In the early morning, after leaving Twin Capes, just as everyone was about to randomly choose a route, little Bonney raised her hand high.
Full of energy, she suggested excitedly, "Since we're choosing randomly anyway, can we pick the one that goes to Sky Island?"
"Well, that's easily arranged. Ace hasn't returned to Paradise yet, so we've got time. What does everyone think? Especially you, Skull—any objections?" Deuce asked the group, holding several different Log Poses in his hands.
Skull scratched the back of his head and replied positively, "Of course, no problem! I'll be the first to know if there's any trouble. Besides, with Boss Jerry here, we can come back down from Sky Island anytime we want."
"Sky Island? There must be new fans there—that's perfect..." Cavendish said this while holding a rose, but then he recalled his previous visit to Shandora and Angel Island and suddenly fell silent.
He vaguely remembered not receiving much attention during that trip.
Then Cavendish perked up dramatically: "Yes! I absolutely must go. I need to expand my fan base!"
Carina and the others looked helplessly at this sudden burst of narcissism, shook their heads, and voiced no objections.
"That settles it. Deuce, set course—we're heading to Sky Island," Jerry nodded and made the decision immediately.
Little Bonney grabbed Carrot's hand and cheered happily as their ship sailed in the direction indicated by the Log Pose.
At noon, the sun quietly hid behind clouds. Jerry and the others had grown accustomed to the Grand Line's unpredictable weather patterns.
After a hearty meal, everyone was occupied with their own activities when suddenly Carrot's voice rang out from the crow's nest, breaking the peaceful silence.
"Many ships ahead!"
As she spoke, Carrot leaped down and landed gracefully on the deck.
"What's the situation? Marines chasing pirates? How many ships are we talking about?" Deuce immediately asked for details.
Based on his experience, only such circumstances would result in so many ships appearing on the sea simultaneously.
However, Carrot shook her head and corrected him: "No Marines—probably dozens of ships, all pirate ships."
"No way! Dozens of pirate ships?"
As soon as Carrot finished speaking, she drew everyone's attention. They gathered at the ship's railing and peered into the distance.
Without a word, Skull picked up his telescope and examined the situation carefully.
After a moment, he confidently concluded, "Those ships belong to the same pirate crew—the Krieg Pirates from East Blue."
On the other side of the bow, Jerry had just pulled up his fishing rod. A figurative question mark appeared over his head as he muttered to himself, Right, I remember that shortly after they entered the Grand Line, they encountered...
Sure enough, Skull spoke again: "They seem to have suffered some kind of devastating attack. Many of their ships are in tatters."
Since Jerry hadn't altered the Black Nova's course, the distance between the two groups was rapidly shrinking even though the Krieg Pirates were heading in a different direction.
At that moment, the Krieg Pirates suddenly turned their ships around and headed straight for the Black Nova.
On the bow of the main ship, a burly man in golden armor stood and laughed arrogantly:
"Ha ha ha! There's always a way out when you're desperate! Pirates over there—hand over your food and water, or we'll sink you and throw you into the sea to feed the fish!"
"With those pathetic rust buckets of yours?" Jerry sat casually on the bow, fishing rod in hand, wearing an unruly smile as he spoke with lazy disdain.
Carrot put her hands on her hips and raised her chin defiantly: "That's right! You want to steal my carrots? Dream on!"
Little Bonney struck the same pose alongside Carrot and shouted: "Yeah! You want to steal my snacks? Not happening!"
"That's Captain Krieg of the Krieg Pirates," Skull said calmly, providing background information for everyone.
"Oh," everyone responded with obvious disinterest, clearly not taking the opposing pirate fleet seriously.
After hearing Jerry and the others' dismissive comments and witnessing this deeply insulting scene, veins bulged on Krieg's forehead.
He raised his arm, signaling his men to prepare the cannons, while letting out a deafening roar: "You're asking for death!"
