One Piece - Heaven Defying Comprehension!

Amazon Lily, Kuja City, night.

In Hancock's bedroom.

The banquet in Amazon Lily had come to an end, and the citizens had long since fallen asleep. The island was peaceful, bathed in the calm of the night.

However, inside the palace, Hancock's heart was racing more intensely than it had during the banquet.

"Ace… waiting for him here, in the palace… Could it be a talk of something important? Or maybe..." Hancock murmured to herself, her flushed face hidden behind her hands, her large, beautiful eyes swirling in circles. She was lost in thoughts, shy and uncertain.

All kinds of timid, flustered thoughts filled her mind, making steam practically rise from her head.

"Can I really hold myself together like this?"

Hancock, at this moment, was more alluring than anyone could imagine, but no one was there to witness her vulnerability. She felt her body growing weak, almost paralyzed with a blend of excitement and nervousness. Just thinking about what was to come left her dizzy with happiness.

Even though she longed to be closer to Ace, the sudden rush of happiness felt overwhelming.

"No, I can't lose my composure. Ace will be here any moment… I must keep calm," Hancock told herself, gently pressing her hand against her chest in an attempt to steady her racing heart. She took deep breaths, trying to push down the shyness that threatened to overtake her.

"Wait… if I'm going to be with Ace tonight, shouldn't I prepare properly? Shouldn't I… take a bath first?" 

Suddenly, a thought struck her. In all the excitement of seeing Ace, she had completely forgotten to bathe after returning to Kuja City. If this night was going to be their first together, she had to present herself in the best possible way for the man she loved.

Hancock quickly began to undress, preparing to head to the bathroom. But just as she was about to remove her clothing, her movements froze.

The flush that had filled her face from shyness suddenly drained, leaving her pale. Her delicate hand instinctively reached toward her back.

How could she have forgotten?

Her heart sank. She bit down on her red lips, so hard that a small bead of blood escaped, trickling down her chin.

From the moment she had met Ace in the Calm Belt, her mind had been consumed by him. Every thought had been filled with Ace, with the future they might share.

But she had forgotten about the mark.

Sitting down on the bed, Hancock wrapped her arms around her knees, burying her face between them. On her back was the mark of the Celestial Dragons—the Hoof of the Celestial Dragon, a symbol of her dark past.

When she and her sisters were young, they had been captured by human traffickers and sold as slaves to the Celestial Dragons. The Hoof of the Celestial Dragon marked her as a former slave.

After they were rescued, thanks to Rayleigh, Shakky, and Gloriosa, she had returned to Amazon Lily. Using the power of her Love-Love Fruit and her awakened Conqueror's Haki, she had quickly risen to become the empress of the Kuja tribe.

But the trauma of her past haunted her. It was why she wore a cold, distant mask, presenting herself as a proud and imperious ruler to all. This façade allowed her to protect the tender, vulnerable heart beneath. She feared that if the people of Amazon Lily ever learned that she had been a slave to the Celestial Dragons, she would lose their respect and her place as their empress.

This secret weighed heavily on Hancock and her sisters, a burden they had carried in silence for years.

But now… how could she have forgotten something so crucial?

Tears welled in Hancock's eyes, and her heart ached. Could it be that she was so happy with Ace that she had allowed herself to forget the pain of her past?

If Ace were to discover her secret, could she still hold on to this happiness?

As these painful thoughts overwhelmed her, the door to her room creaked open.

Footsteps echoed softly.

Her heart tightened.

This was the moment she had been waiting for, but now, fear gripped her. What if Ace saw her mark and left her? What if she could never see him again?

"Hancock," Ace's voice called softly.

He stepped into the room and saw her curled up on the bed, trembling, her face buried in her knees. His eyes softened with understanding and compassion.

Through his Observation Haki, Ace had sensed every emotion pouring from her. He knew her feelings of fear, the deep-rooted pain from her past. But more than that, he understood her fear of losing him. It overwhelmed even the pain of her childhood memories.

Hancock feared that if Ace knew the truth, he would leave her.

Ace's gaze softened further, filled with tenderness and care.

"Ace..."

At the sound of Ace's gentle voice, Hancock instinctively raised her tear-streaked face, her delicate lips still bearing the faint marks of blood from where she had bitten them.

Her beautiful eyes, filled with a sorrowful look, made her seem all the more fragile and vulnerable. In this moment, she no longer appeared as the cool and commanding Empress of Amazon Lily. Instead, she was just a young woman, terrified that her lover might abandon her.

