A loud crash echoed through the air as the sound of flapping wings followed. Charlotte Pudding dissolved into a swarm of bats, evading Hancock's strike before reappearing behind her.
"I want to see if after I turn you into an old woman will you still be the world's number one beauty!" Charlotte Pudding sneered, wasting no time in activating her memory-erasing ability.
Boa Hancock's body trembled slightly, her eyes briefly clouded with confusion, but she quickly regained her composure.
However, Charlotte Pudding had anticipated this. Taking advantage of that fleeting moment, she struck Hancock's back with an open palm.
"Soul Extraction!"
Hancock's transparent soul was forcefully expelled from her body, yet her formidable strength prevented it from drifting too far. Just a few meters away, an invisible force seemed to pull her soul back toward her physical form.
But even with this short delay, Charlotte Pudding had already prepared her ultimate move.
"Essence Absorption!"
Tiny glowing particles were slowly drawn from Hancock's body into Pudding's palm. Wrinkles began forming at the corners of Hancock's once flawless eyes, and strands of her long, black hair turned stark white.
By the time Hancock fully returned to her body, she looked as if she were in her seventies or eighties.
"Sister!"
Her two younger sisters gasped in horror and rushed forward to aid her.
However, Charlotte Pudding simply cast them a sharp glance, causing them to freeze in place, momentarily dazed.
Despite her aged appearance, Hancock stood tall, gritting her teeth as she glared at Pudding. Even with silvered hair and crow's feet, she exuded an undeniable elegance and charm.
"Damn it. Shouldn't you have turned into a hag like that old crone?" Charlotte Pudding muttered, eyeing Hancock in frustration.
She was, of course, referring to Gloriosa.
"Hmph! Even in old age, a concubine is still the most beautiful woman in the world!" Hancock declared, tossing her now-white hair over her shoulder with practiced grace.
Charlotte Pudding ground her teeth. "The number one beauty among old women?"
"Though you've taken my youth, it is merely the power of a Devil Fruit! If I defeat you, my youth will return!" Hancock said before launching herself forward. Her leg swung out in a powerful kick. "Perfume Femur!"
A skeletal ribcage materialized beside Charlotte Pudding, blocking the attack. The moment Hancock's foot made contact, however, the bones began to petrify.
"The Love-Love Fruit… truly troublesome," Charlotte Pudding murmured. The tomoes in her Mangekyō Sharingan spun in unison, and suddenly, from the shadows beneath her feet, a dark Susanoo emerged, slamming a massive hand down upon Hancock.
With her aged body slowing her reflexes, Hancock couldn't evade in time.
Fortunately, at that moment, her two younger sisters shook off their daze.
Transforming into an anaconda and a king cobra, they coiled around the shadowy Susanoo, restraining it.
Freed from immediate danger, Hancock conjured a glowing pink heart. With a flick of her hand, a volley of heart-shaped arrows shot toward the Susanoo, rapidly turning the entire construct to stone.
"This fruit's power is truly terrifying," Pudding muttered as the petrified Susanoo crumbled away, revealing her unharmed form within.
"One wrong move, and even someone vastly stronger than you could be defeated instantly."
Though she acknowledged its danger, a smirk tugged at the corner of Charlotte Pudding's lips. "But fortunately, my Devil Fruit and Mangekyō Sharingan are far more formidable than your fruit."
"Tsukuyomi!"
The illusion was originally an exclusive ability of the Mangekyō Sharingan, but over time, its mechanics had been analyzed and adapted. Now, anyone with Sharingan could use it, though its effectiveness varied.
Charlotte Pudding had already learned of the dark past shared by Hancock and her sisters from Shin. With such deep-seated psychological scars, they were particularly vulnerable to Tsukuyomi's illusions.
Instantly, Hancock was transported back to her days as a slave. She saw the accursed red hoof of the Celestial Dragons, branding her flesh once more.
A bloodcurdling scream tore from her throat. Reliving the agony and humiliation dozens—perhaps hundreds—of times, Hancock's eyes rolled back, foam forming at the corners of her mouth as she collapsed, unconscious.
"As expected. So fragile," Charlotte Pudding remarked with a satisfied grin. "To be so terrified by those weak fools."
As the daughter of one of the Four Emperors Charlotte Linlin, Pudding had never feared the Celestial Dragons. In fact, most of the Four Emperors rarely clashed with them—simply because even the world government hesitated to provoke them.
Thus, she couldn't understand why someone as strong as Hancock would be so deeply afraid of those so-called World Nobles.
"Sister!"
Hancock's two younger sisters screamed and attempted to break free from the petrified Susanoo, only for it to grip them by their throats.
Pudding turned toward them, her crimson Sharingan gleaming. The moment their eyes met hers, they, too, fell into a deep illusion before collapsing unconscious.
"All done. That was almost too easy," Charlotte Pudding said, dusting off her hands with a satisfied smile. "How was that, Captain Shin?"
"How was what?" Shin rolled his eyes. "You were only fighting a Warlord of the Sea. With your Devil Fruit and bloodline abilities, that was a given. If you manage to defeat Charlotte Linlin and take command of the Big Mom Pirates, then come ask me how you're doing."
Pudding's confident expression faltered. "Beating my mother isn't that easy..."
"It's not that hard, either. Your current strength is comparable to the Four Emperors. You only lack endurance. Train a little more, and you'll surpass her!"
Shin said this as he extended a hand, extracting the Devil Fruits from Hancock's two younger sisters.
"An anaconda and a king cobra... That makes five Devil Fruits integrated into the Eight-Headed Serpent."
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