After sailing for nearly a month, the Nebula was nearing the Sabaody Archipelago. They had passed by Water Seven, a city from the story, but Li Xing didn't encounter Franky. However, he did see some members of CP9.
Li Xing wasn't very lucky; he didn't reach Skypiea or encounter the Thriller Bark. He had originally wanted to tease Perona, but unfortunately, that didn't happen.
As they approached the Sabaody Archipelago, a red pirate ship encountered the Nebula.
It was the ship of the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The ship was pulled by two large snakes, which was also why the Kuja Pirates could sail in the Calm Belt.
"Li Xing, it seems we've encountered that Pirate Empress," Yugimura said eagerly, wanting to see what someone who could compare to Kaguya looked like.
"Don't be rash. I personally quite like this Empress. Let's not start a fight," Li Xing told everyone to calm down, preventing an immediate conflict.
"I think you like her because she's the most beautiful woman in the world! Honestly, why can't you ever be content?" Tsunade tapped Li Xing's forehead, her tone filled with helplessness.
Li Xing smiled awkwardly. His liking for her was from watching the show before, which was very different from romantic feelings.
"Who placed small animals beneath my feet!"
The Empress emerged haughtily and kicked a small cat on the deck away. A female subordinate picked up the cat and quickly apologized. This was a regular occurrence; she always kicked a cat when she appeared.
Behind the Empress followed a python, her pet, Salome. Further behind were two shapely snake women, who were actually humans who had eaten the Snake-Snake Fruit, the Empress's sisters.
"Pirate crew ahead, I've heard there is a goddess aboard your ship. Do you still think so in front of me?" The Empress pointed a finger at the Nebula, looking up at the sky, and spoke to Li Xing and the others using her chest.
Li Xing pulled Kaguya to the front. "Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock. I am Li Xing, the captain of this ship, and the wives of my crew. In my heart, they are always the most beautiful. Even you pale in comparison to them!"
Hearing this, the Empress finally looked directly at Li Xing. She was indeed very handsome. But how could Li Xing say she was inferior to his wives? The title of the most beautiful woman in the world was proof enough.
Then, the Empress looked at the others and was inwardly shocked. They were all rare beauties. The white-haired, white-eyed woman at the front possessed a natural goddess aura. However, the Empress would not admit defeat and then looked back at Li Xing.
"Now that you've seen my face, do you still think that? I am the most beautiful woman in the world~ Don't you have any feelings for me?"
Li Xing shook his head and said, "Hancock, you are indeed beautiful. Your hime-cut hairstyle adds a princess-like aura, and your alluring figure can certainly pique a man's interest. However, I love my wives beside me more. They are the women who will accompany me through life, and they are the most beautiful."
Li Xing's words were very clever. He first praised the Empress's beauty, then spoke of his wives, effectively implying that all his wives were more beautiful than her. This made his wives a little embarrassed.
"Just a mere man! Stop spouting nonsense here!"
"Mero Mero Mellow!"
Li Xing's belittling of her angered the Empress. She immediately used her Devil Fruit ability, intending to petrify Li Xing.
"Shinra Tensei!"
With just a glance from Li Xing, the Devil Fruit ability the Empress had fired was reflected back and hit her two sisters directly behind her.
"Useless, Hancock. I can reflect even light. I've evolved!" Li Xing said with a wicked smile.
The Empress reacted quickly. After accidentally petrifying her sisters, she immediately de-petrified them. Her sisters also heard Li Xing's words.
"You hateful man! How dare you disrespect my elder sister!"
"And you dare to call my elder sister by her name!"
The two sisters immediately turned into snakes and attempted a fatal blow on Li Xing.
"I not only dare to call Hancock by her name, but I also dare to touch her!" Li Xing said with a wicked smile, knocking them both away with two punches. He then instantly appeared behind the Empress.
"Perfume Femur!"
The Empress was shocked and turned to kick him, but Li Xing caught her leg with one hand.
