One hour later.
Plop, plop, plop.
The sound of bodies hitting water echoed intermittently as two marines, along with a few unlucky men from the Slave Hunter Ship, threw the corpses of the traffickers overboard into the sea.
The scent of blood
soon attracted numerous carnivorous fish.
"Moses, do you think we'll meet again in the future?"
At the railing of the top deck of the Slave Hunter Ship,
the four of them leaned against it. Hancock watched as the water not far from the ship churned violently, dorsal fins flickering in and out of sight.
"What?" Moses glanced at her. "Gonna miss me?"
Hancock rolled her eyes at Moses.
Then, with confidence, she said, "If nothing goes wrong, I'll become the captain of the Kuja Pirates in the future. And your grandfather is a marine—will you become one too?"
Moses understood her underlying meaning and sighed. "Just because I become a marine doesn't mean I can't be friends with pirates, does it?"
"Who said that? Besides, my future won't—and can't—be as a marine. That's no place for me."
"Then as a pirate?"
"Maybe, maybe not. We'll see when the time comes. What the future holds is something we'll only know when we get there."
"Anything we say now is just empty talk."
Hancock pondered for a moment before giggling. "You're avoiding the question."
"I asked if we'd meet again someday."
Moses gazed at the distant sea, vast and blue as the sky. "Probably. If fate allows, we'll definitely meet again."
Hancock studied Moses' profile, a question burning in her mind. Since it was there, she might as well ask outright:
"How are you so strong? Even stronger than the adult warriors of Kuja. How did you do it?"
Moses chuckled. "Who knows? Maybe it's the Breath."
"Breath?" Hancock frowned, cheeks puffing up in confusion. "If you don't want to tell me, just say so. Don't brush me off with something like Breath, as if I don't know how to breathe."
"Do you really know how?"
"Don't I?"
"Are you sure?"
"Do you really understand the Breath I'm talking about as the same thing you think of as breathing?"
"You're talking in circles. It's making me dizzy."
"Breath… isn't just a simple act of inhaling and exhaling. It's a way to perceive yourself and connect with nature."
"That makes no sense. I don't get it."
Hancock pouted. "Breath is breath—inhaling air to take in oxygen. That's all there is to it. Isn't that what breathing is?"
"It is breathing,"
Moses said.
"But that's the breathing you can do. What I can do is perceive the oxygen traveling down my throat, into my lungs, carried by my blood to every corner of my body, until it's expelled."
"Breathing with awareness, refining it over time, gradually increasing control over your body."
Seeing Hancock's utterly lost expression, Moses smirked in satisfaction. "Good. If you could understand, you wouldn't have needed to ask me in the first place."
"Are you saying I'm stupid?"
"I didn't say that."
"But that's what you meant?"
Hancock was exasperated. Though part of her believed Moses was teasing her again, another part—an intuition—whispered that he wasn't lying.
The clash of these two thoughts left her deeply frustrated.
"You want me to believe you? Then prove it by letting me experience this 'Breath' you're talking about."
"Hah, wishful thinking. This is clearly a training method. You think I'll teach you for free just because you asked?"
Moses looked at Hancock like she was an idiot, "Do you think I'm like you?"
Crack!
Her silver teeth clenched.
Hancock felt a surge of heat rush to her head, and before she knew it, the words spilled out:
"If you can prove it, I'll agree to anything you ask."
Moses chuckled and gave Hancock a once-over, "Then what do you have that's valuable?"
Hancock immediately faltered, stammering incoherently.
"How about this—I'll teach you the Breath, and when we meet again in the future, you'll give me three Devil Fruits.
If you can't deliver at our first reunion, you owe me one more. If you still can't at the second meeting, another one gets added, and so on. How's that?"
Hancock stared at him in disbelief, "Are you running a loan shark business? What if I learn it and then avoid you forever?"
"Oh?" Moses raised an eyebrow, impressed. "Pretty sharp, spotting the loophole in my terms."
"So? Dare to try?"
"You really aren't worried I'll dodge you later?"
"Learn it first." Moses smirked. "Who knows? Maybe you're too dumb to get it.
Even if you do learn it and break your promise, it'd be pretty funny watching the famous future Captain of the Kuja Pirates scurry away at the sight of me."
