Chapter 91: Eradicating the Hoof of the Celestial Dragon! Hancock's Future!
On the Raikougo.
While Kaido was on Luskaina Island for inspection, Kain quietly brought Princess Mansherry to a quiet cabin.
There, the Boa sisters were already waiting nervously.
"Lord Kain—"
Hancock's voice trembled almost imperceptibly, her beautiful eyes, usually filled with arrogance, were now full of uncertainty and confusion. "Can—can it really be done?"
Although she yearned to erase the Hoof of the Celestial Dragon, a symbol of endless humiliation, from her back, the moment her dream was within reach, a huge sense of unreality and fear clutched at her heart.
She was afraid it was just a fleeting dream.
"Don't worry, Princess Mansherry will heal you," Kain's voice was calm and certain.
The little princess in his palm nodded vigorously.
"I—I believe you," Hancock took a deep breath.
She turned around resolutely and unbuttoned her cheongsam.
Her long, black hair, like a waterfall, was swept to her chest, revealing the humiliating brand that had never been shown to any outsider.
It was a claw-shaped pattern formed by a central circle and four triangles.
The Hoof of the Celestial Dragon, a nightmare in the hearts of countless Celestial Dragon slaves.
Hancock closed her eyes and obediently lay on the soft bed, her body slightly tensed with nervousness and anticipation, awaiting the judgment of fate.
"Please, Princess Mansherry," Kain said softly.
"Mm! Leave it to me!" Princess Mansherry's face was serious, and she nodded solemnly.
Kain Landeau had already told her that she was not just removing a brand, but healing a deeply wounded soul.
The little princess lightly leaped onto Hancock's pale back.
She took a deep breath, and crystal tears, like the purest pearls, rolled from her large eyes.
Drip-drop—drip-drop—
The teardrops, containing miraculous healing power, fell onto the brand. In that instant, the brand, symbolizing humiliation and tears of blood, faded and dissolved at a visible speed, like snow melting in the sun, until it completely disappeared!
On her smooth skin, not a trace could be found.
"Sister, it—it worked!"
Marigold was the first to react. She excitedly covered her mouth, tears instantly gushing out.
Hancock abruptly pushed herself up and rushed to the dressing mirror.
In the mirror, her back, once branded with endless pain, was now smooth and flawless, as if new.
"It's true."
"It's really gone!"
Hancock murmured to herself, her fingertips trembling as she carefully caressed the newly reborn skin.
A huge wave of joy instantly broke through all her defenses.
Years of accumulated humiliation, pain, and fear transformed into hot tears, gushing down like a flood.
Hancock looked at her fair back, tears of joy streaming down like a breaking dam.
"Thank you, Lord Kain, thank you—"
Hancock could no longer hold back. She suddenly turned around and, regardless of everything, threw herself into Kain's arms, burying her tear-stained face deep into his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
She had been reborn.
Ten minutes later, Sandasonia and Marigold also had the Hoof of the Celestial Dragon removed from their backs with the help of the little princess.
The three sisters embraced each other, crying with joy.
The legend of the Gorgon sisters on Nine Snake Island ended there.
When Kain and the others walked out of the cabin with the Refresh Hancock sisters, Kaido had also completed his inspection of Luskaina Island.
In the sky, Kaido's massive body once again appeared in its Azure Dragon form.
Flame Clouds.
Large amounts of crimson Flame Clouds, like burning flames, rapidly coiled around and enveloped the entire Luskaina Island under Kaido's will.
Rumble—
The next moment, the entire island let out a dull and massive groan.
The ground trembled violently, and the seawater around the island churned as if by an invisible giant hand, surging outwards in layers.
"The—the island moved!" Sandasonia pointed at the sky, almost speechless with shock. "Is this really something a human can do?"
This was just the beginning.
When it came to the strongest porter, it had to be Golden Lion with the Float Float Berry.
He could manipulate not just islands, but even seawater.
Kain thought to himself, sending Princess Mansherry and Leo back to Kaido's massive dragon head.
"Come back soon, boy. The New World isn't very peaceful anymore."
Kaido's huge dragon eyes looked at Kain, his voice rumbling like thunder.
"Understood," Kain nodded, then added, "Don't forget to look for the Dumpling Berry; it should be near Wasa Village."
