— — — — — — —
"Haha! Good!"
Kaito laughed heartily and reached out to ruffle Hancock's hair. "I believe that day will come!"
"By the way, I heard from Shakky that you ate a Paramecia-type Love-Love Fruit (Mero Mero no Mi)?"
Hancock was momentarily stunned, as if recalling something, then quickly nodded. "Yes! Kaito, are you going to help me remove its flaws and hidden dangers?"
She had received information that Kaito possessed the means to eliminate the weaknesses of Devil Fruits—such as their vulnerability to seawater and the remnants of another's will within them.
For something like this, she naturally couldn't wait to get rid of it.
Although consuming the Love-Love Fruit had greatly enhanced her strength and beauty, the weakness to seawater was truly frustrating.
Additionally, she had been completely unaware that Devil Fruits contained the lingering wills of others.
Now that she knew, she had to get rid of it as soon as possible.
She couldn't accept the idea that another's will resided within her body—even if that will was reduced to mere instincts and lay dormant.
"Yeah." Kaito nodded affirmatively. "It's best to remove these hidden dangers and weaknesses sooner rather than later."
"Besides, I have some uncertain theories about your Devil Fruit..."
He then proceeded to explain to Hancock his hypothesis that the Love-Love Fruit might actually be a Mythical Zoan-type Medusa Fruit.
"Huh?"
Hancock was astonished. "A Mythical Zoan-type Medusa Fruit? Is that even possible?"
This was the first time she had ever heard of such a thing.
"It's very possible." Kaito nodded again. "Come on, let's head to the Space-Time Gate and confirm this once and for all!"
"If it's true, then this is fantastic news for you."
"Because a Mythical Zoan Medusa Fruit is bound to be far stronger than just a simple Love-Love Fruit."
Hancock's curiosity was piqued, and she immediately agreed.
After all, every Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit was incredibly powerful, as they all represented legendary creatures.
"Alright!"
Kaito grabbed her hand, and with a thought, the two of them instantly arrived within the Space-Time Gate's core dimension.
"Wow! So this is the Space-Time Gate's domain? It's huge! And there are so many plants!"
The moment they arrived, Hancock looked around in awe.
Indeed, the place was now filled with lush vegetation.
These were all plants that Kaito had gradually transplanted over the years from both the Pirate and Ninja worlds.
His goal was to make the Space-Time Gate's domain more suitable for habitation.
"Alright! I'll give you a tour later. For now, let's deal with the Devil Fruit issue first."
Kaito smiled as he reminded her.
"Mhm!"
Hancock quickly refocused and asked, "What do I need to do?"
"You don't need to do anything. Just stand still."
Kaito shook his head, and once Hancock steadied herself, he raised his hand and made a grabbing motion in the air.
In an instant, he effortlessly extracted the Love-Love Fruit from her body.
Throughout the process, Hancock only felt the sudden loss of her Devil Fruit abilities but experienced no other discomfort.
This astonished her.
Seeing the pink, spherical energy floating above Kaito's palm, Hancock curiously moved closer and asked, "Darling, is this the essence of the Love-Love Fruit? It's not even a physical object?"
"And have you confirmed that it's the Medusa Fruit?"
Kaito nodded. "Yes, it's confirmed. There's another latent power hidden inside this Devil Fruit, still unawakened."
"That power is even stronger. The Love-Love Fruit's abilities are merely its surface manifestation—the true nature of this fruit is that of the Medusa Fruit."
"This Medusa Fruit actually fits well with your Amazon Lily heritage. No wonder, even though I altered your fate, you still ended up obtaining it."
"This is the will of the Medusa Fruit itself choosing you."
"Ever since I learned that you unexpectedly obtained this Devil Fruit, I suspected it wasn't just a simple Love-Love Fruit."
"After all, when something defies the natural course of destiny yet still finds its way to you, it's anything but normal."
"The will of the Medusa Fruit chose you."
"As for why this Devil Fruit is currently in an energy form—"
"It's because Devil Fruits need a fruit as a medium to materialize from their energy state."
"Through my research, I've discovered that Devil Fruits are actually remnants of the spiritual will and consciousness of humans who ascended to a higher dimension hundreds or even thousands of years ago. They are essentially mystical artifacts born from imagination and willpower."
Kaito then thoroughly explained his research findings to Hancock.
"I see!"
Hancock was enlightened. "So that's how it is? Ancient humans were truly remarkable! They could even accomplish something like this!"
"No wonder Devil Fruits contain a will of their own, and no wonder Devil Fruit users are rejected by the sea."
Everything suddenly made sense.
"So, how are you going to remove the flaws and the hidden will inside?"
"If this Devil Fruit actively sought me out, wouldn't its will be exceptionally strong?"
Hancock asked curiously.
"You're right."
Kaito nodded. "But no matter how strong it is, in this space, it doesn't matter."
"Here, I am invincible."
"Eliminating it will be simple."
As he spoke, Kaito used his other hand to make another grabbing motion toward the Devil Fruit.
Instantly, he extracted a mysterious entity from the core of the fruit.
As soon as it was removed, it awakened.
It took the form of a humanoid figure with a snake's lower body and hair made entirely of writhing serpents. The entity roared at Kaito, struggling violently, attempting to return to the Medusa Fruit.
Unfortunately, its efforts were meaningless.
"Off you go!"
The next moment, Kaito casually tossed it out of the Space-Time Gate's domain, sending it into the One Piece world's seas.
