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Chapter Prologue ・ Lovesickness (End) ・ I Am Boa Hancock
Two national guardians stood watch, one cradled a News Coo, the other held a Den Den Mushi.
The bird tilted its head this way and that, then suddenly flapped its wings and squawked sharply. Just as the guardian reached to still it, the Den Den Mushi in his partner's arms began to burble rhythmically, "purupurupuru… purupurupuru…"
A call.
Sandersonia and Marigold exchanged a glance; both recognized immediately what it meant.
Hancock, watching with languid curiosity, let the snail-phone "puru" on for quite a while. Only after savoring the moment did she finally lift the receiver from its shell.
The instant she touched it, the ringing stopped, and the snail's features rippled, morphing into the stern face of Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
…
In that fleeting moment, the number of humans on the small island… doubled.
Everyone, aside from Shanks and Mihawk, Ben Beckman, sniper Yasopp, the rotund Lucky Roux… all of them suddenly found themselves staring out through two sets of eyes.
Another self.
A duplicate standing before them.
And within this new vision, that other self was staring back at them.
No, not just sight!
They could feel through those bodies too. Hearing. Touch. Even the smell. Everything was theirs, except they could not control these second selves. Aside from that, the clones were utterly indistinguishable from their true bodies.
Even the unflappable Beckman hissed in a breath, only to choke on his own smoke, coughing violently.
"Cough, cough! This power… hhh, this is far too outrageous…"
He flicked away his cigarette, covering one eye with his palm, and cast a wary look at the "other Beckman" beside him.
Yasopp blinked rapidly, then mischievously pinched his clone's nose. A sharp "Oww!" escaped, not from the clone, but from his own mouth.
Lucky Roux's eyes bulged as he faced his duplicate, the second fat man chewing right alongside him. He whipped his head frantically, then hurled his chicken leg away.
"WAAAAH!!"
He clutched his skull and screamed, "I'm going insane! This feels too real! Who's watching who?! Which one is really me?!"
The sheer panic in his voice made everyone's hair stand on end. Cold sweat broke out across foreheads as they turned grim eyes toward the sea of petal-born doubles.
Mihawk's hawk-like pupils contracted. He muttered low, "So that's why… the pain of my heart shattering felt so genuine. Because my 'heart' truly was broken… was it not?"
Shanks' mind raced, his lips parting in shock. "Liam… don't tell me your captain's ability even replicates the strength of those it copies?"
Liam only spread his hands with a sly smile. "What do you think? This is the Sea's hidden treasure, one of those cursed Devil Fruits. Do I really need to spell it out?"
Beckman lit a new cigarette in silence.
Lucky Roux hollered, "Even their strength is copied?! That's way too much!"
"Unbelievable…" Yasopp whistled, awed. Then he reached over and wrapped a hand around the neck of his own floral double, adjusting his visor with a grin. "But does this 'Hana-copy' have my sniping skills too? Heh… I seriously doubt it."
"Let's find out," Shanks said, drawing the longsword Griffin.
"Indeed. Proof comes only in battle." Mihawk raised the black blade Yoru once more.
The result was clear: Robin's ability was terrifying, but not omnipotent.
The Hana Hana no Mi's "Copy" could create perfect human doubles. Just as Robin's own floral clones mimicked her entirely, her duplicates of Shanks, Mihawk, and the others mirrored their stamina, their weapons, even their clothing. In theory, she could have had these flower-clones fight in place of her enemies themselves.
But in reality… she lacked the mental reserves.
Even Robin, with her brilliance and talent for multitasking, could not possibly thread her mind through so many avatars at once and duel both Red-Hair Shanks and Hawk-Eyes Mihawk, not to mention the entire Red-Hair Pirates. No human alive could.
Shanks slipped past "Flower-Shanks'" Griffin, his blade grazing its chest. Mihawk clashed with "Flower-Hawk" in a flurry of steel, their black blades ringing dozens of times.
"These clones share our senses," Mihawk observed coldly, eyes flashing as he spotted a flaw in his double's stance. In an instant he swept low, cleaving the replica clean in two. "But their movements… are hers to command. No matter if she borrows our bodies, she can never wield our full strength."
