New World, Fortis Kingdom, Port of Ship Construction Department.

The Royal Ship Fortis and the Kuja Pirate Group Ship finally arrived at the port. Hancock and the others disembarked together with Hashirama on the ship of the Fortis Kingdom as it was on a voyage to the Fortis Kingdom. Hancock used a ship belonging to the Fortis Kingdom. This is because Ars asked him that Hashirama and Lowellmina could help explain everything to Hancock about their kingdom.

Arriving at the kingdom. Hashirama, Lowellmina, Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold immediately got off the ship and immediately walked towards the royal palace in the middle of the island.

“Absolutely still under construction” Sandersonia muttered with a face full of surprise upon seeing the Fortis Kingdom for the first time.

"Didn't I already say that? Our kingdom is just under construction.” Hashirama said casually and continued on his way.

“That building… Is that the building that you will give to your citizens?” Marigold asked while pointing to the second type of building which was currently under construction and was about to be completed.

“Yes” Lowellmina nodded, “That building is one of a kind. The building I said was for people with less than 4 family members. While more, they will get a third type of house. We couldn't see it because the building was on the opposite side of us.”

“This is very luxurious” Hancock mumbled quietly, “Don't you guys feel a loss by giving your citizens such a luxurious house like this?”

"Make a loss? Because why?" Hashirama asked confusedly, “We don't feel wronged. The purpose of building this kingdom is for us to live in peace and comfort. The choice of this house to be built is to maximize the comfort of the residents who will live in this kingdom. Not only this building, we will build every building that will be built later so that every one of our citizens can feel comfortable living in this kingdom.”

“But, if you build a building like this. It will cost a lot of money” Sandersonia added.

“Easy to get cost” Hashirama said, “After all, at the time of our raid on Marijoa. We got quite a lot of money there. The funds can be used for the construction of these houses.”

“The houses you see today are quite exclusive houses” Lowellmina suddenly said, “These houses themselves will only be built in 2000 units. Each type of house will be built as many as 1000 units. It could be said that these houses were exclusively for the citizens who were willing to move to our kingdom at a time when it was under construction. This is a reward for them. After these 2000 housing units are completed, houses like this will not be rebuilt. There will be other house designs built. However, although different. However, the house to be built is also very comfortable. The only difference between this house and the house that will be built later is in terms of the size of the house and the land used. As for facilities and others. All the same. This is also to make it comfortable for the citizens living in our kingdom.”

"What if there is someone who wants to live in this kingdom but he wants to use a different house design?" Sandersonia asked with great interest.

"No problem. He can do that. However…” Lowellmina paused and smiled, “Rest assured. You still haven't seen the house facilities we built. If you see it, you will definitely choose the house that we built over the house you want to build using your own design" Lowellmina's gaze then looked at the first type of house, "That is the first type of house which one unit will be given to you later"

Hancock and the others immediately turned their attention to the house.

“Currently only 5 units have been completed. Those five units are currently being used by His Majesty, Hashirama, our Royal Chef Jouichirou, and the other two units have been taken by the Prodance Kingdom and the Ryugu Kingdom”

Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold nodded and were quite curious about the house. They continued their journey and arrived in front of the courtyard of the royal palace. They continued their journey into the royal palace. When they entered, Hancock and others were immediately surprised by the luxurious and beautiful interior of the royal palace.

“His Majesty is currently waiting for us in the guest room. Let's go there.” Lowellmina said calmly.

Lowellmina and Hashirama immediately led Hancock and the others into the guest room. It didn't take long for them to get there and it was seen that Ars and Shiina were already there with on the guest table there was a box containing the flag of the Fortis Kingdom, 2 Special Eternal Poses whose one purpose was the Fortis Kingdom and the other was the Connecting Channel, then there were also documents. which Shiina was currently holding along with a small book.

“Your Majesty, I have brought the Royal Empress of Amazon Lily – Boa Hancock along with her two sisters” Hashirama said politely.

"Good job" Ars nodded and immediately walked towards Hancock who was currently looking at him with a look of interest. Hancock wanted to see if Ars would be affected by her beauty.

“Welcome to the Fortis Kingdom. I'm Ars. I am the King of the Fortis Kingdom. I hope you enjoyed your previous voyage on a ship from our kingdom” Ars raised his hand for a handshake.

Hancock was quite surprised by Ars' calm demeanor and it didn't appear from Ars' face that Ars was captivated by his appearance. Hancock immediately returned the greeting calmly, “Amazon Lily Royal Empress, Boa Hancock. Nice to meet you, too"

Ars nodded and immediately let go of his hand then looked at Sandersonia and Marigold, “You two, the younger sister of the Empress?” Ars asked kindly with a smile.

"That's right, Your Majesty" Sandersonia immediately said politely, "I'm Boa Sandersonia"

“I am Boa Marigold”

Ars nodded and looked at Hancock "How about we talk while sitting down?"

"Good idea" Hancock nodded and immediately went along with Ars sitting on the sofa that was there.