Hearing this, Jerry showed a peculiar expression and suddenly smiled wickedly: "Ha! If you don't get out of the way fast, I guarantee someone's about to come chop you to pieces."
Krieg startled as the nightmare-like figure of that man suddenly flashed through his mind, but he quickly shook his head, as if trying to banish the terrifying shadow from his thoughts.
Then he regained his composure and displayed a manic grin: "Ha ha ha ha! I don't know what you're babbling about, but the person who can cut down Don Krieg hasn't been born yet! Die—"
Suddenly, a sharp sound of cutting wind interrupted Krieg's unfinished threat.
CLANG!
A massive green sword slash flashed by like lightning, too fast for the eye to follow.
"Incoming!" Jerry's lips moved, and the fishing rod in his hand swept horizontally in a rapid arc. In an instant, he launched an equally massive blue slash that intercepted the giant sword beam as it cut diagonally through most of the Krieg Pirates' fleet.
The two slashes collided mid-air in perfect silence, then suddenly exploded into a tremendous circular shockwave that spread in all directions, shocking every member of the Krieg Pirates present.
At that moment, numerous pirate ships that had been directly struck by the sword slash suddenly split cleanly in half, while those nearby that were caught in the aftermath began shaking violently as massive waves rocked them.
"Waaaaah!" As ships capsized or sank, thousands of Krieg Pirates members fell into the turbulent sea one after another like dumplings being dumped from a pot.
Krieg himself collapsed onto the deck and shouted to his subordinates in terror: "RETREAT!"
"He's here again?! Quick! All hands, turn around and run!" On the flagship and other relatively intact pirate ships, the crews frantically steered their boats in panic, desperately trying to escape this dangerous zone.
"Jerry, what was that attack?" Cavendish rarely showed his serious side as he walked up to Jerry and asked in a low voice.
"That, my friend, was the World's Greatest Swordsman—Dracule 'Hawkeye' Mihawk!"
While manipulating the tides to keep their ship floating steadily, Jerry's gaze passed through the wreckage of the Krieg Pirates' fleet and met the eagle-sharp eyes of the man sitting on a small sailboat shaped like a coffin.
"Hawkeye Mihawk?!" Everyone behind him wore expressions of surprise. Even those who weren't swordsmanship experts like Cavendish had heard of Hawkeye's legendary reputation and deeds.
"Hey, this is perfect timing—I've been itching for a good fight lately," Cavendish stepped forward to stand beside Jerry, staring at Hawkeye in the distance alongside him.
A moment later, Cavendish suddenly realized he'd instinctively placed his hand on his sword hilt without conscious thought.
He remained silent for several seconds, then drew his blade with a solemn expression. Pointing the tip toward Hawkeye, who continued staring at Jerry, he declared loudly:
"Dracule Mihawk! Let's fight! Even though I consumed a Devil Fruit, I'm still a swordsman!"
"A newly rising member of the younger generation? Interesting." As he spoke, Mihawk finally shifted his piercing gaze from Jerry to Cavendish.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he responded with authority: "Since this is a duel between swordsmen, I trust you've made proper preparations. Come!"
"Cavendish, I know you've improved tremendously recently, but don't get careless," Jerry patted the prince's shoulder and offered serious advice.
Looking around, Cavendish noticed his friends all wore expressions of concern and encouragement. A warm current surged through his heart, and stars seemed to flash in his eyes. He parted his lips to speak, but Jerry raised his hand to stop him.
Thinking Jerry was about to provide pre-battle encouragement or tactical advice, Cavendish looked at him expectantly with shining eyes.
"After all, if you die, all your fans will belong to Brook," Jerry continued his previous thought with complete seriousness.
"WHAT?! Brook, just you wait for me!" Upon hearing this, Cavendish instantly flew into a rage and launched himself toward Hawkeye while shouting indignantly.
"Huh?" Brook tilted his skeletal head, watching Cavendish's retreating figure with complete bewilderment. "Yohohoho... what did I do?"
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