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Chapter 41: Hawk-Eye
The door opened, and a woman with blue hair, though a darker shade than Ganyu's, peeked her head out.
When she saw Nami at the front, a look of joy involuntarily crossed her face.
But as her gaze swept over the unfamiliar faces behind Nami, her expression became slightly distant.
She crossed her arms, leaned against the doorframe, and asked calmly, "Nami, what brings you back so late?"
In Cocoa Village, it was an unspoken understanding for the villagers to keep their distance from Nami in front of outsiders.
They all understood that Nami was trying to save Cocoa Village in her own way, so they usually cooperated with her.
"Nojiko, let us in first."
Nami understood this and added, "These are partners and friends I met on the outside. They're not like Arlong and his crew..."
"Friends from the outside?"
Nojiko was slightly taken aback, then immediately stepped aside, allowing Nami, Ganyu, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku into the courtyard.
The group followed her and Nami through a tangerine grove to an old house.
Nojiko poured hot tea for everyone, studying them curiously as they chatted.
"Nami, how did you bring them here?"
Everyone accepted the tea and thanked her politely.
After everyone had settled down, Nami took a deep breath, looked at Nojiko with a steady gaze, and introduced them.
"This is Ganyu and Usopp. They are my true partners now."
Nami deliberately emphasized the word "true," which made Nojiko look at Ganyu and Usopp in surprise.
She was amazed that her younger sister, who had borne such immense pressure alone since childhood, had actually found friends she respected and even brought them back to Cocoa Village.
Bringing them to Cocoa Village was equivalent to Nami revealing her entire painful and tragic past to them.
This indirectly showed that Nami trusted and relied on them very much.
Truly.
Nami's next line was:
"These two are Johnny and Yosaku, two little-known bounty hunters... They came with Ganyu and Usopp to help us fight Arlong!"
She chose not to hide what she and her companions were about to do from Nojiko.
Nojiko was the person closest to her, and her hatred for Arlong was no less than her own, so telling her naturally carried no risk of leaking the secret.
Nojiko froze for a good while, staring at Nami, as if trying to confirm from her eyes whether she was joking.
But it was clear that Nami was serious now, without a trace of a joke in her eyes.
"Alright, I'll go inform everyone to get their weapons ready and attack Arlong Park together!"
After confirming Nami was serious, Nojiko suddenly stood up, emotional, a long-suppressed fire burning in her eyes.
It wasn't just her; everyone in Cocoa Village had been waiting for this day.
If they hadn't known that Nami was trying to save Cocoa Village in her own way, the villagers would have long since taken up arms against the Fish-Man pirates who had oppressed them for eight years.
"Wait, Nojiko!"
&B;Nami grabbed her arm and said urgently, "Don't tell anyone! You're no match for those monster Fish-Men. Going there will only get you killed uselessly!"
"Are we supposed to just stand by and watch you and your friends fight?" Nojiko stopped, her face full of resentment and worry.
She pointed at Nami, then at Ganyu, Usopp, and the others, and said defiantly:
"There are only five of you, and the Fish-Man pirates have dozens, maybe even hundreds. Aren't you just going to get yourselves killed uselessly?"
"It's not like that! They're different, they're not like ordinary people..."
"What's the difference? Aren't they all human? Our opponents are a bunch of Fish-Men!"
Nami tried to explain anxiously, but Nojiko clearly wasn't listening, insisting on going with them.
"Ahem..."
At this moment, Usopp cleared his throat, interrupting the two sisters who were about to start arguing.
He slowly stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, walked slowly between the two, and struck a pose.
"Miss Nojiko, it seems you don't know much about our Straw Hat Pirates. We are completely different from ordinary people."
His voice was loud and clear, with a hint of exaggerated drama. "Now, please allow me to formally introduce the person behind me"
As he spoke.
He turned elegantly, knelt on one knee, and extended his hands in a gesture of respect, pointing diagonally at the blue-haired girl who had been sitting quietly, holding her tea cup.
"Huh?" The blue-haired girl was startled, almost choking on the tea she had just put in her mouth.
What the hell? You're making such a grand ceremony just to introduce me?
"She is one of the strongest warriors of the Straw Hat Pirates, known as 'Frostflake Arrow' Ganyu! Her bounty is as high as ten million Berries!"
Usopp said emotionally, "Don't be fooled by the fact that her bounty is twenty million lower than Arlong's. A bounty doesn't necessarily represent strength! Ganyu's strength is definitely no weaker than that guy Arlong!"
"Ten million Berries... her?"
Nojiko stared in shock at the seemingly harmless blue-haired girl before her, who was even smaller than Nojiko and Nami, her face filled with disbelief.
Is this little girl even an adult?
"That's right, Ganyu's bounty is indeed ten million. If you don't believe me, you can go ask Uncle Genzo for the latest bounty poster to check."
