"Gum-Gum Rocket!"
On Peach Garden's Nine Serpent Island, Luffy rocketed forward using his Devil Fruit ability.
"What is this place? Dead ends everywhere! Where are my companions?" He scanned the endless jungle and coastline, unease creeping in.
Pulling out his Vivre Card, he confirmed his bearings again. Scratching his head, he muttered, "Looks like they're not on this island. Should I make a boat first?"
Grumble~
His stomach growled painfully. "I'm so hungry… Sanji! I want to eat!"
No response. He shouted again, "Sanji!" Still nothing. He realized, of course, that he was completely alone.
"No matter how much I call, he won't come."
He activated his Observation Haki.
Soon, he sensed a distant presence—a massive Bear.
Boom!
Smoke rose, and the Bear transformed into roasted meat, filling the air with a mouthwatering aroma.
"Why am I thinking of Rolan now?" Luffy muttered, flipping the meat over in memory of the time Rolan had roasted it himself. Ace had been there too, and the memory made him shiver.
"Ugh, better not dwell on that. It's scarier than getting thrown into the jungle by some old man."
The smell of meat spread through the air, making Luffy salivate. "Wow, this smells amazing! Not as good as Sanji's, but better than Rolan's last attempt!"
He clasped his hands together. "Time to eat!"
Moments later, Luffy devoured the entire Kuma, finishing it in record time. He patted his now full stomach and exclaimed, "Life Return!"
His body shrank back to normal, and the smiling faces of his crew flashed before his eyes.
"Renn, Sanji, where are you?" he muttered. "Is Carina stealing treasures again? Usopp, are you tinkering with bullets? Bari, tangled in ropes? Kalifa, avoiding the World Government? Chopper, lost somewhere? Brook, hunting pants?"
"I miss you all…"
Just then, a stunning figure descended from the sky, landing gracefully before him.
"Who?!"
Luffy leapt to his feet, eyes wide. The woman before him was breathtaking, clad in a cheongsam with a high slit, radiating a palpable aura of power and hostility. His heart sank—he had barely escaped Sabaody Archipelago, and now faced another formidable presence.
The woman was Hancock.
"A man?" she murmured, scanning him carefully. Something about him felt familiar, yet foreign. Her thoughts lingered only on Rolan; any other concerns were secondary. According to Wyper, this man had fallen from the sky onto Nine Serpent Island, an immediate threat to Peach Garden.
She decided not to waste words. Gathering her Conqueror's Haki into her right leg, she summoned countless red and black sparks of energy. With a single stomp, she leaped forward, appearing directly in front of Luffy.
"Perfume Femur!"
Her high-heeled foot, infused with Armament and Conqueror Haki, shot toward Luffy's left chest at blinding speed.
Luffy froze. Why was she attacking? With no time to react, he raised his arm to block, but the impact slammed him backward like a rubber ball.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He smashed through dozens of massive trees, finally colliding with a sheer cliff. Blood spurted from his mouth.
"So painful! What kind of power is this?" he groaned, clutching his chest.
Hancock stared. Luffy had just blocked a Haki-infused Devil Fruit strike, showing no ill effects. She had never encountered a man immune to her Mero Mero no Mi and Haoshoku Haki.
Forming a heart shape with her hands, she unleashed:
"Mero Mero Mellow!"
Pink, heart-shaped beams shot toward him. Luffy crossed his arms instinctively, but the rays passed through harmlessly.
"What the—?"
Hancock froze, disbelief etched on her face. Her ability, meant to petrify men, had no effect.
"Why? Why didn't you turn to stone?" she demanded.
Luffy puffed out his cheeks innocently. "What stone? Why would I turn into stone?"
Hancock's frown deepened. "Am I not beautiful?"
Luffy tilted his head, puzzled. "What does 'beautiful' mean?"
"You don't know what beautiful means?" Hancock snapped.
"I don't," Luffy said simply.
"Are you even a man? You don't understand beauty or charm?" she barked.
"Baka! Of course I'm a man! I'm the man who's going to be Pirate King!" Luffy flexed his biceps proudly.
Hancock's expression hardened. Every word he spoke seemed to chip away at her patience. She could only sigh inwardly. Could this man truly be immune to charm itself?
She decided to stop wasting words.
Raising her right foot, she infused it with Armament and Conqueror Haki. "No matter how strange your body is, since you've trespassed on Peach Garden's Nine Serp
ent Island, you should just die!"
Just as she prepared to strike, a voice rang out nearby…
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