After all, the intelligent beasts on Luskaina Island were few; most were ferocious giants acting on instinct.
Taming them one by one would be time-consuming, laborious, and inefficient.
Professional tasks, naturally, should be entrusted to a Devil Fruit with professional abilities.
Since Tama could obtain the Dumpling Berry, given her limited range of activity, it would be easy to determine the approximate location of the Dumpling Berry.
"Hmph! I don't know where you get so much strange information, boy!"
Kaido glanced at him, said no more, twisted his dragon body, and flew away with the entire island in the direction they came from.
Soon, the dragon and the island disappeared into the high sky.
Purupurupuru.
Just then, the Den Den Mushi in Kain's arms suddenly rang.
As soon as Kain answered, the Den Den Mushi instantly simulated a face wearing iconic red sunglasses and an arrogant grin.
"My good friend, are you interested in attending the grand opening ceremony of the world's largest entertainment city?"
Doflamingo's voice carried his usual cynical tone, getting straight to the point.
It's already prepared so quickly?
Kain chuckled, "Since it's an personal invitation from Joker, I naturally won't be absent."
"Fufufufufu—"
Having gotten Kain's respect, Doflamingo's laughter became even more smug: "Then it's settled! I look forward to our meeting in a week. I promise you, it will definitely be a paradise."
The Den Den Mushi clicked off.
"K-Lord Kain, are you—are you leaving now?!"
Hancock was struck as if by a bolt from the blue; her entire body instantly froze, the color draining from her beautiful face, leaving only pallor.
"Of course," Kain shrugged, his tone calm. "My purpose for coming to Nine Snake Island has been achieved; it's time to set sail."
"Lord Kain, can—can you stay here?"
Hancock suddenly looked up, a strange flush on her face, her hands nervously clutching the hem of her cheongsam, almost twisting it into a rope.
"I knew it!"
Violet crossed her arms and snorted sourly, her gaze darting back and forth between Hancock and Kain.
Reiju and Kozuki Hiyori exchanged a look, both smiling helplessly.
Lord Kain's charm seemed a bit too outstanding.
Yamato frowned, like a protective cub, and took a step forward to grab Kain's arm, loudly declaring, "What a joke! Kain is going to travel the world with me! How could he stay on this small island forever!"
"Wow! Is there going to be a fight?!"
Bonney's eyes instantly lit up; she excitedly waved her small fists, almost shouting, "I want to see blood flow like a river!"
"Bonney, be a lady—"
Kuma sighed, rubbing his forehead helplessly.
Ever since his body was healed, the violent tendencies within this child seemed to have awakened; she was constantly calling for fights and killings.
He was clearly such a gentle person.
Was it influenced by the atmosphere of the Beasts Pirates?
"Boring," Ace propped his chin with one hand and yawned listlessly. "Women are too troublesome."
For him, it was more enjoyable to run ten laps around the deck than to spend that time chatting with women.
Zoro nodded in agreement, holding his sword and closing his eyes to rest.
Sanji, however, had an expression of envy twisted on his face: "As expected of Big Brother Kain, he so easily captured the heart of the world's most beautiful woman."
"Huh?!"
"Who did you say is the world's most beautiful woman?!"
Reiju, Kozuki Hiyori, and Violet instantly glared, three murderous gazes shooting in unison at the outspoken Sanji.
Sanji shrank his neck in fear, cold sweat streaming down.
On this ship, he was truly the younger brother.
"Ha! Is that even a question?! He's obviously talking about me."
Hancock was as if a switch had been flipped, instantly resuming her arrogant, condescending posture.
She suddenly tilted her head back, her right index finger pointing downwards with unparalleled confidence and arrogance!
"You common, vulgar women are not worthy of Lord Kain at all!"
Hancock cupped her devastatingly beautiful face in her hands, her gaze sweeping over Yamato and the others, filled with undisguised superiority.
"Only I am worthy of such a magnificent man as Lord Kain."
As she spoke, she seemed to fall into some wonderful fantasy, a deeper blush spreading across her peerless face, even steam vaguely rising from her head.
In that instant, she had even thought of the names of her future children with Kain.
"Damn it!"
