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Hancock slowly opened her eyes. She was curled up in a man's arms, completely naked.
Memories of the night before flashed through her mind.
Her heart began to pound.
"You're awake?"
Hancock looked up and saw Jin looking down at her with a knowing smile. She immediately blushed and looked away. Seeing how her body was wrapped around his, she felt a fresh wave of embarrassment wash over her.
Seeing her so shy and flustered, it was hard to connect her with the willful, arrogant Empress of the Kuja.
"Alright, time to get up," he said, gently pinching her nose. "If you don't, there's going to be a riot outside."
"Ah..." Hancock sat up with a start. "Oh no! Today is a council day! What time is it?"
"A little past noon. It's cancelled."
Jin admired her figure, her hair cascading over her chest, accentuating her perfect curves.
She turned and shot him a playful glare. "Why didn't you wake me?"
"You were exhausted," he said. "I wanted you to get some rest."
The concern in his voice brought a happy smile to her face, a faint blush rising in her cheeks.
"You're terrible," she said, her voice filled with a shy, adorable affection.
She said she hated it, but she was already throwing herself back into his arms.
"But... you're so gentle. It makes me so happy. I'm going to get lovesick."
A true siren.
The passion was palpable.
Her soft, supple body was intoxicating. Jin wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.
"Don't worry," he said. "I have a cure for that."
"What is it?" Hancock asked curiously. "This lovesickness... it's real, you know. If I can't be with you every day, I'll get a fever. All the Empresses of the Kuja have suffered from it. The previous Empress even died from it."
"Then we'll just have to make sure we can see each other whenever we want," Jin said. "I have an ability... a kind of teleportation..."
Hancock's eyes lit up. "Then make me a member of your crew!"
Jin caressed her cheek. "There's just one thing. It will leave a mark on you. Do you mind?"
Hancock blushed. "My body, my heart, my soul... they are already covered in your marks," she whispered.
'So this is why kings fall,' Jin thought with a sigh.
They were, in fact, already inside the demonic carrier.
Jin opened the interface.
In the [Helmsman] slot, he entered the name [Boa Hancock].
He focused his will, locking onto her.
"Woooooooooom..."
Faintly, Hancock heard the song of a whale. In her mind's eye, a strange warship materialized. It was burning with golden fire. A phantasmagoria of shifting spaces flashed before her eyes.
Jin stood on the deck of the ship, yet he also seemed to be one with it, a majestic, awe-inspiring figure, like a demon god.
'A God...' she thought, a shiver running down her spine. The warship enveloped her, the massive, golden-flamed vessel swallowing her whole.
And then, she too was alight, standing on the deck, a part of the crew.
The upgraded demonic carrier possessed an even greater power.
In the fiery illusion, all of Hancock's data appeared in the [Helmsman] slot.
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[Position: Helmsman]
[Name: Boa Hancock]
[Authority Level: 3]
[Height: 191cm]
[Ability: Paramecia Love-Love Fruit]
[Lineage: Kuja Tribe]
[Haki: Conqueror's | Armament | Observation]
[Composite Doriki: 17520-29850]
[Evaluation: World's Most Beautiful Woman, martial, possesses considerable potential, but suffers from psychological trauma due to childhood experiences. Naive and single-minded in matters of affection.]
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Hancock's true strength was rarely shown, but she held the title of the world's most beautiful woman and was a user of all three types of Haki. Her beauty, combined with the Love-Love Fruit, was a deadly combination. If truly enraged, she could be considered a Yonko commander-level threat.
During the fight against Bullet, a single kick from her had been enough to shatter a part of the giant golem.
[Analysis complete. Residual ability damage detected on Helmsman's body. Consume soul crystals to repair?]
A new line of text appeared on the interface.
Residual ability damage?
The Celestial Dragon's brand?
Was the brand itself a Devil Fruit power? The Mark-Mark Fruit? Or something similar?
No wonder it couldn't be removed.
"Repair," Jin commanded.
A circular insignia materialized on Hancock's chest. Within it, the stylized characters for his ship intertwined around a strange, Divine Dragon.
Golden flames erupted from the insignia, tracing a path down Hancock's back and burning away the twisted black miasma of the brand.
