"What am I doing? I'm working, of course!" Nami turned around with a grin. "I'm a thief who specializes in stealing from pirates, so this ship is mine! I never said I was their crewmate. We were just partners."
In the water, Johnny and Yosaku's mouths hung open. They couldn't believe this was happening.
"Even though it was a short time, I had a lot of fun with Luffy and the others. Tell them I said goodbye," Nami said, waving. "Just say we'll meet again!"
With that, Nami turned and went to start the Going Merry.
"Nami-aneki!" Yosaku shouted, just as a wave crashed over them.
"Wa-Wait! This is a problem!"
"We were supposed to be watching the ship!"
Johnny and Yosaku quickly resurfaced, waving their arms and shouting as the Going Merry sailed away.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, two faint sounds cut through the air.
CRASH!
The main ship of the Krieg Pirates, the Dreadnought Sabre, was sliced into three pieces as if by an invisible blade. The cuts were perfectly smooth. The pirates on board screamed in terror as the entire ship began to sink. The impact created a towering wave that shook the Baratie.
On the Dreadnought Saber, Krieg's eyes were wide. "What's happening?!"
"Captain Krieg!"
"The main ship!"
"It's been sliced!"
The pirates screamed as they fell into the churning sea.
"Sliced?! You said it was sliced?! This massive ship?! How is that even possible?!" Krieg yelled, unable to believe that anyone could slice such a huge vessel in half.
On the rocking Baratie, Luffy and the others were stunned, their mouths agape.
"He's here, huh... 'Hawk-Eyes'," Aeridar said, raising an eyebrow. He stood up and walked outside.
Everyone else quickly came to their senses and rushed out to see what had happened. The Dreadnought Sabre had been completely severed into three pieces, with half the hull still afloat.
"Wh-What happened?!"
"What's going on?"
"The ship is completely split in two!"
"Look over there!"
"It's... it's him!"
"Captain Krieg! It's that man! The one who killed our fleet!"
On the wreck of the colossal ship, the remaining Krieg Pirates pointed in one direction, screaming in terror. A small, coffin-shaped boat was calmly sailing past the wreckage. On the boat sat a man with a black hat adorned with white fur. He had a hawk-like stare from his sharp, yellow eyes, short facial hair, a crimson-patterned shirt, a black vest, and white pants. On his back was a giant, cross-shaped black sword.
"Th-That man... he's..." Zoro, who was watching from the Baratie, swallowed hard.
"You bastard!" Krieg ground his teeth, stomping his foot on the railing. "He came all the way here to kill us!"
"We're done for!" the remaining pirates cried in a panic.
On the Baratie, Luffy asked, "Zoro, who is that guy?"
"He's the man I've been looking for. 'Hawk-Eyes' Mihawk. The strongest man in the world!" Zoro said, a cold sweat on his brow. He had been looking for this man for a very long time.
"'Hawk-Eyes' Mihawk!" Luffy's expression turned serious.
"No, he's not the strongest man in the world," Aeridar said, standing next to Luffy and Zoro. "The strongest man in the world is that old man, Whitebeard, even with his illness!"
"Huh?! He's not the strongest?" Luffy asked, surprised.
"But to a swordsman, he is indeed the strongest," Aeridar said softly. "The man with the title of 'World's Strongest Swordsman' has the monstrous power to split the sea and slice the sky. He's a monster among monsters!"
"Hmph! Split the sea?! Slice the sky?! How is that possible?"
Zoro, Luffy, and the others all gasped at the same time. Could a human even do that?
"Roronoa Zoro, you're here to challenge him to get the 'World's Strongest Swordsman' title... you can try, but I hope he's merciful." He didn't mind their disbelief. After all, their world was limited by their experiences in the weakest sea, the East Blue. Even if Luffy and Zoro had high potential, their limited perspective held them back. They would only truly understand overwhelming power and what it means to be a monster after entering the Grand Line.
"Hmph! That's exactly what I was thinking!" Zoro sneered, his hand on the Wado Ichimonji at his waist.
Bang!
A gun fired. A pirate on the wreckage shot at Mihawk with two pistols. Before he could fire, however, Mihawk took out his giant black sword and easily deflected both bullets.
"Wh-What?! My aim was perfect!" the pirate with two guns said in disbelief.
"He made you miss!" Zoro said from behind the pirate. "He subtly changed the bullets' trajectory with the blade."
"How is that possible?" The pirate couldn't believe anyone could change a bullet's trajectory with a sword that big, but he saw Zoro walking toward him and asked, "Who are you?"
"Three swords! Could it be..." another pirate said, recognizing Zoro.
"I've never seen a sword so flexible," Zoro said, looking at Mihawk.
"A sword with only power has no strength," Mihawk said, glancing at Zoro.
"Did you slice that ship with that sword?"
"Indeed."
"I see! So you truly are the strongest!" Zoro said with a smirk. "I set sail to meet you!"
"And what is your goal?" Mihawk asked calmly.
"To be the strongest!"
Zoro took off the dark green bandanna from his right arm and tied it on his head, his eyes filled with a sharp intensity.
"Hmph, how foolish!"
Mihawk's lips curled into a grin.
Swish!
Zoro paid him no mind, smirking as he drew the Wado Ichimonji from his waist. "You've got a lot of time on your hands, don't you? Let's have a duel!"
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