Saint Dio looked down at the scene, a smile finally spreading across his lips.
The prey has finally fallen completely into the trap.
He lowered his gaze to Hancock’s black head, buried between his thighs, feeling her clumsy yet earnest efforts.
Then, he raised his eyes to Stussy, who stood a short distance away.
With a light wave of his finger, he made a silent gesture.
Stussy understood immediately.
She gave a slight nod and turned to leave.
A moment later, she reappeared, cradling three dark brown wooden boxes shaped like treasure chests.
Saint Dio gently patted the back of Hancock’s head, signaling her to stop.
Hancock obediently released him and slowly lifted her head.
A soft, wet gulp escaped her throat as she gasped for air.
Her lips were slightly swollen from the exertion, and a wisp of glistening fluid still clung to the corner of her mouth.
Saint Dio remained wet and erect, glistening in the sunlight.
He reached out, stroking Hancock’s cheek with satisfaction.
His thumb gently wiped the saliva from the corner of her mouth as he offered a rare word of praise: “Well done.
There will be more opportunities next time.” Saint Dio had to admit, Hancock’s natural talent for oral pleasure was truly surprising.
To perform so well on her very first try…
Though she was still far from Stussy’s seasoned skill, for a novice, her performance was nothing short of prodigious.
Saint Dio withdrew his hand, his gaze shifting to the three wooden boxes Stussy held.
“With your current strength,” he began, “training alone is no longer enough to take you to the next level.” He paused, looking into the three pairs of eyes—some filled with confusion, others with anticipation.
“That is why I have prepared Devil Fruits for you.” Stussy stepped forward, placing the three wooden boxes on the ground one by one before lifting their lids.
Sunlight struck the fruits within, each reflecting a unique luster.
The fruit in the center was the most eye-catching: a heart-shaped fruit consisting of two plump cherries growing from a single stem.
One was a delicate, vibrant pink; the other, a deep, mysterious purple-red.
Its skin was covered in a dense pattern of pink swirl-like floral designs, resembling countless tiny hearts layered upon one another.
Even just looking at it seemed to release a sweet and intoxicating aroma.
In the wooden box on the left lay a fruit of peculiar shape.
It resembled a curled snake egg, its entire body a deep bronze.
The skin was covered in fine, scale-like textures, and touching it would reveal a roughness similar to a snake’s scales.
The wooden box on the right contained an even more slender fruit.
Its shape was like a coiled snake’s body, shimmering with a dark purple luster.
The patterns on its skin were arranged as neatly as the scales on a snake’s belly.
Unlike the heavy feel of the fruit on the left, this one felt more agile and more sinister, like a venomous snake hidden in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment.
Saint Dio did not directly tell them the names or abilities of the three fruits; instead, he let them choose for themselves.
He wanted to see if the three sisters would instinctively choose the fruit that best suited them, just as they did in the original story.
This was also a test.
Saint Dio wanted to verify whether Devil Fruits also chose their hosts.
The three sisters exchanged glances, their eyes filled with a mix of apprehension and anticipation.
They fell silent for a moment, then each stepped forward toward the fruit they had chosen.
Hancock walked straight to the heart-shaped Love-Love Fruit in the center, leaned down, and cradled it in her hands.
Sandersonia approached the bronze-colored fruit on the left, while Marigold picked up the dark purple one on the right.
A satisfied smile touched Saint Dio’s lips as he witnessed this.
The result was identical to the original story.
“Pick them up.
Eat.” The three sisters held their respective Devil Fruits, hesitated for a moment, and then, as if having made a final decision, closed their eyes and bit down.
The instant they took the first bite, their expressions contorted in unison.
It was a taste beyond words, utterly nauseating.
It was as if rubber that had been rotting for three months, bile, and mud had been mixed together, then coated in a layer of bitter coptis.
Their stomachs churned, and they nearly vomited on the spot.
But at the thought that this was Saint Dio’s command, they forced themselves to endure the overwhelming nausea, taking bite after bite until they had swallowed the entire fruit.
After finishing the fruit, the three women could no longer hold it in.
They collapsed onto the ground, retching violently, tears and saliva streaming uncontrollably as if they were trying to vomit up their very internal organs.
It took a long while before they finally recovered, gasping for breath as they sat up and wiped the stains from the corners of their mouths.
Saint Dio clapped his hands and gestured to Hancock.
“Come here.” Hancock stood and walked to him.
At his silent command, she turned sideways and carefully settled onto his lap.
Saint Dio studied her closely.
After eating the Love-Love Fruit, Hancock’s entire aura had undergone a complete transformation.
Her original innocence and stubbornness remained, but a natural, innate allure now graced her features.
Every gesture and movement exuded an unconscious seductiveness, as if a single smile or glance could steal a man’s soul.
Saint Dio’s hand naturally came to rest on her smooth, slender thigh.
Where his fingertips touched, her skin felt as delicate as jade, warm and supple, like the finest silk wrapped around vibrant muscle.
He squeezed a few times, neither too hard nor too soft.
The sensation was exquisite.
Saint Dio then raised his gaze to Sandersonia and Marigold, who stood nearby.
“The fruits you two ate are the Snake-Snake Fruit, Ancient Zoan Model: Titanoboa, and the Snake-Snake Fruit, Ancient Zoan Model: Laophis.” The two sisters exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with both astonishment and confusion.
The names sounded impressive, but their knowledge of Devil Fruits was too limited for them to grasp the true magnitude of the gift they had received.
In the original story, they had only eaten the ordinary Snake-Snake Fruit, Model: Anaconda and Snake-Snake Fruit, Model: King Cobra.
But now that they followed Saint Dio, he would naturally not mistreat his subordinates.
With his Golden Finger ability, he could even synthesize Mythical Zoans, let alone mere Ancient Zoans.
The reason he hadn’t given them Mythical Zoans was partly because such snake-type fruits were incredibly rare.
One needed to find the corresponding mythological legend as a base to synthesize them.
Furthermore, his Golden Finger could not generate Devil Fruits that already existed in this world.
Even so, an Ancient Zoan was already a qualitative leap over the ordinary Zoans from the original story.