The safest place to secretly meet Hancock on Amazon Lily is in her bathroom when she takes a shower!
Of course, Sig wouldn't actually wait for her to start showering; instead, he would wait for her in the changing area beforehand...
"Who!"
As Hancock questioned him, she had already kicked him.
Hancock and Sig are about the same age, but two years after the Mary Geoise fire, she became Shichibukai —at a time when Sig hadn't even joined the Red-Hair Pirates!
Sig had also wondered how much of Hancock's Warlord of the Shichibukai title truly belonged to him and how much to Kuja.
However, after taking Hancock's kick, Sig immediately realized that Hancock, who was still growing, was stronger than Moria!
To make himself easily recognizable, Sig deliberately maintained a human form and his original appearance, making him considerably shorter than in his Fish-Man form, standing at only about 2.78 meters tall.
But Hancock didn't even try to figure out what "old friend" meant...
At 1.9 meters tall, she's considered rather unusual among the top fighters in the world of One Piece—yet she's still within the realm of ordinary people?
A kick came flying at him, Sig raised his arm to block it.
The sheer force was secondary; it was the power of the mutated flesh and blood, and the force that assaulted his mind, that caused Sig to pause.
Clearly, Hancock had no intention of asking—any ordinary Great Pirate would probably have been petrified by now!
Sig's forearm, which was hit, also showed some grayish-brown discoloration, but it did not spread and the force of the kick was not hindered at all.
After sensing the unaffected power of the other party, Hancock leaped backward and then looked at Sig.
Sig wasn't angry. He smiled slightly and said, "That's good... I really did see you again on the high seas."
Hancock was taken aback by what she heard.
[That's good! I hope to see you again on the high seas.]
She heard these words when she committed her first murder.
At the same time, the voice and appearance of that person from back then gradually overlapped with that of the guy now, who was completely different in terms of physique and facial features.
Sig was worried that Hancock wouldn't remember, so he even used some "Psychological Suggestion"—but for someone with Conqueror's Haki, the effect was almost negligible. However... Sig wasn't going to do anything to Hancock; he was just giving her a "reminder."
However, Sig's worries were actually unnecessary, and the memories instantly flooded Hancock's mind.
Hancock didn't have a deep impression of "Sig," unlike Tesoro, because they only met once and she didn't connect the "person" she saw with the "Siegfried" who had a bounty on his head.
But...
That day marked her first murder, and also the moment when the "freedom" she had longed for day and night finally arrived. Countless times in the dead of night, she would see that fire again in her dreams.
Everything about that day was indelible in her heart. Besides, when Sig made his move, it was indeed a moment when she was tense and doubted that she might die there. However, she had experienced far more tense moments than just that one day in order to escape!
Then, Sig moved his arm, and the petrified color on it gradually faded...
"It's you... wait! Who are you?" Hancock frowned in confusion.
Sig understood that Hancock recognized him from back then, but he still didn't connect himself with "Siegfried".
Sig's body swelled up to 3.3 meters tall, and he displayed the characteristics of Fish-Man Race —though Hancock felt that his scales were somewhat different from those of Fish-Man Race!
"I see..." Hancock was taken aback for a moment, then a look of realization dawned on her face.
He didn't seem particularly enthusiastic on the surface.
And internally...
Sig could sense that Hancock was overwhelmed with emotion.
Of course, it wasn't about Sig's "enthusiasm" either.
Instead, I thought of many things...
On one hand, Sig could be considered one of Hancock's few "comrades-in-arms," even though they only fought together for three minutes and didn't act together afterward. However, the closeness they shared was something that even the Kuja Warrior, who had fought alongside them for three years, couldn't match!
On the other hand... while it's not exactly hostility, Hancock harbors a sense of unease toward Sig, or rather, toward all her "old acquaintances" in this regard, that is no less than a feeling of closeness.
Two completely opposite emotions were mixed together.
The reason is the same!
After realizing that the person before her was both "Siegfried" and that "nameless slave," Hancock understood that he shared a similar past with her.
Hancock didn't want anyone to know that she had once been a slave of the Celestial Dragons, and she also understood that Sig was one of the few who knew her identity, and... she didn't need to worry that he would report her.
Ultimately, intimacy prevailed, and Hancock's expression relaxed somewhat. Unlike before, when she was alone, she maintained her haughtiness and sharpness on her face. Instead, she sat somewhat wearily on the throne—a throne that served as a private dressing room for the three sisters, located opposite Sig.
With Sig, she didn't need to worry that he would feel pity or contempt for her because of Mary Geoise's plight, but rather that he would truly "empathize" with her.
As the Empress of Kuja, Hancock needs far more than cheap "sympathy."
Empty sympathy will only anger Hancock.
In the original work, Luffy's attitude was "indifferent," not sympathetic.
Similarly, Sig didn't show any "sympathy." Everyone else had escaped from the same place and time, and everyone else seemed to have achieved success within a few years. At the same time, everyone else was still "wounded."
After a moment of silence, Hancock took a deep breath, trying to make her expression as normal as possible. Then, she straightened her back, raised her right leg, drew a perfect circle, and crossed her legs...
"It's a bit open here," Sig gestured to his collar.
Hancock, who had made thorough preparations, froze upon hearing this, her composure crumbling in an instant.
Yes, when I came in earlier, it was only half-untied.
Of course, these are all minor matters. The reason Hancock broke down was because she originally wanted to pretend that she was completely unmoved, but as expected, she couldn't do it at all!
"Heh... you escaped too." Hancock feigned a cold laugh as she spoke, adjusting the opening of her skirt.
"Let's say we've escaped Mary Geoise," Sig said meaningfully.
"For the time being?" Hancock frowned slightly. Although she didn't understand what he meant, Hancock instinctively felt a sense of resonance.
"Perhaps... only when we see Mary Geoise completely collapse will we be able to escape completely."
Sig could also sense that neither Hancock nor Tesoro had completely "escaped."
Dongdong: Only two updates today, going out to get a tooth pulled... Well, the good news is, I'm just accompanying my wife to get a tooth pulled, it won't affect tomorrow~