When Hancock was twelve years old, she and her sisters were included into the Kuja pirate crew and were sailing on their ship, when suddenly, they were captured by slavers and sold to the Tenryubito. During her time as a slave, Hancock was fed the Mero Mero no Mi to entertain her captors. The three suffered the greatest horrors imaginable, until four years later, a man by the name of Fisher Tiger appeared and while his goal was simply the liberation of the fishman slaves, he freed as many as he could without discrimination.