pirates, with all members proficient in Haki and the Empress possessing Conqueror's Haki, added significant power. The "Amazon Lily Kingdom," like the closed-off Wano, was recognized as a Haki powerhouse worldwide.
This reputation had been built over hundreds of years by the Empresses of the Kuja Pirates and was well known by all parties.
This prestige allowed Boa Hancock in the original story to be invited by the World Government to become a Shichibukai despite her few records. Even Sengoku didn't dare underestimate her.
Boa Hancock's position as the Empress of Kuja Pirates implied that she possessed Conqueror's Haki.
Considering she ruled a powerful Haki nation and had the abilities of the Logia Rumble Fruit, the leaders of major forces, like people worldwide, were full of envy and hatred for Kahn.
Possessing Conqueror's Haki, wielding the Logia Rumble Fruit, and ruling a Haki powerhouse... Having such top talent, ability, and influence, Hancock immediately became one of the significant figures in the New World, second only to the Yonko.
Her future also positioned her as one of the strongest contenders for maritime supremacy.
It was no exaggeration to say that Hancock was fully qualified to have equal standing with Cross Kahn, and with the experience and wisdom of the previous Empresses, she didn't need to rely solely on Kahn's influence.
If other forces had such conditions and advantages, they would have already kicked Cross Kahn aside to establish their own power.
And what about Boa Hancock?
After becoming Empress, she led the entire "Amazon Lily Kingdom" and the "Kuja Pirates" into the "Cross Family," not as an affiliated force or an affiliated pirate group but as a full member. This meant that the "Amazon Lily Kingdom" and "Kuja Pirates" were now labelled as part of the "Cross Family."
With one more master above the Queen, Boa Hancock's decision seemed to ruin the glory of the "Amazon Lily Kingdom" and "Kuja Pirates" that had stood for hundreds of years.
She effectively turned the legacy of past Empresses and the heritage of Kuja Island into the nourishment for Cross Kahn and the "Cross Family" to rise as overlords of the sea.
What was this woman thinking?
Could it be that she was driven by legendary love?
And who was Cross Kahn to train the world's most beautiful woman to such a degree?
While the whole world was envious, jealous, and hateful, filled with extreme jealousy and fear, the Marines updated a particular bounty order.
Morgans, who obtained this new version of the bounty order, published it in the Newspaper headline the next day. The title was simple—"Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, Bounty of 1.5 Billion Berries: The Most Beautiful Woman in the World."
The headline cover featured only Hancock's new bounty order.
In the photo, taken secretly by paparazzi when Kahn and his group arrived in Dressrosa from Daughter Island, Hancock wore a white cheongsam with the Hydra logo.
Her title changed from "Maid of Thunder" to "Pirate Empress," and her bounty skyrocketed from 592 million berries to 1.5 billion berries.
This near-billion jump demonstrated how much the Naval Headquarters valued Hancock.
They recognized that Hancock wasn't just a second-in-command of a monster.
Her potential and threat were almost on par with Kahn's.
Much like Silver Rayleigh in the previous era, she was the second-in-command with the potential to become a maritime hegemon.
In reality, this bounty jump was still conservative.
In the original story, Hancock's bounty jumped from 80 million berries to 1.659 billion berries after losing her Shichibukai title, a terrifying increase of 1.579 billion.
The current Hancock was certainly stronger than her 31-year-old self in the original story.
One and a half billion berries didn't truly reflect her strength.
Similarly, 1.555 billion berries didn't fully capture Kahn's current strength.
But Kahn, having now mastered Kuja Island, hadn't had his bounty updated yet.
This pair of "strongest twin stars" now needed a significant record to make the Marines reassess their strength and threat level.
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