Reiju, Kozuki Hiyori, and Violet, who had initially shown some tolerance for Hancock joining the competition, were instantly ignited by her blanket insult.
As beauties themselves, they didn't think they were any worse than Hancock.
Kain's mouth twitched; he acknowledged Hancock's ability to cause trouble.
In such a short time, she had offended even Reiju and Kozuki Hiyori, who were most likely to accept her joining.
Seeing that things were about to escalate into a Shura field, Kain decisively intervened.
If you're going to have a harem, you have to be prepared; you can't run away from problems.
Besides, he didn't want to end up like Makoto Itou.
"Hancock, to have your favor, honestly, I'm very happy."
Kain's eyes held sincere admiration: "But there's no way I can stay here."
"My journey is this vast and boundless ocean! My goal is to stand at the pinnacle of this ocean and conquer the entire world!"
"Con—conquer the world?!"
Hancock's beautiful eyes widened, and she started to stammer: "Then, then the Celestial Dragons?"
"Naturally, they will be overthrown and crushed!" Kain said without hesitation.
"Eh?!"
"Y-you just said it so plainly?!"
The Boa sisters were so shocked their eyeballs almost popped out.
Those were the Celestial Dragons who had ruled the world for eight hundred years!
As expected of the man I chose.
Hancock felt a rush of blood to her head, so excited that her entire skin turned an alluring pink.
It's decided!
"I will go out to sea with Lord Kain!"
Hancock clenched her fists and announced loudly.
"Eh?"
Sandasonia and Marigold, realizing what she said, instantly pounced and hugged Hancock, one on each side.
"Sister, you can't be impulsive! Amazon Lily still needs your leadership! The people of Nine Snake Island cannot do without you!"
If Gloriosa were here now, she would surely find this scene incredibly familiar.
That's how Shakky advised her when she decided to leave the Nine Snake Pirates to pursue love.
But the outcome was the same as back then.
No one could stop a Nine Snake maiden's burning, unwavering determination for love.
"Let go of me! No one can stop me!" Hancock's face instantly darkened, and a dangerous low pressure emanated from her.
If it weren't her two biological sisters hugging her, she would definitely attack without hesitation.
"Alright, Hancock."
Kain grabbed her arm and said solemnly, "Calm down and listen to me. Nine Snake Island still needs you now. Your people need their Empress to be in charge."
He paused, his tone becoming even more serious: "Moreover, I also need you to remain in your position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
Hancock, after all, was a Shichibukai personally invited by the Marine. If she suddenly announced her defection to the Beasts Pirates, it would be tantamount to publicly slapping the Marine's face.
This would inevitably provoke a strong backlash from the Marine.
Even more frightening, the Gorosei, who might perceive the Beasts Pirates as exceeding their usual scale, might also secretly make some moves.
No one would want to see the rise of a second Rocks Pirates.
Kain even had a deeper thought.
With this force, centered around the Raikougo, the Beasts Pirates had clearly exceeded the conventional scale of a Four Emperors crew.
Kuma and Yamato, at the very least, had the strength of the Three Calamities, and as they grew over time, they would be positioned as powerful Emperor-level subordinates.
To exaggerate, once Yamato learned advanced Haki techniques like Haki coating, coupled with her Berry awakening, she would touch the threshold of a Four Emperors.
In the future, Zoro, Sanji, and Ace would also be at least strong Emperor-level subordinates.
Even Bonney could be considered a special combatant.
With his foreknowledge, he indeed possessed an unparalleled ability in talent acquisition.
Kain was even considering whether to temporarily leave the Beasts Pirates at an appropriate time to alleviate the World Government's concerns.
Ahem, back to the main topic.
"N-need, I am needed by Lord Kain!!!"
Hancock clutched her chest, as if struck by an invisible arrow of Cupid, her beautiful blue eyes instantly overwhelmed by immense happiness and excitement.
Kain's mouth twitched.
Hancock clearly hadn't listened to him, or rather, had only heard the keywords she wanted to hear.
"Since that's the case."
Hancock took a deep breath, clenched her fists, as if making a solemn vow: "I will continue to serve as a Shichibukai for Lord Kain."
At this moment, in her heart, she was already Lord Kain's important undercover agent in the Marine.
This sense of mission, of self-sacrifice for love, made her radiate a strange glow.
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