That same night, in the banquet hall of the Nine Snakes Royal Palace.
To celebrate the “misunderstanding resolved” and to entertain this soon-to-be ally, the Straw Hat boy, Hancock ordered a feast of the highest standard.
On the dozens-of-meters-long massive dining table were piled Amazon Lily’s specialties: bone-in meats, giant roasted sea beast ribs, and various rare fruits.
The aroma was mouthwatering.
“So—good—!!!”
Luffy used both hands, his mouth stretched to an exaggerated size as he dumped entire plates of meat into his mouth.
His cheeks puffed out like a hamster’s.
“So good!
This meat is amazing!”
At the other end of the table, another “big eater” refused to be outdone.
Zane was coiled on the table, facing a meat mountain even taller than Luffy’s.
[Skill Activated: Gluttony!]
His mouth opened like a black hole.
With a flick of his tongue, three whole roasted sheep vanished down his throat.
His belly didn’t even bulge — Gluttony was frantically converting the food into energy to replenish the losses from the earlier battle.
“Huh?”
Luffy, who was devouring everything in sight, suddenly stopped.
A massive “Sea King hind leg” he had his eyes on was about to be grabbed by his stretched arm when a black tail snatched it first.
“Ah!
That’s my meat!” Luffy shouted.
His rubber arm instantly extended and grabbed the other end of the bone.
“Hiss— (Once it’s on my plate, it’s mine!)”
Zane refused to let go, pulling with his tail.
A man and a serpent began a tug-of-war across the table.
“Give it back!
I’m going to be the Pirate King!
This meat is mine!” Luffy puffed out his cheeks and pulled hard, cracking the floor tiles beneath his feet.
“Hiss— (I’m the Vice Captain of this ship!
Want meat?
Pay with berries!)”
Snap!
The poor hind leg meat broke in half from the two monstrous forces.
Luffy was left holding the bare bone.
Zane had the meat.
“Aaaah!
The meat’s gone!” Luffy looked at the empty bone in despair.
Zane swallowed the meat triumphantly and provocatively flicked his tongue at Luffy, his eyes full of “what are you gonna do about it, kid?”
“Damn it!
I challenge you to a duel!”
Luffy tossed the bone aside and struck a fighting pose.
But the next second, his expression changed from anger to curiosity.
He leaned closer to Zane, his big eyes sparkling.
“Hey, big black snake,” Luffy suddenly asked, “can you talk?
I thought I heard you insulting me earlier.”
Although Zane only made “hiss” sounds, Luffy possessed a talent similar to “hearing the voice of all things” and could vaguely sense emotions.
Sandersonia translated from the side with a smile: “Lord Night says you’re a wild monkey who steals food.”
“Hahahaha!
Wild monkey?” Luffy wasn’t angry at all.
He held his stomach and laughed.
“You’re really interesting!
Hey, do you want to be my crewmate?”
“My ship is missing…” Luffy scratched his head, “missing a… um, a strong mascot like you?”
“Hiss— (Get lost!)”
Zane rolled his eyes.
A mascot?
Wasn’t Chopper the raccoon (well, reindeer) enough?
Anyway, he looked like a raccoon.
Still, looking at Luffy’s sincere eyes, Zane didn’t feel any real dislike.
There weren’t many humans in this world he found “interesting.” Luffy was one of them.
He slowly raised the upper half of his body.
The dark-golden scales on his body gleamed with a metallic luster under the lights.
[Armament Haki · Partial Hardening!]
Buzz!
Zane’s tail instantly turned jet-black.
With a light sweep at a nearby hollow iron pillar—
Clang!
The iron pillar snapped cleanly.
The cut was as smooth as a mirror.
“Oooh!
So cool!” Luffy’s eyes shone even brighter.
“That’s Haki!
And so hard!
Even harder than what Gramps taught me!”
“I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit and became a rubber man!” Luffy stretched his face and snapped it back, not wanting to lose out.
“But I’ll get stronger too!
To save Ace, I’ll become even stronger!”
At the mention of Ace, Luffy’s smile faded, replaced by unprecedented seriousness.
“Big black snake… no, Night.”
