Chapter 22: Becoming Stronger by Simply Lying Down

Seeing the passerby, who had disparaged her to nothing, heap praise upon Borsalino, the competitive Hellish Blizzard immediately felt a surge of dissatisfaction.

Had it not been for the chat group preventing her from seeing what the other person looked like, Hellish Blizzard would certainly not have let this slide so easily.

[Blizzard: Is that guy really that strong?]

[Passerby Wanting to Hug Luo Feng’s Thigh: What? You mean Lord Kizaru? Let’s put it this way: the Lord is absolutely an S-Class hero in One Punch Man... er, in the world you reside in, and he would definitely be ranked first or second.]

[Passerby Wanting to Hug Luo Feng’s Thigh: Aside from a certain bald guy and Blast, whose true strength even I am not privy to, I don’t think there is anyone in the Hero Association with combat power greater than Lord Kizaru.]

[Blizzard: What nonsense are you spouting! Do you have any idea how strong S-Class heroes are!]

[Passerby Wanting to Hug Luo Feng’s Thigh: I do, and I also know your sister is the second-ranked S-Class hero, Terrible Tornado, but compared to Lord Kizaru, she still falls quite short.]

[Kobayashi: Don’t be angry, Blizzard-san. That’s just how Passerby-san speaks; he means no harm.]

[Haibara Ai: The sister is S-Class, the younger sister is B-Class? Heh... how truly interesting.]

[Passerby Wanting to Hug Luo Feng’s Thigh: It’s not quite like that. If she wanted to, she could easily be in the top tier of A-Class, but she prefers to stay as the top of B-Class.]

In the One Punch Man world, Hellish Blizzard’s face grew increasingly dark, and the members of the Blizzard Group couldn't help but gulp nervously.

Judging by this atmosphere, it wasn't just a matter of buying a cheap item; could it be that some B-Class rookie had rejected the Big Sister’s invitation?

"Borsalino, is it? I’ve remembered your name!"

Hellish Blizzard let out a huff. She was determined to see exactly what this Borsalino, whom the passerby praised to the heavens, was actually made of!

This "Dimensional Chat Group" seemed capable of pulling members into other worlds. Once she figured out how it worked, she would drag that Borsalino over here.

If it turned out his strength wasn't all that great, she would definitely mock those insufferable people, especially that sharp-tongued Haibara Ai—she was just too infuriating!

Over in the One Piece world, Borsalino, unaware that he had been inexplicably targeted, was still happily sunbathing.

While sunbathing to slack off had always been comfortable, it was nothing compared to the feeling of lying in the sun now, watching his own strength increase at a visible rate!

Especially regarding his physique and martial arts—Borsalino’s greatest weaknesses—attributes that usually required long periods of intense training to improve.

After just one morning of sunbathing, he had gained the equivalent of several months of arduous practice.

The only thing that couldn't be improved by sunbathing was combat experience, but for Borsalino, who had spent decades clawing his way to the pinnacle of the pirate world, there was no shortage of that.

"This is what you call life..."

Borsalino stretched, his bones and muscles popping and cracking! The feeling of increasing one's strength just by lying down was simply too good!

"My dear~"

Just as Borsalino was indulging in "improving his strength," Hancock, wearing a cheongsam, turned into a fragrant breeze and dove into his arms.

Last night’s intimacy had only slightly eased her longing. With her mind filled entirely with her beloved, Hancock wished she could become a permanent attachment to Borsalino.

"Why are you up so early? Was I not enough for you last night? Hmm?"

Borsalino teased with a smile. Even though he wasn't a muscle-bound freak like Kaido, and his physique was his weakest attribute, a top-tier powerhouse’s weakest point was still unimaginably formidable to others.

It was only because Hancock was a Warlord of the Sea that she could "put up a fight" against him; if it were Nami, it would be questionable whether she could even crawl out of bed the next day.

"Wuu~ my dear, can we wait until tonight? I haven't recovered yet."

Hancock bit her lower lip and begged in a low voice, her beautiful eyes fixed on Borsalino, so alluring they seemed ready to drip water.

"Heh heh, I’ll let you off for now, but tonight..."

Borsalino whispered as he lightly nibbled her earlobe. It was hard to say if Hancock was the most beautiful woman in the world, but so far, Borsalino had never encountered a girl more supple than her.

"Lord Borsalino, Lady Hancock, the assessment for the Gorgon Warriors is about to begin..."

Just as a blushing Hancock was about to say something, several handmaidens at the entrance of the balcony shoved each other, until finally, a timid-looking unlucky soul was pushed forward to report cautiously.

Hancock, who was as docile as a cat in front of Borsalino, did not have a good temper on normal days; the title of "Pirate Empress" wasn't earned solely by her fighting prowess.

If it weren't for the fear that the consequences of reporting late would be even worse, the handmaidens wouldn't have known how much longer they would have kept pushing each other forward.

"Oh? How many Gorgon Warriors are on Amazon Lily right now?"

Before Hancock could flare up, Borsalino asked with curiosity.

Even on Amazon Lily, where every citizen mastered Haki, the Gorgon Warriors were the elite among the female fighters.

In terms of combat strength, the baseline for a Gorgon Warrior was roughly that of a standard Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Commander, with the strongest among them reaching the level of a Headquarters Rear Admiral.

However, such elites were not numerous in the Kuja Pirates. If it weren't for the fact that Borsalino had been providing supplies and guidance to the Kuja Pirates since he took over Amazon Lily, their numbers would have been even lower.

"Gorgon Warriors? There are 137 in total, and most of them are rookies who passed the assessment in the last few years."

Hancock tilted her head to think. Regardless, she was the captain of the Kuja Pirates; even if she couldn't remember every single warrior, she wouldn't be unaware of how many subordinates she had.

It was just that, for Hancock, the importance of the Kuja Pirates was nowhere near comparable to Borsalino.

If she could, Hancock wouldn't mind trading Amazon Lily for the position of Borsalino’s adjutant instead of Nami.

"Too few. I remember the Kuja Pirates had over six hundred people back then, right?"

Borsalino shook his head. The population of Amazon Lily was a chronic issue; there was basically no possibility of natural growth.

Especially since Borsalino had forbidden them from plundering civilians, the only remaining ways to increase the population were attacking slave ships and taking in abandoned infants.

Although, with Borsalino’s support, Amazon Lily had established orphanages in many countries and towns specifically to take in abandoned baby girls, the oldest batch still had several years to go before they reached adulthood.