One Piece: Who still has dreams?

pat!

The Poké Ball opened automatically, shooting out a beam of red light that struck the massive, mountain-sized serpentine sea monster, turning it into light and absorbing it inside.

Splash! The Poké Ball fell into the water...

Reddio: "..." There was no other way but to go down and retrieve it.

*Thump!* He plunged into the sea, only to see the indicator light in the center of the Poké Ball floating in the water flashing faster and faster, finally snapping open with a "thud."

A large burst of red light shot out from inside the sphere, and the plesiosaur was brought back to the surface.

The seawater, which had already been rushing back with a thunderous roar because of its disappearance, exploded outwards like a tidal wave because of its sudden appearance, creating wave after wave of giant waves.

The Poké Ball was swept to Redio's side by a giant wave. He grabbed it and nimbly swam to the shore.

Fortunately, the system rated his swimming as proficient, so these waves were no problem for Reddio.

Hancock had been waiting for this. She reached out and pulled him ashore, patted the seawater off him, and exclaimed in surprise, "This ball can hold not only pets, but even sea kings?"

"But the prerequisite is that we can defeat the sea kings and make them submit."

Redio, clutching the empty Poké Ball, turned back to watch the serpentine sea king, who seemed both bewildered and angry, disappear back into the sea. He muttered to himself, "Or perhaps... there is someone who can truly win the sea king's affection and make him willingly submit."

Hancock comforted her, "Sea Kings are untamable... With a body this big, even my Love-Love Fruit powers couldn't petrify it completely. Killing it is possible, but once it's killed, there's no way to subdue it, right?"

It's easy to see that Conqueror's Haki would be useless against a sea king this large. Otherwise, where would Poseidon's reputation stand?

Redio thought for a moment, then took out five Poké Balls and gave them to Hancock. "If you have the chance to find any smaller or juvenile Sea Kings, you can try to catch them. Once they grow up, they can become your partners and protect this island."

Hancock was quite surprised and took the five miniature red and white Poké Balls in a daze.

Reddio pinched her reddened nose and laughed, "Didn't you appoint me as the Vice Emperor of the Nine Serpents? I have to show my appreciation."

Seeing that she was about to shed tears of emotion again, Redio patted her hand and changed the subject, saying, "By the way, I just thought of a potentially better way to cultivate domineering aura."

"What is it?" Hancock asked, her voice slightly nasal, as she carefully put away the five Poké Balls.

Redio raised a finger and smiled: "Armament Haki, can't it be wrapped around a weapon to enhance it? Then...why don't you use your Haki to wrap around my hand as a weapon? That way I can feel your Haki and stimulate myself to master my own Haki, right?"

Hancock was stunned, muttering, "This... using Haki on someone, isn't that 'attacking'...?"

"Huh?" Redio was taken aback.

"Huh?" Hancock looked puzzled. Wasn't that wrong?

Redio scratched his head, and it seemed to be true. Being able to release one's own Armament Haki and wrap it around the sword—in Wano Country, this would be considered a high-level Ryuo; in Kuja, it would be at least at the level of a level 6 snake.

Such a powerful, flowing aura is like a powerful, indirect attack that can break through defenses. Master Lu used this very technique to brutally defeat Teacher Kai's turtle shell.

"Whatever, let's give it a try!"

Redio smiled. "Don't worry about me getting hurt. I have a special treatment."

Even if your hand is broken or shattered, as long as not too much time has passed, once the number of uses of the Gojo Satoru Mode is restored tomorrow, a single Reversal Technique will allow it to grow back.

"..."

Hancock hesitated, but seeing his radiant expression, she liked him too, so she obediently sat opposite him, clasped her hands together, and said worriedly, "When Haki invades your body, it might hurt a lot..."

“Come here.” Redio’s gaze was firm as he squeezed her soft, slightly sweaty hands.

Hancock had no choice but to channel her Haki, gathering it like flowing water in her right hand, and then carefully controlling it, spreading it little by little to Redio's hand.

Redio's brow twitched.

Hancock quickly withdrew her Haki, "Does it hurt? I'm sorry..."

"Continue." Redio knew he had to be firm with her.

Hancock could only reluctantly comply, slowly releasing her Haki with her right hand once more, using Redio's unused left hand as an arrow, but wrapping it around him a hundred times more gently...

Redio endured the pain, his face tense.

How should I put this feeling...?

He couldn't help but think of Linghu Chong from "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer." Our Brother Chong was truly tormented to the point of unbearable pain after being invaded by various foreign internal energies...

In the world of One Piece, everyone is born with Haki; it's just a matter of whether they know how to use it.

When Hancock's Haki invaded Redio's hand, it immediately clashed violently with Redio's own latent Haki, and Redio reacted by resisting.

It's like throwing a pebble into a calm, deep pool, creating tiny ripples.

It works!

Reddio gritted his teeth inwardly, but smiled and nodded at Hancock in encouragement.

So what if we attack? The hunters next door can just use Nen to attack, can't they? We pirates can't lose face by using Haki! Tom!

"..."

Hancock used her left hand to wipe the fine beads of cold sweat from his forehead. She sighed softly, closed her eyes, and focused even more intently on channeling Armament Haki into his left hand.

While her domineering aura might not be as strong as that of a top-tier expert, being born into the Nine Serpents clan and serving as their emperor, her mastery of domineering techniques is undoubtedly among the best. Back when she was vying for the title of Serpent Queen, she had already reached the level of a master of the Nine Serpents.

Hancock controlled her Haki with even greater precision; it wasn't enough for it to flow like water, it needed to be as gentle as a breeze, like a feather...

She entered a state of flow, forgetting herself and the world around her, immersing herself in this special practice.

How could my domineering nature possibly harm Redio? Absolutely not!

Driven by genuine affection, Hancock gradually... seemed to be able to pour all her tenderness and love into this swirling, domineering aura. A smile unconsciously crept onto her lips.

……

[Mastered: Armament Haki (Initial Understanding)]

Reddio only snapped out of his daze when the system notification popped up.

He suddenly realized—when did the Haki that Hancock had channeled into his hands and wrapped around his arm stop causing sharp, needle-like pain and instead feel like a gentle caress?

"How is it?" Hancock sat opposite him, holding his hands and looking at him tenderly. "Do you feel anything?"

Redio exclaimed in surprise, "A little... the effect is so good? And I don't feel much pain from your domineering aura anymore. Have I gotten used to it, or did you do something?"

"It's good that it works." Hancock smiled without saying a word, a sweet feeling welling up inside her.

“Hancock, how long have we been sitting here?” Redio suddenly asked.

"This..." The Empress looked up at the sun and exclaimed in surprise, "It's already past noon, at least four or five hours have passed, hasn't it? How fast..."

"A few hours..."

Reddio muttered to himself that he had never had such prolonged physical contact with anyone before.

In other words, is this more detailed system prompt that I'm seeing now only triggered after several hours of initial contact?

Name: Boa Hancock

[Overall Strength: ★★★★★ (Devil Fruit 5 stars, Haki 4 stars, Strength 2 stars)]

[Mastered: Love-Love Fruit (Ultimate), Nine-Headed Serpent Archery (Ultimate), Armament Haki (Proficient), Nine-Headed Serpent Body Technique (Proficient), Observation Haki (Beginner), Conqueror's Haki (Beginner)]

Chapter 61, Person 4

[Chapter Introduction Series: Executive Vice President Miss Quan, Sunday, Episode 11: "Civil War"]

[Outside the city, the king's army was locked in fierce combat with the rebels. The cannons were fired into the sky, and the muskets were aimed at the ground. The king's soldiers and the rebels moved slowly, chatting and laughing as they fought.]

*******************************************************

[Name: Redio]

Overall Strength: ★★★ (Strength 3 stars)

[Mastered: Transformation into Gojo (1 minute), Armament Haki (beginner), Basic Physical Techniques (proficient), Six Styles of Shave (proficient), Cloud Staff Technique (beginner), Frost Moon Sword Technique (beginner), Running (master), Swimming (proficient)]

[Hireed: Nami (approx. 18 days remaining), Nico/Robin (approx. 2 days remaining), Boa/Hancock (approx. 10 days remaining)]

"..."

Redio opened his profile and saw that his overall strength rating had been updated with more detailed information about himself.

The ability evaluations given by the system earlier, just like the three-snake, six-snake, and nine-snake realms of Kuja, were classifications of skill level, not numerical strength.

The specific numerical value is the newly emerged [Strength 3-Star].

Nothing else, just pure power.

Why are there no impressive stats?

Because the initial stage of Armament Haki is unreliable and not truly mastered, it cannot be considered to have any numerical strength and is therefore not included in the calculation.

"Ah~~"

In the dense forest of Amazon lilies, a carpet of nine-snake patterns covered the ground. Redio prepared a large amount of food, and Hancock picked up a fragrant piece of fried meat with one hand, held it under her other hand, and brought it to Redio's mouth.

"..." Redio ate it in one bite and looked at Hancock's beautiful face.

The Empress's Armament Haki is so powerful that it can be used in close combat and long-range attacks, and she can even control it with such precision that it can invade her own body without causing any reaction! With such skill, the system only rated it as "Proficient"???

What exactly is the realm of supreme dominance that goes beyond this?

Could it be... a supreme realm that requires both strength and skill to reach?

After a quick lunch and some tidying up, Redio and Hancock continued their training in the woods.