The tension from the bathroom incident melted away into a strange, intimate warmth.
When Boa Hancock emerged from the cabin wearing a deep crimson high-slit dress that clung to her voluptuous figure, Zane was lazily coiled around her shoulders like a king.
He could clearly feel the change in the female warriors’ gazes.
What had been mere curiosity was now filled with awe, reverence, and a hint of fervent worship.
After all, he was probably the only creature in the world that could survive being in the temperamental Pirate Empress’s bath and come out alive — and even more favored.
“Set sail!”
Hancock waved her jade-like hand.
The Perfume Snake cut through the waves, heading straight for the legendary Isle of Women.
…
Amazon Lily, Nine Snakes City.
This island, deep within the Calm Belt and surrounded by towering cliffs with only one treacherous waterway for access, revealed its ancient city built upon massive craters and cliffs as the red pirate ship passed through the gorge.
“Lady Snake Princess has returned!”
“Congratulations on your successful voyage, Big Sister!”
The shore was already packed with Kuja tribe women in animal pelts, bows slung across their backs.
In this women-only nation where strength was everything, Hancock was their absolute goddess.
The moment the ship docked, the third Gorgon sister, Boa Marigold, who had been waiting, strode forward to greet them.
She was massive in stature, with explosive orange-red hair, a giant guan dao on her back, and a still-bleeding leg of a freshly hunted small Sea King in her hand.
“Welcome back, Sister,” Marigold said in her deep, gruff voice.
Her eyes immediately locked onto Zane on Hancock’s shoulder.
“So this is the snake Sandersonia mentioned over the Den Den Mushi?”
She frowned and leaned in for a closer look.
“Too small, isn’t it?
A snake this size wouldn’t even qualify as bait in the jungle outside the island,” Marigold said bluntly.
“And it doesn’t look that special either — just black scales.”
Zane lazily lifted his eyelids and gave the big woman a dismissive glance.
If I remember correctly, this one has the Snake-Snake Fruit – King Cobra form.
She’ll turn into a fat snake herself later.
“Hiss— (You don’t know shit.
The concentrated ones are the essence.)”
Zane flicked his tongue with clear contempt.
“Huh?
Is it provoking me?” Marigold, an animal-type Devil Fruit user herself, was extremely sensitive to beast emotions.
Her eyebrows shot up.
“Sister, this little thing has quite the attitude.
Should I throw it into the arena for some proper training?”
“Stand down, Marigold.”
Hancock shot her sister a cold glance.
The royal pressure radiating from her instantly dropped the temperature around them.
“Night is the partner I have chosen.
His potential is beyond your imagination.”
“But…” Marigold looked unconvinced.
“We Kuja worship the strong.
Even Salome earned its place after countless battles.
If this little snake is just a pet, it will be hard to convince the others.
Feeding it will consume precious meat resources.”
Meat was a strategic resource on this barren Calm Belt island.
Hancock was about to get angry when she felt a rubbing sensation on her shoulder.
Zane raised the upper half of his body, his tail gently tapping against her collarbone, signaling her not to interfere.
Soft rice tasted good, but hiding behind a woman forever wasn’t Zane’s style.
Besides, the system was already spamming notifications in his mind.
[Ding!
New Check-in Location Detected: Amazon Lily!] [Check-in Successful!
Reward: Skill – Gluttony (LV1) (Greatly accelerates digestion speed, instantly converting food energy into stamina and experience)] [Long-term Mission Updated: Establish Dominance!
Display your power before the Kuja tribe.
Rewards depend on the level of shock caused!]
Zane’s golden vertical pupils flashed brightly.
Gluttony?
This skill is practically custom-made for me!
He was still ravenously hungry after evolving.
Although the Sea King earlier provided massive energy, most of it had gone into reshaping his bones.
His stomach was empty again.
With a flash, Zane leaped down from Hancock’s shoulder and landed on the sand in front of Marigold.
He didn’t attack her.
Instead, his gaze locked onto the massive Sea King leg she was carrying.
It was a 200-pound tendon-rich hunk of meat.
Huge for a human, but just a small piece for a Sea King.
For Zane, who was currently only three meters long and as thick as a wrist, it was several times larger than his entire body.
“You want this?” Marigold paused, then sneered.
“Little guy, don’t burst your stomach.
This is from an ‘Iron Hide Bull.’ The meat is as tough as stone.
Even the giant pythons on the island would take half a day to—”
Before she could finish, a black shadow flashed.
Zane’s lower jaw dislocated and stretched open to an impossibly exaggerated angle, like a bottomless black abyss.
In front of everyone, he swallowed the massive bone-in leg whole in one gulp.
The scene was horrifying.
Zane’s slender body instantly ballooned into a grotesque sphere.
His skin stretched near-transparent, scales standing on end.
The huge lump of meat bulged obscenely in his abdomen, looking like it would explode at any moment.
“Heavens!
Has he gone mad?”
“That huge piece of meat with bones will pierce his guts!”
“Save the snake!
Lady Snake Princess will be furious!”
