The corner of Sengoku's mouth twitched slightly—he hadn't expected Kaos to give such an important warship to the woman standing in front of him.
It felt like a joke taken too far.
It was like giving her a luxury sports car. It reminded Sengoku of the comics Kaos had once shown them, where similar scenes occurred.
Except in those stories, it was just a sports car. Kaos had given away a battleship.
There was no comparison.
At that moment, Esdeath appeared with an excited smile on her face. She stepped lightly onto the ship without hesitation.
But as soon as Sengoku laid eyes on her, his expression darkened. He had thought Kaos needed the warship for some grand operation—something earth-shattering. Instead, he had gifted it to this woman.
What a waste, Sengoku thought. Such a fine warship, handed over just like that.
Esdeath paid no attention to his discontent. She walked confidently to the front of the ship, placed her hand gently on the hull, and addressed Sengoku.
"You heard what His Highness Kaos said. You're to fulfill all of my requests."
"Let's talk."
No matter how much Sengoku resisted the idea, he eventually let out a heavy sigh and nodded in reluctant agreement.
Things had gone too far. No matter how much he disliked it, he had no choice now.
And so, just like the previous night, Esdeath made her demands clear: every warship must now be staffed entirely by female Marines.
Though Sengoku strongly opposed it, he finally gave in once more.
He pulled out his transponder snail, contacted Marine Headquarters, and arranged for new personnel—specifically female Marines.
And, according to Esdeath's requirements, every one of them had to pass an appearance test.
They didn't need to be breathtakingly beautiful, but at the very least, they had to be easy on the eyes.
The absurdity of the request nearly made Sengoku cough up blood. But since Esdeath insisted, he could only sigh in frustration and comply.
Not long after he confirmed the order, the new crew members arrived via helicopter.
A total of eighteen women stepped off the armed chopper. Most of them were attractive; a few were strikingly beautiful.
They lined up before Esdeath.
She gave them a thorough inspection—head to toe. While none of them could match her own looks or figure, she nodded in satisfaction. They were still pleasant to look at. Having such women aboard would make the warship more enjoyable.
She believed His Highness Kaos would approve as well.
At this point, Esdeath no longer cared how many women surrounded Kaos. She used to feel a pang of jealousy, especially when she saw other women near him. But after Stussy enlightened her, she had come to understand Kaos completely.
Once she realized just how powerful Kaos was, she understood what Stussy meant: one woman would never be enough for him. Trying to satisfy him alone would only wear herself out.
Just like the night before.
In the future, Esdeath would become a pirate and roam the seas. Her time with Kaos would be limited. So before they parted, she wanted to enjoy every moment with him.
In the end, Kaos had treated her with care and affection—but left her utterly drained.
"Very well. From this moment on… I am your captain."
Esdeath addressed the eighteen women in front of her calmly. But her declaration left the crew exchanging confused glances—they thought she was insane. After all, they were Marines.
One of the prettier women, with an attitude to match, stepped forward and spoke sharply:
"I don't know who you think you are, but you're not wearing a Marine uniform. That means you're not one of us. So who gave you the right to boss us around?"
With that one sentence, she had exposed Esdeath's identity.
Esdeath's expression didn't change, though she frowned slightly. She had expected someone to speak out. She just hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.
As a high-ranking officer of the Empire's Army, she responded with a cold smile. She walked up to the woman, raised a finger, and gently tapped her lips.
A wave of icy wind surged forth.
The woman shrieked in horror, but no sound came out. Her lips had been frozen solid.
The surrounding women gasped in shock. None of them had expected this stranger to literally freeze their comrade's mouth.
They immediately became furious.
One by one, the Marines rushed toward Esdeath, ready to teach her a lesson.
"Stop!"
Sengoku saw the scene unfold and cursed silently. These women didn't know what they were getting into. He shouted to halt them.
But it was already too late.
Esdeath pressed a finger to her lips and gently blew out a freezing breath.
In the next moment, all eighteen women on the deck were frozen in place.
Sengoku let out a long sigh. He was completely helpless.
This woman—Esdeath—was a lunatic. No doubt about it.
And it was this very madness that had won over Kaos and made her part of his inner circle.
Fortunately, even though their bodies were frozen, their faces could still move.
"Relax. I'm not going to hurt them. They're part of my crew now."
Esdeath looked over at Sengoku, her eyes calm but unreadable. A faint, amused smile curled on her lips.