Nami walked up behind Ganyu, placed her hands gently on her shoulders, and whispered in her ear:
"Ganyu, show off your strength a little, hmm... be measured, don't be too flashy."
"Okay." Ganyu nodded gently.
She pondered for a moment, then lowered her gaze, her eyes landing on the tea cup in her hand.
The cup was filled with the still-steaming tea Nojiko had poured a short while ago.
She opened her small mouth slightly and blew a faint wisp of cold air.
In an instant, the steam from the tea cup vanished, and the tea inside instantly froze into a solid block of ice. Even the surface of the cup was quickly covered in a layer of clear, white frost.
"This is...!"
Witnessing this extraordinary scene, Nojiko's eyes widened in astonishment.
Johnny and Yosaku were even more shocked than Nojiko.
"An ability user! Big Sis Ganyu is an ability user!"
"Don't call her 'Big Sis Ganyu'! Little Ganyu is still very young!" Nami chided the two of them.
Ganyu wasn't particularly angry; she was used to it.
Besides, these two guys were a lost cause. Since they were Zoro's subordinates anyway, let's just pin the blame on Zoro.
"Nojiko, the ability Ganyu just used is called a Devil Fruit ability. On the vast seas, only a very few lucky individuals who have eaten a Devil Fruit can obtain such supernatural powers."
Nami explained to Nojiko, who still didn't understand. "Ganyu and our idiot captain, who hasn't arrived yet, are both Devil Fruit users."
Nojiko nodded, seemingly understanding, and her doubts were mostly dispelled. She then asked, "Nami, how many more people in your pirate crew haven't arrived?"
She roughly understood that Nami had joined a powerful pirate crew on this voyage.
Such a pirate crew usually had many members.
No wonder Nami was so confident.
"Uh, two... probably?" Hearing this, Nami looked down at Ganyu in front of her.
"No, there are three," Ganyu corrected with a smile.
Sanji, isn't it about time you joined the crew too?
...
"Until I defeat him and become the world's greatest swordsman, I will absolutely... never lose again!"
"Do you have a problem with that, King of the Pirates?!"
Meanwhile, on the other side, in the Sambas sea region of the East Blue.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji had gone through an intense battle, finally joining forces to defeat the powerful Krieg Pirates.
But shortly after, a man with sharp eyes sailed leisurely over the sea in a small boat.
Those sharp, hawk-like eyes had clearly taken in the entire battle that had just occurred.
"Young man, your swordsmanship is quite good."
He stared at Zoro for a long time, a hint of imperceptible admiration in his voice.
The moment Zoro saw the man, his muscles tensed, and under the astonished gazes of the crowd, he raised his blood-stained sword.
"World's Strongest Swordsman, 'Hawk-Eye' Dracule Mihawk. I've been waiting for you."
"Oh? How did you know I would come today?"
"That's not important. The one who told me this was a woman who claims to know you. What's important is that she said you are a hundred times stronger than me."
"Interesting. I don't know the woman you speak of, but to be honest, the gap between us is much more than a hundred times."
"Hehe, that's great. I want to try and see if it's really a hundred times!"
Just like that.
"Pirate Hunter" Zoro and "Hawk-Eye" Dracule Mihawk (one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea) began a swordsmanship duel on the deck of the sinking Dreadnaught Sabre.
The result, naturally, goes without saying.
The Pirate Hunter, using his Three-Sword Style "Oni Giri," was stopped by a small, palm-sized knife.
Zoro's eyes widened instantly, and he was struck by the memory of the previous day.
"...lest you end up being unable to defeat even a small knife!"
It's true...
Zoro gritted his teeth, a fire igniting in his heart. He didn't want to lose to a small knife, just as she had said.
Therefore, he unleashed his strongest move at this stage.
"Three-Sword Style Secret Technique: Three Thousand Worlds!"
"This is..."
Hawk-Eye's pupils constricted slightly, as if surprised by Zoro's move.
He sheathed the small knife in his hand and drew the black sword "Yoru," one of the Supreme Grade Swords, from his back.
"You've shown me something very interesting, so..."
"I will use this world's strongest black sword to end you, in the honor of a swordsman!"
Sliish.
Luffy and Sanji's pupils dilated as they witnessed the moment of impact. With two crisp clangs, Zoro's two swords shattered simultaneously, but he stood there, unmoving.
After a long moment.
"We lost. Is this the strength of the world's number one...?"
After saying these words, Zoro sheathed the last sword he held in his mouth, turned around, and faced Hawk-Eye Mihawk with his arms outstretched.
"What are you doing?" Hawk-Eye asked in confusion.
"A wound on the back is a swordsman's shame."
"Well said."
Hawk-Eye smiled slightly, then drew his sword and slashed downwards.