Chapter 102: A Surprise Attack? Hancock's Hope
Hancock shivered. She bit her lip, tears pooling in her eyes as she slowly forced herself to stand.
"Hurry up and come out, now." The guard frowned and snapped. But when he saw Hancock step out of the shadows, filthy from head to toe, his face went cold.
He waved a hand, and several female slaves filed out behind him. "Wash her."
"Yes."
Their eyes were dead, their expressions blank. They moved to Hancock without a word, grabbed her arms, and pressed her down. Wet cloths came out, and they were about to scrub her clean by force.
The guard waited outside.
Hancock clutched her clothes tightly and glared at the women, furious, trembling with shame.
They did not even flinch. These were people who had been beaten and threatened until numb, and nothing in her eyes could reach them anymore.
With seastone chains locking her down, Hancock could only endure as they scrubbed away the dirt she had smeared on herself.
The moment her back brushed cold water, her mind flashed to the Hoof of the Celestial Dragon burned into her skin, and despair clawed up her throat.
Celestial Dragons.
From the instant she was bought, those words became a shadow she would carry forever.
She regretted everything. She should never have been so curious about the outside world. She should never have sneaked onto that ship, slipped away from the Amazon Lily warriors, and run off to play on her own.
There were too many swindlers out there.
She and her sisters had been tricked, chained up, and sold to the Celestial Dragons.
People like that deserved to die.
After being washed and dressed by the emotionless slaves, Hancock was dragged out and shoved toward the Celestial Dragon's mansion.
…
Inside the mansion, three plates sat on a table. On each plate lay a Devil Fruit, carved with strange swirls and crowned by an odd stem. A fat, sniffling, grotesquely ugly man stared at them in greedy curiosity.
Behind him stood someone in a white cloak and white top hat, his face hidden by a crying mask.
That man in white was CP0.
"Sir, we have the Devil Fruit encyclopedia here," the CP0 agent said respectfully. His father ranked just below the Five Elders, so he was naturally assigned as the strongest shield for this Celestial Dragon.
"No need. Just tell me which one will make the prettiest girl even more charming." The Celestial Dragon chuckled.
CP0 glanced at the book anyway, then answered smoothly. "That would be the Love Love Fruit, sir."
"Hahahaha, then we'll feed that to… to that…"
He searched his memory, then blanked.
"Ahem. Boa Hancock," CP0 reminded him quickly.
"Yes, that Hancock. She gets this one." The Celestial Dragon snorted. "The other two, hmph, those will be gifts for her little sisters."
CP0 did not dare say another word.
Soon enough, Boa Hancock and her two sisters, Boa Marigold and Boa Sandersonia, were dragged in.
"Sisters…" Hancock looked at them, voice shaking with worry.
At the same time, she glared at the Celestial Dragon with hatred that could burn a hole through stone.
But she was helpless now. She could not protect herself, let alone fight a Celestial Dragon.
"Remember to replace the sisters' seastone cuffs later," CP0 said with a thin, crooked smile, handing the fruits to the guards.
"Understood," a guard replied.
"Y you bastard!" Hancock spat, eyes blazing. The more she glared, the more excited the Celestial Dragon became.
He grabbed one fruit and shoved it into Sandersonia's mouth with disgusting force.
"Waaaaah…"
Sandersonia struggled, thrashing desperately, but after all the torment she had suffered, she still ended up swallowing a chunk.
Next was Marigold.
The Celestial Dragons burst into delighted laughter as they watched.
I will kill you.
Hancock screamed it inside her skull, but reason smashed the words down. If she said it out loud, all three of them would die.
Her fists shook, clenched so hard she felt her nails bite skin.
After forcing the two younger girls to eat their fruits, the Celestial Dragon's interest in them faded fast.
Now it was his entertainment.
"Go on. Eat." The potbellied Celestial Dragon stopped right in front of Hancock, holding the last fruit up to her face, grin dripping poison. "Or I throw your sisters into the sea. Hehehe…"
"You…" Hancock's lips trembled. She glared at him, refusing to blink.
The next moment, he jammed the fruit into her mouth.
"Ugh!"
Hancock fought like a trapped animal, but then a brutal punch slammed into her stomach.
Pain exploded through her, and her instinct broke.
"Ghk…"
Rot.
Bitter.
Twisting.
The taste was so awful her mind went white. She swallowed a mouthful of pulp and felt like she had just eaten the most disgusting thing in the entire world.
Her soul felt like it was convulsing.
The Celestial Dragon watched her kneel and gag, then wrinkled his nose in sudden disgust. He had wanted to savor her reaction, but…
Was it really that bad?
He sneered down at her, bored already.
"Take her away. Make sure she rinses her mouth. Hah, filthy slave." He waved them off with a cold laugh.
Hancock lowered her head, shaking with humiliation and rage.
Was she lucky?
Or was she cursed?
Unlucky enough to become a slave who could not protect even herself.
Lucky enough that he found the fruit's taste so vile he lost interest in her for now.
Maybe, if he kept forgetting her somewhere, it would be even better.
Tears slid down her cheeks in silence.
She wanted to go home.
Supported by two numb, expressionless slaves, Hancock stumbled toward the side room, eyes hollow.
Someone there would swap her cuffs back to seastone and send her to her cell.
"Hmm?"
The CP0 agent trailing behind suddenly looked up.
He had sharp Observation Haki.
Normally, in a Celestial Dragon's mansion, agents were forbidden from using it. The masters here had too many perverse habits, and they did not want their privacy watched.
But years of training had sharpened his instincts. Something was wrong above the courtyard.
A heartbeat ago, there had been a tiny black dot on the ground in front of him.
Now, high overhead, a black speck almost impossible to see was plunging straight down from the sky, growing larger by the breath.
"Oh no, sir! Leave at once! Someone reckless is attacking us from above!" CP0 shouted urgently. This was Mary Geoise. Who would dare strike here from the air?
"Huh?" Hancock blinked, confused, and instinctively tilted her head toward the sky.
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