Chapter 487: The Disappearing Mark of the Three Sisters, Hancock's Envy and Displeasure
After Hancock vanished, Nami let out a long, slow breath, a wave of relief washing over her. How could such an embarrassing person come from her world?! It was utterly ridiculous! Still, she had to admit, a place where even a Marine Admiral was completely powerless… staying here felt incredibly safe.
Meanwhile, back on Amazon Lily, Hancock was unceremoniously thrown out of the dimensional doorway, materializing in a flash and landing right on her bed. Her fists clenched, crumpling the silk sheets.
"They actually sent me back before Mr. Ren said I could stay?!" she shrieked, her voice echoing in the grand, empty chamber.
Hancock thrashed on the bed like a petulant child, kicking her feet against the mattress. "Ahhh! I don't want to be back here! I don't want to! This is so annoying!"
Just as she was stewing in her frustration, the main doors to her chambers swung open. Two massive figures stepped inside, their eyes widening in surprise the moment they saw her.
"It's her! That's Big Sister's voice!"
Hearing them, Hancock snapped back to her senses. She sat up, cleared her throat, and composed herself into the image of the Pirate Empress. "Sonia, Marie, what is the matter? Why do you both look as if you're about to cry?"
Her second sister, Sandersonia, wiped at the corners of her eyes. "Big Sister, you suddenly vanished for so many days. We searched everywhere, and none of the warriors had seen you. We thought… we thought…" Her voice broke.
Hancock sighed softly. "Sonia, Marie, I have been in my sleeping quarters this entire time."
"Eh?!" they both exclaimed.
Marigold stepped forward quickly. "But… but that's impossible! We searched every corner of this palace! We didn't see you anywhere, Big Sister!"
"I was in my chambers," Hancock said, a mysterious glint in her eye, "and yet, I was not…"
The two sisters exchanged a bewildered glance. Hancock let out another sigh, this one tinged with a hint of fondness. "Do you remember the name? The one Rayleigh and Shakky told us we must never forget."
"Shopkeeper Ren?" they answered in unison.
Hancock froze, then shot to her feet, her face flushing a deep crimson. "Why do you both remember?! Was I the only one who forgot?! This is… this is too humiliating! Oh, Mr. Ren! It's all my fault!"
Marigold hesitated, looking at her sister's frantic state with concern. "Uh… Big Sister… What is all this about…?"
A brilliant, radiant smile bloomed on Hancock's face as she stood tall. "Sonia! Marie! I met Mr. Ren!"
"Eh?!" they gasped again.
Sandersonia's eyes were wide with disbelief. "Did Shopkeeper Ren come here?!"
"No," Hancock declared, her chest puffed out with pride. "I went to Mr. Ren's shop!"
"What?! That shop from another world? It actually exists?! We thought Rayleigh and Shakky were just teasing us! Big Sister, you're not…"
Hancock shook her head, her smile unwavering. "I truly went to Mr. Ren's shop. I even ate one of his dishes, and it was just as divine as I remembered. And I met a girl there named Nami, one of Mr. Ren's regular customers. She's from our world, too!"
Marigold's brow furrowed in confusion. "But… but how did you get to this shop, Big Sister?"
The two younger sisters trusted Hancock implicitly. If anyone else had told them such a tale, they would have dismissed it as fantasy. But this was their Big Sister. To them, Shopkeeper Ren and his otherworldly diner were like the legends of Santa Claus—a story they always believed in their hearts, even if they could never see the proof themselves.
With her sisters listening intently, Hancock began to enthusiastically recount every detail of her experience, her voice filled with wonder and excitement. Her sisters' expressions shifted with every new revelation.
"What?! Nearly ten years passed for us here, but it's only been half a year in Shopkeeper Ren's world?!"
"An Admiral?! Kizaru was there?! And he was no match for Shopkeeper Ren at all?! His Devil Fruit powers were sealed by a woman with a single sentence?! Not even the Four Emperors possess that kind of strength!"
