When Cudius heard the words and looked at the three figures, he paused for a moment, a slight smile f at the ers of his mouth.

  The three figures were young girls, appearing to be around twelve years old. One had bright emerald green hair, and another had reddish-brown hair. There wasn't much to say about those two; they were pin in appearanothing particurly striking.

  But the st girl, slender with flowing bck hair, stood out. Even at a g was clear, she would grow up to be a stunniy.

  And from what the female Celestial Dragon had just said, all three girls had ed Devil Fruits, and two of them could transform into snakes. Cudius quickly pieced it together: the third girl must have eaten the Paramecia-type Love-Love Fruit.

  These three, without a doubt, were the Boa sisters from Amazon Lily—Boa Hancock, Boa Sandersonia, and Boa Marigold.

  "So, I've stumbled upon three Devil Fruits right here—what a stroke of luck," Cudius thought, a smile pying on his lips.

  He had to admit, these three sisters were quite promising, especially Hancock.

  While Sandersonia and Marigold might not have seemed exceptional at first gnce, Cudius khey were skilled fighters, having seen how they were overshadowed by Luffy's wild escapades, much like Crocodile. Back then, they were seasoned Haki users and top lieutenants under a Warlord of the Sea. They couldn't have been that weak, right?

  "If I train them properly, even if they don't reach the top tier, they should still bee formidable warriors," Cudius mused.

  As for Hancock's Paramecia-type Love-Love Fruit, Cudius sidered it to be one of the most broken abilities out there. Among Paramecia Fruits, it ranked highly in his opinion, though it came with signifit drawbacks.

  The Love-Love Fruit fell under what he called "rule-type" abilities, simir to the Heat-Heat Fruit or the Gravity Fruit. However, uhe straightforward nature of those powers, the Love-Love Fruit had a peculiar dition: if an oppo felt even a hint of desire or fasation toward the user, they would be affected and potentially petrified.

  This power essentially bypassed brute strength; as long as the oppo's will wasn't strong enough, they would fall prey to it.

  The catch was that it required the user to be highly charismatic. If someone unattractive ate the fruit, it would be almost useless uhey underwent some kind of transformation. But if the user was charming, the fruit's power could be nearly unstoppable.

  Cudius figured there were only two people in the world who could maximize the potential of this fruit. The first was Hancock herself, and the sed, theoretically, was dish.

  Hancock was already a given.

  As for dish, known as the most handsome man in the world, Cudius found it ironic. He didn't see himself as particurly charming, not even a bit. But dish, with his unnaturally striking looks, had iently caused chaos in his homend. Women were so infatuated with him that the kingdom's marriage and birth rates plummeted because no one wao marry anyone else. In the end, his own father had to exile him on the grounds of being "too handsome."

  Cudius chuckled to himself, "Imagine being charged with that. I'd take that accusation any day. e on, give me that problem—I'll take one for the team."

  But that was her here nor there. In the end, Hancock would use her ability to bee a Warlord of the Sea and earle of "Pirate Empress," rivaling even Charlotte Linlin in status.

  Cudius had always thought that while Hancock's beauty was unparalleled, her bat skills had always seemed underwhelming.

  Yes, she owerful, but she never quite exuded the full force of being a "Pirate Empress." Even during the Marineford War, Sengoku, the the Admiral, specifically mentiohat Hancock's involvement would increase their ces of victory. A, Hancock's actual performance was ckluster, more focused on her own agenda and distracted by her obsession with Luffy. It was as if she was merely going through the motions.

  Until the chaos surrounding Dougs Bullet, that is. When Luffy, Sabo, Crocodile, Lucci, Smoker, Usopp, Buggy, and the other Supernovas were struggling against Bullet's monstrous bined form, Hancock was the one who delivered a decisive kick that disrupted Bullet's synthesis. It proved she was a "thinking" fighter, not just someone going through the motions.

  Her previous mediocre performances hadn't beeo a ck of skill but a ck of focus.

  With such a prime didate, not to mentiowo other det options, how could Cudius pass this up?

  Plus, he khat one day, Hancock would grow to bee the world's most beautiful woman.

  As a man, how could he not be ied? Even if he had no ulterior motives now, having the world's most beautiful woman as an ally or subordinate would be a serious flex.

  "I have a soft heart; I 't stand to see others suffer. These pirls need resg, and as the wise and benevolent Cudius, it's my duty to pull them from the depths," Cudius thought, finding so his own justification.

  After a pause, he turo Nia. "Let's take a look at those three sves who ate the Devil Fruits. I have a feeling it'll be worthwhile."

  Nia, the ever-loyal butler, was taken aback. Cudius had never shown any i in sves before. Why the sudden ge?

  But Nia had one unwavering trait, she never questioned Cudius. No matter how unusual the decision, she supported it fully.

  "Yes, Yhness," Nia replied with a nod.

  They approached the female Celestial Dragon from behind. She was wearing an air of superiority, but wheurned and saw Cudius, her eyes widened, and her expression shifted to excitement.

  "Saint Cudius! What an ued pleasure to see you here. It's an honor," she said eagerly.

  "Um…" Cudius was momentarily caught off guard. He didn't know her name a a bit awkward being greeted so warmly without knowing how to respond.

  "Yhness, she is Lady nelu," Nia whispered helpfully.

  Cudius's eyebrows raised in realization, and he offered a polite smile. "Ah, Lady nelu, I didn't expect to see you here. You're looking as radiant as ever."

  nelu's face lit up at his words. "Thank you, Cudius. You're too kind."

  It was true that among the Celestial Dragons, the upper middle css was generally well-kept and presentable. They didn't carry the lethargic air of indulgehat some of the lower-tier nobles did. This held especially true for the women, who took great care with their appeara the very least, they weren't unpleasant to look at.

  Perhaps it was just natural for women to care about beauty, and the Celestial Dragons were no exception.

  Plus, there was the matter of their lineage.

  Celestial Dragons only accepted the best, geion after geion, which meant the gene pool stayed strong.

  Look at Cudius himself. He'd gone from an ht child to a strikingly handsome man.

  ***

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