At that moment, Hancock suddenly woke up!
The instant she opened her eyes, she reacted with astonishing speed and flipped herself upright into a sitting position.
As soon as she noticed her disheveled clothing, her beautiful eyes widened instantly.
With a horrified expression, she stared at Kairo and Perona standing opposite her.
"You..."
After a brief moment of shock, Hancock suddenly came to her senses.
Her fists clenched tightly as her voice trembled.
"Y-You... what did you do to me?!"
"I... I will kill you!!"
"Negative Hollow!"
Before Hancock could completely explode, Perona decisively activated her Devil Fruit ability.
A ghost passed straight through Hancock's body.
The Hancock who had been overflowing with murderous intent a moment earlier instantly quieted down.
Then, with a thud, she dropped to her knees before Kairo and Perona.
"I'm sorry..."
"I really shouldn't exist in this world..."
"..."
Looking at Hancock smoothly kneeling before him, Kairo rubbed Perona's little head and shook his head with a smile.
"Loli, send her back."
When he had first received the system mission, he had spent quite some time wondering how to earn those ten thousand Travel Points.
But considering Amazon Lily's ban on men, it was obviously impossible to complete missions here as smoothly as he usually did elsewhere.
So Kairo stopped overthinking it.
He chose the simplest and most direct solution.
Knock Hancock out and bring her onto the ship.
The results had been immediate.
The moment he removed the slave mark from Hancock's back, the reward of ten thousand Travel Points had already been credited.
Since the reward was secured, whether he continued sightseeing on Amazon Lily no longer mattered.
So while Hancock was still affected by Perona's ability, it was best to send her back immediately.
"Send... send her back?"
Perona blinked, unable to keep up with Kairo's train of thought.
They had just kidnapped her, and now they were returning her?
What kind of game was this?
Cat and mouse?
"That's right. Send her back."
Kairo nodded with a smile.
The reward had already been obtained.
There was no reason to keep Hancock aboard the Traveler.
More importantly, it wasn't exactly a pleasant situation.
If they really took Hancock away, the Kuja Pirates would undoubtedly pursue them relentlessly.
Too troublesome.
"Fine."
Perona nodded somewhat reluctantly and immediately withdrew her ability before turning to leave.
"You..."
As soon as the effect of Negative Hollow disappeared, Hancock raised her head.
Her gaze locked onto Kairo with renewed killing intent.
"I—"
"Hancock!"
Before she could erupt again, Kairo casually pulled over a chair and sat down.
Leaning back comfortably, he narrowed his eyes and spoke calmly.
"Put away that arrogance of yours."
"How about we have a proper conversation?"
"Hm?"
Looking at the suddenly calm and gentle Kairo, who now seemed more like an old friend reunited after years apart, Hancock unexpectedly calmed down as well.
Then she walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Let's properly introduce ourselves."
Seeing that Hancock had settled down, Kairo continued.
"My name is Kairo D. Arashi. I'm a traveler."
"Because I've spent many years journeying around the world, I happen to know a little about what happened at the Holy Land back then."
"You—!"
The moment the Holy Land incident was mentioned, Hancock immediately shot to her feet.
"Here we go again."
However, just as she stood up, Kairo spoke in an unquestionable tone.
"Sit down."
"That little temper of yours doesn't work on me."
Hancock's eyes widened instantly.
Her fists clenched tightly.
Yet she neither spoke nor attacked.
Instead, she simply stared at Kairo.
It wasn't that she didn't want to lose her temper.
The problem was that Kairo was simply too domineering.
His dominance wasn't merely due to strength.
It came from the presence he carried.
Although he now appeared calm and gentle, with none of the overwhelming aura he had displayed during battle, Hancock found him even more intimidating than before.
It was as if some mysterious force radiated from him.
A force that guided her, suppressed her, and unconsciously compelled her to listen.
Seeing Hancock actually sit back down obediently, Kairo nodded in satisfaction.
"Do you want to know why I brought you onto this ship?"
"Because of the mark on your back."
The moment he mentioned the mark, Hancock's pupils contracted violently.
She stared at Kairo in horror.
Then, uncontrollably, her body began trembling.
The color drained from her beautiful face until it became pale as paper.
"Relax."
"I've already removed it."
Seeing her reaction, Kairo stood up and spoke plainly.
"That was the reason I brought you aboard in the first place."
Hancock, who had been on the verge of losing control after hearing him mention the mark, looked up at him in disbelief.
She stared at him silently for a long while.
Then she slowly stood up and asked in a trembling voice,
"You... how do you know about the mark on my—"
"That isn't important, Hancock."
Before she could finish, Kairo interrupted her.
He turned and walked toward the door as he continued speaking.
"What matters is that from now on, you no longer have to live in the shadow of that mark."
"Go back, Hancock."
"Your people are still waiting for you on the shore."
As his words fell, Kairo stepped out of the cabin and disappeared from her sight.
After watching him leave, Hancock quickly withdrew her gaze.
Then she reached behind her back and touched the place where the branding had once been.
Although she couldn't see it herself, she could clearly feel that it was gone.
Gone completely.
Even so, she still couldn't fully believe it.
She had to return immediately and have her sisters confirm it for her.
Just as Hancock was preparing to leave, Kairo's furious roar suddenly came from the deck outside.
"Where's the sea lion?!"
"Loli, where did the sea lion go?!"
"Huh? You're right! It's really gone!"
"What do we do, Kairo? Without the sea lion, we can't leave here and travel somewhere else!"
"Hurry up and check whether there are any sea beasts nearby!"
"If there aren't any, then go blow one out of the sea!"
"Okay, okay!"
Listening to the voices coming from the deck, Hancock blinked in confusion.
Then, unexpectedly, a smile appeared on her face.
A soft laugh escaped her lips.
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