Amazon Lily, Kuja City.
Burning with fever and her cheeks flushed red, Hancock lay on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
She had never imagined that the brand on her back would be completely erased by a man who had suddenly appeared on Amazon Lily.
For her and her two sisters, that brand was nothing less than a nightmare.
It lingered like a shadow, constantly reminding them of a past they never wanted to remember.
Because of that mark, they had fabricated the story that they were cursed after defeating the monster Gorgon from the center of the sea. They claimed that anyone who saw the eyes on their backs after they removed their clothes would be turned to stone.
That was why Hancock always had strict guards stationed whenever she bathed, forbidding anyone from entering.
Because of that mark, the three sisters had relied on their Devil Fruit powers to deceive the people of the nation and conceal the secret that they had once been slaves.
And because of that mark, Hancock had crafted for herself the image of an arrogant, willful, untouchable Ice Queen.
"Elder Sister, hang in there a little longer! Elder Nyon will be here soon!"
Sandersonia and Marigold stood anxiously beside the bed.
Although neither of them knew exactly what was wrong, Hancock's condition clearly looked like illness.
"Snake Princess! Snake Princess!"
Just as Sandersonia finished speaking, Elder Nyon pushed open the door and hurried to the bedside.
"How did you suddenly become sick?!"
"Elder Nyon..."
Looking at the old woman, Hancock weakly called out.
Then she turned toward her sisters.
"Quick... go and keep Mr. Kairo here."
"Even one day is fine."
The sudden request left both sisters stunned.
"Elder Sister, Mr. Kairo is the man who kidnapped—"
"Yes... him."
Hancock struggled to sit up.
"Hurry."
"O-Okay!"
Not daring to delay, the sisters immediately rushed out.
"Snake Princess, what exactly happened?"
After watching the sisters leave, Elder Nyon sat down on her snake-shaped staff and looked at Hancock seriously.
"That man—"
Before she could finish speaking, Hancock turned around and lifted her hair.
At first, Elder Nyon didn't understand what she was trying to show.
Then her eyes widened.
The slave brand on Hancock's back was gone.
Completely gone.
"It's... it's disappeared?!"
She jumped to her feet in shock.
"Yes."
Hancock nodded.
"He seems to know everything about me."
"And because of that, he took me aboard his ship and removed the brand."
After a brief pause, she turned back toward Elder Nyon.
"Elder Nyon, I don't know who he really is."
"But I can feel that he's a good person."
"So... I want to temporarily lift the ban on men and ask Mr. Kairo to stay."
"If he could remove the brands on Sandersonia and Marigold as well, that would be even better..."
"Just who is this man?"
Elder Nyon blinked and muttered softly,
"A traveler... Kairo?"
"How have I never heard of someone like him before?"
"When I arrived at the shore, every warrior was already unconscious."
"Is he a Devil Fruit user?"
"It was Conqueror's Haki."
"But compared to his Conqueror's Haki, his Armament Haki is even more powerful."
"He can use Armament Haki to deflect my Devil Fruit abilities."
Hancock paused briefly.
Then her eyes narrowed slightly as realization dawned on her.
"No... not just Armament Haki."
"He must have Observation Haki as well."
"That's definitely it."
"During our fight, every attack I launched felt as though it was already within his expectations."
"He really is a mysterious man."
As the former former former former Empress of Amazon Lily, Elder Nyon wasn't surprised at all that Kairo possessed all three forms of Haki.
She had encountered such powerful individuals long ago.
The thing that truly astonished her was how Kairo had completely erased Hancock's brand.
Back when she and that influential figure from the Sabaody Archipelago had helped the three sisters return to Amazon Lily, they had tried countless methods.
Not a single one had worked.
Yet Kairo had removed the mark without leaving behind even the slightest trace.
Meanwhile—
On the shores of Amazon Lily.
Having decided to stay because of the hidden mission, Kairo once again set foot on the island with Perona and Robin.
"Kairo!"
The moment they landed, Perona pointed toward Kuja City with eager eyes.
"I want to go to that castle halfway up the mountain!"
"That's Kuja City."
Kairo smiled.
"It's where the ruler of this country lives."
"In other words, the palace of the woman I just kidnapped onto my ship."
"The architecture here is somewhat similar to the architecture of the Kano Country."
Walking beside him, Robin looked around before continuing,
"But the scenery here is much more beautiful."
"Hm?"
Robin's eyes suddenly sharpened as she stared toward the forest ahead.
"Mr. Kairo, someone's coming."
The moment she finished speaking, Sandersonia and Marigold emerged from the forest and quickly ran toward the shoreline where the three of them stood.
However, the instant they noticed Perona standing beside Kairo with her little red umbrella, both sisters abruptly stopped.
Clearly, they still had lingering trauma from Perona's Devil Fruit ability.
They weren't afraid of fighting.
As members of the Kuja tribe, they had been born warriors.
But Perona's ability had utterly shattered their dignity as fighters.
Although she had caught them by surprise, the memory of kneeling on the ground and begging for death remained unbearable.
If they hadn't come under Hancock's direct orders to invite Kairo, they would have gladly challenged Perona to another fight just to reclaim their lost honor.
Stopping at the edge of the forest, Sandersonia stepped forward politely.
"Mr. Kairo, hello."
"My name is Boa Sandersonia."
"This is my younger sister, Boa Marigold."
"Sandersonia, Marigold. Nice to meet you."
Kairo narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"So, the two of you are here because...?"
Although he already had a good idea why they had come, he still needed to play along.
After all, while he knew a great deal about Hancock and Amazon Lily, the people of Amazon Lily knew almost nothing about him.
Sometimes, pretending not to know was the wiser choice.
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