Hancock's Observation Haki had been fully active the entire ti, so after entering Pangaea Castle, she imdiately rushed toward Michael's location.
Although she heard soone cursing Luffy along the way, Hancock had no ti to watch the commotion.
Right now, her only concern was her father's safety.
After she, Enel, and Mihawk had basically subdued one of the Five Elders, she charged straight into Pangaea Castle.
No matter how powerful Michael was, she still worried.
Just as she was about to reach the Empty Throne palace, she encountered Yamato and Kozuki Toki...
Two more of her father's daughters.
They were tearing two mbers of the God Knights to pieces, over and over again.
"Hey! What are you doing!?" Hancock perford a backflip, landing steadily beside Yamato.
"Where's Father? Are you just wasting ti here with these lowlifes?"
"What do you an wasting ti..." Yamato sighed. "They are still mbers of the God Knights... give them so face."
"Give them face? Give them nothing!"
Hancock executed a spinning kick, directly hitting Kilin'ham and Somrs.
The petrification effect of the ro ro no Mi instantly took effect...
The two constantly regenerating God Knights mbers were completely petrified, then shattered into pieces on the ground.
Their immortal, indestructible bodies were temporarily suppressed, unable to regenerate.
"So... you broke their immortality?"
"Broke nothing, it's just temporary petrification..." Hancock curled her lip. "But it should last for a day, no problem... Let's go! To help Father!"
"Are you sure you want to interfere in Father and Lily's fight?" Kozuki Toki sheathed Lionheart and Lion's Eye, calmly asked.
"Why not? This is war! Not so honorable duel! Of course we gang up if we can!"
As she spoke, Hancock suddenly looked at Junzi, who was leaning against the wall with a look of utter despair.
"How did you break one of them?"
"Is that our fault?" Yamato sighed. "The truth exceeded her worldview, she's currently rebuilding it... Don't mind her. With just her alone, she can't cause any trouble anyway."
Hancock nodded, then grabbed Yamato and Kozuki Toki's hands, charging straight into the Empty Throne palace.
Then... heading toward the Flower room.
...
"What is this place..."
"I..."
"Who am I?"
Standing in the ship's cabin, Michael suddenly opened his eyes.
Then a series of questions flooded his mind.
The people around him quickly noticed his unusual state.
A pale, delicate hand reached over and touched Michael's forehead.
"What's wrong with you? Did you have a nightmare, Michael?"
Michael instinctively turned his head to look at the girl beside him.
"Oh, I'm fine, Lily... I might have just been a bit distracted."
"Distracted? We're on our way to register our marriage with the World Governnt!" Lily stretched out her hand and jabbed Michael's side.
"How could you be distracted at such an important mont!?"
"Ah, my mistake." Michael softly comforted his girl, but a hint of doubt slowly rose in his heart.
Sothing felt off...
"Commander Michael! We've arrived at our destination!" At that mont, a navy sergeant with an ordinary face entered the cabin, saluted him, and teased him.
"Ah, I'm really envious that you have such a beautiful wife... I heard she's even royalty!"
Michael nodded chanically.
A sense of dissonance kept climbing in his heart, with no joy at all about the impending marriage registration.
But his mouth was saying things like "Thank you, thank you."
Then he took the girl's hand, stepped off his warship, and walked toward the marriage registration office in the city.
Along the way, people he didn't know kept congratulating him on his happy marriage.
He felt slightly awkward, but Lily didn't seem to mind at all.
'Lily...'
'Lily?'
Michael instinctively looked at the girl, and the strange feeling in his heart grew stronger.
"Huh, why are you looking at like that? Am I not pretty enough today?" Lily nervously touched her face, then took out a small mirror and checked herself from all angles before sighing in relief.
She playfully slapped Michael's arm, "You scared ! I don't want anything to go wrong during the marriage registration!"
"Hmm."
Michael only gave a brief reply.
Lily's enthusiasm wasn't dampened by Michael at all.
She led him straight into the marriage registration office.
"Are you two here for marriage or divorce?"
"Of course for marriage!"
"No smiles on your faces for a marriage?"
As the World Governnt staff mber questioned them, Michael looked at her, then at Lily.
He instinctively forced a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
"...Ah, he's just been too tired these past few days. My fiancé is a super young navy commander! His future is very bright!"
"Well, congratulations to you both." The staff mber maintained a polite yet distant smile. "Please submit your marriage registration forms."
Lily lowered her head, took out the pre-prepared registration forms from her bag, and handed them over.
But Michael instinctively frowned.
He knew Lily was his fiancée, about to beco his wife.
But his subconscious kept sounding alarms.
It seed...
He shouldn't be doing this.
In that short ti, the staff mber confird the marriage application forms and produced the receipt.
Once they signed or fingerprinted the receipt, the marriage would be official.
Next, they would go next door to wait for their marriage certificate.
"Hey! What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and sign!"
Lily's voice snapped Michael's drifting consciousness back into place.
Instinctively, he picked up the pen...
But he made no move to write.
In his ears, faint and indistinct voices seed to echo.
'What... were they saying?'
"...Father..."
'Father?'
"...Father..."
'Are they calling ?'
"Did you forget how to write your own na?" Lily watched Michael's strange reaction without a hint of confusion.
Instead, she picked up the inkpad beside her, took Michael's hand, dabbed his thumb with the red ink, and pressed it toward the receipt.
Just as it was about to touch the paper, Michael abruptly stopped his hand.
All confusion vanished completely!
"Lily... that's enough."
"You're only deceiving yourself."
But Lily kept her head bowed, gripping Michael's hand with all her strength, trying to press it onto the paper.
Yet in the end...
Only endless darkness remained.
In this space reclaid by darkness, a light emanating from Michael illuminated both himself and Lily.
"Why! Why can't you even grant this last shred of fantasy!?"
"Perhaps... because of love?" Michael said so.
The next mont, the light blazed, and the darkness receded...
Michael and Lily opened their eyes simultaneously, once again in the Flower room.
---
The story is finished so i will be posting all the remaining chapter tomorrow
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