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Chapter 221: A Hard-Fought Battle with Hancock
🕑 Added 2025-09-30 12:38:38 +0000 UTCChapter 221: A Hard-Fought Battle with Hancock
"What's going on?" Hancock's voice was like ice.
"Empress!" a Kuja warrior knelt. "It's them! That man and woman are blocking our path!"
Hancock's gaze finally fell upon the two figures on the hover-motorcycle. Her eyes swept over the dark-haired young man, and she paused. He looks... familiar. She tried to place him, but the memory wouldn't come. Whatever. There were too many men in the world. None of them, besides him, were worthy of being remembered.
...
"Whoa!!!" Belle-mère's eyes went wide, the cigarette falling from her lips. "Look, Shane! Look at that beautiful girl who just came out!" She's so cute! My heart is pounding! I'm in love!
"She's pretty," Shane agreed, nodding honestly. As the "World's Most Beautiful Woman," Boa Hancock was certainly easy on the eyes. But her charms were useless against him. His Reinforced Occlumency made him immune to the Love-Love Fruit's power.
"You think she's pretty too?" Belle-mère grinned, clapping him on the shoulder. "Well? What do you think? How about her?! If I had a daughter-in-law like that, I'd be so happy I couldn't sleep!"
Not this again. "I'm not interested," Shane said, rolling his eyes. "And stop trying to marry me off every chance you get. It's not like I can just snap my fingers and she'll come running. Besides, who'd want to marry a woman with a personality like that?" His only thought at the moment was... what's the most valuable piece of wool I can shear off of her?
...
"Empress, they're not moving," a young, blonde Kuja warrior said. "We're going to hit them. Should we go around?"
"What do you think?" Hancock said coldly. "They saw me and did not make way. For such insolence, we will simply run them over."
"Eh?" the warrior gasped. "But... they'll be killed! The sea is full of Sea Kings!"
"So what if they are eaten? No matter what I do, I will be forgiven." She tilted her chin back, her eyes distant. "Because I... am beautiful!"
"Kyaaa! Empress Hancock!!!" The Kuja warriors swooned, their faces flushed.
The two giant sea serpents pulling the ship hissed and surged forward.
"They're trying to run us over?" Belle-mère was furious. "I just said she was pretty! How rude!"
"Foolish," Shane said, his gaze falling on the two sea serpents. His Conqueror's Haki exploded outwards.
VWOOM!
The two giant serpents froze, their eyes wide with terror. This man... is dangerous! They hissed in fear and immediately changed course, dragging the ship behind them.
"What's happening?!" the Kuja warriors cried out as the ship lurched violently. Hancock stumbled, nearly falling before her warriors caught her.
Conqueror's Haki? Her face darkened. To use such a method to humiliate me... is unforgivable! She leaped to the prow of the ship, her hands forming a heart shape.
"LOVE-LOVE MELLOW!"
A pink, heart-shaped beam shot across the water.
"Be careful!" Belle-mère yelled.
"It's fine," Shane said. "Just stay behind me, Mom. A little girl's parlor tricks can't hurt you." He didn't hear a reply and glanced back. Belle-mère's hands were clasped to her cheeks, her eyes heart-shaped as she stared at Hancock. "Oh my... she's even cute when she's angry! Shane, I'm serious! I want her as my daughter-in-law!"
"..." Shane sighed and pushed her head down. "You'll be turned to stone." He turned back to the pink beam and let it hit him. It dissipated on contact, not even leaving a ripple.
"Huh?" Hancock's red lips parted in a rare look of shock. "How is that possible?!" Her power... had failed? This ordinary-looking man... was completely immune to her charms?
Shane's own anger was beginning to rise. He'd let the attempted ramming slide, but now she was attacking him? Did she really think he was a pushover? "I've been riding for days. I could use a little exercise," he said, cracking his neck. "You stay here, Mom. I'll be right back."
"Eh? What are you going to do?"
He didn't answer. In a flash, he was gone.
WHOOSH!
Hancock barely had time to register the blur of motion before he was in front of her. His right foot, coated in thick, black Armament Haki, slammed into her stomach.
BOOM!
The deck of the Kuja ship exploded, and Hancock was sent flying into the depths of the cabin.
"Empress!!!" the Kuja warriors screamed, drawing their weapons and surrounding Shane.
He just glanced at them and released another wave of Conqueror's Haki. They all collapsed in an instant.
"Cough, cough..." Hancock struggled to her feet, clutching her stomach. How dare he... How dare he!!! No man had ever treated her with such brutality. She leaped from the wreckage, her leg a graceful arc as she aimed a kick at his head.
"PERFUME FEMUR!" This attack could turn even inanimate objects to stone.
But... a strong enough Haki can overcome any Devil Fruit power. And her Haki... was nothing compared to his.
GRAB!
He caught her ankle in his hand, his Haki completely nullifying her power.
"What?!" she gasped.
"Decent power, but you're too slow," he said, then swung her around like a ragdoll and slammed her into the deck.
CRASH!
The main mast snapped, and her golden, snake-shaped earrings went flying. She coughed up a mouthful of blood and tried to get up, but a black shadow was already upon her. A fist wreathed in black-and-red lightning smashed into her face.
BOOM!
Her beautiful face caved in, and she was sent flying through several cabin walls. Before she could even process what had happened, a boot was on her chest.
"How does it feel to be stepped on? Not very pleasant, is it?" he said, then lifted her by the throat. "Tell me. How does it feel?"
"You... let... go..." she choked, her legs kicking weakly.
"Shane! Don't kill her!" Belle-mère called out. "She's too pretty to die!"
"I have it under control, Mom," he said, not loosening his grip. He waited until her eyes began to glaze over, then dropped her to the deck. He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the railing.
"Look," he said, forcing her to look at the Sea Kings circling below. "My mom says we're not mortal enemies, but don't take that to heart. If I lose my temper, I might just kill you. If I were an ordinary person, I'd be dead right now. Do you feel any remorse for that?"
An ordinary person?! An ordinary person wouldn't dare enter the Calm Belt! she thought, glaring at him defiantly. But the trembling of her eyelashes betrayed her fear. This man... was too strong. Her powers, her skills, her Haki... were all useless against him.
"Still defiant, I see," Shane said, then slapped her across the face, twice. Her cheeks swelled up like a balloon.
"Mmph, mmphh!" she whimpered, tears welling in her eyes.
"Crying won't help you if you're not truly sorry," he sneered. He threw her into the air, then shot up after her.
"THE SHOW STOPPER!"
He caught her in mid-air and, with a knee to her gut, rocketed thousands of meters into the sky. Then, with a final, powerful thrust, he slammed her down into the sea.
SPLASH!!!
The impact knocked the wind out of her, and the sea immediately began to sap her strength. Help... someone, please, help me! Cold water filled her lungs, and her vision began to fade. She saw a vision of a burning island, of her sisters' screams, of a red-skinned man telling them to run... My savior... But then the vision faded, replaced by the cold, indifferent face of the dark-haired young man, looking down at her as she sank.
So this is how I die... she thought, closing her eyes in resignation.
Just as she was about to lose consciousness...
SPLASH!
A strong hand grabbed her by the collar and pulled her from the water, tossing her back onto the deck of her ship.
"Blech—!"
She collapsed over the railing, vomiting seawater, her beautiful black hair plastered to her pale, swollen face, a pathetic, broken shell of the world's most beautiful woman.
