One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 259 What you seek is fame!
"boom!"

A violent slash flew out from Amazon Lily, slicing off the hand of a giant sea monster that had just emerged from the distant sea.

Sea King: "."

With a roar and a huge wave, the giant beast disappeared into the sea.

"So strong!"

"This oppressive feeling—is it the same Conqueror's Haki as Lady Boa Hancock?"

"Hey, Margaret, those two are men, aren't they? Look, one of them even has wings!"

"Are there really men who are so incredibly beautiful?"

The Amazon Lily warriors, now freed from petrification, watched the two figures darting about on Amazon Lily, utterly mesmerized.

As descendants of Amazon Lily, almost all of them are proficient in mastering both types of Haki.

However, even with their Observation Haki activated at full power, they were completely unable to detect the movements of those two people—all they could sense was an overwhelming and terrifying sense of oppression.

"W-what... Snake Princess, what's going on?"

At this moment, Granny Za, who had also been freed from petrification, almost jumped up and down: "We came here to welcome them as guests, so why did we end up fighting?"

"Shut up, you old lady."

But at that moment, Hancock spoke softly.

Her icy expression remained delicate and charming.

"Yes, Lady Snake Princess!"

So Grandma's eyes lit up with love and she immediately stopped talking, but then she realized, "No, that's not right! Why are you telling me to shut up?"

"I have a question for you."

But at this moment, Snake Princess simply interrupted her: "Are all the executives of the Twelve Constellations really as strong as that guy?"

She asked coldly.

"Didn't I already summarize the information about the twelve zodiac signs for you before?"

"I didn't look at it; I gave it to Samero to tear up for fun."

"You wicked tyrant who refuses to listen to advice!"

"What does it matter? I am as beautiful as you are."

After the usual conversation, Grandma Zha finally sighed helplessly.

"Yes, according to the intelligence, even without mentioning the Star Lord, they are all very strong, and are all 'monsters' with the power to destroy a country by themselves."

Her gaze fell upon the 'Sword God' who was locked in a fierce battle with Rayleigh in the sky: "Although it cannot be confirmed that this one is truly one of the 'Twelve Constellations,' given Shakky's intuition and the power he has displayed, the possibility is undoubtedly extremely high."

What she said was almost absurd.

Using one's intuition as the basis for judgment is obviously frivolous no matter how you look at it.

But neither she nor Hancock found it strange—because they both knew just how accurate Shakky's intuition was. It was almost like a superpower, allowing her to win every time she entered a casino.

so.
She said in a deep voice, "If nothing unexpected happens, they should also be a key part of that future 'war,' a driving force behind the global tide—Hancock, this is no child's play!"

As she spoke, she also looked at the monarch she served and said sincerely, "I'm not lying to you, Hancock. Don't forget, this prophecy was brought by 'Rayleigh'!"

She was very clear about the character of the emperor she was serving.

Proud, willful, and eccentric—aside from his appearance, he's a rather awkward and unlikable guy overall.

However, she remained steadfast in supporting him, for the reason that...
She could see the inner self beneath the other person's willful exterior.

"Hancock, for the sake of Amazon Lily, we have to stop Rayleigh and the Sword God from continuing their fight. We need to sit down and have a proper talk."

She looked at Hancock expectantly.

then
"It's so noisy."

She then heard Hancock's impatient reply.

Grandma: "."

But before she could get angry, she heard Hancock's words following closely behind.

"You're getting old. Your Observation Haki has declined so much that you can't even sense things at such close range?"

"Hancock said in a cold voice."

"They weren't fighting to the death at all—they were just unleashing their Haki to attract the Navy's attention."

"They are already 'talking'."

The words fell.

The mother-in-law was also taken aback.

Meanwhile...
"I see. Relying on intuition?"

Just as the Empress said.

"Qiang!"

At that moment, the sound of blades clashing filled the air.

Rayleigh and the Sword God were conversing in barely audible voices.

Due to the clash of Conqueror's Haki, even the news seagulls that had rushed over from afar could not get close enough to hear the conversation.

At this moment, the Sword God was somewhat speechless—although he had long known that Xia Qi's intuition was very accurate, he did not expect it to be to this extent.

"Yes, when she saw you in the newspaper, she said that you reminded her of the 'Rooster' she had met before, almost like the same person."

Rayleigh smiled.

"So, may I ask your code name?"

"Snake (巳)".

With his identity already guessed, the Snake no longer bothered to hide it.

Rayleigh nodded, smiling as he deflected the sword offered by the Serpent, then slashed out with his own sword: "So—what do you think of what I just said?"

"Because of a prophecy, you hope we can protect 'Nine Serpents'?"

The snake took the sword strike and said softly, "Is this why you're here?"

While talking.

The Snake (巳) had not anticipated the current situation.

To be honest, his purpose in coming here was very simple—he had heard that Rayleigh was here, so he came to challenge him.

