Chapter 122: At the Heart of the Amazon
Chapter 122: At the Heart of the Amazon
Kaya was surprised to admit, at least to herself, that she rather liked Boa Hancock.
That hadn’t been the case, at first. The infamous Pirate Empress had initially been rather acerbic. Which, her persona had been extremely off putting when they’d first met. Doubly so since she could feel just how much of that persona was fake…and yet how much wasn’t, too. Some of the arrogance was real, and the entire Kuja culture was very much a ‘might makes right’ society that Kaya didn’t care for.
Yet, after their first visit to Amazon Lily, something had changed.
It was as if a massive, unseen weight had lifted off the woman, as well as both of her sisters, and her attitude toward their entire crew had lightened a great deal. It was the most noticeable with Luffy, who she seemed genuinely grateful to for something. Yet the shift had also bled over to the rest of the crew, and even to the Kuja to a lesser extent, over time. At Fishman Island Hancock been positively respectful compared to before. She’d done good work with the crew in helping with the Decken situation, in particular, without any seeming thought of personal gain. Save perhaps having Neptune a bit in her debt.
By the time they’d all met up on Spa Island, the change had become far more…dramatic wasn’t quite the right word. Boa’s basic personality hadn’t really altered enough for that, but it had certainly softened. The arrogance was still there, but it wasn’t borderline abusive any longer. She treated her followers better and seemed entirely willing to treat Vivi in particular as an equal. She’d even, much to Kaya’s surprised approval, worked with Vivi to take Princess Shirahoshi under their collective wing. She still unquestionably considered herself above ‘normal’ people. Yet with those she had reason to consider not ‘normal’ or even ‘near-equals,’ she’d dropped at least some of her self-centered persona.
She still wasn’t exactly kind, but Kaya could admit the woman was probably a good ruler and Captain both.
It was because of this, that Kaya had been willing to follow up on the interesting facts that Captain Luffy had shared. He was right that whatever was up with this island and the Kuja almost had to be spiritual in nature. Indeed, examining a few Kuja who had and hadn’t been off the island recently had even allowed her to detect some difference in their spiritual presence. Though it was in a way she’d never seen before. The nearest similarity she knew of was the effects of her own Sick-Sick Fruit, even if it didn’t quite match. A little detail that only made her more determined to try getting to the bottom of whatever was going on with them.
All of which brought her, trying not to be nervous, to a curious looking Boa Hancock.
“You wish to discover what it is on Amazon Lily that changes those who live here? What makes you think you can succeed, when we ourselves have never been able to determine the cause?”
Thankfully, Hancock didn’t seem offended, so much as legitimately curious. Then again, according to what little Luffy had passed on to her, Kaya suspected that the Kuja leadership had gotten a bit of a wakeup call about issues they hadn’t fully realized might have a cause to be found in the first place.
“While I would hesitate to call myself a priestess, I am the descendant of a family of such, specifically a lineage that called Asuka Island their home. I’m not sure if you’re-”
Boa’s gaze sharpened and she raised a hand to cut Kaya off. Which said she probably was aware, at least somewhat, of Asuka Island.
“I know the island. A place in paradise with a bloody history and rumors of quite powerful priestesses. In fact, the sword your captain carries reminds me of a tale recorded in the Royal Archives.”
Kaya nodded, glad she had something to work with, instead of having to convince Hancock entirely from scratch.
“The blade Captain Luffy carries is Shichiseiken. Once a cursed blade, it has now been purified. Something that occurred on our visit to Asuka island shortly before the Whitebeard War. The Marines had foolishly unsealed the blade, and we were forced to confront it while it possessed a Marine Vice Admiral. We managed to defeat and purify the blade, with Captain Luffy taking it as his own with the islander’s blessing. Frankly, I think they were relieved to have the blade gone, as it would have made them even more of a target purified than it had when it was still sealed.”
The Empress’s interest was clearly fully ensnared at this point, though a small frown developed on her face.
“I trust you do not intend to purify the Kuja? Even if the effects of the island cause us some problems, it has still made us who we are. I would see you dead before seeing our culture destroyed.”
The threat wasn’t idle, a hard tone laced under the casual words, but Kaya could legitimately shake her head ‘no,’ so it didn’t really matter. That wasn’t her goal at all.
