"Crumbling? Your mentality is worse than I imagined."
Jin raised an eyebrow slightly.
To be honest, when he saw Hancock, with only a layer of cloth left, charging towards him, with the two plump rabbits almost bursting out...
Jin had to admit, that kind of sight was something kids really couldn't handle.
'Wait, wasn't I still a kid myself?'
'After all, it would still be several months before my 15th birthday in this new body.'
Hancock's slender left leg straightened, emanating an aura of Haki.
Amazon Lily was originally a place where everyone advocated for the use of force, specializing in Haki.
Hancock was the outstanding figure among them.
It could be said that aside from those few who mastered Advanced Armament Haki, even among the Warlord, her Haki was one of the best trained.
Even then, Jin remained unmoved.
Just as Hancock's raised foot was about to kick his forehead-
Thud!
In an instant, Hancock felt as if she had kicked an invisible wall of air.
Her foot stopped abruptly about half a meter away from Jin's forehead.
It simply couldn't advance any further.
"Wh-what? Why did that Pirate Empress suddenly stop?"
Nami's expression changed from shock to confusion.
And Konan and the others had similar expressions.
"Wh-what's going on?"
Hancock's beautiful face, streaked with tears, was also full of disbelief.
Nami and the others didn't know, but she could feel it herself.
Something had blocked her Perfume Femur.
In Jin's field of view, a thick arm extended from his right hand, blocking Hancock's kick.
Then, under Jin's mental control, the owner of this arm gradually revealed its full form.
It was a man clad entirely in golden armor, with dark bronze skin.
His bulging muscles seemed ready to burst through his skin at any moment… a true beast!
Dio Brando's Stand, [The World]!!!
Stands can only be seen by Stand Users.
But through Observation Haki's perception, Hancock could roughly sense something.
Jin placed one hand on his hip, slightly arching his back.
Striking a pose that combined both domineering and flamboyance… a JoJo's pose.
"Muda Muda Muda Muda~"
Seeing the scornful smile on Jin's face, Hancock's pupils constricted sharply.
This look of disdain made her remember the looks in the eyes of those World Nobles when she was enslaved in Mary Geoise!
The next moment, Hancock infused both legs with Armament Haki.
Whoosh- Roar!
When she swung her leg again, it even created a roaring sound like a storm.
Seeing this, [The World] threw a punch in return, using the back of its hand to block.
The moment the two forces collided, the invisible shockwave erupted, forcing Konan and the other onlookers to instinctively take two steps back.
Sleech!
The skin on the back of Jin's right hand split open, and blood oozed out.
"Sensei!?"
Rin and Kurenai cried out in alarm.
They completely didn't understand what had happened.
'Why was Jin-sensei injured?'
"Ha!"
Seeing the identical wound appear on the back of [The World]'s hand from the blow, Jin himself couldn't help but laugh.
Close-range combat Stands had this problem.
If the Stand is injured, the injury is reflected on the Stand User.
But he didn't expect that Hancock, who hadn't even mastered Advanced Armament Haki, could injure [The World].
It really was "Sturdy Star Platinum, Fragile The World".
But he shouldn't diss [The World] too much.
After all, considering the overall power level in JOJO, even if you brought [Star Platinum] over, it's debatable whether it could reach the level of a Warlord.
"Don't worry, after spending some time with me, you'll become stronger."
Jin said to the invisible [The World], which Rin and the others couldn't see.
After all, he had just acquired [The World] from Dio, so it would still need some training time.
But speaking of which, Dio was really stubborn.
Always making [The World], a mage-type Stand, fight head-on with [Star Platinum], a fighter-type.
"Haah!"
Hancock's relentless attacks continued like a storm.
However, just as her next kick was less than a centimeter away from Jin, Hancock's expression changed abruptly.
Because Jin, who should have been in front of her, had disappeared.
Perceiving through Observation Haki, Hancock's pupils shrank sharply.
She turned her head to look, and found Jin standing behind her.
'Wh-what? When!?'
'Why didn't Observation Haki sense it?'
Just as Hancock turned around in that instant, she only felt a fist strike her on the side of the face.
Even though Jin himself hadn't moved an inch.
Jin showed no mercy towards the beauty.
Hancock was sent flying directly into the wooden wall at the rear of Thousand Sunny, crashing into the first-aid room on the first floor.
"WRYYYY-"
Jin didn't know why either.
He just felt an inexplicable urge to shout.
A bruise appeared at the corner of Hancock's mouth, and blood trickled down as she barely managed to climb out through the hole in the wall.
Whoosh!
Jin raised his right index and middle fingers.
A strand of flame quickly ignited, transforming into a whip of fire.
Crack!
The whip came down!
Before Hancock could even wipe the blood from her mouth, she hurriedly dodged sideways.
Boom!
Where the fire whip struck, the wall was split in two, and flames erupted from the broken edges.
"Ahhh- Sunny!"
Nami covered her cheeks with her hands, her face pale as she screamed.
"Shut up! I get annoyed the moment I hear women making noise! We'll get someone to fix it when we get to Fish-Man Island!"
Jin scolded.
Hearing this, Nami instantly shut up.
She had just seen what happened to Hancock for throwing a tantrum.