Hashirama who saw that there was a suitcase and eternal pose of his kingdom and eternal pose of the connecting channel immediately took all the things to hold then immediately stood behind Ars along with Lowellmina and Shiina. Sandersonia and Marigold also did the same thing by standing behind Hancock along with the snake Solome who became Hancock's partner.

"I apologize in advance. I know that you must be dissatisfied with our previous mechanism, right?” Ars said calmly, “However, it is a mechanism of our kingdom. Before a kingdom can officially sign a cooperative relationship. They have to go through talks with our Department of Foreign Relations. If the conversation is direct with success. The next step can be implemented."

"No problem. I understand.” Hancock nodded.

“Thank you' Ars nodded then continued, “This cooperative relationship is a cooperative relationship to protect your kingdom's territory. You want us to protect your territory from attacks from other people. At the same time, you also have to pay us a certain amount of protection tax annually which is 5% of your total annual income. Also, apart from getting protection, your kingdom can also buy products in our kingdom at the same price as the prices purchased by the citizens of our kingdom. This is the cooperation agreement. Is there nothing wrong with this agreement?”

Hancock frowned and said, "Can the tax payment not be reduced?"

“That can't be done, Empress” Ars shook his head, “That tax payment will later be used to finance our kingdom's fighting forces. Our royal fighting force has four departments. Department of the Royal Palace Guard, Department of Intelligence, Department of the Army, and Department of the Navy. The tax payments you pay will go to the department's funds. In addition, we have also given you a very large benefit, one of which is the purchase of goods in our kingdom at a very cheap price compared to the market price. You should already have a lot to gain from this cooperative relationship.”

Hancock sighed then continued, “Then can you add to the content of the agreement by teaching us the spiritual energy control technique your kingdom possesses?”

“It can be done” Ars nodded, “However, only to the advanced stage. We cannot teach at the highest level. Because the technique can only be used by the higher-ups of our Kingdom. Even our troops will only be taught up to advanced control and not to high level” Ars paused and continued, “Besides, regarding this teaching. We can only do so when one of our combat departments is ready. We still can't teach you at this time because all of our people are still focused on building and don't have time to teach you guys.”

“You can hand us the book that records his training,” Hancock said back.

“No way, Empress. I can't guarantee that if I leave it to you guys. The technique will be well preserved and not leaked to outsiders” Ars paused, “Currently our kingdom has a conflict with the World Government. If they know that our spiritual energy control technique is on your side. They will definitely do anything to get it. The best way to learn is to wait until one of our departments is completed to be built and ready to operate and your troops can train together with our troops later.”

"How long?" Hancock asked again.

"I can't guarantee how long. However, at least less than 1 year. There will be one or two Departments ready to operate.”

"Okay." Hancock nodded.

"Shiina" Called Ars.

Shiina nodded and immediately handed over the documents she had prepared beforehand to Ars. Ars immediately received the document and handed it to Hancock, “Please check first. If there is no error. You can sign this document to ratify our cooperative relationship.”

Hancock nodded and immediately took the document. Hancock read it briefly then signed it when she did not find anything strange there and the agreement was in accordance with what they agreed. Hancock then handed the document back to Ars and Ars handed it to Shiina "Go and keep this document in the storage warehouse"

“I see” Shiina nodded and immediately left the room

"Hashirama" Ars called.

Hashirama then immediately handed over the suitcase containing the flag of the Fortis Kingdom. Ars immediately opened the suitcase and saw the flag inside, “This is the flag of our kingdom. You raise this flag in your territory to let everyone know that your kingdom is under the protection of our kingdom. Put it out in the open and can be seen by everyone”

"Sonia" Hancock called.

Sandersonia immediately walked forward and took the flag along with her suitcase and then immediately carried it out to their ship.

Hashirama then proceeded to give Ars two special Eternal Poses.

"Here are two special Eternal Pose that I will give to you" Ars immediately pushed the two special eternal poses in front of Hancock, "Special Eternal Pose with the name "Kingdom of Fortis" is a special eternal pose that can help you to navigate the ship to the our kingdom. Meanwhile, the Special Eternal Pose with the name “Channel of Connectors” is a special eternal pose that can help you to sail to the Grand Line without using the underwater route, namely Fish-Man Island or the upper route, namely Marijoa.

"What does it mean?" Hancock asked with a slightly surprised face.

“Our kingdom has established a connecting channel in the lower region of the Red Line. The connecting channel has a large enough size and can be passed by several ships at once. The connecting channel connects the New World region and the Grand Line region and is located adjacent to Saboundy Island. However, at the entrance of the connecting channel there was a very strong illusion that had been set. Although one could use Observation Haki to an advanced level. It was impossible to find the connecting channel without the help of this Special Eternal Pose. The illusion that existed at the entrance could restrain one's Observation Haki from feeling it. Only by using this Special Eternal Pose can you find the connecting channel. I leave this to you so that you can easily make the voyage here. You don't have to bother to cover your ship using a bulge protector or so on. Just use that connecting line. However, do not let others know. It will only be troublesome for us.”

