— — — — — —
"You're telling that Devil Fruit users can get rid of the Seastone weakness and the can't-swim curse?!"
Hancock's eyes widened the mont she heard Veyron explain Yagokoro Eirin's latest invention at Eientei.
As soone born in Amazon Lily—a pirate nation located in the Calm Belt—swimming was just as essential as fighting. At least, it had been until she turned twelve.
That year, she had snuck off the island on her own. One thing led to another, and she ended up becoming a Paracia-type Devil Fruit user after eating the ro ro no Mi.
While the fruit granted her the power to turn her beauty into a weapon, it also cursed her with the sa fate every ability user shared on the seas: the mont her body touched seawater, her strength would drain away, leaving her helpless.
She hadn't felt the sensation of swimming for over a year now. It wasn't until she traveled to other worlds, like the one with Fujiwara Chika, that she got a chance to enjoy the water again—even if just temporarily.
But now, if what Veyron said was true… if she used this "527 Formula, made by Eirin," then she might actually be able to swim again in her own world...
"How do I use it?" she asked, unable to hide her excitent.
"Injection or oral ingestion both work. If you inject it, the effect kicks in a little fast—"
Before Veyron could even finish, Hancock had already jabbed the syringe into her forearm.
"..."
"…Didn't feel like anything happened."
"That's normal," Eirin explained calmly. "All it does is slightly modify the part of your… well, you'd call it 'lineage factor'… that reacts negatively to Seastone."
She handed Hancock another vial, this one filled with a dark red liquid. "Wanna try this one too?"
Hancock's eyes lit up. "Wait… is this the one that lets soone eat a second Devil Fruit?!"
"Nope," Eirin said with a slight shake of her head. "Based on my research, the reason a person can only eat one Devil Fruit is because the fruit rewrites their lineage factor—modifying it to match the 'rules' of the fruit.
"That's why Logia users can beco elental, Paracia users can turn their whole body into their ability, and Zoan users can switch between human, beast, and hybrid forms.
"But once the lineage factor is altered by one fruit, it becos incompatible with another. That's why nobody can eat a second one and survive."
"This vial has nothing to do with that," she added, gesturing to Hancock's eyes. "It's for your Sharingan."
Veyron chid in, "We ntioned it before, didn't we? To evolve your Sharingan to the next level, you'll need an intense emotional trigger—ideally sothing extre and negative. This formula is designed to help with that."
"…I see. Thank you."
Hancock gave a brief nod of gratitude, then downed the black liquid in one go as Veyron and Eirin watched closely.
A crimson glow flared up in her eyes, swallowing her original eye color. The two black tomoe in each eye spun rapidly, soon becoming three in each. Even after the evolution completed, the power didn't show any sign of slowing down…
Ten minutes passed.
"…Didn't break through the threshold, huh?"
Veyron sounded a little disappointed as he looked at Hancock's eyes—still just the standard three-tomoe Sharingan.
He had been kind of curious what kind of Mangekyō ability she might awaken.
"I didn't make the dose too strong on purpose," Eirin said from the side, clearly unsurprised. "Unlike the Byakugan, the Sharingan evolves based on emotional extres. Taking in too much of that at once could've caused so psychological backlash."
"…Yeah," Hancock nodded slowly. "I can feel I need so ti to get used to it."
There was a strange pressure in her mind now, a sharp stimulus she couldn't quite place—but the gains far outweighed the cost.
Compared to the two-tomoe stage, her dynamic vision had improved by leaps and bounds. The illusions—genjutsu—ca more naturally now too.
She hadn't tested them yet, but she could already tell they were on a whole different level.
— — —
Back on Amazon Lily.
Hancock rose from the throne and began walking toward the sea.
Her two younger sisters, who had served loyally as her guards ever since she passed the trial to beco empress, quickly followed.
When they reached the shore, Hancock raised her hand. Two syringes appeared in her palm, as if conjured from thin air.
