Anime Girls are Moist

Chapter 1122 1,121: New Power of Hancock

"You were gone a long time."

Hancock leaned under the palace corridor, bare feet on the cool stone slabs.

She didn't look at Rei Ao as she spoke—her gaze fixed on the crooked-neck tree in the courtyard.

But the complaint in her tone was practically spilling over.

"Something came up on Kushina's side."

Rei Ao walked over and, as naturally as breathing, brushed aside the damp wisps of hair on her forehead.

His fingers ran cool; against her skin they felt like summer rain at night.

"And you? How are things here?"

Hancock immediately pressed her cheek into his palm.

The motion was quick and light, like a bird returning to its nest.

The empress who'd just kicked three training ships over on the drill grounds was gone.

Right now, she was simply Hancock.

"After the World Government fell, the Navy and the pirates have been scrambling for territory."

"Kaido and Big Mom formed an alliance. Whitebeard's taken the first half of the New World."

Her words came out rapid-fire, like pouring beans from a jar—

like she was trying to dump out everything she'd held in for months in one breath.

Rei Ao listened quietly, fingers absentmindedly combing through her hair.

Hancock's hair was exceptionally soft—sleek and glossy.

In his hand it felt like a handful of flowing night.

"Are you scared?" he asked.

"I am."

Hancock answered without hesitation, even nuzzling his palm with her chin.

"But I'm more scared of disappointing you, my lord."

The moment the words left her mouth, she froze a little.

What was that? That line sounded like something straight out of a hot-blooded manga.

But it was true.

After hearing it, the corner of Rei Ao's lips lifted into the faintest curve—

so faint it was almost invisible.

He didn't respond. He simply took her hand.

"Come."

They went up to the highest open-air terrace of the Kuja palace.

The night wind was fierce, snapping their cloaks with a sharp flutter.

The hem of Hancock's red dress looked like a flame in motion.

And the Calm Belt at night was anything but calm.

Undercurrents churned in the depths; moonlight shattered on the surface into countless trembling silver scales.

"Watch closely."

Rei Ao let go of her hand and flicked his finger lightly toward the distant sea.

No sound.

No light.

No special effects at all—like a complete misfire.

And yet, ten li away, the sea surface abruptly caved in.

A perfect hemisphere several hundred meters wide, as if an invisible giant bowl had scooped out a chunk of ocean with brutal force.

The water held still for a full three seconds.

Then it roared back in.

When the towering white waves detonated upward, Hancock could even feel the terrace trembling beneath her feet.

Her pupils contracted.

The wind whipped her long hair into a frenzy; a few strands stuck to the corner of her mouth.

Rei Ao turned back, his fingertips sweeping past her ear.

"This is only a projection of the power inside you."

"All you need to do is learn how to call it."

He said it casually—

as if that strike had been nothing more than snapping his fingers.

Hancock stared at the sea, still heaving in the distance, her chest rising and falling hard.

A mess of metaphors flashed through her mind.

Nuclear-storm level. Orbital weapon.

In the end, they all collapsed into one inner complaint—

This cheat is way too outrageous.

"I… can really do that?"

"Yes."

Rei Ao withdrew his hand and tucked it back into his sleeve.

"But first, you need to get used to how the power flows through your body—like getting used to breathing."

Hancock looked down at her hands.

Slender. Pale. Nails painted a vivid crimson.

These were the same hands that had been reviewing Kuja Island's supply lists just yesterday.

And now someone was telling her these hands could raise tsunamis.

"When do we start learning?" she heard herself ask.

Her voice was surprisingly steady.

"Now," Rei Ao said.

…

Three days later.

Kuja Island training grounds.

They called it a training ground, but it was really a naturally formed ring-shaped valley.

Stone statues of Kuja's past empresses stood all around it, every face stern with authority.

Hancock stood barefoot at the center.

Fine sand pressed under her soles, warm from the sun.

She closed her eyes.

A ring of Kuja warriors stood around her, watching with bated breath.

Sandersonia and Marigold stood at the very front, hands clenched tight.

Their sister was about to test a new move.

How could they not be nervous?

Hancock tried to recall that "sense of flow."

That strange warmth Rei Ao had left inside her.

Like stars slowly turning through her veins.

Or like cradling a cup of hot tea in winter—heat spreading from fingertips all the way to the heart.

She tried to catch it.

At first, it was hard.

The power was like a slippery fish, always darting away through the gaps in her awareness.

She cursed internally.

This was way more troublesome than learning Conqueror's Haki.

Deep breath. Try again.

This time, she changed tactics.

Don't chase—wait, like fishing. Just wait.

Second by second, time passed.

The watching warriors began trading glances.

Just as Sandersonia couldn't stand it and was about to speak—

Hancock opened her eyes.

A faint golden sheen washed over her pupils, light as the last afterglow of sunset.

But her entire presence shifted.

The pride she'd always had was still there, but beneath it was something deeper—

like a sleeping volcano stirring awake.

Across from her stood a massive seastone target.

Three meters tall. Half a meter thick.

Normally they used it to test Haki strength—at most, it would crack.

Hancock raised her right hand.

No stance, no flourish—just casually aiming at the target.

She gave a short shout.

A brief, low sound that rolled up from deep in her throat.

Her fist never touched the target.

There were at least five meters between them, but the seastone target began to collapse from the very center.

Not shattering—collapsing.

Like someone had hit delete, matter breaking down at the molecular level.

It turned into crimson motes of light, fine as drifting cherry blossoms in spring.

One piece, two pieces—then the entire target dissolved into a rosy mist.

The wind blew, and it all scattered away.

The valley went terrifyingly silent.

Hancock lowered her head and stared at her palm.

Faint golden patterns glimmered under her skin, then slowly faded.

Her chest rose and fell, her breathing a little fast.

Not from exhaustion—excitement.

That feeling of power surging through her was too overwhelming, like the first time she'd ridden a Sea King at full speed through the deep—

except a hundred times more intense.

"...So that's what it is," she murmured.

"This is power unbound by any rule."

With a series of thuds, the Kuja warriors dropped to their knees, heads bowed low.

Their empress suddenly felt unfamiliar—

and yet somehow even more dazzling.

Hancock didn't bother with the kneeling. She turned, searching for Rei Ao.

He stood in the shadow at the edge of the field, arms folded, leaning against a stone statue.

When he saw her look over, he gave a small nod.

Just a tiny motion.

But Hancock's lips immediately curled upward.

She lifted her chin at him—clear as day:

Pretty awesome, right?