"Ace... don't look at me like this. I... today, I..." Hancock's voice faltered, and she bit her lip again, unable to meet Ace's soft, compassionate gaze.

Ace chuckled softly and moved closer to her.

"Ace, I... I haven't even bathed yet..." Hancock stammered, her usually composed demeanor giving way to panic as Ace approached.

"Hancock is always beautiful," Ace said with a warm smile.

Hancock blinked, stunned. On any other day, words like that might have made her faint with happiness. But now, the fear of losing Ace overshadowed all other feelings, leaving her pale and trembling.

Ace extended his right hand, reaching toward her.

Seeing his hand inch closer, Hancock bit down hard on her lip, shutting her eyes as she leaned back slightly, instinctively trying to hide her back.

"!!?"

Hancock's eyes snapped open in shock. She stared blankly at Ace, her heart pounding.

"You don't need to hide anything from me, Hancock," Ace said gently. "I love all of you."

With those words, he brushed his hand softly through Hancock's long black hair.

Her eyes trembled at his touch, the fear and anxiety that had gripped her heart slowly fading away. Ace's warm, tender smile was like the sun, melting the shadows of doubt that had clouded her mind.

Ace said he loves me... All of me?

Hancock's face flushed a deep red, her heart swelling with a mixture of relief and love. In this moment, she wanted time to stop, to stay in Ace's embrace forever. She rested her head against his chest, and Ace continued to gently stroke her hair.

They stayed like that for a long while, basking in the warm atmosphere, before Hancock finally lifted her face to meet Ace's gaze. Biting her lip, she gathered the courage to speak.

"Ace... there's something I need to tell you." Her voice was soft, hesitant.

She knew she couldn't keep hiding her secret from Ace. If she truly wanted to be with him, to marry him, to bear his children, she needed to be honest. Most importantly, Ace's gentle smile and words had given her the courage to finally face her past.

"I'm listening," Ace said, his smile growing even softer, full of understanding.

Hancock slowly pulled away from his chest, brushing her long hair to one side. With trembling fingers, she began to unbutton her clothes, revealing the secret she had kept hidden for so long.

"Ace... you won't leave me, will you?" she asked, her voice laced with vulnerability as she let her shirt fall, her pleading eyes meeting his.

"Of course not," Ace reassured her. "I love all of you, Hancock."

His eyes filled with tenderness as he watched her reveal her heart, and the compassion in his gaze only deepened.

"Then, Ace... this is my biggest secret," Hancock whispered, her voice shaky as she slowly turned around, revealing the smooth expanse of her back.

"!!?"

Hancock's body tensed, expecting rejection or shock. But instead, she felt warmth spreading across her back—a gentle touch that calmed her trembling body.

"Your skin is beautiful, Hancock," Ace said softly, his words causing Hancock's eyes to widen in surprise.

Beautiful? Look at my back!

Her mind reeled, and she quickly turned her head to glance behind her, expecting to see the cursed mark—the Hoof of the Celestial Dragon. But to her astonishment, her back was flawless, smooth and unmarked.

Where was the mark? Where was the Hoof of the Celestial Dragon?

In disbelief, Hancock slowly ran her fingers over her back. The place where the dreaded mark should have been was now perfectly smooth, as if it had never existed.

"Ace... what is this?" Hancock whispered, her voice trembling as she looked up at him, tears of disbelief welling up in her eyes.

The Hoof of the Celestial Dragon was notorious for being impossible to remove. Even if the skin was peeled away, the mark would still appear on the new skin. The only way to cover it was with tattoos, but to completely erase it? That was unheard of.

"I can use all Devil Fruit abilities, and the power of the Healing-Healing Fruit was enough to erase the mark," Ace explained with a gentle smile, his eyes filled with a soft understanding. "Though it's a unique mark, the Healing Fruit's ability, pushed beyond its normal limits through my Realm of Comprehension, was able to remove it completely."

Hancock stared at him in awe. The mark that had haunted her for so long, the symbol of her darkest days, was gone. Ace had wiped it away, leaving her free from that burden.

Tears welled up in Hancock's eyes as she looked at Ace's smiling face. This man had done the impossible—not only had he freed her from her past, but he had accepted her, all of her, without hesitation.

As Ace stood there, he quietly speculated about the nature of the Hoof of the Celestial Dragon. It was no ordinary mark. The fact that the Healing Fruit alone couldn't normally erase it raised questions—questions about Imu and the Celestial Dragons' hold over their slaves. But these thoughts quickly faded as he focused on the present, on Hancock's relief and happiness.

At this moment, none of that mattered.

The most important task now was to calm Hancock's turbulent emotions.

