In the year 1511 of the Sea Calendar.
Rear Admiral Boa Hancock of Marine G-7 secretly resigned from the Marine ranks and returned to Amazon Lily, taking the position of Empress of Amazon Lily.
Immediately following this, she inherited the generations-old Kuja Pirates and formally became a glorious pirate.
Amazon Lily itself had a formidable heritage, with the entire nation possessing Haki—which was certainly no joke. As royalty, the secret training methods they possessed were naturally even more advanced.
Boa Hancock had also received the Paramecia-type Love-Love Fruit as a gift from Diarmuid. Combined with her peerless beauty and nation-toppling charm, the potential of this Devil Fruit was immeasurable.
Therefore, Hancock's Haki power, her combat skills inherited from Amazon Lily, and her Devil Fruit ability were all at their peak.
Having spent several years in the Marines, she had also learned some Marine techniques, such as Rokushiki.
With Gion's tutelage, even at only eighteen years old, Hancock was already very strong, certainly stronger than she was in the original story.
In the original story, Hancock's debut on the seas at age eighteen stunned the world. She single-handedly crushed a country, seizing all its wealth, thereby successfully completing her first 'Empress' Hunt.'
This also marked the re-entry of the veteran Kuja Pirates onto the world stage.
With the fame of the Kuja Pirates, her own beauty and strength, and her stunning debut, Hancock was invited by the World Government to join the Warlords of the Sea after her first voyage.
For the sake of Amazon Lily, she suppressed the hatred she held for the World Government and accepted the position of Warlord of the Sea.
This time, the situation was similar.
By the time Diarmuid reached the North Blue, Hancock had completed her 'Empress' Hunt.' It wasn't quite as wild as in the original story, where she took down an entire country.
However, she had conquered many pirates across the seas, including several with bounties exceeding 100 million Berries.
Furthermore, she had petrified an entire Marine fleet, including two Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals.
The power of the Paramecia-type Love-Love Fruit was simply unreasonable. Regardless of gender, age, or strength, as long as you felt attraction to Hancock or harbored any kind of desire toward her charm, her ability would take effect on you.
It was utterly ridiculous.
Thanks to this outstanding combat record, and with a nudge from Stussy's people in the CP organization, the World Government quickly noticed Hancock.
It was said that by the time Diarmuid arrived in the North Blue, the invitation for Hancock, the captain of the Kuja Pirates, to become a Warlord of the Sea had already been delivered to Amazon Lily.
Hancock accepted the invitation without hesitation.
Thus, the current Empress of Amazon Lily and Captain of the Kuja Pirates, Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, with a bounty of 230 million Berries, officially joined the Warlords of the Sea organization, becoming the fifth Warlord.
Before this, Boa Hancock was virtually unknown on the seas, with almost no one knowing of her existence.
Her rise to fame overnight and her ascendance to the Warlords of the Sea meant the title 'Pirate Empress' instantly spread throughout the entire world.
Big News Morgans' World Economy News Paper dedicated significant space to introducing the Kuja Pirates, who had been dormant for many years, and the coveted Maiden Island, Amazon Lily.
The sales of the newspapers containing these reports absolutely soared.
It wasn't that people were particularly interested in the Kuja Pirates or Amazon Lily.
It was Hancock's overwhelming beauty. The day her full-body photo in a Qipao appeared on the front page, the World Economy News Paper sold like crazy, requiring reprinting for several consecutive days.
Countless people bought the newspaper, completely ignoring the content, and simply cut out Hancock's picture for their collections.
Not only did the newspaper sell out, but the wanted posters of Hancock issued by Marine Headquarters were also in short supply. Even market vendors felt compelled to take one, solemnly swearing they would capture Hancock.
In reality, they just went home and plastered the wanted poster on their wall for continuous viewing, day and night.
In short, Hancock's debut at the beginning of 1511 set off a global frenzy. Her popularity that year was less like that of a pirate and more like a massive, newly emergent superstar.
Men, women, and children were all captivated by her beauty.
Soon after, in a poll conducted by the World Economy News Paper, Hancock won by an absolute majority, being publicly elected by people all over the world as the 'World's Most Beautiful Woman.'
Her popularity was explosive.
Of course, this was merely a beauty contest organized by the World Economy News Paper.
The World Government also held similar, more official beauty pageants. The 'World's Most Beautiful Woman' officially recognized by the World Government later on was actually Princess Shirahoshi of Fish-Man Island, who was only just born around this time.
But those contests were much more political, and generally, the public didn't pay much attention. Conversely, popular elections like the one run by the World Economy News Paper were more widely recognized and welcomed.
If Diarmuid remembered correctly, from the year Hancock turned eighteen, the Sea Calendar year 1511, she claimed the title of 'World's Most Beautiful Woman' and retained it for over ten years, with her position in the realm of beauty never being shaken, overwhelmingly beating out the competition every single year.
North Blue.
A large, standard Marine Headquarters warship. Diarmuid was sitting on a folding stool on the deck, fishing. The sea breeze billowed the Justice coat trailing behind him on the ground, making a whooshing sound.
Next to him, Hina was sitting cross-legged on the deck with a newspaper in hand. She showed no ladylike grace, wearing sunglasses and biting down on a half-burnt cigar.
Her long pink hair fluttered in the wind, and her delicate face was creased with a slight frown of annoyance.
"Admiral!" Hina suddenly called out.
Diarmuid stared motionlessly at his fishing rod. Without turning his head, he asked, "What is it?"
"If I sent my photo to the World Economy News Paper and participated in this beauty contest, could I beat Hancock?" Hina asked seriously, looking at the side of Diarmuid's face, extinguishing her cigar as she did so.
Diarmuid finally took his eyes off the fishing rod and looked at Hina, chuckling. "You don't look like a lady at all. I've never sat cross-legged on the deck like you. Good thing you're not wearing a skirt, or I'd be looking right up it..."
"What does being a lady matter? As long as I'm beautiful, that's enough, right?" Hina said uncaringly. She then took off her sunglasses, poked her own cheek, and asked again, "Admiral, look at my face. Where am I inferior to Hancock?"
Diarmuid rolled his eyes and complained, "Are you really that invested in this?"
Hina nodded seriously. "The World's Most Beautiful Woman! I think that title is even more appealing than the World's Strongest..."
"Maybe..." Diarmuid dismissed her helplessly.
"Who is more beautiful, seriously!?" Hina insisted.
"You are, you are. You, Hina-san, are the most beautiful in the world, alright?" Diarmuid replied with absolutely no sincerity.
Hina looked at Diarmuid angrily, then huffed in frustration. "Men are all unreliable creatures."
"Yes, yes, yes," Diarmuid continued to placate her, having no intention of arguing with this little girl.
Although Hina was now in her early twenties, Diarmuid still viewed her as a little girl.
Perhaps it was because Hina had been following him since her teens. In Diarmuid's eyes, Hina seemed to be perpetually a beautiful young woman.
After glaring at the newspaper in a huff for a while, Hina spoke as if nothing was wrong: "Sigh, to think, when Hancock first joined the Marines, I was already by your side, Admiral..."
Diarmuid slowly lit a cigar and bit down on it, completely ignoring her and refusing to engage with Hina's antics.
Seeing Diarmuid exhale a puff of smoke without intending to speak, Hina slightly raised her voice: "In the blink of an eye, Hancock is already a Marine Rear Admiral. Time truly flies..."
After saying this, Hina glanced at Diarmuid. Seeing that he remained unmoved, like a statue, she grew exasperated. She pretended to be surprised, grabbing the epaulet on her Justice coat, and asked in a puzzled tone, "Oh? Admiral, what's wrong with my epaulet?"
Diarmuid couldn't stand this drama queen anymore. He turned his head to look at her. "What's wrong? It looks fine, doesn't it? It's not damaged or frayed..."
"Look, how many stripes are there? Why am I only a Commodore?" Hina intentionally spoke in an exaggerated and incredulous tone.
Diarmuid rolled his eyes. "What in the world are you trying to say, little girl? What's wrong with Commodore? Commodore is good enough, alright?"
Hina heard this, put one hand on the deck for leverage, and immediately jumped up. She wrapped herself around Diarmuid in a lock, circling her forearm around the back of his neck from behind, pulling him backward. "You heartless wretch! I've been following you for seven, nearly eight years! I was the top student in my class at the Marine Academy! Bastille, who was the second-best student and graduated a year later than me, was promoted to Rear Admiral years ago! Seven years! My youth has been wasted on you, you good-for-nothing! Aren't you ashamed? Promote me to Rear Admiral now!"
With Hina hugging Diarmuid from behind and locking his neck, Diarmuid could naturally feel her good figure, but he was in no mood to appreciate it. Instead, he slapped Hina's arm and cursed, "Don't use misleading language like that! What 'youth'? Let go, let go, you lunatic! My fish! It took the bait!"
"If you don't give me an explanation today, I'll go down with you!!!" Hina roared. Whether intentional or not, her face pressed against the side of Diarmuid's cheek, right over his shoulder.
At that moment, they looked like a couple roughhousing.
Not far away, Vergo, who was sitting under the mast reading a book, glanced at the pair, and a faint smile even curved his lips, looking quite content.
Over the past few years, since Doflamingo hadn't planned on antagonizing the Marines, and the Marines hadn't bothered him much—in fact, both sides were tangled up in business—they mostly kept out of each other's way. Vergo naturally had no missions to execute.
After all these years, he sometimes wondered if he was a Marine or a pirate.
To call him a pirate, he had carried out Justice plenty of times, and his reputation in the Marines was quite good.
To call him a Marine, he was an infiltrator from the Donquixote Family. But frustratingly, he did nothing at all, which made the situation awkward.
Just then, a large fish suddenly leaped out of the water under Diarmuid's fishing rod, flipping and jumping in the air before falling back into the sea.
Instinctively, Diarmuid's eyes followed the fish's movement, tracking it from left to right.
This action required him to turn his head slightly.
Smack!
His lips met something soft, and a subtle floral fragrance filled his nostrils...
Both Hina and Diarmuid froze.
In the next instant, Hina's face turned beet red. She violently released Diarmuid, her expression a mix of shame and suppressed excitement. She drew the saber at her waist and yelled, "My first kiss! I'll kill you, you perverted old man!"
"Screw you, how is that my fault?" Diarmuid roared in return.