"...Wait!"
Hancock cried out sharply, showing true panic for the first time.
She tried to stop him with rapid words and forceful movements.
"You'll be petrified!"
"Oh?"
Ren's movements paused slightly, and he feigned surprise. "Didn't you see it yourself? Petrification can be resisted."
"I once defeated the monster Gorgon in the Central Sea, and because of that, I was cursed. A gigantic eye grew on my back.
"Once I remove my clothes and expose that eye, everyone nearby—including myself—will instantly be turned to stone!"
Hancock's entire body trembled, as though she feared that very moment.
"You still need a certain amount of time to resist petrification, don't you?
"Otherwise, you wouldn't have had your hands and feet shattered by my kicks. Even if you have a method of recovery, if your whole body turns to stone, you can never be saved!"
Her tone was extremely certain, as if she were not clutching at a final lifeline, but merely stating a fact.
"You seem very concerned about the clothing on your back. What would happen if I tore it off?"
"Hah—your final straw."
Ren let out an ambiguous laugh.
Before Hancock could understand what he meant, she was flipped over by an overwhelming force, her stunning face pressed into the dirt.
She seemed to realize something. Her entire body began trembling uncontrollably.
Riiip—!
Without the slightest pity, Ren tore away the last piece of cloth, revealing the so-called Gorgon curse.
A brand that resembled a hoofprint.
It was not the eye of some monster. There had never been any such thing as Gorgon upon the seas.
It was merely the final straw Hancock had seized, because she had no other way left.
"The slave brand of the World Nobles—the Celestial Dragons. Even if you can deceive this country, you can't deceive yourselves, can you?
"The so-called Gorgon was nothing more than a lie you made up.
"The real truth is that the three of you sisters went out to sea on an adventure, then were abducted and sold to those Celestial Dragon scum, wasn't it?"
Ren slowly stood up, looking down at the trembling Hancock beneath his feet, that torn scrap of cloth still in his hand.
He had ripped open the old scab and exposed the bloody truth beneath.
"If Tiger had not rampaged through Mary Geoise and freed the slaves there,
"I imagine the three of you sisters would never have had a chance to escape that hell. And you certainly would never have had the chance to return here and become Empress."
There was no answer.
Hancock curled up, trembling, sinking into absolute terror.
Scenes from the past flashed through her mind, each one stabbing into her soul like a knife.
If this supremely arrogant Empress had any weakness at all, then it was undoubtedly the "mark" that had now been exposed and displayed.
"That's enough!"
Suddenly, Granny Nyon stepped forward, her eyes fierce. "If you wish to achieve some purpose, there is no need to trample on Snake Princess like this!
"You can speak with this old woman. But if you continue like this, all of Kuja Island will never act as you wish!"
"Unfortunately, I may have had such thoughts at first. But after witnessing her character, I believe ordinary methods will be useless.
"As someone who is conceited and arrogant, she has been indulged for far too long.
"Men are always like this, to the point that your Snake Princess has come to believe that 'no matter what she does, she will be forgiven.'
"But you should know that among the men in this world, there will always be some who are different."
As if granting alms, Ren tossed the scrap of cloth onto Hancock's body.
Then he shifted two steps to the side, opening up a little space.
This was his stance.
Granny Nyon quickly approached, draped her outer robe over that jade-white skin, and finally held the trembling Hancock in her arms.
The old woman raised her head and looked at Ren, who was gazing down from above. In his eyes, she could see bone-chilling indifference.
'He is definitely not someone who will be swayed by beauty and change his mind.'
That was Granny Nyon's immediate judgment.
Because no one who had witnessed Hancock completely naked could still maintain such extreme purpose and decisiveness.
Silence was the Cambridge of this night.
Several minutes later,
the trembling Hancock raised her head. Her tender, scallion-like fingers gripped Granny Nyon's shoulders as though her nails were about to dig into flesh.
"Was it you?"
Her voice sounded as though she had just calmed down after bitter weeping.
It carried an intense sense of purpose.
"Absolutely not. This old woman has no reason to do such a thing. Power holds no meaning to someone as close to death as I am."
Granny Nyon shook her head and said firmly, "I have treated you girls as my own children ever since the moment we first met!"
"Your mind turns quickly, but that is not the truth.
"There are no Gorgons in this world, but there are many Devil Fruit users, aren't there?"
Ren interrupted the little interlude, stepping forward and looking down at the two women holding each other.
Hancock stiffened and sat up straight, no longer caring whether the undersized clothing could cover her voluptuous body.
She seemed to want to fight again, yet did not know how to deal with the Seastone handcuffs on her wrists.
However, in the next second,
Ren tossed a key to Granny Nyon, leaving the latter stunned even as blood trickled from her nose.
What did this mean?
"Open them."
"Are you pitying me!?"
Frost covered Hancock's stunning face as she glared fixedly at her enemy.
If, just moments before, she had still displayed things like "helpless vulnerability," "hesitation mixed with temptation," or "humiliation yet forced cooperation,"
then after realizing that those techniques had no effect whatsoever, she once again revealed her true nature.