Luffy looked at Zane earnestly.
“Hancock said you’ll come with us to Impel Down?”
Zane nodded.
He slithered down from the table and came before Luffy.
Despite the massive size difference, his presence was in no way inferior.
“Hiss— (Ace is a good guy.
I approve of him.)”
Sandersonia continued translating.
“Lord Night says that place is very dangerous.
There’s the world’s strongest prison warden and countless monsters.”
“I’m not afraid!” Luffy adjusted his straw hat.
“As long as I can save Ace, I’ll go even if it’s hell!”
Zane looked at Luffy.
This boy truly possessed a magical charm that could inspire others.
“Hiss— (Then let’s work together, Straw Hat Captain.)”
Zane extended the tip of his tail.
Luffy was stunned for a moment, then grinned and extended his fist, gently bumping it against Zane’s tail tip.
“Hehe!
Let’s work together!”
This was the pact between serpent and monkey.
…
The next morning.
After an all-night rush by the island’s shipwrights, the Perfume Snake was finally repaired.
Though it still looked somewhat patched, the main keel had been reinforced and the power system fitted with spare harnesses.
At the harbor, the ship was about to set sail.
To hide the man on board from the Marines, Hancock wore a loose purple hooded cloak.
According to the original plan, Luffy needed to hide inside this cloak, staying behind Hancock to sneak aboard.
“What?
Let this filthy man crawl inside my clothes?”
When Hancock heard the suggestion, she instantly exploded.
Her peerlessly beautiful face was filled with disgust and refusal.
“Absolutely not!
This is a desecration of my body!
What if he touches me?
What if his stench gets on me?”
Hancock stepped back three paces, clutching her chest as if looking at a cockroach.
“Stuffing you into a box after I petrify you would be better!”
Luffy looked unbothered.
“Eh?
I’m very clean!
And if you petrify me I can’t eat meat!”
“Who cares if you eat meat or not!
Stay away!” Hancock radiated killing intent.
The plan was about to stall.
Zane sighed.
This was indeed a bit difficult for his wife.
Letting another man (even the protagonist) crawl under his wife’s skirt was something he couldn’t tolerate either.
“Hiss— (Enough.
Stop arguing.)”
Zane slithered between the two.
He first whipped Luffy’s head with his tail: “(You — keep your mouth shut, keep your hands to yourself, and don’t move around.)”
Then he turned and slithered up Hancock’s thigh, coiling around her slender waist.
His body wrapped tightly around her waist and abdomen.
“Hiss— (Wife, I’ll be the ‘isolation layer.’)”
Zane used his body to create a buffer space between Hancock’s back and the cloak while acting as a complete barrier, ensuring Luffy could not make any direct contact with her.
“(As long as I’m coiled here, this monkey won’t touch even a single hair of yours.
If he dares move, I’ll bite him to death.)”
Feeling the familiar cool, firm, and powerful embrace around her waist, Hancock’s furrowed brows instantly relaxed.
The disgust on her face vanished, replaced by a deep blush and overwhelming sweetness.
“Night… are you protecting me?”
“Using yourself as armor to guard my purity… Ah!
Night is so domineering, so captivating!”
Hancock hugged Zane’s body tightly through the cloak.
As for Luffy hiding behind him?
She had completely ignored his existence.
“Fine.
Since it’s Night’s idea, I’ll reluctantly endure it.”
Hancock coldly warned the empty air behind her (Luffy): “Listen well, monkey.
You can only stay behind Night.
If your filthy hands dare cross Night’s body and touch me even once…”
“I won’t even need Night to act — I’ll personally tear you into ten thousand pieces!”
Luffy shrank inside the cloak.
In front of him were cold, hard snake scales (Zane).
All around was darkness.
He muttered pitifully, “I know, I know… It’s so cramped… and the big black snake’s scales are so hard…”
“Shut up!” Zane and Hancock said at the same time.
And so, in an atmosphere full of “jealousy” and “protective wife” energy, the Perfume Snake set sail once more.
This time, the ship had gained a noisy rubber man, lost some dullness, and gained a lot of passion.
Of course, it also gained an even stronger “all men except Zane are trash” Empress rule.