The floral Mihawk scattered, collapsing into a storm of petals around him.
Robin only smiled faintly.
"Liam once said it himself. Against true masters, the advantages of a Devil Fruit grow smaller and smaller."
She couldn't help but wonder: If this technique were wielded by Liam, or even Hancock, what would the outcome be?
With Liam's unrivaled combat instinct, perhaps he could command a clone of Shanks or Mihawk to fight their original on equal terms. Liam had no passion for Devil Fruits, but whatever fruit he touched, he could master within minutes, bending it seamlessly into his combat style.
Hancock, though mighty, lacked that same genius. With the Flower-Flower Fruit in her hands, could she even pull off "Hana Jijai" at all? Robin doubted it.
Soon enough, Beckman, Yasopp, Lucky Roux, and the others began besting their floral selves one by one, thanks less to their strength, and more to Robin's mounting fatigue. Holding so many clones at once drained her relentlessly. With a sigh, she dispersed them.
Even so, the power she had displayed left every man on that island shaken to the core.
"…Thinking back, Liam's bounty being so high always made sense," Lucky Roux muttered, gnawing his way through another chicken leg to calm his nerves. "But now… I'm starting to think it's his captain who truly deserves the higher bounty…"
"Agreed," Yasopp said, nodding emphatically.
Beckman frowned, watching his captain. Shanks had just driven Griffin through the chest of his floral double, yet now stood frozen, sword still raised. Had the clone's strength rattled him? Impossible. And yet, "…A pierced heart," Shanks murmured softly, clutching his chest. "So it really does hurt this much…"
Mihawk stood silent, unreadable.
Shanks glanced sidelong at him. Mihawk, expression grim, did not move.
Just now, the Black Blade Yoru had cleaved his flower clone clean in half. Was it Stylish? Absolutely. But the pain… oh, the pain was real.
Half his body was still numb. The agony of being bisected lingered sharp and vivid, spreading from his waist through every inch of his spine, refusing to fade…
At the edge of the little island, before the Red-Hair Pirates' ship, the crew was holding one last banquet. The same laughter, the same rowdy cheer, boisterous shouts, mugs clashing, meat and sake devoured without restraint.
"You're heading to the Sabaody Archipelago to find Rayleigh San?" Shanks, already tipsy, had an arm slung around Liam's shoulders.
Liam patted himself down, then fished out a tattered slip of paper, edges frayed from long use.
"Here." He handed it over.
Shanks unfolded it. The handwriting was immediately familiar, it belonged to their old ship's doctor.
To Rayleigh:
It's been years. How's your health holding up? Don't go kicking the bucket like Roger did, hasty and sudden, hahaha!
We all promised, remember? Twenty years from now, we'd gather again, everyone, together, and throw the loudest banquet for the Captain! His adventure hasn't ended yet, not until then.
By the way, this boy's got potential. If you're willing, maybe give him a few pointers in Haki., Crocus
Liam took a swig of sake. "When I first entered the Grand Line, I wanted to head straight for Sabaody and train Haki under Rayleigh… But, well, you saw what happened. I never made it there. And now, I've already learned Haki."
Shanks gazed at the heavily creased note, smiling softly. "That doesn't mean it's useless. Rayleigh's Haki is terrifyingly refined. If you ask him, you might discover something new."
Liam nodded. Shanks clapped him on the shoulder. "Paper. Pen."
"What?" Liam blinked.
A set of stationery was passed forward and placed before Shanks. Liam turned his head and saw Robin stepping out of Den Den Mushi City's stone keep, handing it over. She lifted a cup of black tea, sipped gracefully, and gave him a playful wink.
Tongue pressed against his cheek, Shanks bent over the page, scribbling vigorously. Soon, a fresh note was born. He shook it dry, admired it with satisfaction, then returned the pen to Robin.
"…" Liam accepted both the old and the new. Unfolding Shanks' paper, he found only a short line:
Crocus was right!, (Signed with a rough doodle of an upside-down straw hat, its brim curling like smoke, forming the shape of a wide, grinning smile.)
