One Piece: The Mark on Boa Hancock’s Back Explained!

Boa Hancock is one of the most popular supporting characters in One Piece, mainly because of her very specific relationship with Luffy. Now, she has been featured as a main character during the events of Amazon Lily, but since then, her role in the series has been smaller, and while we have seen her in later chapters, she hasn’t played a big role in the series. Still, the popularity of Boa Hancock is such that the character is often talked about in the community, and in this article, we will explain the meaning behind the mark on her back.

Boa Hancock is considered to be one of the most beautiful female characters in the series

Among other things, one of the most important aspects of Boa Hancock’s story in One Piece is her appearance, as she has often used it to defeat her enemies. In that aspect, we must properly explain what she looks like, as that is undoubtedly an important aspect of this story and is relevant for understanding the whole story that we are trying to present to you in this article.

Boa Hancock is a very tall, slim woman with long black hair. She is very curvy and wears a red blouse that leaves much of her chest exposed and a long skirt decorated with the Kuja symbol in several places, showing off the pirate’s long and slender legs, a white cloak placed on her shoulders, and high-heeled red shoes. If she knows she has to fight, she wears a purple quipao. Hancock also always wears gold snake-shaped earrings and is always seen with her snake, Salome.

She is considered the most beautiful woman in the world, as both Margaret and Hannyabal confirm. The Risky brothers claim that her beauty is second only to that of the mermaids. Like her sisters, Hancock has branded the mark of the World Nobles, i.e., that of the slaves, branded on her back.

While she was escaping from Mary Geoise, she put on some rags and wore her hair in pigtails to camouflage herself and escape the town. As a child, her Hancock wore an untied top with a swirl pattern that exposed her midriff. Around her waist, she wore a lion’s skin instead.

So, as you can see, the mark on Boa’s back is tied to (a) the World Nobles and (b) her tragic past. Before we explain her past, we are just quickly going to remind you who the World Nobles are and why everyone hates them so much.

The World Nobles, also known as the Celestial Dragons, are descendants of 19 of the 20 founding Kings of the organization known as the World Government. Several of the One Piece series antagonists, such as the Five Elders, Don Quixote Doflamingo, or even the Celestial Dragons present in the Sabaody Archipelago, are part of this family of descendants. The Celestial Dragons are extremely powerful characters, although they rarely fight; their fighting skills are usually very debatable. But, they exercise their powers through political machinations and the authority they have, which is why they are so detested.

They are vile snobs who loathe all those they deem lesser than them, and they treat them like dirt, which is evident in more ways than one. They are also slave traders and openly trade people (and Fish-Men) during auctions, which is why Luffy also got in trouble with them. As you will see in the section below, Boa Hancock’s past is, sadly, related to them and this practice of theirs.

The mark on Boa’s back is a symbol of her tragic past

Twenty-two years before the narrative begins, Hancock tells the sisters that the great age of piracy had begun. Sandersonia asked her if it meant that anyone could become a pirate, so she replied that if they didn’t become stronger warriors, they couldn’t be pirates. While still young, Hancock and her sisters became strong enough to be selected into the crew of the Kuja Pirates.

Seventeen years before the beginning of the narrative, when she was twelve years old, the three were captured by some slave traders while on the Perfume Yuda and sold to the World Nobles, being branded with their symbol.

They were horribly mistreated by their masters and forced to ingest devil fruits to entertain them until, four years later, Fisher Tiger snuck into Marijoa and freed all the slaves. Hancock and her sisters arrived on the Sabaody Archipelago, where Gloriosa, Shakky, and Rayleigh helped them to return to their homeland. They managed to deceive the Kuja population about their powers and the marks imprinted on their backs, defining them as a curse resulting from the defeat of a gorgon.

Two years later, when Hancock turned eighteen, she was proclaimed empress of Amazon Lily, and she took command of the Kuja Pirates. During her first raid, which increased the fame of the crew, she managed to attract the attention of the World Government, who, realizing her immense potential, first placed a bounty of 80,000,000 Berrys on her head and then invited her to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Hancock agreed only to ensure immunity for her people.

