LuHan

LuHan is the het ship between Monkey D. Luffy and Boa Hancock from the One Piece fandom.

Canon
Despite having only known each other for a relatively short time, Luffy and Boa Hancock are on very good terms and get on very well with each other. Hancock has developed a deep infatuation with Luffy to such a degree that she makes him, effectively, the centre of her world, doing everything she can to help him no matter how trivial. On her island, she rules over the Kuja Tribe and is the captain of the Kuja Pirates, both made up of exclusively women. As a result of her experiences with men, she continues to enforce the policy that no men be allowed on Amazon Lily, with the sole exception of Luffy.

The two first met when Luffy arrived on her island, Amazon Lily, after being sent there by Bartholomew Kuma. Luffy, after causing mayhem, was eventually captured upon meeting Hancock after falling into her personal bathhouse whilst she was bathing. Infuriated, Hancock had her sisters apprehend Luffy and have him summerly executed due to her deep hatred of men and for having seen the slave mark on her back. However, the execution, via combat, did not go as Hancock wished as Luffy proved himself to be a formidable individual who could keep her with her sisters. Eventually, the execution was called off when her sister, Boa Sandersonia, was about to have her slave mark revealed before Luffy intervened and covered it so the crowd would not see it. Although Hancock still held some animosity towards Luffy, she accepted that he was unique. After offering him the option of returning him to his crew, back on Sabaody Archipelago, or undoing the petrification she had placed on the three girls Luffy befriended on the island, she was stunned that Luffy chose the latter, shattering her belief that all men are selfish. In her bed chamber, she had Luffy summoned where she told him the story of how she got her slave mark from a Celestial Dragon and why it is she hates all men. After hearing Luffy had done the unthinkable and assaulted a Celestial Dragon, as well as for not looking down on her for having been a slave, she began to fall in love with him.

Hancock is overwhelmingly in love with Luffy. Normally a calm, stoic and intimidating woman, she loses all composure and sense when in Luffy’s presence, immediately dedicating all her attention to him. Despite being known as the Pirate Empress, and the Empress of her own kingdom, she does not enforce any kind of superiority onto Luffy. When talking to him she is perpetually blushing and easily becomes nervous as soon as Luffy shows any kind of kindness towards her. Such is the case, that Luffy simply saying her name causes her to become flustered and amusingly believes that Luffy doing such a thing means they are married or engaged. When Luffy has hugged her, such as when she gave him the key to Ace’s seastone hand cuffs during the Battle of Marineford, she collapsed in shock and believed she had just been proposed to. Despite being a member of the Shichibukai, that are suppose to be allied to the World Government, she openly aided Luffy’s attempts to free Ace even though she was summoned to prevent the exact opposite. She also openly declared her love for Luffy in front of marine troops, including Smoker. This could have had severe consequences for Amazon Lily as the World Government may have stripped her status as a Shichibukai and thereby nullify Amazon Lily’s protection status from the Marines.

She cares for Luffy a great deal and will do everything in her power, both as a Shichibukai and an Empress, to help him. She willingly answered the call by the Marines to face the Whiteboard Pirates at Marineford strictly so she could help Luffy infiltrate Impel Down to rescue Ace. With Luffy having failed to rescue Ace, he travelled to Marineford to save him from his execution and was aided constantly by Hancock. At one point, when Luffy was pinned down by Smoker, Hancock immediately intervened and kicked the Marine officer away, expressing great fury for his actions and was intent on killing him. Following the Battle of Marineford, with Luffy being severely injured and in a mental break down over the loss of Ace, Hancock allowed him to stay and recover on Amazon Lily to keep him hidden from the Marines. During this time, Hancock was distraught at Luffy’s dire situation and was refusing to eat due to her grief. Eventually, once Luffy recovered and had come to terms with Ace’s death she was overjoyed and arrived to bring him a large cargo full of food. When Silvers Rayleigh proposed to train Luffy for two years and said she could not bring him food everyday she became furious but relented when he told her it was for Luffy’s benefit. Following the time skip, Hancock personally transported Luffy to Sabaody Archipelago so he could return to his crew and before seeing him off, gave him a comically large bag filled with various medicines, clothes, equipment and food. As he left Sabaody with his crew, she defended him from the pursuing Marines.

Luffy is extremely grateful for everything Hancock does for him. Initially, Luffy held Hancock in poor regard for her actions against Marguerite, Aphelandra and Sweet Pea, the three girls he had befriended when he arrived on the island. He openly insulted her, much to her shock and the chagrin of the crowd. Nonetheless, when Hancock gave him the option to save the three girls he immediately accepted and started to think positively of her. After hearing the atrocities she experienced as a child, he empathised with her and expressed his own disdain for the Celestial Dragons. Throughout his time with Hancock, he grew to have great appreciation for her and thought of her as a great person and a great friend. When facing Magellan in Impel Down, he refused to reveal that Hancock helped him infiltrate the prison, stating he would rather die. He spoke highly of her to his crew when he reunited with them, with a few them being surprised that he had developed a friendship with the infamous Pirate Empress.

Although Hancock loves him, Luffy does not return the feeling at all and has turned down Hancock’s marriage proposals at least two times. However, he appears to not be aware that she has these feelings for him due to his oblivious nature and instead, states that he would like to see her again.

After Hancock lost her Shichibukai title due to Crocodile and Doflamingo as well the invasion of Amazon Lily by the Blackbeard Pirates and Marines, Hancock decided to leave her home and reunite with Luffy to avoid the World Government.

Fanon
LuHan is one of the most popular ships among the entire One Piece fandom due to one of the characters, Hancock, having feelings for the other, a rare thing in the series. Its rival ship is LuNami. Most of the people who enjoy the Luffy x Hancock pairing also ship ZoRobin and SaNami.

LuNa shippers, or non-shippers, tend to criticise this pairing due to the severe age difference, with Luffy having been 17 years old at the time Hancock, who was 29, fell in love with him. Following the time skip, Luffy is now 19 years old and Hancock is 31. Another criticism is the lack of real substance between the pair, with the affection coming from Hancock being strictly for comic relief.

Supporters of the ship point to the fact that Hancock has actual feelings for Luffy, that she is a Pirate Empress who also has Conqueror Haki like Luffy, and thus is suitable to marry the future Pirate King, and played a major role in the events leading up to, and during, the Marineford Arc.

Fandom

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