“No. I don’t believe you are under a curse, so much as some sort of spiritual effect. Mostly, my interest is to discover how it was done and why. Though, in discovering that, I may find a way to help you deal with some of the more…problematic expressions. If it is some sort of ritual or artifact, it’s possible it was never meant to be left unattended for so long, and simply performing…maintenance, I suppose, might help. At the very minimum, there may be a chance to understand what has been done. So that you can mitigate the side effects better. As you have recently discovered was possible.”
Hancock searched her face, her Haki almost rudely pressing into Kaya’s as she took in what Kaya said. Finally, she relaxed and nodded.
“Very well. I will accept you looking into this issue, but I will accompany you personally. If we do discover the source of Amazon Lily’s uniqueness, you will make no changes without consulting me. Are we clear?”
Kaya nodded firmly.
“Crystal clear, Empress. I mean no harm. I only seek to understand and, if possible, help.”
Boa stared into her eyes for long seconds, searching for the truth there, before nodding back.
“Very well. What do you need to start?”
Thankfully, Kaya had a good answer for that question already prepared. Sure, it was just a guess, but it was a place to start, at least. She wouldn’t have approached the Empress without something to go off of. Something she’d found hints of already in the few Kuja she’d been able to study since Luffy had mentioned his conversation with Hancock.
“I need some sort of signature to follow, if we are going to trace the source. I want to see one of the Kuja who has been on the island and as isolated as possible, then compare them to one that has very recently been to Alabasta. From that, I’m hoping to find a…”
Kaya explained her thought process, and was gratified when Hancock nodded along with her logic.
… … …
Luffy was surprised when Hancock and Kaya came to him, both looking a bit…disconcerted. Blinking at the request that they’d made, he frowned and tried to feel out if there was any sort of trick here on Hancock’s part. He didn’t think she was would do that. They had, in fact, been getting along far better than Luffy had ever anticipated. But the request was certainly out of the blue. When he found nothing but annoyed chagrin and a little bit of concern in her emotions, he resorted to verbally expressing his confusion.
“I’m not saying no. But can I ask why you want me to go into the heart of the island? You’ve been quite firm about not allowing men any farther than the outskirts, either the Alliance Dock or the defense installations. No where else.”
That much had remained true since Hancock had first had the small strip of sheltered beach turned into a dock for the visiting ships that had male crew aboard. As of now, only the Strawhat crew, Rayleigh, and Jinbe had actually used said dock and strip of beach. In theory, however, it would also allow ships from the Alabastian Alliance or Fishman Island to dock…if they could somehow reach Amazon Lily through the Calm Belt. Even for him and his male crew, however, the rest of the island had so far remained firmly off limits thus far.
Hancock grimaced at the question, seeming not to like whatever the need was, but she answered all the same.
“Priestess Kaya has managed to track down the source of the…oddities…regarding Amazon Lily to a specific spot on the island. One within the tunnels of the main mountain, but away from the valley where our main settlement resides. Unfortunately, we discovered upon trying to enter that there is a…requirement.”
The Empress hesitated, actually blushing and looking uncomfortable with the subject at hand. Kaya took pity on her and took up the explanation as clinically as she could.
“There is a potent barrier on the passageway that won’t allow women to pass without being accompanied by a man. It was difficult for me to even notice the barrier, as it repels anyone female. I had to surround it with Ofuda to make it visible to Hancock and I. I dare not break it, not without knowing what it guards, but I picked apart how it works. Men can enter freely, but women can only do so while holding hands with a man to pull them across the barrier. Hancock feels she must investigate such a place now that she knows its there, and you were the only one she was willing to allow so deeply into the island’s interior.”
Ah. From the way that Hancock was fighting a blush, Luffy suspected it might be a bit more than just being the only one she would allow so far into the island. Handholding was a gesture of intimacy, even if a minor one, and she hadn’t changed so much as to be comfortable with that, with most men. She, along with most of the Kuja, had very…out of whack…perspectives of such things.
She hadn’t hesitated at all in stripping down in front of him to have her mark removed, and neither had her sisters. At the time he’d thought it was just that important to them, but since then he’d interacted with them and the other Kuja more. The entire tribe didn’t seem to have much in the way of a nudity taboo at all. Which both explained a few things and made a certain degree of sense, he supposed. On the other hand, things like handholding were much more…lewd? That wasn’t quite the right word. So much as they had more extreme reactions to…
Wait. Extreme reactions. Bugger. It was probably tied into whatever was going on with this island, wasn’t it?
