Shakky's eyes immediately widened. She hurried over, grabbed the Den Den Mushi, and asked urgently, "Is... is that you, Hancock?"
"It's me, Hancock." The Den Den Mushi echoed Hancock's excited voice.
"Thank goodness!" Shakky was overwhelmed with joy, her voice trembling as she asked, "Are you okay? Where are you now? What about Sandersonia and Marigold?"
"Well, it's like this…" Hancock began explaining the situation.
Shakky listened intently, occasionally interrupting to ask for more details.
A dozen female warriors stood nearby, holding their breath, quietly listening to the conversation between the two.
Rayleigh looked surprised, almost unable to believe that a missing child had called back on her own. It was nothing short of a miracle. Just moments ago, they had all been praying to the gods for help.
Which meant that, by all rational judgment, the three sisters were presumed lost.
"A real miracle indeed…" He let out a soft chuckle, walked to a corner, and lit a cigarette.
---
On the Red Hound Pirates' ship, the two survivors left on purpose stared at Junichi, trembling with fear.
"That's all we know."
"Yes. The captain didn't trust us with anything."
He looked slightly bored. He hadn't even interrogated them seriously before the two surrendered completely and told him everything.
"Alright then." He stuffed cloth back into their mouths and covered their eyes with black cloth.
He didn't kill them. It was a practical choice, sailing a ship takes a crew, so he left them alive for now.
Things should be settled on that side too.
He stood up and looked toward the cabin. He was just about to head inside to see how the communication had gone.
Tap tap tap…
Footsteps echoed from within the cabin.
He immediately paused.
A few seconds later, Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold stepped out together. They looked around nervously at first. But upon seeing the pirate corpses scattered across the deck, instead of getting more frightened, they actually seemed relieved.
Hancock spotted Junichi and ran over with her two sisters. They came before him and bowed deeply, thanking him solemnly. "Thank you for saving us!"
"It was just on the way," Junichi replied calmly. After a pause, he added, "And I don't work for free."
"Of course!" Hancock stood up and held out the Den Den Mushi with both hands.
Junichi glanced down. At that moment, the Den Den Mushi had taken on the appearance of a short-haired woman, who was looking him over.
"I contacted her. She'd like to speak with you," Hancock said.
"No problem." Junichi raised his hand coolly and picked up the receiver. In fact, making contact with Hancock's people was exactly what he'd hoped for.
"I'm Uchiha Junichi. How should I address you?" he asked directly.
---
In Shakky's Rip-off Bar, the Den Den Mushi repeated the voice of a young man. "I'm Uchiha Junichi. How should I address you?"
At the same time, its face mimicked the handsome features of a teenager.
Shakky studied the young man's face for a moment, then replied, "Just call me Shakky. I can tell you're a straightforward person, so I won't beat around the bush. Thank you for saving the girls. Amazon Lily will never forget your help."
"As repayment… Whether it's a Devil Fruit, a famed sword, money, treasure, ships, weapons—whatever you ask for, we'll do our best to gather it for you."
As she said this, the female warriors around her all nodded instinctively. After all, Junichi had just rescued one of their most important candidates for the throne.
They absolutely had to repay him properly—no question about it.
They had just heard Hancock recount what had happened, and it was truly unimaginable—if not for his rescue, who knows what kind of fate would have befallen the three sisters.
"All right then, I won't be shy about it," Junichi replied without hesitation. He accepted the reward with a clear conscience.
After a brief pause, he added, "As for the specific things I want, I'll need to think a bit more."
"Of course, take your time," Shakky responded quickly.
"Then let's move on to another matter," Junichi nodded, and had the Den Den Mushi mimic his movements. "This ship is not far from the Sabaody Archipelago. The captain has a Log Pose pointing to Sabaody. If we turn around now, we can arrive in about two days."
Hearing this, Shakky's expression turned a little more serious as she said, "No problem. I'll be waiting for you on the Sabaody Archipelago. When you arrive, please dock at one of the groves numbered 1 through 29."
"Understood." Junichi nodded.
Shakky then explained a few more precautions. After listening, he hung up and turned to Hancock to ask, "Almost forgot, can the three of you navigate a ship?"
The three sisters nodded immediately.
"We can!"
"We've studied navigation."
"Yes, the three of us can handle this ship on our own, you can rest easy."
That was great news.
Junichi nodded, then turned and walked over to the two captured pirates. Without hesitation, he raised his gun and executed them.
Saved him the trouble of training two pirates. Better to leave the ship in Hancock's hands than trust pirates with it.
---
Two days passed in a flash.
Late on the second night, at a dock near Grove 13 of the Sabaody Archipelago, the Red Hound Pirates' ship slowly pulled in and dropped anchor.
Hancock and her sisters rushed off the ship, running eagerly down to the dock. Waiting for them onshore, Shakky, Rayleigh, and over a dozen female warriors greeted them with joy.
"We're back!"
The three sisters ran into the arms of the women, overwhelmed with emotion.
"It's so good you're safe."
"We're sorry we lost you."
"Forgive us… Hancock, Sandersonia, Marigold."
"There won't be a next time!"
The women hugged them tightly.
Soon, everyone's shoulders began to shake as tears streamed down their faces. Shakky and Rayleigh stood off to the side, watching with warm, thoughtful expressions. At their age, they had long since grown used to separations between life and death. So they weren't quite as emotional.
Just then, Junichi also stepped off the ship, carrying a box in his hand. Inside the box were the severed heads of the Red Hound Pirates.
They were to be exchanged for bounty money.
Even though the total bounty for the entire pirate crew was only about 4 million berries
It was still a decent sum.
"Shakky… and Rayleigh." Junichi walked over to the two, smiling in greeting, his eyes fixed on Rayleigh.
At this point in time, the start of the main story was still 17 years away. Rayleigh was noticeably younger than in the original story. With his light blond hair, though streaked with white, it still shone with vitality.
"You know who I am?" Rayleigh raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"How could anyone not know the famous right-hand man of the Pirate King?" Junichi replied with a grin.
"Hahaha…"
Rayleigh chuckled and shook his head. "The Roger Pirates are just history now. Didn't expect any young ones to still remember."