"Navy Hunter?"
Mihawk was actually a bit puzzled — it was his first time hearing that someone had given him such a title.
It wasn't really an official epithet, but quite a few people on the underworld circuit had started calling Hawk-Eyes that. After all, he was always picking fights with the Marines.
It wasn't that Mihawk had any personal grudge against the Navy. It was simply that the well-trained Marines had a considerable number of master swordsmen among their ranks. By comparison, truly skilled swordsmen among the Pirates were few and far between.
Plenty of pirates carried swords, but most of them just swung wildly without any real technique. Those who had received proper instruction in the art of the sword, like Shanks, were genuinely rare.
Besides, most pirates just drifted aimlessly across the sea. The Marines were far easier to find.
"More importantly, you're a swordsman yourself, aren't you? Care to have a bout?"
Mihawk fixed his gaze on the blade Fenrir in Red-Haired Shanks' hand and issued a challenge.
"No need to rush. It's rare enough that we've run into each other — let's have a drink first," Shanks said with a grin.
Though he was a bit young to be drinking, he was already a pirate. Who was going to care about that?
It wasn't like he was some twelve-year-old kid.
Mihawk wasn't particularly fond of alcohol. He generally stuck to low-proof fruit wine or the occasional red. He preferred keeping a clear head.
But since Shanks had offered, he was willing to show him the courtesy.
Seeing that neither side was about to come to blows, Beckman lost interest and stepped back.
Mihawk started asking Shanks about the Lightning General. He had heard Shanks mention that he'd actually met the man, and he wanted to know if it was true.
"I only saw him once, back when I was still sailing with my old captain. I was just a kid back then — he's probably long forgotten about me."
Shanks replied, clearly not eager to dwell on the topic.
Those past adventures had certainly been thrilling, but they were not his own. Tagging along with his captain to meet powerful figures wasn't anything to brag about. One day, he would stand before them as an equal!
When that day came, they would meet on truly equal footing!
Still, Shanks couldn't help but think of Oden Kozuki. Five years had passed since they last saw each other, and he wondered whether Oden had succeeded in opening Wano Country's borders.
Actually, the fact that there had been no news at all this entire time already told him a great deal.
It seemed the people inside Wano were truly rotten to the core — even someone like Oden couldn't handle them single-handedly. Shanks's thoughts drifted for a moment.
But what he didn't know was that Wano Country had long since ceased to exist. In this world, there was now only the eternal nation — Inazuma. There was no more Wano Country!
And right now, Inazuma was in the process of opening its borders.
Ren had never liked the idea of a closed country either. But with Sentsuchi Port as Inazuma's only external port, fully opening the borders couldn't happen overnight. As for the entrances beyond Sentsuchi Port, Ren had actually reinforced the defenses.
Opening the borders did not mean allowing pirates and other hostile forces to stroll in freely.
With the strengthened coastal defenses, the old method of entering Inazuma by having carp leap over the waterfall — as depicted in the original story — was now essentially impossible.
The ones stationed at the border were members of the Oni Tribe, all possessing flight capabilities. While their individual strength wasn't anything special, a full squad working together was more than enough to kick most intruders' ships right back down.
As for Sentsuchi Port, the sole gateway for foreign trade, even though Ren had already lifted the ban on Inazuma's citizens sailing abroad, very few people actually wanted to leave. Ordinary folk had no desire to upend their established lives.
Besides, with Inazuma still in the middle of reconstruction, most people simply didn't have the time for overseas adventures.
As the only external trade port, Sentsuchi primarily handled official commerce. Kurotsuki Bōsen, the daimyo of Hakumai, had been leveraging this advantage to aggressively develop the local economy.
She wasn't trying to compete with Ren for profit, of course. But as the daimyo of Hakumai, she had a responsibility to think about the future — particularly for her successor, Kurotsuki Shinjo.
With Sentsuchi Port as such a prime asset, there was no way she would let it go to waste.
So alongside the reconstruction of Hakumai, she had assembled a trading fleet and begun conducting overseas commerce. Naturally, Ren's operations at Sentsuchi Port always took priority.
Even the profits from Bōsen's own trade ventures were partially remitted to the Flower Capital as tribute.
Bōsen had spent her early years traveling overseas, so handling trade negotiations was second nature to her.
But now, her primary focus was passing these skills on to Kurotsuki Shinjo. Bōsen was getting old, and she couldn't be certain how many years she had left. She needed to properly educate the daughter of Kurozumi Orochi.
During this period, Charlotte Linlin's temper had been less than stellar. She had already thrown several fits on Whole Cake Island, and quite a few people had been caught in the crossfire.
Anyone who didn't know better would think she was going through menopause.
She was forty-four, after all.
But she wasn't actually losing her mind — there were genuine reasons behind her outbursts.
One of them was what Buggy and his crew had done. That brat had snapped her flag on one of the islands under her jurisdiction. That kind of provocation had humiliated her in front of every major power in the sea.
And what made it even more humiliating was that the pirate she had dispatched to hunt Buggy down had actually been defeated!
The whole affair had enraged her so thoroughly she had nearly suffered a miscarriage. Any outsider would have thought that the Queen of Totto Land could be stepped on by any random no-name upstart!
"Mom, why don't you let me handle this one?" Perospero suggested after a moment's thought.
As the eldest of Charlotte Linlin's many children, Perospero might not be one of the Three Sweet Commanders, but his combat ability was nothing to sneeze at.
He was effectively the strongest fighter beneath the three main enforcers.
Though in practice, he was currently one of the three main enforcers — Charlotte Moscato was only eleven years old this year.
"No, send Daifuku. You have other matters to attend to!"
Charlotte Linlin hadn't lost her reason just yet. The moment she spoke, a towering figure stepped forward from the crowd.
Charlotte Daifuku was a large man with short yellow hair, earrings, and a blue haori. His shoulder ornaments resembled two mochi, and he wore a belt adorned with a magic lamp insignia.
"Daifuku, I'm leaving this to you. Wipe out every last one of those pirates. Am I understood?"
Big Mom spoke while gazing down at Daifuku with her massive, increasingly wrinkled face.
Even when it came to her own children, if they couldn't handle something this trivial, she would not hesitate to shave years off Daifuku's lifespan!
"Leave it to me, Mom. I'll show them the terror of the Big Mom Pirates!"
Daifuku nodded emphatically.
As one of the triplets born alongside Katakuri, Daifuku's combat strength was genuinely formidable. Sending him after a crew that barely qualified as Super Rookies was more than sufficient.
As for the other task that Perospero had been assigned — that was the second reason for Big Mom's foul mood.
[
Dear Readers,
I am currently posting two chapters every day across two active fictions, along with bonus releases and extra chapters. The workload is steady, and I am putting in the effort to keep the schedule consistent for everyone.
Right now, my financial situation is not great. Patreon support is what keeps this translation work sustainable. If you have been following the stories and want to help, joining a tier makes a direct difference.
Here is what membership offers:
Adventurer — $3 per month
10 chapters in advance for all of my works
Warrior — $7 per month
20 chapters in advance for all of my works
Immortal — $10 per month (Highlighted Tier)
30 chapters in advance for all of my works
Access to character images
Important note: Subscribing through the Apple App adds an extra 30 percent fee (Apple/Patreon policy). Subscribe through your browser to avoid the extra charge. Apple also processes payments very late (2 to 3 months), which makes it much harder for me to receive money quickly after you subscribe.
If you can support, it would genuinely help me continue the daily releases and early access content. If you cannot, reading and sharing the work is also appreciated.
Thank you for your time.
Patreon: patreon.com/anish_44
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/anish_44
]