“Okay. So long as you are okay with this solution, Empress, I am willing to assist.”
Hancock relaxed as his careful phrasing and use of her title, though there was still a light dusting of pink on her cheeks. She cleared her throat.
“Very well. As I’m not willing to wait any longer. With an issue that may affect the safety of the entire tribe, we will go now. Come along.”
Luffy shrugged and followed after her and Kaya as they headed for a trail that led deeper into the island…
… … …
Looking over the barrier with a critical eye, Luffy was easily able to verify Kaya’s work. In fact, it was practically written in plain language to him, since he hadn’t had to jump through a half dozen hoops clearly meant to prevent someone female from messing with the thing. Thankfully, despite not exactly having any better a feeling about that little detail than his companions were likely experiencing, he was able to quickly confirm that bypassing it was just as simple as Kaya had worked out. It really did just need someone male to physically pull them through the barrier. There was even a section of rock outright highlighted to his eyes where a ‘secret’ latch was.
“Well, I don’t see anything you didn’t already catch, Kaya. So I suppose it’s just a matter of taking action.”
So saying, he reached for the latch and pulled a mechanism there. He’d expected it to be rusty or stuck with age. Instead it moved like it was freshly oiled, and a section of wall just slid away in near-silence. Shaking his head at that, hoping it was just more quasi-magical fuckery rather than the sign someone had been here recently, he stepped forward to try the barrier. It felt like stepping through so much cobweb, at worst, and he shook his head.
“The barrier wasn’t specific. But we should probably due one at a time. Kaya?”
He stepped back out and Kaya easily took his hand, letting him pull her through the barrier this time. It resisted more, but not that much more. Like passing through thin Jello instead of cobweb. Nothing horrible happened, so he shrugged and stepped back through once more to get Hancock. Silently, he held his hand out to her, letting her make the final connection. Which she did with a light dusting of pink back on her cheeks. Unable to stop himself, he chuckled, causing her to blush more deeply, but not let go. Grinning, he decided he couldn’t resist and shifted to tuck his elbow into hers, causing the blush to go much brighter as he tugged her through the barrier.
Kaya’s giggling at Hancock’s stunned expression brought the Empress out of her shock and she tried to glare at him, but failed since she was still blushing. Winking at her, he let her arm go and stepped forward as if nothing had happened. Thankfully, rather than smiting him, his fellow Captain just did her best to compose herself.
“I-I suppose you ought to lead onward. Just in case there is more…gender specific requirements.”
Her initial stutter was lost as a frown marred her features just a bit. On her, even that expression was gorgeous, but it still reminded both of her companions in this little quest that there was something shady as fuck about all of this. With that in mind, Luffy merely nodded and took point, all his senses extended at high alert. He wasn’t quite as sensitive to the spiritual as Kaya, but he was fairly close when he was properly paying attention, and in here something could well be hiding from her as the barrier had.
The passageway, at first narrow and simple, quickly opened up into a much larger space Luffy could only mentally label a ‘gallery.’ Incredibly detailed, mural-sized bas-reliefs were carved into the walls, and a dozen statues stood between equally decorated pillars. Notably, each statue was a pair, a man and woman, each nude and embracing. Such certainly drew the eye, and a blush from Hancock and Kaya both, at first. Yet, Luffy soon noticed something else. Specifically, that there were words carved over both the wall murals…and over an archway in the middle of the room that looked suspiciously like a sign.
“Huh. That’s ancient script. Like what you see on poneglyphs. Robin will want to see this place if possible, I think. Though I’ve learned enough from her to give a rough translation.”
Robin had been initially reluctant to teach him, given how much the knowledge had cost her. Yet, when he’d proven to her that he could get the gist of what was on poneglyphs with his Voice of the World ability, she’d given in. Lessons had been only in fits and starts when they had a little time here and there over the last year, so he still wasn’t fluent, but in this place that very same perk was helping him out anyway. Of course, what he was getting made him groan, drawing attention from both women. Reluctantly, he translated.
“Welcome to the heart of Eros Island! May the blessed waters make your stay enjoyable!”
Both women looked at him in disbelief, causing him to give them a deadpan expression and wave at the archway.
