"I'm fine, really. I just need a bit of rest. Lady Empress, I'll come find you once I feel better..."
Under the covers, Vito's face had already gone from red to pale, yet Hancock's legs still refused to let go.
"No way! I'm really gonna die here!"
His face now turning a gruesome shade of liver purple, Vito gasped for breath while Hancock, still suppressing the strange sensations in her body, wore a feverish flush.
"Alright, Hancock, if you're not feeling well, get some rest."
Gloriosa, seeing her like this, gently tucked the blanket in and quietly shut the door as she left.
Hancock waited a few seconds, then flung the covers off. Poor Vito's face had nearly suffocated to death.
Hsssskkk,
As Hancock released her thighs, Vito gasped like a drowning man. His blood-deprived face began to recover with a few desperate lungfuls of air.
Hsssskkk,
From deep red to pink...
Hsssskkk..
After several deep breaths, his color finally returned to normal.
"Hancock, it's too dangerous for me to stay here. I can't wait until morning, I have to leave now!"
Hancock's face still held a faint blush. Before she could stop him, Vito had already thrown on his cloak and was headed for the door.
"..."
Hancock didn't know why, but she suddenly felt a pang of emptiness.
"Almost forgot to thank you, Hancock. Really, thank you."
Vito turned back at the last moment, pushing open the door and offering a sincere thank-you.
"Okay, then... how should I find you tomorrow?"
Hancock asked quickly, eyes shining.
"Hmm..."
Vito thought for a moment, then bit his finger and squeezed a drop of blood into Hancock's snake, Salome's, mouth.
During earlier Observation Haki training, he discovered that marking a living creature with his blood allowed him to faintly track them, even outside the typical sensory range.
"This should work. I'll come find you tomorrow."
With everything set, Vito turned and left the room.
It was already evening when they'd returned to Kuja, and he had considered walking out openly without the cloak, after all, he was still young, and his gender wouldn't be obvious at a glance.
But there was still a chance of being exposed.
Unwilling to cause Hancock any trouble, Vito chose to wait for a safer moment.
So he sat down, cloaking his presence, and meditated like a silent monk, patiently waiting for his chance.
The moon rose high, casting its silver glow across the kingdom.
Palatial halls with tiered eaves, red tiles and white walls, this place carried a strong Eastern aesthetic.
Vito tightened his cloak, and under the cover of night, leapt onto a rocky outcropping on the mountainside. With a gentle push, he soared upward.
The mountains were dotted with structures built into the cliffs, much like hanging temples, providing him plenty of footing.
Maintaining Observation Haki the entire time, Vito ensured no one was nearby before moving forward, taking each step with extreme caution.
Even here on Amazon Lily, he could still sense the tiger back on Rusukaina Island.
"Looks like my blood-marking method has quite the range… I wonder if I can push this further. If I succeed, maybe I'll have the widest Observation Haki range in the world."
As that thought crossed his mind, Vito sensed Salome's position shift. He turned toward the source, it was Hancock's home.
Even in the dark, he could faintly make out a small figure waving. Hancock was saying goodbye.
Vito didn't wave back, he simply nodded in her direction, then resumed his climb.
Now and then, patrolling soldiers would enter his Observation Haki range. Avoiding them, he clung to the nearly vertical mountainside like a mountain goat.
Within a few breaths, he had reached the summit. With a final leap, he soared over the walls of Kuja City.
The wind howled in his ears like a roaring beast. For a moment, he felt like Kaido practicing suicidal hobbies, choosing the most direct way to land.
BOOM!
As he hit the ground, Vito coated his body in Armament Haki. The impact left a human-shaped crater in the earth.
"Awoooo~"
Just as he rose to his feet, a wolf howled.
Vito looked up to see glowing green eyes scattered across the forest, he was surrounded by a pack.
"Great. A wolf pack. Now would be a good time for Conqueror's Haki, perfect for crowd control."
He had hoped to avoid combat to remain hidden, but the wolves began to circle closer, emboldened.
"Tch. What a pain…"
He dusted off the mud on his cloak, but in doing so, revealed the scent beneath. The pack leader sniffed, and instantly froze.
The scent of a red mammoth.
"Whiiiine~!"
Terrified by the aura of this terrifying bipedal beast, the wolf gave a startled yelp, not even a howl anymore. Realizing they'd picked the wrong target, the pack turned and fled into the woods.
…
With dawn breaking, Vito kept his life force suppressed as he foraged for food.
He figured most of the Kuja warriors likely hunted for rare beasts, but their daily sustenance probably came from the island's own ecosystem.
A quick scan of the area confirmed the island's rich natural resources.
"Maybe Kuja goes out to hunt strong beasts not just for survival, but for ecological balance, too?"
He made the bold assumption, snacked on some fruit, then ventured deeper into the jungle.
Amazon Lily wasn't called the Island of Nine Snakes just because the Kuja lived here. It was literally crawling with serpents.
As he pressed forward, something cold and slick slithered across the back of his neck.
Hissss…
He turned, and found a purple-banded snake staring back at him.
In his previous life, this would've triggered a laser-dodging panic sequence. But now, with his Devil Fruit ability protecting him, Vito just scanned the area calmly.
And what he saw made his scalp tingle.
Somehow, he'd wandered right into a massive nest.
Snakes were everywhere, on the trees, the ground, coiled in bushes. All of them had raised their upper bodies, tongues flickering menacingly.
"Damn… looks like I stepped into Orochimaru's basement."
With this many snakes, fighting wasn't an option. But if he wanted to leave? There was nothing stopping him.
Vito leapt skyward in a single bound, escaping the encirclement. The banded snake on his back was carried with him as he flew.
//----------------------------------------------------//
//--- Add to Collection!
//--- 150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter