Uchiha Xin still didn't let go.
Hancock bit her lip hard, her eyes freezing with pride, anger, and struggle.
She kept this secret for many years.
This is proof that she was a slave of the Celestial Dragons.
It was also the stain she least wanted others to see in her life.
Whether she became Pirate Empress or a Shichibukai, she did everything she could to conceal this mark.
But now, the thing I feared most has happened.
Uchiha Xin saw it.
He saw evidence that she had once been trampled underfoot by the Celestial Dragons.
I saw the humiliation she could never erase.
Hancock dared not struggle any longer.
She also dared not meet Uchiha Xin's gaze.
It was as if all pride had been stripped away at this moment, and even the last layer of concealment had been completely torn away.
She was convinced that her biggest stain had been discovered.
The arrogant Pirate Empress will completely lose face.
Despair completely enveloped her.
Hancock dared not struggle any longer.
She also dared to meet Uchiha Xin's gaze.
It was as if all pride had been stripped away at this moment, and even the last layer of concealment had been completely torn away.
She was convinced that her biggest stain had been discovered.
The arrogant Pirate Empress will completely lose face.
Despair completely enveloped her.
"I... am I ugly?"
Hancock's voice trembled.
"Bearing this mark, I am nothing but a lowly slave."
Uchiha Xin did not answer.
Hancock closed her eyes, her body trembling slightly.
She can withstand the pursuit of the navy, the covetousness of pirates, and the fear of the outside world.
This one mark, however, she didn't want anyone to see.
That experience of being enslaved by the Celestial Dragons was a nightmare she never wanted to relive.
She was once imprisoned in the Holy Land Mary Geoise, where she was selected like cargo.
She was once forced to kneel at the feet of the Celestial Dragons.
She was once branded with the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon.
After becoming Pirate Empress, she did everything she could to cover her back so that no one could see it.
But now, Uchiha Xin has seen it.
And it's clearly visible.
"Say something."
Hancock's voice grew softer and softer.
Do you also think I am lowly?
Uchiha Xin released her wrist, but did not immediately let go of the arm around her waist.
Hancock swayed and almost fell.
She didn't take the opportunity to escape; instead, she lowered her head and waited for the answer she least wanted to hear.
The next moment, Uchiha Xin raised his hand.
A deep blue light shimmered in my eyes.
His gaze pierced through the surface, seeing the mark on Hancock's back and the power hidden beneath that mark.
That's not a beautiful stain.
Rather, it is a humiliating mark forcibly left by the world.
Hancock's appearance, figure, and temperament remained completely unaffected.
She remains the most beautiful woman in the Pirate King world.
Because of that experience, her pride and strength became even more unique.
Uchiha Xin did not show any disdain.
There was no mockery.
He only looked at it for a moment, then his eyes showed a hint of admiration.
What are you afraid of?
Hancock looked up abruptly.
"Didn't you see the mark on my back?"
"I saw it."
"Then don't you think I'm ugly?"
Uchiha Xin smiled calmly.
"That kind of thing is not worthy of tainting your beauty."
Hancock was stunned.
She hadn't expected to hear that answer.
Uchiha Xin continued:
" The Hoof of the Soaring Dragon is merely a mark left behind by the Celestial Dragons."
It doesn't represent your identity, nor does it determine your worth.
You have no right to change my judgment of you.
Hancock stared at him blankly.
These words are not complicated.
But she waited for many years, and no one ever told her that.
She couldn't believe it.
"Do you really think so?"
I have no reason to lie to you.
"But I am a slave."
That's in the past.
"I bear the mark of Celestial Dragons on my back."
"Just a mark."
"I was once..."
Hancock's voice stopped.
She didn't continue.
Uchiha Xin didn't press the matter further.
He raised his hand and pressed it against the mark.
Hancock froze, her face turning pale again.
"What are you up to?"
"Remove it."
"Remove it?"
"Haven't you always wanted to get rid of it?"
Hancock's breath hitched.
She initially thought Uchiha Xin was just trying to comfort herself.
But his palm had already landed on the mark.
The next moment, a deep blue light spread from his eyes.
A force entered Hancock's body, slowly covering the brand on her back.
The bright red Hoof of the Soaring Dragon seemed to have been peeled off its skin by an invisible force.
Hancock felt no pain.
Only a heavy feeling that had been pressing down on my heart for many years began to disappear rapidly.
She tried to turn around to look, but Uchiha Xin grabbed her shoulder.
"Don't move."
"Can it really disappear?"
"See for yourself."
Uchiha Xin released his grip.
Hancock immediately turned around and grabbed the mirror next to her.
The mirror reflected her back.
The once bright red, dazzling Hoof of the Soaring Dragon was gone.
Fair and flawless skin.
There were no marks.
There is no mark.
There wasn't a single stain left.
Hancock's finger stopped on the mirror.
She couldn't believe her eyes.
"Disappeared?"
She put down the mirror and turned around.
His back was completely smooth.
She picked up the mirror again and examined herself repeatedly from different angles.
No.
There was nothing there.
The mark that had tormented her for years had truly disappeared.
"Elder sister?"
Sandersonia's voice came from the cabin door.
She and Marigold stayed there.
They only heard bits and pieces of the conversation.
Seeing Hancock's actions, the two couldn't help but approach her.
"Sister, your back..."
Sandersonia saw the image in the mirror and immediately stopped talking.
Marigold's eyes widened as well.
"Where has the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon gone?"
Hancock turned to look at them.
"Really gone?"
Sandersonia strode forward.
She looked at it several times, but still couldn't find the mark.
"There is none left."
Marigold reached out and touched Hancock's back.
There were no abnormalities beneath the smooth skin.
"There really aren't any left!"
The two sisters exchanged a glance, their eyes simultaneously reddening.
Hancock, however, seemed not to hear them.
She stared at herself in the mirror, her fingers slowly tracing her back.
In the past, she would always deliberately avoid this spot when looking in the mirror.
Now, she can finally see her own back from the front.
There were no traces of the Celestial Dragons there.
There is no proof of slavery.
There was no trace of that humiliation.
Hancock's body began to tremble.
The next moment, tears slid down her cheeks.
She immediately raised her hand to wipe it off, but she couldn't get it clean no matter what she did.
After becoming the Empress of Amazon Lily, she never shed a tear in front of outsiders.
Even in the face of death, she maintained the pride of Pirate Empress.
But this time, she couldn't control herself anymore.
"It's really gone."
Hancock said in a low voice.
"I am finally free of that mark."
Sandersonia went up and hugged her.