"What beautiful legs! It's a shame not to get a tattoo, especially on your back..." Li Xing caressed the Empress's long legs with one hand, deliberately provoking her and touching upon her past experiences.
"You! You bastard! Unforgivable!" The Empress's beautiful face contorted into a ferocious expression when Li Xing hit a sensitive spot. Anyone who knew this secret deserved to die.
"Blood Demon Art: Space Cage!"
Li Xing let go of the Empress's leg and directly sealed all three of them in place. He then looked at Hong, who immediately cast an illusion on all the members of the Kuja Pirates, causing them to faint. Only the three sisters remained conscious.
"Who... who are you? What do you want?"
Li Xing didn't answer. Instead, he stripped off the Empress's clothes, revealing the Flying Dragon's Hoof mark on her back to everyone, or rather, to the members of the Nebula Pirates.
"Li Xing! What are you doing! If you want someone, you can find us! You bastard!" Tsunade roared from the deck. Could it be that he had actually fallen for this Pirate Empress?
"Lady Tsunade, please calm down. I believe Li Xing-kun is not that kind of person," Shizune said, holding Tsunade back. Otherwise, with Tsunade's temper, she would definitely rush forward and punch Li Xing.
"Shizune, you spoil him too much!"
"Tsunade, I also think Li Xing is not that kind of person. Let's just watch quietly from the side," Mei Terumi also spoke up, advising Tsunade not to be angry. Although Li Xing could be quite lecherous at times, he would never force a woman. After all, Li Xing had kissed her before because she herself had said he couldn't resist, and he had taken her seriously. One couldn't blame others.
The Empress, unable to move, began to cry. She couldn't bear such humiliation and told Li Xing to kill her.
"Indeed, not a good thing. I also dislike this mark. Since I've encountered it today, let's consider it fulfilling a past dream."
Li Xing looked at the Empress's back and said something incomprehensible, then wiped away her tears.
"Stop crying. If you cry, you won't be the most beautiful woman in the world anymore."
As Li Xing wiped away the Empress's tears, a warm current surged out and flowed through her body. The Flying Dragon's Hoof on her back slowly disappeared, and the Empress's body began to evolve.
Li Xing had previously used this method to heal Karin's body. The bite marks on his hand were not suitable for Karin, and the Empress was in a similar situation now.
Li Xing directly evolved the Empress's body, equivalent to a rebirth. Her skin returned to being as smooth and tender as a newborn baby's.
After covering the Empress with clothes, Li Xing also removed the Flying Dragon's Hoof from Sandersonia and Marigold. They also returned to their original appearance, no longer having human heads and snake bodies. However, they could still transform into snakes at any time.
Having finished this, Li Xing smiled and released the three women from the confinement. The Empress was about to kick him, but her two sisters stopped her. They had been behind the Empress and had witnessed everything. Li Xing was a benefactor, no less than the person from years ago.
"Are you telling the truth?" The Empress was stunned. Was such a thing possible? She then looked at her sisters' backs; the marks were indeed gone. Finally, she took out a mirror and looked at her own back. It was flawless, like a newborn child's. The Empress immediately collapsed onto the deck, unable to help but cry again. This time, it was tears of joy.
"Hancock, you look truly ugly when you cry, which is why I said my wives are the most beautiful." Seeing the Empress cry again, Li Xing immediately spoke, trying to provoke her and make her stop.
The Empress immediately stopped crying and stood up, smiling. "You are the first man to dare to call me ugly. Why don't you visit our Kuja Island, and I'll show you my beauty!"
(Hime-cut hairstyle is a princess hairstyle from the Heian period of Japan. Only the Empress in the entire One Piece series has it. For specific references, you can look at Hinata, Shion from Naruto; Akame, Hibiki Sakuraba from Akame ga Kill; Mirai Kuriyama from Kyoukai no Kanata; and Yoshino Mikoto from Date A Live.)