"Hmph! This is something good” Hancock sniffed with satisfaction and looked at Ars, “I didn't expect your kingdom to have such a good thing”

“We already planned this. In the future, our products will not only be marketed in the New World area but also in the Grand Line. In addition, the best shipyards are currently in the Grand Line region. We need a channel that can speed up the delivery of the goods later” Ars said calmly then continued, “Well, did you bring your royal flags with you?”

Hancock immediately kept the eternal pose she was given and said, “Come on.”

Marigold immediately walked forward and placed the suitcase she was carrying in front of Ars. Ars immediately opened the suitcase and saw the flag of the Amazon Lily Kingdom.

“Lowa, please bring this flag to my study. We will raise the flag on the day of the meeting.”

"I understand" Lowellmina immediately took the flag and then left the room.

“By the way, currently our kingdom has established a cooperative relationship. Our kingdom currently also has an order for wood from the Navy worth 10 billion berries.”

“10 billion berries?!” Hancock and Marigold who heard this were shocked.

"Yes. 10 billion berries. Do you want to take over the delivery of this item? At the same time, you can prepare for the meeting later on February 16th. What a great advantage you can get. You will later get a profit of 2 billion berries by making this sale. What do you think?”

"Is there a lot of wood that will be brought later?" Hancock asked while frowning.

“Relax” Ars said casually, “Our kingdom has a technology called storage capsule. The capsule is a small object that can accommodate a variety of items in it. On the inside of the capsule there is a storage space technology with a storage size that can store 50 thousand units of wood in one store. We will lend you one capsule to carry the order. How?"

Hancock and Marigold were quite surprised by the storage capsule's technology.

“Is that storage capsule technology a product of your empire too?” Hancock asked with interest.

“Sure” Ars nodded, “But it's different from other products. We will not sell this product to anyone. This product is a step product and we will not sell it to anyone. I lend it to you because I believe in your character. You won't let anyone else get that item."

"Hmph! Of course!" Hancock sniffed proudly, “Who do you think I am?”

“You are Boa Hancock, right? Amazon Lily Royal Empress as well as a Shichibukai” Ars said calmly.

“You said that almost like you were mocking me, Ars” Hancock said with a sullen face then continued, “Also, don't call me a Shichibukai anymore. From now on I am no longer a Shichibukai”

“Up to you” Ars shrugged his shoulders then continued, “What about the proposal I offered earlier? Do you want to take it? At the same time, you can immediately say your withdrawal from the Shichibukai when delivering the goods.”

"Well. I accept it” said Hancock proudly.

"Hashirama, you'll tell Sengoku about this later. So that they know who will deliver the goods.”

“I understand.” Hashirama nodded.

Ars gaze then looked at Hancock, “By the way, has the scar on your back and your two sisters gone yet?”

Hancock and Marigold were then very surprised to hear this. Neither of them thought that Ars knew about it.

“How did you know?!” asked Hancock coldly.

“It was an easy thing for me” Ars said calmly without fear with Hancock's eyes which were currently cold and full of killing intent, “You don't need to look at me with that look. I'm just asking you. Is it still there or not. If it's still there, Hashirama can help you heal the wound if you want"

"What?!" Hancock and Marigold were very surprised to hear this information.

"You can do it, can't you Hashirama?" Ars asked while looking at Hashirama, “You can definitely heal wounds that are difficult to heal, right? For example, a wound that touches the flesh of the body.”

Hancock and Marigold looked directly at Hashirama.

“I think I can do it” Hashirama nodded, “Well, maybe I can. As long as the wound is not a wound that really cannot be healed, for example, a cut hand or other things. I can do that”

“You–You can actually do it?” asked Hancock with a look full of disbelief.

Hancock had been looking for someone who could help erase the wound. However, many people told him that it was impossible to get rid of the wounds that had imprinted on his flesh except for removing the flesh. Hancock didn't want that because it would leave a very ugly mark on her back.

"Yes. It's pretty easy if it's just a scar like that compared to the wounds of a stubborn old man.” Hashirama said calmly and casually.

"Older sister…." Marigold's eyes were currently filled with hope.

Hancock and her two sisters didn't have much hope. They just want to live in peace and also the scars on their backs disappear. They had been looking for a way but until then Hahsirama confirmed it. They couldn't find a way.

“Hashirama can do it. You guys have heard that firsthand” Ars said calmly, “Well, what now? Do you want him to help? I can ask him to do it. At the same time, we will prepare a room that you will later use for your rest today. The time is now in the afternoon and it doesn't take long to enter the evening. Going on a cruise at night is a bit risky even if it's you. Rest here tonight."

Hancock's eyes, which were cold and full of killing intent, immediately turned to hope and joy.

"I want it." Hancock said excitedly.

"Okay. Then, we are waiting for your sister to come back" Ars said then looked at Hashirama, "Go and tell the servants to prepare 3 guest rooms that Hancock and others will use to rest"

“I understand.” Hashirama nodded and immediately carried out the order.