But Rayleigh was clearly different. Through Shakky's unreasonable 'sixth sense,' he had already vaguely guessed the identity of the Serpent.

Even his arrival at Nine Snake Island was merely to lure the Snake (巳蛇) there.

Ultimately, the three Vice Admirals of the Navy Headquarters are indeed a formidable fighting force.

But to say that it would be worthwhile for Rayleigh to personally make a trip to Amazon Lily still seems a bit too strange.

"Haha, that's definitely one of the reasons I came here."

Rayleigh laughed as he wrestled with the snake.

"After all, it was Neptune who sent Hachi to bring the prophecy, and it was made by Shirley herself—I can't pretend I don't know."

He said so.

In my mind, I recalled what had happened not long ago.

That was after the Seven Warlords system completely collapsed, when Jinbe, one of the Seven Warlords, returned to Fishman Island with his pirate crew.

At that time, they were worried about the future of Fishman Island.

So Jinbe asked Lady Shirley, the fortune teller on Fishman Island, to do a divination.

But the result of this divination exceeded everyone's expectations.

During that divination, Mrs. Shirley saw endless starlight.

Amidst the starlight, twelve stars surround the central morning star—they seem to merge seamlessly with that central star.

Under the starlight, the sounds of war and battle cries echoed.

"Not just one or two countries, but the whole world!"

"Everyone in the world—slaves and commoners alike—is roaring in anger!"

"The world is on fire!"

That was an unprecedented 'great prophecy' that swept the world!
The key lies in...

In that burning world, Mrs. Shirley saw some details.

For example, she saw Enies Lobby sink into the sea amidst the war, saw the Red Line crumble in the flames of war, saw the Marineford navy mobilize in full force, and saw the disappearance of several islands.

"Elbaf, Fishman Island, Snake Island."

Yes—in the images she saw, the islands simply vanished from where they should have been, as if they had been 'erased' by some enormous force.

But at the same time, she seemed to see countless people laughing and cheering amidst the war that was sweeping the entire world.

"Stars can set the world ablaze, they can give the world a new life. They are the waves that propel the world forward, the giant waves that sweep across humanity."

It is said that after this great prophecy was made, the entire Fishman Island is now in chaos, and King Neptune has ordered a ban on news about the prophecy.

However, Rayleigh is an exception.

He and Roger had been to Fishman Island, and Roger and King Neptune were close friends.

Besides, Rayleigh also has a friend among the fishmen named Hachi.

Hachi knew about Rayleigh's connection with Shakky and Amazon Lily, so he took the initiative to go to Sabaody Archipelago to tell Rayleigh about it.

This is one of the reasons why Rayleigh is here at this moment.

A few vice admirals leading the navy are not enough to be considered a threat to Hancock, but a 'war' that sweeps across the entire world and could even wipe out Amazon Lily is a different story.

“Shirley’s abilities are incredible; Roger and I have both witnessed them.”

Rayleigh said softly, "Hancock is a precious junior to Shakky and me. Kuja is Shakky's hometown, and I have no reason to stand idly by."

"However, it seems that the empress has no intention of joining us."

With that, the Snake brandished its sword and sent Rayleigh flying.

"boom!"

Rayleigh landed on a mountain peak below, and with a twist of his body, he landed on the peak and then leaped upwards.

"clang!"

Their swords clashed once more, and Rayleigh's voice continued: "Don't misunderstand, Hancock means no harm—she just has difficulty trusting others because of some past reasons."

"In fact, she should have a good impression of your company."

Rayleigh said with a smile.

"Is that so? I don't feel anything at all."

The snake chuckled softly.

However, he wasn't surprised by Rayleigh's words.

He knew about Boa Hancock's past.

Having been enslaved by the Celestial Dragons in her childhood, she harbors an absolute and profound hatred for them and the World Nobles.

In fact, if it weren't for protecting Amazon Lily, she would never have become a Shichibukai.

So far, looking across the ocean, the only organizations that dare to openly kill Celestial Dragons are the Twelve Constellations.

It would be strange if the Empress didn't have a good impression of the twelve constellations.

but
"We have no reason to protect others for no reason."

As the snake spoke, the Overlord Color coil in its hand became even sharper.

But
"Zi!"

Rayleigh's body was also enveloped in a powerful surge of Conqueror's Haki.

"Of course I know."

He grinned and said, "You have to pay someone when you ask for their help—even I, a pirate, know that."

As soon as the words were spoken, the two blades unleashed another deafening strike.

The enormous roar made Rayleigh's voice almost inaudible.

"Unlike others in your organization, Lord Si She does not wear the 'Sea Beast Mask,' but instead uses the pseudonym 'Sword God' as your code name."

"If I'm not mistaken, your goal isn't just the title of the world's greatest swordsman, but rather a sufficiently prestigious reputation—"

His eyes gleamed with a distinct sharpness.

"Your Excellency wishes to make the world aware of the name 'Sword God'."

(End of this chapter)