“No, seriously. That’s what the sign says. Worse, I’m getting a feeling I have an idea what this place was originally intended as, and why the island is the way it is as a result. Though we’ll have to go farther in to be certain.”
Hancock and Kaya both looked baffled and concerned, but Luffy wasn’t going to spell it out for them. Doubly so in case he was wrong and it was more malicious than he was suddenly suspecting from the phrasing of that text. Instead of elaborating, he started moving again, the two women reluctantly following in his wake. Giving a side-eye to the various artwork as they went through the gallery, he became more and more convinced of his unfortunate conclusion as he saw what was depicted.
Namely, a ton of beautiful women who were seemingly lavishing attention on a handful of men.
Hancock saw the artwork too, her expression going stormy as she did. Hopefully she wasn’t going to explode if what he suspected was true was, in fact, the case. If he was right in his guess, then this place hadn’t been meant to be malicious. Yet he could see how it might very well stomp all over some of her past traumas. Thankfully, despite her increasingly angry expression, she didn’t push him for an explanation as they moved past the gallery and…into a massive set of underground baths. There were a dozen pools of water, all clean and sparkling, some with steam coming from them and others not.
In pride of place, right in the center of them all, was a fourteen-foot, gently glowing statue of an absolutely stunning woman. One that could rival even Hancock in beauty, though with different proportions that spoke more of some sort of fertility goddess than a mortal. Wide hips, bountiful bust, and a stunningly well-done depiction of semi-transparent wet cloth that clung to every curve in the stone. So well done was it, that if not for the size of it and the feel of it to his spiritual senses, he might well have thought the statue a victim of Hancock’s Devil Fruit.
As it was, it was positively glowing with spiritual power. Which, as actual water poured over it’s feet and into the pools, was carried along with the water. Every single one of those pools practically glowed with power and, if Luffy was right in his suspicions, they likely drained out into the water of the rest of the island. Of secondary note, but still of possible importance, the woman was wrapped in more than just cloth. A snake very much like the ones the Kuja used wound from her toes to over one shoulder. One of the woman’s hands was stroking the serpent…even as the other held a winged staff. The combination screamed to Luffy’s old memories, from his original world, practically shouting the iconography of the Rod of Asclepius.
It was like someone had mixed together the myths of Asclepius and Aphrodite. Which, if a single snippet of memory from writing a high-school paper was to be believed? A memory that had been half lost before he’d gained a perfect memory? There had, in that world, been significant archaeological evidence showing that the cults of those two ‘gods’ had been closely associated. For a long moment, as Luffy took it all in, he had a bit of a mental crisis as an old thought was refreshed. Why were so many of the old legends seemingly reflected between worlds? Pheonix, Kitsune, even his own Raijun Devil Fruit! Then places like this as well. Was One Piece actually some sort of alternate Earth? Were there higher powers that kept meddling in a dozen worlds to make similar myths?!
Once again, as he’d done in the past when the question bothered him, he pushed the thought aside.
The question was unanswerable, at least by him, and with his current knowledge. While the Void Century was a complete loss, the truth was that a great deal more of history was nearly as bad. Whatever cataclysmic war this world has suffered, it had erased vast amounts of historical information, to the point where Luffy felt he had no real hope of piecing together an answer to that particular question. Doubly so when the concept of other realities was one that he hadn’t actually run into in this one just yet. Which was almost odd, given how many erratic bits of fantasy and sci-fi like concepts, like the existence of robots, were common knowledge.
“Well, I’m going to need time to sort out what the fuck that Statue is doing, but I’m almost certain now that my guess was right. This place was a tourist trap.”
The girls, who had both been staring around at the intricate baths and statue a bit goggle-eyed, snapped their attention to him at his dust dry deadpan. Hancock seemed completely speechless, but there was an abrupt light of understanding in Kaya’s eyes. Yet, she seemed reluctant to actually believe it, giving voice to the question an incredulous Hancock wasn’t yet able to put into words.
“…What, exactly, do you mean by that, Captain?”
Luffy sighed, bit the inside of his lower lip for a moment as he considered the best way to explain. Delicately, he did his best to soften the blow a bit.