"Give your hands," she said.
"Yes, Sister!" ×2
Neither of them asked what the injections were for. They just held out their arms without hesitation.
Hancock didn't waste a second. She jabbed one syringe into each of their arms, then turned and strode into the sea without another word.
"S-Sister! Wait—You can't—!"
Startled, both sisters called out in alarm.
"Can't what?" Hancock asked back, calm as ever, even as the sea water rose past her chest.
"??!" ×2
Sandersonia and Marigold turned to look at each other, their wide eyes reflecting the sa stunned disbelief.
They both thought of the injection they had just received—and suddenly, a wild thought sparked in their minds.
Monts later, they were following Hancock right into the waves.
. . .
Out at sea...
"This is... unbelievable!" Marigold gasped, her voice full of awe.
She hadn't swum like this since the day she ate her Devil Fruit. After that, she thought she'd said goodbye to the sea forever.
Sure, seawater didn't completely cancel their powers like Seastone did, but it still drained their strength, leaving them weak and helpless.
Yet now—after one injection from their sister—they could swim again, just like they did before gaining their abilities.
"I wasn't the one who made this happen," Hancock corrected gently. "Two people I deeply respect made these syringes and entrusted them to ."
She watched the waves rippling behind Marigold as she swam by, lost in thought for a mont.
"…By the way, how much weight have you two put on from eating all that Warrior Nabemono (Hot pot) this past year?"
"Uh…" Marigold had swum too far ahead to hear, so Sandersonia, who was a bit closer, answered instead. "We haven't really kept track, but… I'd guess Marigold gained several hundred pounds. Maybe over a thousand?"
Hancock facepald.
"I'm not saying you can't eat," she said with a sigh. "I'm just hoping you'll learn to balance what you eat with what you burn off. Mastery over your body—and what you feed it—is part of training too."
Warrior Nabemono.
A traditional dish from Amazon Lily, packed with insane levels of nutrients and energy. It's great for building muscle and strengthening the body fast—perfect for intense training.
Back then, the three sisters had snuck off the island and almost ran into a slave ship—sothing they absolutely couldn't have handled at the ti.
After narrowly avoiding disaster, Sandersonia and Marigold ca ho full of sha but also determination. They'd been chowing down on Warrior Nabemono non-stop for over a year now.
That's why, back then, they were about the sa height as Hancock… but now? They'd both shot up to over three ters tall. When Hancock first ca back from Rusukaina, she barely even recognized them.
"I understand, Sister," Sandersonia said, nodding quickly.
Faced with the choice between "obeying Sister's advice" and "arguing that everyone eats Warrior Nabemono this way," she wisely chose the first.
"For now," Hancock continued, "you two don't need to follow around. Each of you take two squads of Royal Guard and head to Rusukaina Island, where I trained. I've got a gravity chamber set up there—it'll help you train faster."
She gave them a firm look. "When I return from my voyage, I want to see brand-new versions of you both."
"You're going out to sea, Sister?!" Sandersonia exclaid.
"Mm-hmm," Hancock replied, floating on her back with a serene expression, the waves cradling her like silk. In her hand was a worn-out bounty poster—originally labeled 79 million berries, but now that number had been scratched out and replaced.
"There's a crewmate I've had my eye on for a while now. I plan to recruit them."
"As for matters at ho, Granny Gloriosa can handle things in the anti. She used to be Empress, after all. She knows the ropes. And don't worry about —I can hold my own."
Her tone was casual, but confident—rock-solid.
"Even against the strongest in the sea, I'm not soone who'll go down easily."
She glanced once more at the bounty poster.
A Devil Fruit that lets her sprout hands, feet, and other limbs like blooming flowers... and a brain sharp enough to beco an archaeologist at age eight...
Nico Robin.
Could soone like that command not just a ship, but an entire fleet?
Hancock couldn't help but smile.
She was dying to find out.
.
.
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