With that thought, everything suddenly clicked into place for Chenos.
All the attacks he'd absorbed before had been force-based.
The impact of bullets.
The kinetic force from strikes.
Those attacks hadn't actually injured him—they were intercepted before damage was done, then absorbed as pure energy and stored inside his body.
But what he'd just absorbed from Hancock was different.
Those whip wounds had already happened.
They were physical, tangible injuries—damage that had already taken form.
Intangible damage—force, impact, shock—could be stored inside him as energy.
But tangible damage—already-formed wounds—had nowhere to go.
So when he absorbed them, they manifested directly on his own body.
Understanding this, Chenos's eyes lit up.
If he couldn't absorb tangible injuries directly into himself…
Then why not create something to hold them?
An absorption sphere.
If he could draw the injury into a separate container—an absorption "ball"—and keep it from touching himself, then he could store tangible damage without hurting his own body.
Better yet—
He could throw that sphere at an enemy.
Not only would that avoid self-harm, it would turn absorbed injuries into a ranged attack.
And if used properly…
It could be devastating.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
Developing Devil Fruit abilities wasn't just useful—it was fascinating.
Now that the idea was clear, all that remained was execution.
Chenos stepped back over to Hancock and gently placed his hand on her arm again.
Hancock instantly flushed.
"C-Chenos… you're doing it again…!"
Chenos ignored the embarrassment and focused.
This time, he didn't let the absorption ability attach directly to the wound.
Instead, he concentrated—splitting off a portion of the absorption power from his body.
The energy gathered in his palm, denser and denser, until it began to sink downward—like a drop of water forming at the edge of a fingertip.
Slowly… carefully…
The "droplet" detached.
Plip.
A tiny absorption sphere formed.
What surprised Chenos was that even though the sphere had separated from his body, he could still control it—just like moving his own fingers.
He guided the sphere toward Hancock's wound.
It touched gently.
The absorption sphere wrapped around the injury automatically, just like a hand gripping something solid.
Chenos felt it clearly—one thought was all it would take.
"Absorb."
In an instant, the whip mark on Hancock's arm vanished.
At the same time, a thin crimson line appeared on the absorption sphere.
It worked!
Chenos clenched his fist in excitement—but he didn't stop.
Hancock still had many more wounds.
Carefully, he guided the sphere across her body, absorbing each lash mark one by one. Only after the final wound disappeared did he finally relax.
Hancock watched him in silence the entire time.
She didn't dare interrupt.
But as she looked at his focused expression… the careful movements… the sweat beading on his forehead…
Her heart softened completely.
At first, her feelings for Chenos had been gratitude—and a vague, fluttering fondness.
But now—
Watching him work so hard just to heal her…
Love quietly took root.
If I could marry someone like Chenos… someone strong and gentle… that doesn't sound bad at all…
Marry?
…Huh?
Realizing what she'd just thought, Hancock's face went scarlet. She cupped her burning cheeks with both hands and quickly turned her back to Chenos.
"What am I even thinking…?!"
Her sudden movement caught Chenos's attention.
"Hancock? Are you okay?"
Too embarrassed to face him, Hancock waved her arm behind her frantically.
"I-I'm fine! You—don't come closer!!!"
In her panic, her hand accidentally struck Chenos's arm—
Right where he was controlling the absorption sphere.
The sphere was knocked off course.
Straight into Chenos.
Chenos's eyes widened.
By the time he reacted, it was already too late.
Pop pop pop—!
More than ten wounds exploded across his body at once.
Blood sprayed instantly.
Every single whip injury Hancock had suffered manifested on Chenos's body all at once. The pain multiplied violently, slamming into his nerves like a tidal wave.
"AAAH—!"
"Chenos?! What happened?!"
"Chenos, are you okay?!"
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Chenos, please don't die—don't scare me!!!"
Chenos was instantly drenched in blood. His flesh was torn open in multiple places, blood pouring out so fast it terrified Hancock. She thought he was dying.
She grabbed him and shook him desperately.
"…"
Chenos tried to speak—
And spat out a mouthful of blood.
Hancock's two sisters rushed over and grabbed her arms.
"Sister! He was fine before—but if you keep shaking him like that, he really will be in trouble!"
Chenos couldn't even speak anymore. He could only look at the sisters with pure gratitude.
Hancock froze.
Terrified, she quickly let go.
Thud.
Chenos, still midair, stared at Hancock in disbelief—
Then crashed hard onto the stone floor.
The open wounds slammed against the ground.
Chenos's eyes bulged like a fish, his face twisting grotesquely as pain nearly knocked him unconscious.
Hancock rushed forward again—
Only to see Chenos shakily raise a hand, stopping her.
"I—I'm fine… I'll get up myself…!"
Hancock crouched nearby, not daring to touch him anymore. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
"This is all my fault…"
"If I weren't so useless… if I hadn't broken the plate… I wouldn't have been whipped…"
"And if I hadn't been whipped… you wouldn't have gotten hurt trying to heal me…"
"And if I weren't so stupid… you wouldn't have gotten hurt again…"
Her voice broke.
"It's all my fault…"
At that moment, Chenos slowly reached out and placed his hand on her head, gently patting it.
"Silly girl," he said hoarsely. "It's fine."
"Getting hurt like this just means I get more practice using my Devil Fruit, right?"
Hancock looked up at him, tears still clinging to her lashes.
Her lips trembled—
And she burst into even harder sobs.