"Who do you think you're looking down on?" Hancock tilted her head back indignantly, chin jutting out. "I accept the challenge. Three Devil Fruits? Once I'm captain, I'll get them easily."
"Then let's begin."
Lifting his right knee, Moses slid his hand along the side of his boot, and a scalpel appeared in his grip.
"First, I'll explain the principles of Breath."
For the next ten minutes, Moses broke down the concept of Breath step by step.
To help Hancock understand, he occasionally tapped the scalpel's handle against key points in her body where the Breath flowed.
His method wasn't overly complicated, but it required a specific rhythm and frequency, along with some anatomical knowledge.
"...Got it? It's not that hard. With Observation Haki, it'd be even easier to pick up. Wait, do you even know what Observation Haki is?"
Hancock's eyes glazed over, and she slurred defiantly, "I know! But can't you dumb it down? Half those medical terms went right over my head. Are you doing this on purpose?"
Moses gave her an amused look—typical tantrum.
"If words don't work, let your body remember instead."
He nodded, "Now, start breathing."
Hancock frowned. Though she hadn't grasped everything, she had the gist.
She closed her eyes.
Inhale... Exhale...
As her chest and abdomen slowly rose and fell, an unfamiliar breathing pattern took hold. Her heartbeat quickened, and a wave of dizziness and pressure surged through her.
Just as she was about to speak, Moses cut in, "Don't stop. It's normal. Disrupting your usual breathing causes oxygen deficiency—standard physiological response."
"Continue."
As he spoke, Observation Haki enveloped Hancock's surroundings, sensing the rhythm of her Breath. Opening his shoulder bag, he took out a needle case and spread it open, revealing several silver needles inside.
Moses dictated the positions of the Breath nodes while his precise technique inserted the silver needles one by one into Hancock's body.
Like a lighthouse guiding the way, they directed the Breath to delve deeper.
Time passed.
This latest Breath technique, modeled after Moses and personally compiled by Kureha, gradually adjusted Hancock's breathing pattern under Moses' careful guidance. Vaguely, Hancock seemed to perceive something, though it remained indistinct and unclear.
Half an hour later,
Seeing sweat bead on her forehead, Moses removed the silver needles from her heart, abdomen, lungs, and intestines.
As soon as the needles were withdrawn, Hancock immediately gasped heavily, her breathing rhythm suddenly thrown into chaos.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
She coughed violently.
Moses put away the silver needles, watching Hancock's physical reaction with interest. The experiment was a success—the Breath technique could be accelerated.
No, not accelerated, but rather a method to artificially deepen the body's memory of this breathing pattern.
If she didn't continue reinforcing this breathing method, she would forget parts of it in a few days.
After all, transitioning from one instinct to another required time and perseverance.
After coughing for a while,
Once Hancock had regained her composure, Moses explained the concept of 'body memory' to her.
Pursing her lips, Hancock looked at Moses with a mix of surprise and complexity in her eyes. "You were actually telling the truth.
In that case, I'll honor our agreement as well."
Moses nodded.
"Good. Then I'll look forward to our next meeting. Don't forget about my Devil Fruit."
Hancock lowered her head awkwardly, embarrassed. "Sorry.
May I ask—can I teach this breathing method to Sandersonia and Marigold?"
"Do as you please. Whether you teach them or whether they can learn it is entirely up to you.
Besides, I didn't ask them to leave earlier."
As he spoke, Moses glanced at Hancock's two younger sisters standing nearby.
Meanwhile,
"Sister, look over there—isn't that Water 7?"
Sandersonia tugged at Hancock's sleeve, pointing at a distant black dot on the horizon. As time passed, the dot grew larger until a magnificent water city came into view.
From afar, the city was crisscrossed with waterways, its conical structure crowned at the very top by a massive fountain-like garden, exuding both grandeur and romantic beauty.
At that moment, the fountain was in full spray, and under the sun's reflection, stunning rainbows bloomed one after another.
"So beautiful!"
"I've never seen such a sight before."
"Hancock, look—isn't that your Kuja ship?"
Near the edge of Water 7's Gate 1, Moses spotted a vermilion-hulled, two-masted ship.
Its design resembled that of a traditional Chinese tower ship.
Exuding an antique charm.
At the bow, two strange serpents seemed to glide across the water's surface.
