Boa Hancock slowly opened her eyes and found herself lying on her large bed, feeling a cold touch beside her.
Turning her head, she saw a giant snake with red and white stripes lying next to her. Wearing a skull cap on its head, it stared at her.
"Salome, it's you!" Hancock breathed a sigh of relief, slowly sitting up from the bed. The memories of her experience in the Tsukoyomi surfaced in her mind, and she even felt a faint pain in her back again.
But she knew it was just phantom pain. Raising her hands, she found that her skin, which had become slightly old and rough due to the absorption of essence, had now returned to its original state.
"Have I been let go? You truly underestimate me." Hancock gritted her teeth and was about to stand up when another thought suddenly crossed her mind.
"That illusion... Do they know about my experience?"
Thinking of this, Hancock's expression changed completely, and even the phantom pain in her back intensified. Dressing hastily, she hurriedly pushed open the door of her bedroom and rushed toward the hall.
Halfway there, she heard the voices of her two younger sisters: "It doesn't matter! It's just a Devil Fruit. We can just take it and give it away. As for the savings of Amazon Lily, if it can be exchanged for... it should be fine!"
"What!?" Hancock hurriedly opened the door, only to see her two younger sisters happily carrying the treasures of Amazon Lily and placing them on Shin's Azure Dragon.
Her vision darkened, and she nearly fainted on the spot. Hearing the door open, her two sisters turned around and beamed. "Sister, you're awake! That's great."
"This lady does not feel great at all. Could it be that the two of you are also under the control of that three-eyed woman?" Hancock roared furiously. "Do you know what you're doing? That is the lady's treasure!"
[Note: I don't know why she talks like this.]
Yes, in Hancock's eyes, the entire Amazon Lily belonged to her, and naturally, all those treasures were hers as well. As for the residents of Amazon Lily, they belonged to her too—not to mention their money.
At that moment, her two sisters exchanged glances before sneaking up to Hancock like thieves, attempting to whisper something to her.
But they were far too large, making their sneaky behavior look comically obvious.
"Sister, look at our backs! Shin cured our curse. The Gorgon's Eyes are gone!"
"What? The Gorgon's curse isn't something that..." Hancock began, bewildered, but she swallowed the rest of her words when she saw the residents of Amazon Lily helping to carry the treasure.
To cover up the mark branded on the three sisters' backs, they had claimed that they had defeated the monster Gorgon in the sea during an adventure, but had been cursed by it. According to the story, petrified eyes had appeared on their backs, and if anyone saw them, they would turn to stone.
But that was merely a deception. The three sisters knew perfectly well that they had never been cursed. Those "petrification eyes" were just a result of Hancock's Devil Fruit powers.
Hancock had simply never thought about it deeply before. Now, after a moment of realization, a look of shock crossed her face.
She then lowered her voice and asked her two younger sisters, "The mark... was removed?"
The two sisters nodded excitedly and then gestured toward the treasures. "That's the price he asked for!"
The treasure, which had seemed so important moments ago, no longer held any significance to Hancock. "Yes, give it all to him! As long as he can remove... the curse."
With Shin's ability to transform using the Munch-Munch Fruit, the so-called Heavenly Dragon's Seal was nothing to him.
Although the mark was made with special materials that were nearly impossible to erase, Shin could easily transfer it elsewhere. If he could even manipulate something as complex as the Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird Seal, then a simple burn mark was hardly a challenge.
A while later, in Hancock's bedroom—
Emerging from the dark space, Hancock immediately took off her shirt and turned toward the largest mirror in her bedroom.
Seeing her flawless, smooth back, she covered her mouth, sobbing softly.
After a while, realizing that Shin was still in the room, Hancock quickly composed herself, tidied her clothes, and spoke with her usual pride.
"Anyway, this lady shall barely offer you thanks."
Shin shook his head. "There's no need to thank me. This was a fair trade—I have taken the payment for services."
"Hmph! Restoring the perfection of this lady's body is not something that can be measured with money." Hancock lifted her chin proudly.
Shin felt speechless. Seeing this posture in the manga had always seemed amusing, but witnessing it in reality made him feel secondhand embarrassment.
'I guess I just don't fit in because I'm not dramatic enough...'
Perhaps due to discomfort in her cervical spine, or perhaps sensing Shin's awkwardness, Hancock quickly adjusted her posture. Then she asked, "I thought you wanted my Devil Fruit, but I didn't expect your goal was actually my sister's Devil Fruit."
"But does the Snake-Snake Fruit really hold any value for you?"
Hancock knew that Shin already possessed the Azure Dragon Fruit, an immensely powerful Devil Fruit. Even if one combined the value of dozens or even hundreds of Snake-Snake Fruits, they would not compare to the Azure Dragon Fruit.
"Of course it holds value," Shin replied perfunctorily. "But I'm not obligated to explain why."
Hancock clenched her teeth in frustration. Few men had ever dared to be so dismissive toward her.
Then, as if recalling something, Shin turned toward Hancock. "By the way, you used to be a slave of the Celestial Dragons. There's something I need to ask you."
"What is it?" At the mention of "slave" and "Celestial Dragons," Hancock's breathing hitched, and her voice turned cold.
Shin took out a chart from his coat. "It's nothing major. Last time, I rescued a lot of slaves from Mary Geoise, and it seems some of them were from Amazon Lily?"
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