“It might not have originally been a tourist trap. There are certainly indications that it could have been a shrine of some sort at one point. The statue, in particular, reminds me of legends about an old god and goddess whose cults were known to work together. Asclepius, the god of healing and medicinal arts. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, lust, and beauty. Though…I suppose it could also be Demeter, whose domain included health, marriage, and fertility. She was more connected to agriculture though.”
Hancock found her voice as Luffy trailed off.
“That does not sound like a ‘tourist trap.’”
Her voice was a bit sharp, and Luffy winced at the tone, but sighed and went on with his explanation.
“Like I said, it might once have been a shrine, maybe. But that archway we passed through, as well as the depictions in the various artworks? Frankly, from the moment I saw the archway and greeting I suspected something was up, but the artworks confirmed it for me a bit. I suspect what this place eventually came to be, even if it didn’t start as, was a resort.”
Wincing, he forced himself to continue, even knowing Hancock might well explode. Pointing at one such mural, depicting a man in one of these very pools with a nude woman on each arm with a barely-clothed third feeding him what looked like grapes.
“Specifically, a resort catering to rich men who wanted to have dozens of beautiful female ‘attendants’ hanging off of them. It would explain the barrier, certainly. This chamber was a retreat for wealthy men, where the women could only come if they were…accompanying one.”
Hancock looked stricken by the comment, seemingly staring into the distance, at things Luffy didn’t think it was probably good for her to be remembering. Casting about for a way to snap her out of it, he tried throwing her a lifeline.
“It could have also been a place of healing, though! The serpent and winged staff symbols are often used in medicine, usually combined these days. So it may have been a sort of…health spa, and the women priestesses?”
Kaya snorted, seeming to have come to her own conclusions. Her own method of snapping Hancock out of her surprise was also much more blunt, and caused Luffy to look at her in a mix of awe at her sheer gall and disbelief at the risk.
Specifically, she smacked Boa Hancock, Empress of Amazon Luly, Captain of the Kuja Pirates, firmly on the ass.
Hancock yelped at that, immediately coming back to the here and now, instinctively swiping at Kaya, who faded away from the backhand with minimal effort. She had the sheer cheek to put Luffy between her and the glaring Empress, using him as a defense, even as she waggled a finger at Hancock.
“None of that ‘woe is me, our history is a lie’ nonsense! These ruins are old enough that Amazon Lily was likely abandoned when your ancestors came across it. That the ‘blessings’ here had an effect on you, I have little doubt. But they aren’t part of your history or culture. Those are things you created naturally, over time, based on the oddities of the island you found. I doubt whoever made this place intended to make a culture of powerful warrior women, after all. You did that all on your own.”
Possibly untrue, depending on what people of the time had considered beauty and if the idea of ‘battle maids’ had existed in whatever culture was here before. Also depending on just how long the Kuja had been here which was, as he understood it from a few conversations, something they themselves were uncertain of. Still, Luffy wasn’t going to mention any of that, given the way Hancock was calming down to a mere frown as she looked around. Honestly, he’d have preferred not mentioning the idea at all. But he had a healthy respect for Hancock’s intelligence at this point. He was quite certain she was smart enough to have come to certain conclusions on her own eventually, and might have done something rash if she’d done so on her own.
“Ah, why don’t Kaya and I take a look at what the statue is actually doing? That was the point of coming here in the first place, right? At a guess, whatever it’s doing is spreading into the very waters of the island via the fountain and pools, so this can probably answer a lot of questions…”
Thankfully, with a deep breath and look of putting aside thoughts for later, Hancock nodded firmly.
“Yes. Now, more than ever, I want to know exactly what is going on with my island.”
Thankful that they seemed to have dodged a bullet, at least for the immediate moment, Luffy nodded at that.
“Right. Kaya, we should probably avoid the waters for now. Until we know what is going on. Let’s see what we can pick apart about what the statue’s blessings are doing without getting too close.”
Kaya, ever reliable, hummed and produced some of her seal paper and a brush. Clearly, she was more than ready to start diagraming the patterns of spiritual energy infused in the statue, so they could figure out just what they all did…
... ... ... ... ... ...
A/N 1: Lewd Handholding! Gasp!
A/N 2: Don't lynch me for making Amazon Lily a former resort from before the Void Century? Please? I mean, the effects it produces kinda...fit. Or fit with something even darker. I was tempted to go the darker route, but decided to go the mildly amusing one instead. One Piece already has enough dark shit lurking under the happy-go-lucky façade.