Hancock casually shot down a few wild boars to serve as trophies for the day's hunt. In truth, even if she'd returned empty-handed, no one would've dared scold her.
"Hancock, you can't keep running off like that," Camellia chided gently as she helped lift the boars onto the red pagoda ship.
"I won't next time… promise…" Hancock replied in a delicate, pitiful voice, and Camellia clutched her chest as if struck by an arrow.
"Hancock, you've said that so many times already…" Gloriosa sighed as she grabbed the girl by the collar and hoisted her up like a naughty kitten, bringing their eyes level.
"Snake Princess!"
"Please, just forgive Hancock this once!"
The warriors rushed to plead for her, knowing full well Gloriosa would never actually punish her.
"Fine, fine. Since she did bring something back, I'll let it slide, this time."
Gloriosa smiled and ruffled Hancock's hair, laughing softly.
…
As the crimson ship made its way home, Hancock strolled into Gloriosa's quarters like she owned the place.
Technically, no one was allowed to barge in on the Snake Princess, not without permission.
But this was Hancock.
On Amazon Lily, where power equals beauty, and beauty is revered as strength, Hancock was seen by all, herself included, as the natural heir. Her status was that of a crown princess, complete with privileges.
"Oh? Hancock?"
Gloriosa raised a brow at the unexpected visit. But after listening to Hancock's barrage of questions,
"Giants? Yes, they live in a kingdom called Elbaf."
"Bubble-producing plants? That's a feature of the Sabaody Archipelago…"
Hancock nodded thoughtfully. With Gloriosa confirming several of Vito's claims, her doubts eased. She believed, for now, that Vito had been telling the truth.
The outside world really is fascinating. I wonder what kind of story he'll tell next.
Next time we meet… if he still hasn't figured out Armament Haki, I guess I could teach him a thing or two…
The thought lingered in her mind with an odd, unfamiliar anticipation.
"But Hancock, how do you even know about these things?" Gloriosa asked.
"I read them in books!"
Hancock boldly borrowed Vito's excuse, flipped her hair, and left without looking back.
Her independent, willful attitude was nothing new, Gloriosa didn't even react.
"You spoil Hancock too much," came a voice from the shadows.
An elderly woman stepped out, yet Hancock, despite having mastered Observation Haki, hadn't sensed her presence at all.
"Obaichi. Do you have doubts about my chosen successor?"
"It's not that! I'm just… worried."
Hack, !
Gloriosa suddenly coughed up blood, her once-radiant face flushing with sickly red.
Obaichi quickly moved to her side, wiping the blood from her lips and offering her medicine. After taking it, Gloriosa's complexion stabilized.
"If we don't find Sakura, you're going to die. Lovesickness is fatal."
"No more. I'm the Empress of Amazon Lily. I won't let others throw their lives away for my sake. My decision is final."
…
Back on Rusukaina Island, now that Hancock had left, Credos Vito was determined to push himself to the edge and grasp Haki with his own hands.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!
His body was sent flying, crashing through several towering trees. It was a miracle his bones didn't snap on impact.
A massive rhinoceros thundered after him like a living steamroller, shattering everything in its path.
"Perfect!"
Just as the rhino barreled toward him, Vito planted his feet and reached out to stop it,
Screeeeech, !
His heels dug trenches into the ground. The beast-hide wrappings that passed for shoes were shredded instantly.
Then, with a swing of its head, the rhino launched Vito into the air.
No, more accurately, it yeeted him.
After all, Vito was still just a ten-year-old kid. His size and weight were nothing compared to this monster.
Even if he could match it in strength, the disparity in momentum was too much.
The impact dazed him, and the floating sensation that followed made his head spin.
Below, the rhino was already pawing at the earth, charging up for its next attack.
It was going to flatten him.
Vito knew the truth: with his current abilities, all he could do against such an opponent was tank. He couldn't win.
But he still chose to fight.
Up until now, most of the beasts he had faced weren't vastly stronger than him.
And he was starting to suspect, maybe that was the problem.
Maybe the reason he hadn't awakened Haki yet… was because he lacked the mindset of a true warrior.
If he couldn't muster the will to stand firm in the face of overwhelming power,
How could he expect to awaken a power that was literally called "Haki"?
In this world, Haki wasn't just strength. It was willpower made manifest.
Once your spirit faltered, your Haki did too.
Take Gecko Moria, for example. He once dared challenge Kaido.
Back then, he was tall, muscular, a proper badass. But after losing and spiraling into despair, he became a bloated couch potato obsessed with undead armies.
You can't tell Vito that guy didn't have Haki in the past, no one reaches the New World without it.
Now, still airborne, Vito twisted his body mid-fall and lashed out with a flying upside-down kick,
Right at the rhino's skull!
BOOM!
The impact thundered through the clearing.
And in that split-second,
He felt it.
A layer of invisible force wrapped around his leg.
Armament Haki.
It was crude, barely noticeable, but it was there.
His first real step.
Hancock may have beaten him black and blue… but her fists really had taught him something.
Of course, to a beast as thick-skinned as this rhino, the kick was like a mosquito bite.
But it had an effect, one that mattered.
It pissed the rhino off.
SNORT!!
White steam burst from its nostrils like twin jets.
It charged again, this time with murderous intent, its massive frame barreling forward like a train,
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Trees exploded in its path. And all that destructive force,
Was slammed straight into Vito's back.
"Guhhh!"
His body was covered in blood. Before today, Vito's injuries rarely even bled due to his Devil Fruit's healing.
But now?
He was being hit so hard… that his regeneration couldn't keep up.
Which meant one thing,
He was finally being pushed past his limit.
The rhino didn't stop.
It flung Vito off its horn and then stomped.
Its full weight, channeled through one massive leg,
Came crashing down like a falling mountain.
//----------------------------------------------------//
//--- Add to Collection!
//--- 150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter