After a few hours—
Luffy finally stepped out of Hancock's room and walked to the door next to it.
But before he could enter, he heard voices coming from inside.
"No sound…"
"No sound!"
They were the familiar voices of the two sisters, Sandersonia and Marigold.
"You two… why are you eavesdropping on the singing?" It was Shakky's voice, teasing in tone. "If you're that curious, why don't you just go in and watch?"
"I am curious! What are our sister and Luffy doing in there?" Marigold asked innocently.
"Is it some kind of treatment for the Love Sickness? I heard about that when we were returning to Amazon Lily after the war. Back then, our sister was screaming in pain." Sandersonia sounded puzzled.
Shakky couldn't help but chuckle. "You could call it a treatment, yes. You'll find out what it means someday if you ever get cursed by love yourselves."
"Why?" both sisters tilted their heads in confusion.
Outside the door, Luffy stood speechless.
With a dry cough, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"Luffy."
Shakky's lips curled into a playful smile as she looked him up and down. The sight was hard not to laugh at—Luffy was wearing nothing but a crimson coat. Hancock's coat.
This was an island of women, after all, and naturally, there were no men's clothes around.
Seeing Luffy dressed like that was undeniably funny.
"Shakky, can you explain exactly what this is all about?" he asked, exasperated.
Luffy knew about the Love Sickness—but only from the original story.
In that story, Hancock's condition had never been this severe.
"To put it simply, the deeper the love, the worse the illness. The faster it manifests—and the quicker it kills," Shakky explained as she lit a cigarette with practiced ease.
"So… it'll be a problem unless she gets pregnant?" Luffy thought aloud, surprised by the implication.
It was like shooting blindfolded—he had no way to know if he'd hit the mark or not.
So, just to be safe, he'd have to stay by her side… right?
No, better yet—why not keep Hancock by his side altogether?
Next time, he'd just ask her about her cycle and time it right to raise his chances.
"What are you planning to do?" Shakky asked with a knowing smirk.
"I'll ask what she wants," Luffy replied simply. He'd always respected Hancock's choices.
He turned and went back into the room—only to find that Hancock was already awake.
He soon realized she was in the bathroom.
When he reached the large bath, Luffy saw her bathing. Compared to when they first met, her skin looked soft and rosy—like a flower in full bloom.
She didn't look sick at all.
"Luffy~"
The gentle curve of Hancock's smile could make any man lose his mind.
Luffy was fine, though—he'd built some resistance to her charm by now.
"Hancock, has your Devil Fruit awakened?"
"Awakened? My Sweet-Sweet Fruit awakened long ago," she said sweetly.
Luffy laughed, took off the coat, and joined her in the bath.
---xXx---
Two hours later, in a lush forest on the outskirts of the city—
Luffy spoke to Hancock, who stood not far away:
"Try hitting me with your Haki—with everything you've got."
Even though the request was absurd, Hancock trusted him and obeyed.
After a short test, Luffy got his answer.
Her Conqueror's Haki was around level IV3.
Women of Amazon Lily were extremely familiar with Haki—they trained from childhood and mastered its use early.
For techniques like internal destruction, Hancock had solid control.
That was a skill Luffy had only mastered after eating the Haki Fruit and reaching level IV5.
Skill was skill.
The level of Haki only reflected its strength.
Thinking that, Luffy immediately opened his Adventure Store.
His luck wasn't great that day—after six pulls, he only got six Haki Fruits.
But that was enough.
He approached Hancock and took her hands. Her fingers were slender, her skin soft and delicate—comfortable to hold.
"Luffy?"
Hancock blushed, letting him do as he pleased.
Luffy smiled, placed the six Haki Fruits in her hands, and pulled her gently into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.
"These are Haki Fruits," he explained. "They're like the healing ones I gave you before. Eating them boosts a person's Haki."
"You'd give something that precious to me?"
Happiness filled Hancock's heart. Even though it was the first time she'd heard of such a fruit, she didn't doubt him for a second.
She didn't care about the fruit itself—what mattered was how Luffy treated her.
Luffy chuckled.
He'd once joked that each fruit cost him ten years of life.
But he thought better of it—Hancock would probably believe that kind of nonsense, so he dropped it.
"Why wouldn't I give you something precious? Go on, eat them." Luffy said.
"Yes~!"
Hancock felt as though her body were melting in honey—utterly blissful.
She took a bite, and immediately felt her Haki surging.
After eating all six, her Conqueror's Haki reached level IV5—especially strong in that aspect.
Hancock's eyes widened in shock. "I feel like… I've mastered Conqueror's Binding!"
The fruit was far more powerful than she'd imagined.
Among the Empresses of Amazon Lily, many had awakened Conqueror's Haki—
but none had truly mastered it.
Overcome with emotion, Hancock threw her arms around Luffy and looked at him lovingly.
Luffy could only sigh helplessly—but just as he was about to pull her in for a kiss—
A cough shattered the moment.
"Ahem… I didn't mean to interrupt."
"Rayleigh?"
Hancock glared daggers at the uninvited guest.
Unforgivable! How dare he interrupt her moment with Luffy!
Rayleigh stood frozen under her furious gaze.
"Men aren't allowed on this island, not even you, Rayleigh!" Hancock snapped, pressing Luffy's head into her chest.
Rayleigh looked at the scene in disbelief.
When Shakky had been the Empress, she was never this unreasonable.
Luffy, freeing himself from Hancock's embrace, chuckled. "What's going on?"
"I read the news," Rayleigh said gravely. "You went to the Holy Land and killed all those Celestial Dragons to avenge Hancock? It might've been satisfying—but you should be careful about their retaliation."
"They might have some way to capture you."
The Seraphim Project?
That would take at least two years to complete.
"You know something?" Luffy asked.
"Just… don't get careless," Rayleigh warned.
(End of Chapter)