Did Boa Hancock rise above her tragedy?

She did, and the rest of her story enables us to establish that. The World Government asks Hancock to travel to Marineford to witness the execution of the recently captured Ace. However, Hancock ignores the request, causing Vice Admiral Momonga to go to Amazon Lily to personally pick her up or to offer her the option of losing her status as a Shichibukai. This occurs shortly after Luffy defeats Saint Charlos and incites an attack by Marine Admiral Kizaru. But at his prodding, Hancock uses her abilities to terrify his team.

She ultimately returns to the Kuja village on Amazon Lily with her crew. Yet, while she takes a bath alone, she is startled by a male intruder who soon notices her mark on her back. While running from the other Kuja, Luffy enters and notices the mark on her back. Hancock finally stops him from fleeing with a Pistol Kiss so that he may be apprehended because he looks to be immune to her attack. Due to his transgression of accessing the island of ladies, Luffy is expected to perish in battle in the arena. But before fighting with Luffy, Hancock punishes those responsible for bringing him to the settlement in the first place. This leads to Boa falling in love with Hancock.

Hancock eventually becomes unwell while Luffy celebrates with the Kuja and is later escorted back to the castle by Marguerite. Gloriosa is called to check on Hancock, who is in bed with a fever. Shortly after, Enishida, her maid, informs Luffy that Hancock is a Shichibukai and that his brother Ace is set to be put to death. Gloriosa is familiar with the illness, whereas Belladonna is clueless about how to handle the symptoms. Lovesickness has struck Hancock, and Gloriosa thinks that it has previously struck and murdered some of Hancock’s forebears.

Gloriosa could only recover from this condition by leaving the island. Hancock is in excruciating pain as a result of the disease. Still, Gloriosa persuades her to listen to Luffy once again after telling her to follow the Pirate Emperor’s orders to follow the draft to Marineford but beg for a detour to Impel Down so that she may sneak him into the prison. Hancock’s sisters interrupt the debate to defend their older sister, but Hancock agrees to follow Luffy’s instructions.

Hancock conceals Luffy under her robe as she smuggles him onboard Momonga’s ship. She keeps the ship’s crew busy on the voyage to Impel Down so that her Luffy can eat properly.

She is relieved when Luffy finally shows up, and from that point on, she makes every effort to aid him in releasing Ace. So, when Smoker attacks her lover, she angrily steps in and uses her haki to push the flotilla admiral aside. Later, she hands Luffy the key that releases Ace from his Seastone handcuffs while keeping an eye on his back while Smoker retaliates. She is also present when two Pacifista attack Luffy later. She defends herself against him and his two assailants, who cease their assaults after realizing Hancock is an ally.

Sentomaru steps in as a result of the fact that she incapacitates a number of the Pacifista. Even after Kurohige and his pirate gang arrive, she survives the battle in which both Ace and Shirohige perish and which concludes with the appearance of Shanks and his pirate gang without suffering any injuries, so she quickly becomes a naval warship hijacked to rush after her Luffy along with Emporio Ivankov and the Newkamas, who is saved and treated by Trafalgar Law and the Heart Pirates.

She can locate the Heart Pirates’ submersible and bring them to the surface with Salome’s assistance. She worries for Luffy, who she assumes has given up on life after the passing of his brother, on the submarine’s deck. She and Jinbei intend to take the Heart Pirates to Amazon Lily, where she wants to hide Luffy because she knows that the World Government will pursue him if they learn he is still alive.

When the Seven Warlords were abolished, Boa, who had survived these incidents, was stripped of her title. Later, she was simultaneously attacked by two of the Seraphim and Blackbeard, but Rayleigh saved her. Boa claimed that despite being saved, she now understood that she wouldn’t be safe until the World Government was overthrown. This is how the story left her—alive and healthy.

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