Following Moses' pointing finger, Hancock indeed spotted the ship in the distance.
The ship was filled with many scantily clad women. They had also noticed this place.
"That's right, it's our Kuja ship."
As she spoke, Hancock looked at Moses, her eyes seeming to show a trace of reluctance. She cleared her throat lightly: "We should be going now."
"Alright, safe travels."
As he spoke, Moses suddenly smiled at her face, curling his lips as he said:
"Remember to use your brain more in the future. Don't get caught by human traffickers again—your luck won't always be this good."
The budding sense of farewell was shattered by Moses' words.
Hancock's face darkened, and she scowled. "No one would think you're mute if you kept quiet. I'm leaving—aren't you going to give me a farewell gift?"
This was a Kuja custom, meant to wish those setting sail safety and smooth journeys.
Hancock didn't know why, but the words had slipped out before she realized it.
"And what about you?"
Moses stared at her.
Hancock's face stiffened—she had nothing valuable on her that could serve as a gift.
For a moment, the situation turned awkward.
Seeing this, Moses came to her rescue. He pointed to the strands of hair hanging by her cheeks, specifically the copper hair clasp on the left side.
Hancock blinked, then removed the clasp and handed it to Moses. "Since you want it so badly, I'll give it to you, big sister."
Moses took it—a tiny clasp, about the size of a pinky finger, engraved with a serpentine pattern.
"Not bad, quite unique. In that case, I'll give you this."
Moses handed over the scalpel in his hand. "This is my throwing weapon and surgical tool. Let's trade with this."
The scalpel had been taken from Kureha, and its quality was excellent.
"You can use it as a self-defense weapon."
Hancock accepted it. She had handled it before—it was sharp and sturdy, capable of piercing through a human skull if thrown with full force.
It felt good in her hand.
Delighted, she played with it for a few seconds before blinking at Moses. "I really have to go now—they've come to pick us up."
Moses could see a small boat rowing over from the Kuja ship, steered by a purple-haired woman.
"Then this is goodbye. Farewell, you three."
"Mm, take care."
Watching the three jump from the railing onto the deck below, then leap from the ship onto the small boat on the sea.
Their movements were incredibly agile.
As the boat drifted away, Moses silently watched. The next time they'd meet, who knew when it would be.
Then, from the small boat in the distance, Hancock cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted at the top of her lungs:
"Moses!!! Next time we meet, I'll definitely be stronger than you!!!"
Amidst the vigorous waves and cheerful laughter of the three sisters, Moses didn't look away until they had boarded their ship.
"Stronger than me? What nonsense."
"What? Can't bear to see her go?"
Bogart's voice rang out, laced with amusement.
Moses turned to look at Bogart, who had appeared beside him, and sighed.
"Has no one ever told you?"
"Told me what?"
"I forgot."
"...You little brat, what's the point of saying half a sentence? What's next?"
Bogart was getting impatient.
Moses sighed again. "...You're an old bachelor—stop pretending to be some romantic sage. It doesn't suit your character."
Bogart's lips twitched violently. He regretted coming up here—or at least opening his mouth to tease.
In the midst of his gloom, Moses spoke again.
"Hmm, you guessed right. I am a bit reluctant. After all, he's the first playmate my age I've made. Though she's a bit dumb and foolish, her heart is pure."
"Tch, you brat, stop acting all profound. That little girl is nearly ten years older than you—how is she your age?"
"Age isn't the barrier; mindset is the boundary."
"Old man, if you keep this up, you'll probably never find a wife. Even if the Navy assigns you one someday, I doubt you'll manage to secure a spot."
Sigh.
A sigh dissipated with the sea breeze as Moses walked away, leaving Bogart alone in disarray.
Another day passed.
After taking a slight detour, they arrived at the nearest Marine base to hand over the people from the Slave Hunter Ship for the local base to handle.
In the blink of an eye, the tenth day arrived, and a small island came into view from the warship.
Early morning.
The sun had just risen.
Garp brought Moses to a small hill behind a coastal village on the island.
They didn't have to wait long.
Amidst a fierce gust of wind sweeping across the land and sky—
A towering figure clad in a military-green cloak appeared.
At the same time—
"Waaah!!!"
A loud, piercing cry of a newborn echoed alongside it.