Amazon Lily, Nine Snakes City.
After a night of emergency repairs, the sound of hammering echoed from the harbor.
But deep within the royal palace, the atmosphere was exceptionally intimate and seductive.
In the steaming imperial bath, precious medicinal herbs and flower petals floated on the water’s surface.
Zane was comfortably soaking in the pool.
After a night of rest and devouring large amounts of high-energy food through Gluttony, his external injuries had mostly healed.
His scales once again gleamed with a cold, dark-golden luster.
“Night, is the water temperature alright?”
Boa Hancock wore only a thin white bathrobe as she knelt gracefully by the pool’s edge.
She had tied up her long hair, revealing her slender, snow-white neck.
In her hand was a soft sea sponge, which she used to gently and meticulously wipe every single one of Zane’s scales.
Her movements were as tender as if she were cleaning a priceless treasure.
“Hiss— (A little to the left.
Yes, right there.)” Zane contentedly flicked his tail.
This is the life a transmigrator deserves.
Who cared about becoming Pirate King or finding the One Piece when you could have your wife personally bathing you?
Hancock watched Zane’s blissful expression.
A faint blush spread across her peerlessly beautiful face, her eyes full of infatuation.
“Night’s scales… are becoming more and more beautiful.
So hard, so cool, yet so captivating.”
Unable to resist, she leaned down and gently kissed the two small dragon horn buds that had just begun to sprout on top of Zane’s head.
“I wish time could stop forever like this… just you and me…”
At this warm and sweet moment—
Dong!
Dong!
Dong!
The alarm bells outside the palace suddenly rang wildly, shattering the tranquility of the bath.
“What’s happening?” Hancock’s brows furrowed sharply.
The softness in her eyes instantly turned into frost.
How dare they disturb her private time with Night?
A capital offense!
Outside the door came the urgent shout of the royal guard Ran: “Lady Snake Princess!
This is bad!
There’s an intruder in the village!
And… it’s a man!”
“A man?!”
Hancock stood up abruptly.
Her bathrobe slipped halfway down, revealing large expanses of snow-white skin, but her face was filled with rage.
“How could such a filthy creature appear on Amazon Lily?
What are the royal guards doing?!”
“That man is too fast!
And very strong!
He’s been running around stealing food everywhere!”
“Courting death!”
Hancock’s killing intent surged as she prepared to get dressed and eliminate the trash.
At that moment, Zane’s ears twitched.
[Observation Haki · Perception!]
In his senses, a life force as bouncy as a rubber ball was shooting toward the palace in a completely unreasonable manner.
Extremely fast and without any restraint.
“He’s here?”
Zane’s golden vertical pupils snapped open, flashing with a tyrannical, icy light.
It really was that rubber monkey.
And judging by the landing point…
BOOM!
Before Hancock could react, the ceiling directly above the bath exploded with a deafening crash.
Stones and tiles flew everywhere.
A figure in a red vest and straw hat fell from above with a loud “Aaaaaah!” scream.
This scene felt eerily familiar.
In the original story, this was the moment Luffy fell into the bath, saw Hancock naked, and discovered the Celestial Dragon brand on her back.
But now, Zane was here.
“Want to look at my wife?
Leave your eyeballs behind!”
The instant Luffy’s figure broke through the dust and was about to land in the pool—
Zane moved.
His speed was faster than thought.
[Mimicry · Partial Enhancement — Dark-Gold Barrier!]
Whoosh!
Zane, who had been coiled in the water, shot upward instantly.
His tail didn’t attack Luffy.
Instead, it spread wide like a massive black cloak, instantly wrapping Hancock completely and tightly within it!
Not only did it shield her back, but it left not even the slightest bit of her skin exposed.
Meanwhile, his upper body turned into a black afterimage and collided head-on with the falling Luffy.
THUD—!!!
A heavy impact rang out.
Luffy hadn’t even had time to see what was below before he felt like he had slammed into a high-speed train.
“Uwaaaah!”
With a miserable cry, Luffy was sent flying by Zane’s headbutt.
He tumbled through the air like a ball and smashed heavily into the bath’s hard wall.
BOOM!
A human-shaped crater formed in the wall as rubble cascaded down.
“Ouch ouch ouch… My head’s splitting!”
Luffy clutched his head and crawled out of the debris, looking dazed.
“What was that?
So hard!”
He opened his eyes, wanting to see what he had crashed into.
What greeted him was an incredibly oppressive scene.
Amidst the swirling steam, a terrifying black-and-gold giant python was coiled dominantly in the center of the bath.
Its wide tail was gently yet firmly shielding the woman behind it, while its ferocious snake head was raised high, looking down at him from above.
Those golden vertical pupils burned with tangible rage and killing intent.
“Hiss—!!!”
Zane let out a deafening roar.
[Conqueror’s Haki Pressure (Pseudo) + Territorial Instinct!]
The terrifying aura pressed down on Luffy like a tsunami.
“What rat crawled out of the sewer?
Don’t you understand the rules?!”
Luffy was pushed back a step by the pressure and adjusted his straw hat.
“Wow!
Such a big snake!
And so fierce!”
Inside the protective cocoon of Zane’s tail.
Hancock didn’t panic at the sudden intrusion.
Because the moment that man fell, she only felt everything go dark before being tightly enveloped by a familiar, cool, and firm presence.
It was Night’s tail.
He was protecting her!
He didn’t want any other man to see her!
Hancock hid behind Zane’s tail, hugging his thick body tightly.
Her heart pounded wildly — not from fear, but from an unprecedented sweetness and sense of security.
“Night… is he jealous?
Is he guarding my purity?”
Hancock’s face instantly flushed crimson.
Her heart felt as sweet as if filled with honey.
But when she peeked out from behind Zane and looked at the straw-hatted boy embedded in the wall, that sweetness instantly turned into ice cold enough to freeze the soul.
“Filthy man…”
Hancock’s voice came like it was from the deepest hell.
She slowly adjusted her bathrobe and stepped out from Zane’s protective embrace, but one hand still tightly gripped his tail, as if it were the source of her strength.
“Did you hear that, monkey?”
“If Night wants you dead, then you must die!”
In this moment, the original plot and protagonist halo were completely useless against Zane’s “protective wife” will.
Luffy looked at the terrifyingly murderous pair — one person and one serpent — and swallowed hard.
“Um… did I come at a bad time?”
Zane’s vertical pupils narrowed, killing intent radiating.
“Hiss— (No.
You came at the perfect time.)”