Liam couldn't help but chuckle. He folded the two notes together and tucked them away.
"I'll pass on your greetings to Rayleigh. Tell him you miss him dearly…"
Shanks raised his glass, roaring with laughter, clinking it against the others.
"…And I'll also tell him about that time you lay on the floor crying, 'I'm so lonely~.'"
"Oi!" Shanks chopped him over the head. "Leave that part out!"
The air grew light again, filled with laughter.
"So, Liam, what about you?" Beckman, the first mate, puffed on his cigarette, eyes glinting. "What's your dream? Just to keep getting stronger? Or to challenge the strong?"
Liam scratched his head. "How should I know… Maybe my dream is just to find a dream."
The others turned to the woman at his side.
"And mine…" Robin held her cup of tea, staring into the reflection on the rippling surface. Liam's talk of prophecies returned to her mind.
In the cup's reflection, her own face blurred, transforming, her white-haired mother Olivia, then Professor Clover, then the countless scholars who had pursued the hidden history. Ripples spread across the tea like waves of flame, echoing the burning of Ohara.
Everyone died. Only I survived.
The sealed history. The forbidden words.
So many gave their lives for it, yet the world called them demons, revealed their sacrifice, and celebrated their erasure.
Was their death truly meaningless?
Robin smiled faintly. "My dream is simple. To live."
"Just to live?" Yasopp and Lucky Roux tilted their heads.
Robin said no more. She only smiled.
They were branded as demons destined to be erased. If their sacrifice had no meaning, then she would live to give it meaning. She would live, until the day the truth of the Void Century was revealed.
"Mihawk," Liam suddenly asked, "your dream isn't just to become the world's greatest swordsman, is it? You already achieved that too soon…"
Mihawk drank in silence, offering no answer.
"And you, Shanks?" Robin asked lightly.
Shanks grinned, pressing down the straw hat on his head. "My dream? To sail to every island in this world! And on every island, throw a banquet~~!!"
"Captain! That's incredible!" The crew erupted in laughter, mugs raised high.
Yasopp bellowed: "Me? I'll be the greatest sniper in the world!"
Lucky Roux thumped his chest: "I'll eat every delicious dish on this sea!"
Beckman lit another cigarette, exhaling smoke. "…And I want to see the day when all your dreams come true."
Wherever the Red-Hair Pirates went, laughter followed. Even someone as aloof as Hawk Eyes seemed, little by little, to be caught in their warmth.
But every banquet must end.
Mihawk fastened a ceremonial ornament, slung Yoru across his back, and stepped onto the coffin-shaped boat dragged from Shanks' hold. He flicked his blade in a casual salute. With effortless grace, the world's greatest swordsman drifted away.
"You're really not coming with us?" The crew bustled aboard as Shanks leaned over the railing, straw hat tilted, calling down to the shore.
Liam stood beside Robin on the island's beach. He pulled a face at Shanks.
Shanks pressed his hat down and laughed, bracing both hands on the railing. "All right, raise the sails! Set out to sea!!!"
"OOOOHHHHH!!!!"
From the deck, the mast, the crow's nest, every Red-Hair pirate raised a fist and roared. The ship's sails swelled, carrying them farther and farther into the horizon.
Once again, only Liam and Robin remained on the lonely shore.
"Where to next?" Robin asked, gazing into the endless sea.
"You're the captain," Liam reminded her.
"But…" She tilted her head, smiling faintly. "I like asking you. Captain's orders."
"Well, if it's the captain's orders, I can't refuse." Liam folded his arms. "So, my call?"
"Your call." Robin's smile widened.
Liam rummaged through her pack, pulling out the Eternal Pose they'd stolen from the navy battleship.
"Drum Island," he grinned. "I've always been a little curious about the Munch-Munch Fruit."
A black armored figure thrust a hand into the maw of a green Den Den Mushi and pulled out a small sailing ship, tossing it effortlessly onto the waves.
The JoJo Pirates' sail caught the wind, billowing proudly as the vessel followed the Eternal Pose's heading, toward Drum Island.
(End Of This Chapter)