On the roof of the Baratie,
"I can hear you, Leo, I can hear you!" Lena grabbed Leo's shoulders, her fingers digging in tightly as the corners of her eyes twitched involuntarily.
"Okay, okay..." The hot breath close to her face washed over Leo, and he immediately chuckled and raised his hands.
Stare—
Lena glared at Leo, then let go of her shoulders, causing Leo to let out a sigh of relief.
An angry Lena was still terrifying...
"Why don't you go down and cut them up right now?" Lena asked Leo after her anger subsided.
"Wait a minute." Leo's expression turned somewhat solemn.
If things went according to plan, Mihawk was about to make his entrance. Going down now might lead to a run-in with Mihawk, and catching his attention was not a good thing.
Besides, down below was the Straw Hats' home turf. Seeing this anime plot unfold right before his eyes was somewhat thrilling, so he wouldn't go down and ruin the story.
He would just wait until Mihawk left, and then go down and finish them off.
"Fine." Lena suppressed the surging excitement in her heart.
After all, who could watch thirty million berries parading around right in front of them and not feel tempted?
Once they claimed that thirty million, their pockets would be bulging. So now it was time to consider a question:
How should they spend the money?
Buy some clothes or some cosmetics, ugh...
What a headache.
Lena fell into a blissful dilemma. Just as she was about to let her imagination run wild, a sharp sword aura instantly snapped her back to reality.
Whoosh!
That massive warship was suddenly cleaved straight down the middle, and the seawater violently churned, causing the Baratie to rock up and down.
Everyone present had their attention drawn to the sight, turning to look with expressions of horror.
"What happened?"
"The—the ship has been split in two?!"
"Our ship!"
"It's that monster! That monster hasn't let us go yet!"
"We're dead!"
...
Amidst the commotion, a coffin-shaped boat slowly emerged from the middle of the broken ship.
With his signature sharp eyes, short stubble, a black top hat adorned with white fluff, a burgundy patterned shirt, a black trench coat, white trousers, black short boots, a crucifix pendant hanging at his chest, and carrying the world's strongest Black Blade—Yoru—upon his back, he was none other than:
—One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the World's Greatest Swordsman, "Hawk-Eye" Dracule Mihawk!
"H-How is that possible?!" Lena immediately covered her mouth, nearly crying out in a gasp, her eyes filled with utter shock.
"Why, why is someone like this appearing in East Blue?!"
As someone who had spent time kicking around the Grand Line, she naturally knew about those big shots and thus understood how terrifying they were.
They were catastrophic existences even in the Grand Line, let alone appearing in East Blue, a place known as the "Weakest Sea."
Did monsters like to bunch up in East Blue?
Lena could neither laugh nor cry. She had fled all the way to East Blue, so why was she still facing a monster like this?
She remembered when she first arrived in East Blue, she had almost been hacked to death by the guy standing right next to her...
He was a monster, too.
Lena turned her head to look at Leo, her lips pressed together slightly.
So this was the World's Greatest Swordsman; he was truly strong.
Leo's expression was solemn as his hand unconsciously moved to the hilt of his sword, which was wrapped in thick layers of paper. Perhaps this could bring him a sense of security.
Noticing Lena's gaze, he turned his head, locked eyes with her, and then looked away.
The two of them tacitly remained silent, staying quietly in place. Mihawk did not notice their presence,
so as long as they waited for him to leave, they would be fine.
Both of them thought the same thing at the same time.
...
On the shattered deck, Zoro stepped out from among the rabble of pirate foot soldiers, his eyes brimming with unmistakable excitement. He said to Mihawk, "I set out to sea for your sake!"
"To what end?"
"To be the strongest!"
With that, he tied his dark green bandana around his head and wore a confident smile on his face: "You've got nothing better to do, haven't you? How about a match?"
"Pitiful weakling."
Mihawk slowly stepped onto the deck, lowering his voice as he walked: "If you were truly a first-rate swordsman, you would see the gap between us without needing to cross swords. Is the courage to bare your blades against me a product of your willpower, or simply the ignorance of the weak?"
Faced with Mihawk's intensely piercing gaze, Zoro showed no fear whatsoever, drawing the three swords at his waist: "Because of my ambition, and a promise I made to a dear friend."