She didn't want to suffer such unnecessary physical pain.
Crack!
Hancock finally failed to dodge.
First, a whip landed on her ankle.
She fell to the ground like a rabbit shot in the leg.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Then, followed by the second whip, the third whip, the fourth whip...
Seeing this, Kurenai said softly, "Um, that... isn't that enough?"
Kurenai admitted that she also found this tall, big woman's personality really annoying at first.
But she felt two whips should be about enough.
'This... isn't this a bit too many?'
Konan shook her head and said:
"Jin-nii probably has his own reasons."
...
"So? Does it bring back fond memories of Mary Geoise?"
Jin continued lashing Hancock with just enough force to hurt the skin without damaging the muscles while asking in a mocking tone:
"Maybe I should become a Celestial Dragon too, put a collar on you, lock you in a cage, and take you back to the Kuja Queendom to show your people, tell them-"
"Look, this is the true nature of your Empress."
Hearing this, Hancock, who was curled up in the corner like an injured little rabbit, weakly crossing her arms in front of her chest, felt as if struck by lightning.
She cried out loudly, her voice choked with sobs:
"Just kill me! Kill me!!"
"Stop crying! Even if all the slaves cried from day to night, and night till dawn, could they cry the Celestial Dragons to death?"
Jin increased the force of his whipping slightly and scolded:
"I'm really curious, do you truly have feelings for this Monkey D. Luffy person, or are you just projecting your hatred for the Celestial Dragons onto him?"
"Because you don't have the guts to attack the Celestial Dragons yourself, you project this wish onto him. I find it ridiculous."
"If you hate the World Government so much, don't pin your hopes on others, go deal with them yourself!"
Hearing Jin's contemptuous and scornful curses, the expression on Hancock's face also changed from ferocious to confusion.
'My... my feelings for Luffy aren't real feelings?'
'But rather, I'm projecting my own desires onto him?'
Hancock's first reaction was to not believe this madman...
But... this notion lingered in her mind like a nightmare.
The pain radiating throughout her body caused Hancock to collapse onto the ground, revealing the Celestial Dragon's Hoof mark hidden beneath her hair on her back for the second time.
Jin walked over and raised his right hand…
His entire palm burst into flames.
The next second, he slammed it down abruptly.
"Ahhhhhhh!!!"
Hancock's screams of pain once again echoed through the deep sea.
A full half minute later, Jin finally removed his hand.
Meanwhile, Hancock had passed out from the pain.
"This new mark suits you well."
Jin looked down at her from above.
What replaced the Celestial Dragon's Hoof mark on Hancock's back was strikingly the same symbol as the one currently flying on the flag of the Uchiha Thousand Sunny!
...
An unknown amount of time later-
The scene before Hancock's eyes gradually cleared.
"Ah! Empress-san, you're awake!"
A young girl's voice reached her ears.
After these days of interaction, Hancock remembered that this was the voice of the girl with the purple markings on her face, whose name is Nohara Rin.
"H-how long was I unconscious?"
Hancock, realizing she was lying on a bed, struggled to sit up and asked.
Looking down, she saw that her upper body, except for her head and arms, was wrapped in thick bandages.
"Two days and one night. We just docked at Fish-Man Island... Ah, Empress-san, please lift your arm, I'll remove the bandages for you."
Hancock remained silent and complied with Rin's request, raising her arm.
With Rin's kind, girl-next-door personality that was nice to everyone-
It was really hard for anyone to genuinely dislike her.
"Th-this is..."
At this moment, through the dressing mirror in Robin's room, Hancock also noticed.
The change in herself reflected in the mirror.
Her devilish figure, enough to make even celestial maidens feel ashamed, remained unchanged.
After such a vicious whipping, there wasn't even a single scar left.
But what shocked Hancock was the new mark on her back that replaced the Hoof Mark.
She certainly recognized it.
This was Jin's symbol!
"Jin... Jin-sensei said you would definitely like this..."
Rin said with difficulty.
Based on the experience from the day before yesterday, Rin could also tell that the Hoof Mark definitely symbolized some secret past of this stunning beauty.
But whether Hancock would like this new mark or not...
That really wasn't certain.
After all, judging by the interaction patterns and relationship between Jin and Hancock this week, it seemed very unlikely that Hancock would like this new 'tattoo'.
However, Hancock did not fly into a rage, nor was she overjoyed.
She just stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror, silent for a long time.
"W-well, I'll go out first, Empress-san, you should come out soon too."
Rin couldn't really stand the awkward atmosphere anymore, so she found an excuse and made a quick escape.
"Ugh... Ugh..."
When she was alone in the room again, Hancock turned her back to the mirror.
Looking over her shoulder at the new mark on her back, her expression gradually shifted from silence, to trembling, to a strange smile...
Finally, she could no longer suppress the emotions in her heart.
Covering her face tightly with both hands, she broke down and cried.
What was she feeling right now?
Perhaps even Hancock herself couldn't describe it.
But one thing was for sure.
Relief. Yes, relief.
At the very least, she no longer had to worry incessantly about the mark on her back.
Even if the owner of this new mark had just beaten her half to death.
But whether it was positive or negative feelings, Jin had already left an indelible mark on Hancock's body.
And in her heart, even more so.