The surrounding Kuja warriors cried out in alarm.
Even Sandersonia was startled and instinctively looked at Hancock.
Hancock, however, remained calm, a faint, satisfied smile playing on her lips.
“Just watch.”
The next second, an even more scalp-numbing scene unfolded.
Zane’s bloated belly began writhing violently.
The newly acquired Gluttony skill had activated!
Stomach acid surged like corrosive magma.
The iron-tough Sea King meat dissolved at a visible rate under the powerful acids and muscular contractions.
[Devoured Iron Hide Bull flesh.
Gained 20 Evolution Points!] [Gluttony effect triggered.
Digestion time reduced by 99%!] [Obtained Passive: Muscle Density Enhancement!]
Hiss hiss hiss—
Zane’s body rapidly deflated like a leaking balloon.
Then, his bones crackled with explosive sounds.
His three-meter body instantly grew another half meter!
The newly grown scales were thicker, with sharp serrated edges.
“Burp~”
Zane contentedly exhaled a hot, bloody breath, his golden vertical pupils still hungry as they fixed on the meat jerky in Marigold’s basket behind her.
Marigold’s iron hook clattered to the ground, her mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.
“D… digested?
In less than ten seconds?”
As a snake expert herself, she knew snakes were most vulnerable after eating and usually needed days to digest.
But this snake not only swallowed something several times its size without exploding — it even grew on the spot?
This wasn’t a snake.
This was an endless abyss wearing snake skin!
“What?
Still not impressed?” Hancock strode over on her long legs, bent down, and extended her arm.
Zane smoothly slithered up.
He was noticeably heavier now, pressing down on her soft shoulder, but the affection in her eyes only deepened.
“Marigold, do you still think he’s an ordinary pet?” Hancock raised an eyebrow arrogantly.
“N… No.” Marigold wiped cold sweat from her brow.
Looking at the black snake staring greedily at her with a drooling expression, she instinctively stepped back.
“That digestive ability… even large Sea Kings don’t have it.
Sister, what kind of monster did you bring back?”
“He is ‘Night’.”
Hancock turned, her long hair flowing dramatically, and declared to all her people, “From today onward, all meat storage warehouses on Amazon Lily are open to him!
Whoever lets him go hungry — I will petrify them and throw them into the sea to fill it!”
“Yes!
Lady Snake Princess!”
Thousands of female warriors roared in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.
Their gazes toward Zane had completely changed.
On Amazon Lily, where strength was revered, this raw, domineering, physics-defying power was the best possible credential.
Zane coiled comfortably on Hancock’s shoulder, enjoying the pleasant system notifications:
[Dominance Established Successfully!
Gained massive Prestige!] [Reward Settlement… Congratulations!
Obtained Special Item: Haki Guidance Stone (Assists in comprehending Haki)!] [Current Evolution Points: 120/500]
“Feels good.” Zane felt smug inside.
Not only was his meal ticket secure, he now had cultivation resources too.
However, he didn’t let the victory go to his head.
He knew that level of Gluttony might be godly for normal beasts, but against true powerhouses, it was just being a bottomless pit.
To survive in this monster-filled world and protect this foolishly arrogant woman who would one day be targeted by the World Government, simply eating wasn’t enough.
“Haki…”
Zane’s gaze turned toward the tallest mountain behind Nine Snakes City.
That was where the most unique Haki training legacy in the entire One Piece world lay.
With the Haki Guidance Stone and Haki Aptitude, it was time to see if a snake could master full-body Armament Haki — turning himself into an indestructible “Black Blade.”
Anyone who dared touch his soft rice bowl would have their bones shattered.
“Come, Night.” Hancock’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
There was a rare trace of shy sweetness in her tone that only appeared when she spoke to him.
“Tonight… you will sleep in my chambers.”
Pffft—
Several sharp-eared royal guards nearly spat out their drinks.
Her chambers?
That was absolute forbidden ground for men!
Even if it was a snake… that look in its eyes definitely wasn’t innocent!
Zane remained perfectly calm.
Sleep in her chambers?
So what?
I’m a cold-blooded creature.
I need body heat to stay warm, understand?
This is called scientific pet care!
At that moment, Zane’s sharp senses suddenly picked up something unusual.
At the very back of the crowd, an old woman in a cloak was staring at him with an extremely complicated — even terrified — gaze.
It was the former former former Empress of Amazon Lily, Elder Nyon (Gloriosa).
“That aura…” Elder Nyon’s hand gripping her snake staff trembled slightly.
Her cloudy old eyes were filled with disbelief.
“That greedy hunger that seems capable of devouring the heavens… Could it be the bloodline of that legendary extinct ferocious beast?”
Zane turned his head as if sensing her.
His golden vertical pupils met hers across dozens of meters of crowd.
He grinned, revealing two venomous fangs still stained with blood.
It looked like a smile.
Elder Nyon’s entire body stiffened.
A chill shot from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.
“Fortune and disaster come hand in hand…” she muttered.
“Hancock, this time you may have brought back an incredible ancestor.”