Then Mihawk's actions left him dumbfounded. Mihawk reached for the small pendant at his chest, unclipped it, and pulled out a knife the size of a finger, presenting it to everyone.
Zoro bit down on the Wado Ichimonji and asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"
Mihawk shrugged helplessly, looking troubled: "Unlike you foolish beasts who use all your strength just to chase a rabbit, unfortunately, I don't happen to carry a smaller blade than this."
Hot-headed and full of youthful vigor, Zoro couldn't stomach such sarcasm and immediately lunged forward: "Don't regret it if you die!"
Faced with the menacingly charging Zoro, Mihawk couldn't muster the slightest bit of interest, and said indifferently, "A frog at the bottom of a well. Let me show you just how big the world really is."
"Demon... Slash!!"
Clang!
A tiny pocket knife precisely intercepted the intersection of Zoro's three blades, unable to be pushed an inch further.
Hiss...
"So showy!" Leo drew in a sharp breath, his eyes wide open.
This move of using a tiny knife to block a giant sword was truly flashy; his cool factor had gone up by countless levels.
Those who didn't understand Mihawk suddenly realized just how cool he was!
Truly, in the 18 years since Leo had transmigrated, he had never seen anyone who knew how to show off better than this guy. When it came to the Dao of flexing, Leo firmly believed no one could rival him.
This scene planted a seed in Leo's heart... the idea of practicing with a tiny knife.
Yet Leo's shock did nothing to diminish Mihawk's trifling with Zoro. Every time Zoro swung with a heavy slash, Mihawk easily parried it with his tiny blade, and with nothing more than defensive strokes, he batted Zoro flying.
Then Zoro launched into a flashback: <The dream of the World's Greatest Swordsman>, <Making my name echo even in heaven>...
As Zoro was reminiscing, Mihawk posed the ultimate question: "What are you carrying on your back? And what do you hope to achieve by growing stronger? You powerless weakling."
Stunned...
With a flick of his blade, Zoro was sent flying backward. Barely a second after hitting the ground, he immediately scrambled back up and assumed an offensive stance:
"Tiger Hunt!"
Squelch!
"Why didn't you dodge?" Mihawk asked.
Drip, drop...
Blood pooled into a small puddle at Zoro's feet. Even so, he showed no fear, explaining: "As for that, I don't know myself. I just feel that if I back down right here, those oaths and promises I've always cherished, along with so many other things, will be destroyed, and I'll never be able to return to this place."
"Is that so? Then that is defeat." Mihawk stated bluntly.
"If that's the case, then I have even less reason to back down."
"Even if it means death?"
"Death would be a relief!" A fierce grin pulled at the corners of Zoro's slash-scarred mouth.
Mihawk's expression shifted slightly, his gaze slowly turning solemn. He put away the small knife and stepped back a few paces: "Boy, state your name."
"Roronoa Zoro."
Mihawk reached behind his back, took down the Black Blade, and said in a booming voice: "I will remember you, warrior whom I haven't seen in a long time. With the courtesy of a swordsman, I will end your life using this, the world's strongest Black Blade."
Zoro gritted his teeth, pouring every last ounce of his remaining strength into his ultimate technique: "Three Thousand Worlds!!!"
A flash of motion, their positions swapped!
Clang!
Blade fragments scattered as Zoro collapsed to his knees, covered in blood, his head hanging low as if lost in thought—his confidence must have been shattered.
Mihawk spun around, brandishing the Black Blade, preparing to deliver the final blow to this warrior.
Yet at that moment, Zoro actually stood straight back up, meeting Mihawk's slash head-on, baring his bloodstained teeth: "A wound on the back is a swordsman's shame."
Mihawk's smile could no longer be contained: "You've got guts."
Bang!
Thud!
Zoro was sent flying backward into the sea.
The crowd cried out in alarm, frantically jumping into the water to fish Zoro out.
Mihawk paid them no mind. His eyes turned toward the roof of the Baratie, only to find it completely empty.
Leo and Lena were hiding behind a raised wooden panel, which happened to completely obscure their figures.
Lena took a deep breath: "Did he find us?"
"No."
"Then why did he look over here?"
"His eyes got sore from fighting too long, so he was gazing into the distance."
"Do you believe that?"
"...No."
Whoosh!
The slash arrived on cue.