Some corridor in the Tenshukaku.
"Kill!"
Having consumed the Artificial Devil Fruits, the 'Gifted' with parts of their bodies transformed into animals or with their human form merely hanging as an accessory, along with the 'Laughter' who failed and could only laugh due to the pleasure factor within the fruits, charged at a single individual.
The sword gleamed, seemingly able to bend, like a snake flexibly darting, curving into these people's bodies, protruding from the last one's back, revealing a tip of straw.
Puff puff puff!
The straw swung sideways, slicing a large cut into them, then retracted, transforming into a sharp blade, grasped once more by the golden-haired man in the center of the corridor.
"Mortality rate, infinitely approaching 100%."
Hawkins pasted a Tarot Card on the straw tip emerging from his body, glanced at those fallen on the ground, shook his head, and continued forward.
The battle here had already begun.
Samurais and Pirates fighting everywhere, Samurai against Samurai, Pirates against Pirates... everything had turned into chaos.
"Hmm..."
He applied another Tarot Card, raised an eyebrow, "Survival rate less than 1%, not for me, but for other Pirates entering here. My survival rate... is still at 3%."
"Is it destiny?"
He swung his sword again, cutting down a group of Pirates from the Beast Pirates rushing toward him.
These Pirates were quite interesting; one had a gorilla's upper body sprouting from his left arm, while another had both hands and back merged with a legless pink baboon.
"So this is the power of the Artificial Devil Fruits? Caesar did develop quite a few results, but unfortunately, the effects are still not as good as the genuine ones... Hmm, not everyone is suited to enhance their will and train Haki." Hawkins said indifferently.
Of course, they were aware of Caesar's results, but Sage disdained them greatly.
For ordinary people at sea, even if they could awaken Haki, the amount is quite small and entirely insufficient; not everyone can skillfully master their will.
Even though everyone possesses it, Sage once said that will is humanity's hymn.
It's all hymns, and those who can master it proficiently are, of course, not many.
Among the Disaster Pirates' population of over three hundred sixty thousand, only a few tens of thousands could compare to the recruits of the Navy Headquarters, and only thirty thousand or so could muster the courage and face off against seasoned Neval warriors.
These individuals, to varying degrees, had awakened their will; some even mastered Haki, delivering powerful blows.
But those who are proficient and plentiful in terms of quantity are fewer than a hundred, and truly decent ones are just over a dozen.
Including the Demon Race, their strength is not attributed to their Haki, but to their bodily quality and trained Body Techniques.
As for the seventeen hundred elite selected?
They largely just stand out a bit more.
But placed at sea, they can be considered elite.
Where are that many proficient in Haki...
Devil Fruits are rare, and those who've consumed the Artificial Devil Fruits, while no longer quite human nor ghost, are powerful enough to be squad leaders within the Disaster Pirates.
Unfortunately, they've encountered Hawkins, and...
"Hmm?"
He pulled out another Tarot Card, paused slightly, and looked toward the side corridor.
Swoosh!
The sword blade turned into straw, twisting towards the corridor wall, shredding the corridor to reveal a relatively wider space.
There, a group was engaged in a fierce battle; Gifted against Gifted, fighting for some unknown reasons, Pirates against Samurais, locking horns.
Among them, three stood out significantly.
"Explode!"
A Long-armed Race member hammered his chest fiercely, causing most bodies to explode as if struck by cannon fire.
From the smoke, a figure with an 'X' shaped scar on his chin and an 'X' mark on his chest, wielding a slender sword and an ax blade, burst forth, violently slashing at the Long-armed Race member.
At the same time, a golden-haired man wearing a mask revealing only the back of his head and holding two rotating scythes also launched himself, attacking the Long-armed Race member.
"Sound Burst Shock!"
The Long-armed Race, with two joints, extended his arms, revealing holes akin to flutes, emitting peculiar music, unleashing a shockwave towards the duo while retreating swiftly through the impact.
The man with the 'X' mark crossed his swords, coating them with Haki to block the shockwave, his body swaying to also fend off the scythe aimed at him by the masked man due to missed attack.
Clang!
The weapons briefly collided, propelled by the force, sending the two retreating, forming a triangular stance with the third.
At this moment, the trio glanced at the breached corridor in the distance simultaneously.
Their expressions varied when seeing Hawkins.
The Long-armed Race showed surprise.
The 'X' marked man's brows furrowed.
As for the masked man... His expression was unreadable.
"'Sea Sound' Scratchmen Apoo, 'Red Flag' Drake, 'Slaughter Samurai' Killer, all from the same era, long time no see."
Hawkins ambled closer, pulled out two Tarot Cards, stuck them on the straw tip, focusing on Killer and Drake, "Oh... Is my fate tied to the two of you?"
"Hawkins?!"
Apoo exclaimed in surprise, "Why are you here?!"
"Subordinate of Disaster..."
Drake said solemnly, "Has Disaster also arrived?!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Killer laughed meaninglessly within his mask.
"Captain? Currently, he's engaging with Kaido..."
After responding, Hawkins glanced at them, saying, "Drake, one of Flying Six. Killer, subordinate of Kid. If you two are fighting, it represents Kid's presence here, but now it's a confusion..."
"I read earlier newspapers, you and Kid formed an alliance, like the alliance between Straw Hat and Law. But in this chaos, the situation seems different, internal strife? Hmm..."
He sheathed his long sword and reshuffled the Tarot Cards, sticking a few more on afterwards.
"Ten of Swords, Justice."
He regarded the two cards facing Drake, speaking slowly, "Betrayal, and balance... I see, you're an undercover Navy agent."
Then, he turned to Apoo, "You're also Ten of Swords, and Devil. Similarly, representing betrayal but also possessing the power to entice others into hell. Seems the alliance was false, you're Kaido's underling."
"As for you..."
Hawkins looked at Killer, frowning slightly, "Four cards: Ten of Wands, Tower, God of Death, Devil. Representing hardship, bearing burdens and constrained by difficulties, yet the 'Devil' here seems ephemeral, you may break free from this binding, the direction of fate..."
He stared at the straw tip, the four cards closest to him, even nearly resting on his face, particularly the 'God of Death' Tarot Card, saying solemnly, "Is it here with me?"
No need to question, with insight into intelligence and understanding of the situation, along with the Tarot Cards' divination, Hawkins quickly grasped the situation.
As a high-ranking officer one of the three intellectuals in the Disaster Pirates, he was no slouch.
And the divined outcome was rather unexpected.
His 3% survival rate aligned towards Drake and Killer, especially Killer...
The straw tip recoiled, Hawkins retrieved the Tarot Card, unsheathed the long sword from his waist, and stated:
"Never mind, whether it's two or three of you, more or less, it's destiny converging at this moment. Apoo, Captain Sage said, win or lose, we'll join each other's ranks, but for future stability, let's have a bout."
Speaking, he looked towards the other two, "Then, Drake, Killer... Will you surrender, or do you want to fight?"
The first half of the New World was nearing unification, lacking personnel; recruiting one member was still a gain.
What? An undercover Navy agent?
Here, they feared no undercover agents; it had long become a sieve.
It's fine as long as they can perform activities.