''Chapter Head Serialization: Big News 25 - Luffy, Just Let That Guy Take Your Useless Devil Fruit!''
In the East Blue, Goa Kingdom, at the landfill site for non-recyclable waste. Sabo and Ace found an old newspaper from eight years ago and laughed heartily at Luffy, who became so annoyed that his straw hat and snake-shaped pendant flew up into the air...
---
"So beautiful..."
The moment they saw Hancock standing at the doorway, the three men who had snuck into the cabin felt their hearts ruthlessly skip a beat.
They were used to their line of work, never caring about human lives, and women were just commodities— easily obtained and sold off to the slave trade without a second thought. No matter how beautiful a woman was, they could get her without a problem, then sell her off without a pang of guilt.
Who cares about beauty? Can it compare to Belly (money)? Well, maybe this time, it actually can.
For the first time, the three men found that the black-haired girl at the door was even more captivating than Belly, more enticing than gold itself...
"I asked you a question!" Hancock furrowed her delicate brows, clearly displeased, as she snapped at them.
The snake wrapped around her arm, Salome, hissed aggressively.
"Uh, we're... people..." The plump, lecherous man nearly revealed their true intentions, but the robust leader quickly elbowed him, snapping him out of his daze. He bit his tongue to drive away the trance Hancock's beauty had caused, and with a silly grin, he said, "We're people..."
"Wrong!" Hancock scolded.
The three men froze, exchanging glances. What was going on? This girl looked so naive and innocent, yet she could tell right away that they were up to no good?
Hancock scoffed, "You're men. You think I can't tell?"
The tall, skinny man chuckled. It was said that on the Island of Women (Amazon Lily), there were only women and no men. This pretty little girl probably had never seen a real man before.
"You got us!" The tall man feigned surprise.
Hancock raised an eyebrow, suspicious. "When did you get on board? How did you get here?"
"You don't know?" The tall man feigned shock. "We've been old friends with your Kuja Pirate crew. Every time your ship docks on the Grand Line, we come aboard to visit..."
He paused, looking Hancock up and down, and then asked skeptically, "Is this your first time sailing with the ship?"
"None of your business!" Hancock snapped, still unsure but half believing. "Really? I order you not to lie."
She added, "You better not deceive me!"
The tall man coughed, almost uncontrollably about to apologize and admit he was lying, but he managed to hold it back. 'What is this girl's charm?' he thought. 'It's terrifying— she makes you want to obey her!'
The robust leader then smiled and said, "Well, little girl, where do you think the new children on Amazon Lily come from? You're still young, so it's normal if the adults haven't explained these things to you yet..."
'Young?' Hancock bristled, angry at the implication. "With Snake Princess not on the ship, there's nothing you can do here. Leave now, or don't blame me for being rude."
She reached for Salome, who transformed into a snake-shaped bow in her hands. Hancock drew a wooden arrow from her waist and nocked it.
"Don't act rashly!" The tall man waved his hands in a hurry. "There's no need for things to get this messy. Aren't we friends?"
The robust leader rummaged through his pack and sighed, "Actually, the reason we're here is that we need your help. The women of Kuja are all skilled snake handlers! One of the snakes you gave us recently fell ill, and we—"
"Boss! Watch out!" The plump man suddenly shouted.
The robust man turned just in time to see Hancock release the arrow from the bow!
'What?!' He was shocked. 'Such an innocent-looking girl, how could she shoot so suddenly?'
The robust man tried to use his Devil Fruit ability to turn the arrow into a harmless "pipe" with his Pipe-Pipe Fruit, but to his horror, the ability didn't work. The arrow exploded against his hand, shredding it into a bloody mess, with his white bones exposed.
'Was she pretending to be naive all along?!' All three men cursed inwardly. 'The more beautiful a woman is, the more deceptive she is!'
"You dared to lie to me?!" Hancock fumed, her anger intensifying as she recalled scenes from the book she had read.
She raised her bow again, preparing to shoot a few more arrows and finish them off.
"Wait!" The three men cried out desperately, "We really are friends of Kuja!"
"And so what?" Hancock was too angry to care whether they were friends or not.
"Hold on! Just wait!" They begged.
'Wait for what?' Hancock wondered, when suddenly her arms went weak, and she couldn't lift her snake bow.
With a clatter, the wooden arrow fell to the floor.
Salome also dropped limply to the ground, appearing unconscious.
Hancock felt her entire body weakening. She struggled to stand but her legs trembled, and she nearly collapsed.
"You..." Hancock could barely squeeze out the words, her voice soft and powerless.
The robust leader clutched his mutilated hand, blood dripping as he grinned wickedly. "Ignorant girl. You actually waited when we told you to? Ha! I didn't expect a little girl like you to know how to use Haki. That's rare even on Sabaody Archipelago. Seems like the women of Kuja are well-practiced in it!"
The plump man laughed lewdly. "The women on this ship will fetch a high price, Boss! Maybe we can even get you a golden hand!"
The tall man crouched down beside Hancock, who was barely managing to crawl away, and said softly, "Don't strain yourself. This poison is colorless and odorless. It's been in the air since before you entered the cabin. You're deeply poisoned now. In two days, you won't be able to move at all, and we'll have complete control over you. Someone as beautiful as you will surely catch the eye of the Celestial Dragons and fetch a high price. Heh, heh..."
Celestial Dragons?
Hancock's heart trembled as she tried desperately to crawl out of the cabin, seeking help.
Bang!
She twisted her ankle, falling hard to the ground.
Pale and sweating, Hancock ignored the pain in her ankle, turning to see the three men approaching her slowly.
"Little girl," The robust leader sneered, "Did you really think we didn't know that the most powerful person on this ship, your Snake Princess, has already left? Don't underestimate us. We make our living in the Grand Line. Do you think the few women left on board can stop us from taking two or three girls like you?"
The plump man snickered, "Give up! The poison should have weakened you completely by now."
The tall man watched Hancock struggle to crawl on the floor and started counting down slowly, "Three... two... one!"
At the count of one, Hancock's body went completely still.
"Ugh..." She lay motionless on the deck, unable to muster even the slightest bit of strength. It felt as if her body had become disconnected from her will, weighed down like a mountain pressing her to the floor.
Thud, thud, thud...
The sound of the men's footsteps approached.
The scenes from 'Room' flashed vividly in Hancock's mind, just as Giorno had teased her before. She realized she was truly terrified now, just like she had been when reading the book.
Thud, thud...
That fleeting fear had now grown into overwhelming terror in her heart.
Using Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), she could sense the Kuja warriors on deck... but they felt so far away...
Snake Princess...
Thud...
Hancock rolled her eyes and saw the terrifying figures of the three men looming over her. She couldn't even muster the strength to tremble.
"Don't worry, girl. We'll make sure you're worth every Belly," One of the men said as his clawed hand reached down toward her.
Giorno...
Hancock's heart clenched.
---
Meanwhile, on the Kuja Pirate ship, the female warriors on deck were laughing and chatting.
Some of the more experienced ones were already planning how to spend their earnings on this trip.
Others were explaining things to the younger warriors, going over the best strategies based on the voyage schedule.
"It's all so complicated!" One young warrior exclaimed, "Why can't we just capture the men and bring them back to the island?"
An older warrior laughed, "Silly! The first law of our country is that no men are allowed. Even Snake Princess herself can't break that rule..."
Suddenly, there was a loud bang from the ship's cabin, causing the deck to shake slightly.
(End Of The Chapter)
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