This Is Enough

"Sandersonia! No, Marigold!" Hancock suddenly saw Marigold rushing toward the platform. Just as she moved to stop her, a massive snake tail crashed down between them, blocking Hancock's path. Though Sandersonia was in terrible pain, she still held to her earlier resolve and stopped Hancock.

Without hesitation, Marigold swallowed the King Cobra Fruit and said with a smile, "Sister, you understand. Only you must reclaim your beauty. You're our only hope. This is enough."

"Marigold—!" Amid Hancock's anguished scream, the lovely blonde girl's beautiful body swelled like a balloon. After a bout of painful struggling, she transformed into a bloated monster. Marigold, who always casually showed off her figure in front of Saint Sanming, now looked like a big-bellied snake that had swallowed a cow. As her body expanded, everything below her waist became a long snake tail, while her swollen upper body resembled the flared hood of a king cobra attacking its prey.

Several dogs barked wildly at Marigold in terror. Then a stream of dark purple venom suddenly sprayed from her mouth. The hounds struck by it screamed and collapsed, their bodies corroded by the venom until not even bones remained.

The Celestial Dragons cried out in unison, then immediately erupted into cheers. This was too thrilling!

"Eat it, Big Sister." Sandersonia held the Love-Love Fruit in her hand. Warmth flickered in her emerald snake eyes as her long tongue flicked in and out. "Eat it, and tomorrow will be full of hope again."

As long as Hancock could preserve her beauty, Saint Sanming would not despise her, and the three sisters would still have hope. It had always been this way. They had to place all their hopes on Hancock.

Crying, Hancock weakly bit into the fruit in Sandersonia's hand.

A stench like shit shot straight up her nose, making her retch violently.

Saint Ni said regretfully, "So it's over already? Hmph, boring."

"The climax is only about to begin," Shalria suddenly said.

Everyone froze. Hancock clutched her mouth and fell to the ground, her entire body glowing with a layer of pink light as she convulsed continuously as if poisoned.

"Big Sister, what's wrong?" Sandersonia and Marigold panicked.

"I'm fine." Hancock raised her head, and the scars on her face flaked away like snow.

In that instant, Sandersonia and Marigold suddenly froze. Then their bodies rapidly turned into gray stone, their now grotesquely ugly faces still bearing expressions of concern for Hancock.

"Waaah—!" Hancock screamed madly. "What happened? Sandersonia, Marigold?"

Saint Charmak cried out in shock, "Mother of God, they turned to stone?"

Saint Ni was too stunned to speak. "Petrification? This Love-Love Fruit... could it be the Petrification Fruit?"

"Hahahaha!" Shalria burst out laughing. "You turned your own sisters into stone!"

Hancock stared blankly at Shalria. "How can I turn them back?" Receiving no answer, she turned toward the stands, looking completely lost. Beneath the peeling layer of scarred skin was delicate, flawless flesh. Her already pretty face had become even more refined, radiating a pink glow. She looked so helpless, her eyes so innocent, every inch of her skin seeming to whisper to the crowd.

"So beautiful!" Saint Charlos's heart suddenly stirred. An odd sound came from his body, and as he held that lovestruck pose, gray spread across him and turned him into a stone statue.

Screams instantly rang out all around. Hancock flung back her long hair and roared furiously without a care for anything else. "I'm asking you, how can I turn them back?!"

In an instant, invisible Haki erupted invisibly from Hancock's body. Her small frame straightened, her long hair blown up by her Haki in a stunning display like a peacock spreading its tail. Her eyes brimmed with tears, yet in her fury they shone like gemstones. Her skin was luminous and fair, haloed in pink, but it could not compare to the pride she had been born with—a pride that gave her, even as a slave, the right to glare at the heavens.

Cries of astonishment filled the arena stands. Countless people could not help blurting out, "So beautiful!"

The next moment, as though a silent bomb had exploded, everyone who had praised her just a second ago turned into stone statues.

"How dare a slave speak to the Celestial Dragons in such a commanding tone? Still, that appearance truly does stir the heart." Saint Ni rose with a vicious grin. "Such a young girl actually possesses such beauty. I truly never expected this. If she grows up, who knows how enchanting she'll become? Hmph, kneel and beg me..." Before he could finish, his voice turned stiff. His body gradually grayed, and he became a stone statue.

"Useless fool." Saint Rosward snorted, then said smugly to the panicked Shalria, "Don't be afraid. The Love-Love Fruit has no effect on us." As he spoke, he glanced at Hancock again and suddenly felt that this female slave truly was of the highest quality, breathtakingly beautiful. At such a young age, the more closely he looked, the prettier she seemed—more beautiful than every woman he had ever seen before. He could not even look away. Her skin was so lustrous and flawless, smooth enough to seem as though it were glowing, and it carried a pink halo.

This is bad. This female slave's power is extraordinary! The moment Saint Rosward became wary, it was already too late. Starting from his heart, numbness spread through him, and soon his entire body gradually turned to stone.

Panic broke out among the surrounding crowd. Everyone hid behind railings and chairs, screaming without pause. Whether they were powerful CP0 agents, high-ranking Celestial Dragons, slaves carrying trays, or guards aiming rifles, nearly everyone who faced Hancock turned to stone!

But there were exceptions.

"Don't you think it's fun? The experience of being petrified and turned into a statue is quite rare!"

Shalria's laughter sounded incomparably grating at that moment.

The people around them calmed down slightly. Hiding behind petrified guards, they looked carefully and discovered that not everyone would be petrified. Women in particular were less likely to turn to stone, but men—especially Celestial Dragons—had almost all been petrified. Even more than half of the powerful CP0 agents had become stone.

"Don't be afraid! This is the most interesting part." Shalria laughed. "The Love-Love Fruit can make ugly freaks beautiful, but at the same time, anyone who thinks she is beautiful will be petrified. If you lack confidence, just don't look at her, and there won't be any danger."

Shalria laughed triumphantly. "Hahaha, she really did become beautiful, but it's a beauty no one around her dares to look at! Hahaha! No one will like you. Everyone will fear you, refuse to look at you, and despise you! Hahahaha!"

Tears streamed down Hancock's face. "You lied to us?"

From the very beginning, no one could be saved. If Marigold and Sandersonia had known what kind of thing the Love-Love Fruit was, would they still have risked everything to make her eat it?

Shalria smiled maliciously. "That's right. Slaves are meant to be played with! You want to know how to restore your sisters? It's simple. Once you die, the Devil Fruit's power will naturally be undone."

Hancock froze.