Power.
An unprecedented surge of power filled every inch of his body.
Zane felt that even without activating Gigantification, he could now send the previous Daisy flying with a single tail strike.
He slowly raised his head from the water.
A ring of crimson light now circled his golden vertical pupils, giving them a sacred yet bewitching glow.
“Night…”
Boa Hancock stared dazedly at the completely transformed giant python before her.
Although his appearance had become even more ferocious and domineering, she felt an inexplicable sense of intimacy.
The soul-deep attraction was now far stronger than before.
“You… are you okay now?” She reached out tentatively, wanting to touch those dark-golden scales.
At that exact moment—
Bang!
The heavy nanmu door was slammed open violently.
“Snake Princess!
What exactly are you doing in there?!
I heard strange noises from outside!”
A short figure rushed in leaning on a snake staff — it was Elder Nyon (Gloriosa), the former former former Empress and current advisor of Amazon Lily.
Sandersonia and Marigold followed anxiously behind her.
“Ah!”
“Heavens!”
All three froze in place.
The scene before them was far too shocking: In the misty bath, their noble and holy Snake Princess was disheveled and soaking wet, her thin silk slip clinging transparently to her voluptuous body.
Her face flushed with arousal, she was intimately embracing a… freshly molted, even more menacing giant serpent.
The air froze for three full seconds.
“Shameless!
Absolutely shameless!” Elder Nyon trembled with rage, banging her snake staff loudly on the floor.
“Snake Princess!
You are the Empress of Amazon Lily!
How can you be with a beast… even if it’s the guardian beast, doing this in a bath…”
“Shut your mouth!”
Hancock whipped her head around.
The gentleness she showed Zane vanished instantly, replaced by an aura cold enough to freeze the air.
She casually grabbed a bath towel and draped it over herself, covering her seductive figure, but the killing intent in her eyes remained.
“Who allowed you to enter, you old hag?”
Hancock raised her chin in her signature contemptuous pose.
“Night is now the Vice Captain.
I was treating his injuries.
Is there a problem?”
“Treating injuries?
You call this treating injuries?!” Elder Nyon pointed at the reddish pool water (actually medicinal) and then at the red marks on Hancock’s neck (which looked suspiciously like love bites), nearly fainting from anger.
“Look at yourself!
Where has your imperial dignity gone?!”
“Dignity?”
Splash—!
Water exploded.
Zane moved.
He wasn’t angry at being called a “beast.” Instead, he calmly slithered in front of Hancock, raising his massive head high and looking down arrogantly at the tiny old woman.
His dark-golden vertical pupils narrowed slightly.
A terrifying pressure — infused with the embryonic form of Conqueror’s Haki — instantly enveloped the entire bath.
“Hiss— (Old hag, are you lecturing me?)”
Although Elder Nyon couldn’t understand snake language, the apex-predator oppression made her instinctively step back.
“This… this aura…” Shock flashed in Elder Nyon’s cloudy eyes.
“Haki?
A snake can release this level of pressure on its own?”
“See that?” Hancock gently stroked Zane’s cool scales, a proud smile curving her lips.
“This is the partner I chose.
He is stronger and more reliable than any of you.”
“But…” Elder Nyon wanted to argue, but seeing Hancock’s resolute gaze, she could only sigh deeply.
She knew this stubborn junior too well.
Once she decided something, not even nine bulls could pull her back.
“Fine, let’s set this aside for now.” Elder Nyon’s expression turned grave.
She pulled out a crumpled newspaper and an official letter bearing the World Government seal from her robes.
“There’s something far more troublesome.”
“Vice Admiral Onigumo of Marine Headquarters has already gathered forces at the edge of the Calm Belt.” Elder Nyon said solemnly.
“The World Government has issued a mandatory summons.
The Seven Warlord Boa Hancock must immediately head to Marineford to participate in the war against the Whitebeard Pirates.”
“If you refuse, your title as a Warlord will be stripped, and Amazon Lily will face destruction!”
At the words “Whitebeard,” Hancock frowned impatiently and waved her hand.
“Not going.
I hate those stinking men.
Turn them all to stone and throw them into the sea to feed the fish.”
“You can’t be this willful!
This concerns the survival of the nation!” Elder Nyon stamped her feet in frustration.
While the two argued, Zane, who had been coiled nearby, suddenly had a bright glint in his eyes.
The Summit War?
This is a great opportunity.
Not only could he harvest massive Evolution Points and witness the world’s top powerhouses, but most importantly… if they didn’t go, how would Luffy sneak in?
Wait, Luffy?
Zane suddenly remembered a serious issue.
According to the original timeline, Luffy should be arriving on Amazon Lily soon.
If they didn’t participate, what would happen when he arrived?
“Hiss— (We’re going.
We have to go.)” Zane gently tapped the back of Hancock’s hand with the tip of his tail.
Hancock paused, then looked down at him.
“Night?
You want to go too?”
Zane nodded.
The frost in Hancock’s eyes melted instantly into a pool of spring water.
She cupped her blushing cheeks, acting shy and coquettish.
“Since Night wants to go out and have some fun… then I’ll reluctantly agree.
After all, it’s also a chance for Night to see the outside world…”
Elder Nyon: “…”
Sandersonia: “…”
Marigold: “…”
She agreed just like that?
All the grand speeches about national survival were useless, but one tail tap from this snake solved everything?
Elder Nyon looked at Hancock’s lovestruck, maiden-like expression and felt an increasingly strong sense of unease.
She had lived long enough to recognize that look.
That wasn’t the look one gave a pet.
That was the look one gave a lover.
“It’s over…” Elder Nyon covered her face in despair and muttered, “This is definitely the same incurable disease that took the previous Empresses… lovesickness.
But why does the object have to be a snake?!”