He didn't even bother to throw it near Drum Island, choosing a safer approach just in case.
The entity let out one last cursed roar before vanishing into the void, returning to the collective consciousness of the world.
With the Medusa Fruit's curse and hidden dangers removed, Kaito re-infused its power back into Hancock's body.
Immediately, she felt her Love-Love Fruit abilities return.
However, this time, she could control them with even greater ease and precision.
She even sensed an untapped power within the fruit—likely the true power of the Medusa Fruit that Kaito had mentioned.
But as she recalled the previous Medusa entity's appearance, Hancock frowned slightly, looking at Kaito with concern.
"Kaito, if I fully develop the Medusa Fruit's power... will I end up looking like that thing?"
"That form was so ugly!"
The snake tail and serpent-hair aesthetic didn't appeal to her at all.
Even though she was the future Empress of Amazon Lily, frequently dealing with snakes and even having a pet snake of her own, she still found that appearance unsettling.
Clearly, her sense of beauty remained aligned with human aesthetics.
"You don't have to worry about that!" Kaito chuckled and reassured her, "That was just Medusa's cursed form. I've already removed the curse, so Medusa will naturally return to the idealized form from human legends."
"According to legend, Medusa was once the most beautiful being in the world. It was only due to the goddess's jealousy that she was cursed into that hideous form."
"Since I've removed that will and the curse, your Medusa Devil Fruit will now return to its most perfect state."
"So when you develop your Medusa powers, you'll only become even more beautiful, never ugly. You really don't have to worry about that!"
"Otherwise, trust me, I wouldn't have given you this Devil Fruit in the first place—I would have let you choose another one instead."
To be honest, it wasn't just Hancock who found that Lovecraftian Medusa horrifying—Kaito himself couldn't stand it either!
It was nightmare fuel!
"Really? That's great! You're the best!" Hancock's eyes lit up in excitement. She smiled brightly and threw herself into Kaito's arms, planting a kiss on his cheek. She was absolutely thrilled.
"Alright, now that the Devil Fruit situation is settled, I'll take you back to Amazon Lily to inform Elder Gloriosa first."
"After that, I'll show you around our various bases in the Pirate World, as well as some places in the Ninja World."
"And while we're at it, I'll introduce you to my close friends and family so they can get to know you too! Let's go!"
With a thought, Kaito activated his power, taking Hancock with him through the dimensional gate.
They reappeared inside the grand hall of Amazon Lily, where Elder Gloriosa was waiting.
"You're finally back!" Gloriosa sighed in relief upon seeing them reappear. Then, noticing something different about Hancock, she narrowed her eyes and asked, "Hancock, why do you feel… different? And… are you even more beautiful than before?"
"You two wouldn't have…?"
A sudden realization struck her, and her expression shifted dramatically. She looked at the two of them with suspicion, her face dark and unreadable. "Don't tell me…"
"Shut up, you old hag!" Hancock instantly guessed what Gloriosa was insinuating and shot her a glare. "Kaito simply helped me resolve the hidden dangers of my Devil Fruit and taught me some secret techniques to make me stronger!"
"Stop jumping to weird conclusions."
Of course, she did want to give herself completely to Kaito.
But she was still too young for that right now, and she didn't want to rush things. She had to maintain her perfect image in Kaito's eyes.
She was going to be his perfect bride, after all.
"Oh… is that so?" Gloriosa let out a breath of relief when she saw that Hancock wasn't lying and indeed didn't look like someone who had lost her purity. Feeling a little awkward, she cleared her throat and muttered, "Ahem… I was just worried about you, that's all!"
"You're both still young. You should be focusing on growing stronger."
"I just didn't want you to get your priorities mixed up, that's all! My apologies, my apologies!"
"Hmph!" Hancock huffed and shot Gloriosa another glare.
"It's fine," Kaito chuckled, shaking his head. "We know what we're doing."
"By the way, I've now formed a contract with Hancock, granting her space teleportation abilities and teaching her some of our family's secret techniques."
"These will greatly enhance her future training and power growth."
"So from now on, she'll be training with me on a regular basis. Just letting you know in advance."
"Also, I'll be taking her to visit some of our family's bases, so she'll be away for a bit. I hope you don't mind."
After all, Hancock was the heir to Amazon Lily, the future Empress. It was only polite to inform her elders first.
"Is that so?" Gloriosa pondered for a moment. Considering Kaito's terrifying strength, she hesitated but ultimately nodded. "Alright. I'll allow both."
"However, if in a month I see that Hancock's growth has slowed down, I will take back my decision and insist she stay on Amazon Lily for further training. No objections, right?"
After all, everything was for Hancock's growth and the future of Amazon Lily.
She was willing to give Kaito a chance, but she couldn't allow him to hinder Hancock's development.
"Of course! That's a reasonable request. Just wait and see—I only hope you won't be too shocked by the results!" Kaito grinned confidently.
This was a fair condition. There was no reason to refuse.
"Then I have no more concerns. You two go ahead, but don't be gone too long!" Gloriosa finally nodded in satisfaction, waving them off.
She appreciated Kaito's respectful attitude—it left a good impression on her.
This was how things should be handled!
And his confidence made her curious.
If Kaito could truly accelerate Hancock's growth without diminishing her potential, then she might just owe him a serious debt of gratitude.
After all, a stronger future Empress of Amazon Lily would be invaluable to the island's future.
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