"Nami and Nojiko had tattoos too, as a symbol of the struggles they shared back in their hometown..." Ace said softly, his eyes resting on Hancock as her emotions fluctuated.

He recalled the events in Cocoyasi Village, where Nami and Nojiko had erased their old tattoos, choosing to carry the pirate flag of the Entei Pirates on their bodies instead.

"How about you carry my mark on your back? Come with me to the throne, and together, we'll bring down the Celestial Dragons," Ace proposed, extending his right hand toward Hancock. His expression, though gentle, carried an undeniable strength, a force of will.

Hancock's beautiful eyes trembled, and before she could stop herself, tears streamed down her face. She couldn't hold back any longer.

She had heard others make promises before, but Ace... Ace, she believed in him. He was the man who had publicly executed three Celestial Dragons, forcing even the Five Elders into submission.

".~!!!"

Ace felt the warmth of her lips on his, his eyes growing even softer. He gently stroked Hancock's long black hair, returning her passionate kiss.

"Ugh, this... this is our first kiss, Ace. Did I... bite you?" Hancock asked shyly, her pretty face flushed red as she pulled away after what felt like an eternity.

"I like you just as you are, Hancock," Ace said, smiling warmly at her.

Hancock's heart skipped a beat, her eyes locked onto his with firm resolve. "Ace, I want to tattoo your mark here. I want to carry your mark on my back. Will you let me?"

Her voice was resolute as she pointed to her smooth, unmarked back.

"Of course," Ace replied with a hearty laugh.

Through his Observation Haki, Ace could feel Hancock's emotions as clear as day. She wanted to use his mark to cover the pain of her past. The moment the Entei Pirates' flag was etched onto her skin, it would signify her rebirth.

"Creak~"

The bedroom door creaked open.

Hancock's face turned bright red as she saw who had entered.

"Nami, Nojiko..."

Her voice stammered as she looked at the two women who approached.

Nami, who stood closest to Ace, noticed Hancock's nervousness and smiled brightly.

"Don't be so tense, Hancock! We're sisters now," Nami said, stepping forward to embrace her.

"You're beautiful, Hancock. Someone as stunning as you should be with Ace," Nami's words made Hancock blush even deeper.

Anything related to Ace left Hancock flustered.

"Ace... the tattoo..." Hancock murmured, looking up at him.

"Well, Nojiko can help you with that," Ace said with a smile.

Nojiko had been the one to tattoo both her and Nami with the symbol of the Entei Pirates.

"Please, Nojiko," Hancock said, pushing her long hair aside and firmly showing her back.

With a gentle nod, Nojiko began tattooing Hancock's back with utmost seriousness.

Soon, with the assistance of the Realm of Comprehension, a lifelike pattern of the Entei Pirates' flag—the symbol of Ace—appeared on Hancock's back.

"All done," Nojiko announced, smiling at her work.

"Am I now carrying Ace's mark?" Hancock asked, turning her head to see the pattern that now adorned her back, murmuring as if in disbelief.

The shadow of her painful past seemed to be engulfed in flames, disappearing entirely as Ace's symbol took its place.

"Buzz!"

Suddenly, Ace's eyes narrowed, and with a sharp wave of his hand, he activated the Realm of Comprehension, wrapping Hancock within it.

"Boom!!!"

The King's aura exploded into the atmosphere, but Ace wasn't the only one feeling the shock.

Under the influence of the Realm of Comprehension, a wild surge of black and purple lightning crackled around them, intertwining and growing stronger.

In an instant, under the influence of the Realm of Comprehension, Hancock grasped the pinnacle of power that dominated the seas—she had elevated her Conqueror's Haki!

A fierce, regal aura surged from her, and this newfound mastery of Conqueror's Haki propelled Hancock's strength to an entirely new level!

"Buzz! Boom!!!"

The moment Hancock's inner demons were vanquished and she took on Ace's mark, her Conqueror's Haki surged into a formidable force.

She had now reached the point where her Haki could be wrapped around her attacks. It wouldn't be long before her power rivaled even that of the likes of Big Mom.

Coupled with the might of her Devil Fruit—the Mero Mero no Mi—Hancock was on the verge of matching Aokiji in combat power.

Conqueror's Haki—infusion!

Ace watched as Hancock mastered the art of infusing her Conqueror's Haki. A small smile formed on his lips.

And then, the terrifying aura of Conqueror's Haki roared out from Hancock's body, shaking the atmosphere. Once fully mastered, Hancock was well on her way to reaching the combat strength of one of the Four Emperors.