"The Queen of Hell?! Big Sister, do you mean the real Hell?! Not just the name of some organization?!"
They listened, gasping, as Hancock described the events in the shop. When she told them how Ren had casually declared, right in front of Kizaru, that the Celestial Dragons deserved to be killed, their faces were masks of pure, unadulterated shock.
At this point in her story, Hancock covered her own blushing face with her hands. "Mr. Ren is simply too magnificent, and so handsome! He saved me! He's nothing like those disgusting Celestial Dragons or those other vulgar men! Mr. Ren is so thoughtful, I… how could I have ever forgotten him! I was so irresponsible!"
Sandersonia looked puzzled. "He saved you, Big Sister? Was it from that time…"
Hancock shook her head vehemently, her fists clenching at her sides as her expression turned grim. "That… brand."
The word hung in the air like a curse. At its mention, both Sandersonia and Marigold flinched, their faces paling with a shared, remembered terror. It was a horror that had haunted their every waking moment.
Hancock turned her back to them, slowly letting her robe slip from her shoulders. She swept her long, waterfall of black hair to the side, revealing the smooth, unblemished skin beneath.
For a moment, there was only silence. Sandersonia and Marigold stared, their eyes wide with disbelief.
"Big… Big Sister!" Sandersonia cried out, her voice trembling. "Where… where is the brand?!"
Hancock calmly rearranged her clothing. "Mr. Ren had it removed. Although he didn't do it personally… you remember I told you about the Queen of Hell and her subordinates? They are all Mr. Ren's women."
Her sisters nodded dumbly.
Hancock's smile returned, softer this time. "It was Mr. Ren who instructed one of them, Pandemonica, to resolve it for me. Lucifer herself said that if Ren hadn't given the order, they wouldn't meddle in the affairs of others. So, you see, I was saved by Mr. Ren once again!"
Tears welled in Sandersonia's eyes. "Oh, Big Sister! This is wonderful!"
In their joy for Hancock, neither of them even thought of themselves.
Hancock's smile was gentle. "You two, don't get too excited just yet. Show me your brands."
Stunned, but obedient, they both turned their backs to her. Hancock looked at the two hideous marks seared into her sisters' skin, her expression hardening. She raised her hand, which pulsed with a faint, unseen energy, and touched them.
The next moment, the brands vanished as if they had never been there.
"Sonia, Marie," Hancock said, her voice thick with emotion. "Take a look."
They had already guessed what had happened. They turned to look at each other's backs, and seeing the clean, unmarked skin, their disbelief shattered. They fell into each other's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Hancock wiped a tear from her own eye, watching them.
"It's all over," she said softly. "That mark is gone forever! We never have to worry again. We can finally live with dignity!"
After crying for a long while, the two sisters finally composed themselves. Sandersonia beamed through her tears. "Big Sister! This is incredible! But how did you make the brand disappear?"
"Mr. Ren also instructed Pandemonica to help with that," Hancock explained. "She used some kind of magic or power on my hand… She said that if I touched the brand, it would disappear."
Marigold let out a huge sigh of relief. "As expected of Shopkeeper Ren! That Miss Pandemonica is amazing…"
"Marie! It's Pandemonica, not 'Miss' Pandemonica!" Hancock snapped, her tone suddenly sharp.
"Eh?!" her sisters replied, startled by the sudden change.
Sandersonia spoke up cautiously. "B-Big Sister? But Miss Pandemonica… isn't she our benefactor? We should show her respect. And besides, she is one of Mr. Ren's women…"
At the mention of that, Hancock gritted her teeth, her face twisting with a new emotion. "I will remember Pandemonica's kindness! But she's the one who pushed me back here when I hadn't even decided to leave! And… damn it! Why does that woman get to stay by Mr. Ren's side?! And she's one of his women! It's so… enviable… no… it's utterly infuriating!"
Sandersonia and Marigold exchanged a look, a silent question passing between them. Their Big Sister was certainly acting… peculiar.
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