Chapter 173: An Invitation?

After harvesting a wave of free points, Luo Ning returned to Impel Down with a hefty sum from the grateful Revolutionary Army. He immediately resumed his point-collecting endeavors.

One day, however, an unexpected arrival at Impel Down left him perplexed. "A ship from Amazon Lily? What are they doing here?"

Luo Ning was speechless after hearing his subordinates' report. Hadn't he just apprehended Boa Hancock?

"My lord," his subordinates explained quickly, "Amazon Lily Island declared its withdrawal from piracy a long time ago. It's now known as the Land of Women and is no longer considered a pirate nation."

"They quit a long time ago? Interesting." Luo Ning raised an eyebrow in surprise. Before Hancock's departure, he did instruct someone to send her a message. He hadn't anticipated her actually having the courage to abandon piracy altogether.

"But how did Amazon Lily survive after leaving the pirate ranks?" Luo Ning inquired with concern. Amazon Lily lacked a diverse economy, and its people primarily focused on martial arts training, boasting a population skilled in Haki. However, self-sufficiency might be an issue.

Amazon Lily now offers escort services through the Calm Belt. Since few ships operate there besides warships, many merchants have opted for this service after learning about it. Business is booming.

"They're making a killing off this."

A jailer soon filled Luo Ning in on the details of Amazon Lily's new operations.

"Offering escort services? And robbing pirates is apparently not illegal." Luo Ning chuckled. He certainly wouldn't object to Hancock targeting hungry children, human traffickers, and slave traders – those were all scum who deserved to be dealt with.

The Calm Belt escort service was the real surprise. The Calm Belt is notoriously dangerous, typically only navigable by warships and specially equipped vessels. Ordinary merchant ships wouldn't dare risk the Sea Kings.

While the Reverse Mountain posed its own dangers, experienced sailors could navigate it fairly well, especially if they avoided encountering freak currents. Hancock's service provided a significant timesaver for merchants – time being money, it allowed them to complete more trades within a shorter period.

The merchants, recognizing the potential profit gains, opted to pay for safe passage across the Calm Belt. This business venture had proven quite successful for Amazon Lily. However, due to their limited number of ships, they established a fixed schedule, gathering a fleet of merchant vessels to traverse the Calm Belt together at designated times.

"Since they've made the switch, let's meet up!" Luo Ning agreed. Business is business, and Hancock's change of heart wasn't a reason to hold a grudge.

Much to his surprise, however, upon meeting the leader of the escort fleet, Luo Ning discovered it wasn't Hancock, but Granny Nyon.

Granny Nyon, the former empress of Amazon Lily, stood before Luo Ning. Though a beautiful woman in her youth, the harsh realities of the Pirate World had weathered her into her current state. Here, the saying "life's a butcher knife" held truer than anywhere else.

"Greetings, Lord Luo Ning!" Granny Nyon bowed respectfully. Luo Ning's current standing placed him on par with the highest powers of the World Government. Even they wouldn't dare provoke him. He was, undoubtedly, one of the most powerful figures on the seas.

Though a former empress herself, Granny Nyon's reign was long over. Amazon Lily's population was limited, making any comparison between her and Luo Ning rather pointless.

"No need for formalities. Tell me, what brings you to Impel Down?" Luo Ning cut to the chase, curious about her purpose. Their paths hadn't crossed in any meaningful way, and her arrival, especially considering it was her, piqued his interest.

"Well, it's like this..." Granny Nyon took a breath and carefully explained her reason for being there.

By the time Granny Nyon finished, Luo Ning was speechless, and the women around him wore expressions of disbelief.

"Is this the Pirate Empress? Why does she feel... so undependable?" Nami finally blurted out, her voice laced with disbelief.

Granny Nyon had come to Impel Down with an invitation – an invitation for Luo Ning to visit Amazon Lily. The reason? Hancock was ill. Lovesickness, the very same one depicted in the original story.

Luo Ning was utterly bewildered. What was Hancock playing at? They had only met once, with no interaction since. The whole situation struck him as utterly nonsensical.

Though he had shattered the Celestial Dragons' myth by killing many of them, how could Hancock possibly be lovesick for him? It made no sense. Luffy had pummeled Celestial Dragons too, but that alone wouldn't win him Hancock's affections.

Luffy's eventual hold on Hancock's heart came through a series of events and interactions. Here, however, the situation was baffling – lovesickness seemingly appearing out of thin air.

Technically, lovesickness wasn't a disease, at least not in Luo Ning's world. But things were different on Amazon Lily. Here, lovesickness could be fatal.

"What is going on?" Luo Ning genuinely couldn't grasp how he'd become entangled with Hancock.

"Well, to be honest, the Snake Princess has always had... unconventional thoughts," the explanation came hesitantly.

Truthfully, Luo Ning's actions had undeniably had a greater impact than Luffy's beatings. Before Luo Ning's blunt demand for Hancock's departure, her queenly demeanor had momentarily crumbled.

Furthermore, Hancock's thought processes did deviate from the norm, as evidenced by her interactions with Luffy and his crew in the original story. It was essentially a grand display of selective favoritism.

Her way of thinking was indeed different, but this time, the Celestial Dragons Luo Ning had killed were some of the very ones Hancock feared most. The aftermath involved a lot of mental gymnastics on Hancock's part, not necessarily a bad thing, but in her case, it could be quite terrifying. Anyone familiar with her brand of mental gymnastics from the original story would know how easily she could twist things into a marriage proposal under the right (or wrong) circumstances. This bizarre train of thought had inevitably led her to dwell on Luo Ning, eventually manifesting as lovesickness.