"My lord... please lift your foot..."
The maid knelt on the ground, her head bowed so low that it seemed she might bury it in the floor. Her face was flushed, as if steam might burst out at any moment. This was hardly surprising, given her position—if she were to lift her head even slightly, she would be face-to-face with Dan's lower half.
Dan found her reaction amusing, but he had no intention of teasing her. He silently lifted his foot, allowing her to quickly finish dressing him.
After struggling to pull the pant leg up, she finally managed to get it on. But now, she had no choice but to lift her head to adjust the waistband.
Her face still burning red, the maid leaned back slightly, afraid of accidentally brushing against him. She turned her head to the side, though her eyes couldn't help but flicker a glance.
'So terrifying... like a python...'
This thought flashed through her mind as she fumbled with the clothing. After what felt like an eternity, she finally managed to get the pants on properly.
"Phew—"
She let out a sigh of relief, adjusting Dan's belt and other details before silently retreating to the side. She knelt down, her eyes firmly avoiding Dan's direction, as if afraid he might open his mouth and swallow her whole at any moment.
'Even if he doesn't eat me, if he were to... that would still be terrifying...'
She prostrated herself on the ground, her mind filled with images of the python she had just seen.
'It wouldn't fit... there's no way it could fit!'
Just as her mind was filled with these inappropriate thoughts, she suddenly felt a cold touch on her face. She looked up in alarm, only to see a snake's head staring directly at her. She let out a scream, scrambling backward on her hands and feet, her face filled with terror as she tried to crawl toward the door.
The snake's head in front of her was real.
After Dan had finished dressing, the sleeves of his robe and the sash around his waist had transformed into the upper body of a snake under the influence of his powers. This was a manifestation of his awakened Devil Fruit ability. Since he had fully absorbed the fruit, his powers had naturally developed to their awakened state.
Although the python before her wasn't the kind of "python" she had been imagining earlier, this real one was far more terrifying. The former would have just been a matter of being "poked" a few times—after all, as a woman of her status, she had long since resigned herself to the fact that she would eventually face such things when bought by someone.
She had no idea why that ugly man with a face as large as a millstone hadn't touched her all this time, but she had already prepared herself for the possibility of being defiled.
If this man before her were to take her body, she wouldn't have been too resistant.
But now, the problem was that this snake was real. Its menacing fangs and flickering tongue filled her with dread.
"Help! I'm going to be eaten by a monster—"
Dan: "..."
Outside the door, Kurozumi Semimaru clearly heard the commotion but made no move to intervene. Instead, he extended his withered, branch-like hands and tightly closed the sliding door to prevent the maid from escaping.
He didn't know whether Dan was a monster or a Devil Fruit spirit, but it didn't matter to him. In his eyes, even if Dan were to eat the woman right now, it would be an honor for her.
"If you don't want to be eaten, be quiet," Dan said coldly.
The maid immediately stopped her piercing screams, clamping her hands over her mouth as she huddled in the corner, sobbing.
"Stop crying. Leave. I won't eat you," Dan said, his voice softening slightly as he took in her pitiful state. However, the snake formed from his clothing still had its mouth wide open, making his words seem less than convincing.
But with his assurance, Kurozumi Semimaru outside the door finally released his hold. Seeing this, the maid quickly stood up and bowed as she hurried out. In truth, she wanted to scramble out of the room on all fours, but she was afraid that acting too panicked might provoke Dan's displeasure—and his appetite. So she forced herself to remain composed, though her entire body trembled as if she had been thrown naked into a snowdrift.
"My lord, I deeply apologize for the maid's foolishness. If you wish to eat her, I will instruct the chef to prepare her."
After the maid had left, Semimaru entered and knelt down, but his words left Dan speechless.
'These people really think I'm some kind of monster, huh?'
"I'm not a man-eating monster. More importantly, Kurozumi Semimaru, what year is it now?"
Semimaru was actually relieved to hear that Dan didn't eat people. They weren't exactly wealthy, and that maid was their only servant. When they had seen Kurozumi Orochi buy her, they had assumed he had some interest in women. But after bringing her home, Orochi had shown no such intentions.
In fact, the current Orochi was completely focused on training, seizing every moment to improve himself. Though only a year had passed, his strength had grown significantly, and even Yasuie had come to value him highly.
Hearing Dan's question, Semimaru didn't dare delay and immediately answered. However, Wano Country used a different calendar system than the outside world, so Dan couldn't make sense of the specific year.
Even if he had known the year, Dan wouldn't have been able to place it in context. He couldn't even remember the historical dates for his college entrance exams, let alone the timeline of an anime. So instead, Dan asked Semimaru to explain recent events in Wano.
"Yes," Semimaru nodded quickly, then recounted everything that had happened recently, including the activities of Kurozumi Orochi and Kurozumi Semimaru.
When Dan heard that the three of them were planning to steal Wano and make him the shogun, he was somewhat surprised. But then he thought it might not be a bad idea. Since he had nothing better to do, becoming the ruler of this country could be a good way to pass the time.
"So, Kozuki Oden hasn't become the daimyo of Kuri yet?"
Kozuki Oden would become the daimyo of Kuri?
Semimaru was puzzled by Dan's seemingly random question, but he answered truthfully, "No, according to the letters from our informant, Kozuki Oden is currently traveling across the country. There's no indication that he plans to go to Kuri."
Dan nodded.
In the original story, Kozuki Oden would eventually pacify the chaotic region of Kuri and be named its daimyo. But since Oden hadn't reached Kuri yet, Dan decided he might as well take it for himself.
But before that, he needed to make some preparations.
Although Dan's Devil Fruit powers had awakened, his physical strength was still lacking, and he had no mastery of Haki. In his fully transformed state, he estimated his strength to be roughly on par with Doflamingo's.
But if he were to revert to his base form, his strength would likely be similar to Luffy's when he first set out to sea.