Hancock felt a strange sensation on her back, a mixture of intense heat and soothing coolness. The fear that had been lodged in her heart for so long began to dissipate.
She opened her eyes and touched her back. "It's warm... what happened?"
"See for yourself," Jin said, holding up a mirror.
"Ah..." Hancock covered her face, peeking at the mirror through her fingers.
And again.
She gasped.
The slave brand...
In the mirror, her back was smooth, flawless.
The indelible mark... was gone!!
"It's gone!" she whispered in disbelief.
She turned and ran her hand over her back, again and again.
"I told you I'd get rid of it," Jin said with a smile.
"It's really gone!" Hancock cheered, throwing her arms around him and covering his face with kisses, her joy overflowing.
The heavy weight she had carried for so long was gone. In its place was a newfound confidence, a radiant, easy grace. A beauty that bloomed like a flower.
She was even more beautiful now.
After a moment, she pulled back and looked at him, her eyes filled with an infinite, tender affection.
What she wanted now... needed no words.
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Evening.
A worried Gloriosa and the others heard a noise from inside the bedchambers.
"Snake Princess? Is that you?"
"Mm... it is I," Hancock replied, then cleared her throat. Her voice had been too soft, too sultry. She tried again. "I drank too much last night and overslept."
'It's evening! And you weren't even in there before...'
They all exchanged a look. They would pretend they didn't know.
"Snake Princess," Gloriosa said, concerned, "may I come in?"
"You may."
Gloriosa entered alone. She saw Hancock sitting on her throne of coiled snakes, just as she always did.
She froze.
"What is it, Elder Nyon?"
Gloriosa blinked. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.
But when she looked again, her eyes widened. Hancock seemed to be glowing, her beauty almost otherworldly.
"Snake Princess... you're even more beautiful!"
"Really?" Hancock said, surprised. She touched her cheek, a faint blush rising. "He said so too, but I thought he was just trying to flatter me."
"Eh?" Gloriosa hadn't quite caught that.
"In what way am I more beautiful?" Hancock asked.
"Well," Gloriosa said, "you seem more confident, more at ease. There's a vitality about you. It's as if a butterfly had undergone another metamorphosis, a flower bursting into full bloom—a new, radiant beauty that shines from within."
She paused, realizing that Hancock's new radiance was due to a change in her heart. A change that was undoubtedly connected to that king.
Gloriosa was worried.
She went to find Rayleigh.
"Is that so?" Rayleigh said with a chuckle after hearing her story. "From what you're saying, it sounds like this is a good thing for Hancock. Let the young people handle their own affairs. We're old now."
"What Jin said... it made me think," he continued. "I can feel the winds of a new era blowing. When we reached Laugh Tale, Roger said that we were too early. It seems... the 'RIGHT TIME' is finally approaching."
At the mention of Roger, Gloriosa's worries faded. "Is it him?"
"No," Rayleigh said, shaking his head. "It's them. In the years since Roger's death, a new generation has risen. It doesn't matter who reaches the final island. The horn that signals the start of the new era has already been blown."
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Two days later.
With Hancock and the others seeing him off, Jin departed from Amazon Lily with Rayleigh.
Gloriosa looked at Hancock, puzzled. She didn't seem particularly sad to see him go.
Did... nothing really happen?
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After dropping Rayleigh off at the Sabaody Archipelago and leaving him a hefty sum of cash as payment, Jin began his journey "backward."
He visited the islands guarded by Reiju, Maya, and Wilson, inspecting their progress and scouting the routes between them.
Once the construction on the Conomi Islands was complete, he would bring over Gin, Kuro, and the other former prisoners.
He wasn't in a hurry. He was patiently consolidating his power, his territory, his resources, building a solid foundation in Paradise.
This consolidation wasn't just a series of visits; it was a top-to-bottom overhaul of personnel, law, economy, and resource management across the islands, integrating each of them into the system of the Winter Blossom Kingdom and fostering a sense of belonging.
Even with Ai's big data analysis, the data collection alone took three months.
It was a hassle, but during his tour, a number of talented individuals had emerged, which made it all worthwhile.
"Before he knew it, another year was drawing to a close. In half a month, it would be time for Big Mom's Tea Party."
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