"I haven't finished speaking yet."
Ren stepped forward again. His hand shot out and pried open Hancock's red lips, pressing down on her fragrant tongue with his thumb and depriving her of the right to speak.
"So shut up and listen to me!"
Black-red lightning flashed through his crimson eyes. The suffocating pressure of Conqueror's Haki made Hancock feel as if her heart had stopped.
As expected, this man also possessed Conqueror's Haki—and his was even stronger than hers!
"As you can see, I am your enemy. I came here with a purpose, and I believed crushing all of you was the best way to make contact.
"And as you can also see, I have accomplished that and learned your greatest secret. It is something you would rather die than let leak out, isn't it?
"If your citizens learned of it, you would no longer have the qualifications to be Empress. You and your sisters would all be driven out together.
"Even if you used force to suppress them, the citizens would still be unable to accept a slave as their Empress.
"Because Amazon Lily worships strength. They firmly believe that you are heroes, and that is why you enjoy the treatment of a Warlord of the Sea.
"But if everything were exposed, it would all be over."
Hancock trembled. Clearly, she had already imagined that terrifying scene before.
"But now, there is an opportunity to change it."
Ren bent down, bringing with him an overwhelming sense of pressure. There was no lust in his crimson eyes, only cold indifference.
His thumb was almost pressing down to the root of Hancock's tongue, reminding her of the state she was in—utterly at another's mercy.
Hancock could not speak. Her teeth rested against his knuckle, but she did not dare bite down.
"You want to make Snake Princess submit and work for you?"
Granny Nyon pulled Hancock slightly backward and asked him this.
"That would be meaningless. I said it before, didn't I? Your Snake Princess is a very troublesome person.
"Even if I let her go now, perhaps she will turn around and once again believe that reasoning to be true.
"Too troublesome. Far too troublesome. So I have another method."
"What?"
Granny Nyon was utterly stunned. She had never expected such an answer.
"It's very simple. Before the sun rises again, I will allow you to launch any counterattack you wish.
"Gather everyone for a war of attrition, fight me in rotation, or do anything else you like."
Ren withdrew his thumb and wiped the moisture on Hancock's pretty face. "If you are unwilling to accept a fate arranged by others, then use the martial strength Amazon Lily has always worshipped to decide everything.
"No photograph was taken of you. The only outsider who knows this secret is me.
"If I die, then everything ends.
"This is my final mercy.
"Of course, you can also run away. But before you do, please carefully consider how I came here in the first place."
Silence.
Still silence.
Granny Nyon could not understand his actions.
What benefit did this method have?
He had just defeated the entire nation. Dragging out the battle would merely turn it into a war of attrition.
For Ren, there was not the slightest advantage. Instead, it would only benefit them.
Moreover,
he had said it himself. They were a pirate nation. How could they possibly keep a promise to an outsider?
Did none of these things need to be considered?
Or perhaps... although he did not appear to have been petrified, he had in fact already been affected by Snake Princess.
"What is the boundary between victory and defeat?"
Hancock asked coldly, as if she did not care about that near-humiliating act from moments earlier.
There was also no way for her to care. She could only do her utmost not to think about it.
"After sunrise, if I am still standing, I win."
Hancock looked toward the sky. At this moment, the horizon had been dyed in the colors of dusk.
"Twelve hours..."
Granny Nyon gave an approximate number.
"If you lose, you will leave this place?"
"Naturally."
"Fine!"
Hancock gestured for Granny Nyon to unlock the Seastone handcuffs.
She did not know what her enemy was thinking, but she knew this was the best turning point.
At least they still had a chance to fight!
'No matter how powerful a strong individual is, they can still be worn down to death. The amount of Haki one has is limited. No matter how strong this person may be, as long as we fight a war of attrition, there is still a chance!
'But we must pay attention to the pressure of his Conqueror's Haki. It would be best to spread out and launch attacks wave after wave...'
Click.
The Seastone handcuffs opened.
Granny Nyon silently put them away.
Hancock glanced at her, then stood up, completely ignoring the exposed spring scenery of her body.
She used Granny Nyon's coat as an apron, while the remaining scraps of cloth became a chest wrap.
Ren watched silently, recording the entire process from an appreciative perspective. Only then did he speak in an unhurried tone. "Aren't you going to ask what price you must pay if you fail?"
After Hancock finished adjusting herself, she immediately pulled Granny Nyon away to create distance.
Then she once again assumed that arrogant posture.
"I shall wait here. Whether you say it or not is your affair."
"If I win, your futures shall be mine to rule."
"I do not believe I will lose. No matter how strong you are, you cannot possibly face an entire nation.
"And besides, how do you know I will keep my promise?"
Hancock revealed an expression like a venomous snake, contemptuous yet certain, reaching the same conclusion as Granny Nyon.
Although he had not been petrified, there was a high chance he had already been affected by her.
If not for the factor of her beauty, then in that earlier situation, he could have treated the defeated her as a toy for his amusement.
There was absolutely no reason for him to propose such a thing.
(End of Chapter)