Sudden Crisis ?!

Hancock silently looked in the direction of her vanquished foe while breathing heavily.

'That was closer than I wanted it to be. Because of its long limbs and speed, I was forced to abandon caution and fight up close. My haki protected my vitals, but it was still dangerous.'

Hancock's clothes were almost rags at this point. They were also stained with traces of her blood.

'That thing's defenses were no joke either. I had to use all of my haki to ensure it was down.'

She lightly stomped her feet.

"My legs are getting numb. Using two full-powered Perfume Femur Magna on two tough opponents back to back is taxing. I don't think I can use it again for the day with consequences."

Hancock placed her finger on her chin.

"Have I been too laxed on my training? I haven't really gotten that many chances to fight other than at Marineford. Could my slacking off resulted in me getting weaker?"

Hancock entered deep thought.

"Hancock! Hey, Hancock!"

Her body flinched. She turned around and saw Luffy walking towards her.

"Oh, Luffy!"

She ran and pounced on Luffy.

"I'm so glad you're alright."

She rubbed her cheek on his.

"Haha, I'm glad you're ok too. But it looks like the River Boss gave you a rough time."

Luffy looked at her clothes and wiped the small trail of blood running down her face.

"Don't worry, Luffy. It was a piece of cake."

Hancock was all smiles as Luffy was grinning at her.

A shadow cast over her face causing her to look to her side. There stood an 11-foot-tall Beast covered in white fur with a reptilian torso. It had a pair of black bull horns, gills on its neck, and a thick scorpion tail.

"......"

Hancock's eyes slowly widened at the sight of the beast.

"Lu—"

Her world was instantly darkened.

"....."

Hancock slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry and her ears were ringing. It took some time before her senses came back to her.

*Bam!*

An explosive sound forced her to sit up. She looked and saw a heavily wounded Luffy standing before her. He was in a fistfight with the monster who appeared earlier.

"Luffy!"

"Stay down, Hancock! He'll use his tail to attack you before you get up!"

Hancock's body froze. The monster glanced at her while trading blows with Luffy. His fur was stained with blood, but she can't tell if it was his or Luffy's.

'What's happening?'

She started remembering what happened before she passed out.

The monster appeared out of nowhere without either she or Luffy sensing it.

"Lu—"

In the middle of calling Luffy, Hancock noticed the monster was aiming to attack him. So she pulled him out of the way and threw him. The monster immediately turned its attack to her. It pierced her abdomen with its tail. However, she was able to step back before it could penetrate too deep. She readied herself to attack but was quickly robbed of her consciousness.

'Was I poisoned?'

She quickly checks the wound on her stomach. It was as big as her fist but wasn't deep. The wound w a bit dark but there were signs it was returning to normal.

"Damn you!"

Luffy hit the monster with a haki-coated fist. The monster stood its ground and hit him with an uppercut. Luffy stepped back and the monster stepped in. It swung its claws at Luffy's face.

"Slave Arrow!"

It moved back to avoid Hancock's arrow. It glared at her as she lay on the ground. Its body flickered. It popped up above Hancock thrusting its claws at her. She rolled out of the way.

"Grizzly Magnum!"

It was hit by a giant fist. Its feet skid on the ground.

"Gear Second!"

Luffy popped up in front of it with arms stretched behind him.

"Jet Bazooka!"

The monster was hit and blown away with a boom. Luffy grabbed Hancock and took off in the opposite direction.

"Luffy, what is that thing?!"

"I don't know! It's my first time seeing it!"

Luffy cut through the forest as fast as he could.

"Hancock, how's your wound?!"

"I'm fine. My body feels heavy and it's hard to move as I like but I can still be helpful."

"Good, because that guy isn't that far behind King. I'll need to use my Gear Fourth to beat it but I don't want to because I won't be able to move for 3 hours after it runs out."

"3 hours? That long?"

"At first I could only use it once a day, but Rayleigh said I need to cut the downtime to at least an hour before going to the New World. If it's an hour my friends should be able to protect me long enough to recover."

"So you want me to protect you when you can't move?"

Luffy shook his head.

"I'm not going to use it."

"But you said you'll need it to win."

"I promised Rayleigh that I'll only use Gear Fourth on King! If I can't beat everybody else without it then there's no use going to the New World! I'm going to keep that promise!"

"...."

Hancock looked at Luffy in silence. His face was overflowing with resolve. She smiled.

"Ok, we'll work together to beat him."

"That's the plan."

Hancock looked past Luffy and narrowed her eyes.

"Luffy!"

"I know!"

Luffy threw Hancock in the air and spun around. The monster was close behind him.

"Bring it!"

The monster grinned and threw a punch at Luffy. He blocked it with hardened hands. Hancock floated above them and blew a kiss while making a gun gesture with her fingers. A heart appeared at the tip of her index finger.

"Pistol Kiss!"

A pink bullet hit the monster and forced it to stumble back.

"Jet Whip!"

Luffy kicked it in the side. It broke through a tree. Hancock landed on a tree branch and formed dozens of hearts in front of her.

"Slave Arsenal!"

Pink bullets rained down on the beast. Its body flickered and it avoided her attack. It appeared in front of her.

"Red Hawk!"

Luffy hit it in the face with a flaming punch. It grabbed him while being forced away. It used him as a shield as it broke through several trees. The two hit the ground and bounced off it.

"Die!"

Hancock fell out of the air and buried it in the ground with a stomp. It grabbed her leg and slammed her onto the ground.

"Ugh?!"

All the air was forced out of her body. Luffy appeared above the monster.

"Jet Stamp Gatling!"

Luffy rained down a bombardment of stomps on the monster.

"Jet Lance!"

He thrust his feet like a spear. The monster rose and blocked it with its reptilian torso.

"What?!"

It grabbed Luffy's feet.

"Take your dirty paws off him!"

Hancock kicked the monster in the neck and blew its body away. It released Luffy and he landed beside her.

"Can you still fight Hancock?"

Luffy said as the monster slowly got its feet.

"Of course."

Hancock took a fighting stance beside Luffy.

"I can go on forever!"

Luffy grinned.

"That's great because me too!"

The monster showed the two a mocking grin as it spread its arms as if to taunt them.

"You bastard!"

The two rushed at it and it at them.

"You're going down!"