As a wanderer of the seas, the last time Hawkeye met Red Hair, they only had a small skirmish.
After all, ever since his excellent rival unexpectedly lost an arm in the East Blue, he no longer felt the same anticipation for a duel.
After refusing Red Hair's invitation to go look for trouble together, Hawkeye sat on his small boat, drifting on the sea, hoping to encounter a decent opponent.
Although he thought this, he didn't actually hold much hope in his heart.
After all, it was impossible for a Master Swordsman to mature without leaving a trace.
Anyone worth fighting would surely have been heard of before.
And now, a report from the World Economic Journal had given Hawkeye something to look forward to.
Although, judging from the picture in the newspaper, it didn't seem to be a simple slash.
"Cyrus?" Hawkeye uttered Cyrus's name.
He still remembered this name; the World Economic Journal had reported on him several times before.
Of course, his most vivid memory was that Cyrus had fought with two Admirals.
"This might be worth a trip."
He should be a decent opponent.
Hawkeye put down the newspaper and raised his hand to draw his sword.
A moment later, the small boat Hawkeye was on sped up, no longer just drifting with the waves.
...
Alabasta, Nanohana.
Cyrus looked at the returning Darcy, then at the Den Den Mushi in his hand, which was currently ringing, "Purupurupuru."
Cyrus reached out and took the Den Den Mushi.
"You went to the Grand Line, you rascal. Why didn't you tell me? I couldn't reach you on the last Den Den Mushi."
Garp's voice rang out, and the Den Den Mushi mimicked his appearance.
"Oh, that one. I forgot to feed it, and it starved to death," Cyrus said in a relaxed tone.
As soon as he said this, Robin, Issho, and even Rear Admiral Darcy standing nearby all had speechless expressions flash across their faces.
Even Garp on the other end of the Den Den Mushi was stunned by Cyrus's words.
"One feeding can last for a month or two. How did you manage to starve it?"
"I just forgot," Cyrus gave the same reply.
"Fine, it's not important. As for why I'm looking for you this time..."
Garp fell silent for a moment on his end, then directly changed the subject.
"Is it about former Admiral Zephyr being attacked?" Cyrus tactically interrupted Garp.
"Uh, you guessed it? As i thought, you were a smart kid."
Garp's voice paused for a moment before he spoke, a hint of realization in his tone.
"I'm busy. I'll be staying in Paradise for quite some time. I have a lot to do."
"Don't be so quick to refuse. I know you have your own things to do, but you can also make demands."
"So, Vice Admiral Garp, are you speaking for yourself, or for the Navy?"
This time, Cyrus didn't refuse outright but asked a question in return.
"What if it's for me?"
"If it's you, Vice Admiral Garp, then I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything you could offer that would interest me."
"Then what if it's for the Navy?"
Garp didn't react much to Cyrus's words and asked again.
"Then we can discuss it." Cyrus said after some thought.
"As long as we can discuss it. So, state your demands."
"The training method for the Six Styles," Cyrus said into the Den Den Mushi.
"No problem. Rear Admiral Darcy can give it to you." Garp agreed without the slightest hesitation.
"If that's all, then it's too simple."
"There's more!"
As Garp's voice sounded, Cyrus spoke at the same time, and then they both paused.
"I knew it wasn't that simple."
Helplessness could be heard in Garp's voice.
"Don't worry, there's only one more demand," Cyrus said with a smile.
If the Navy agree, then taking action once after he got to the New World wouldn't be a problem.
"Go on, I'm mentally prepared."
"It's simple. One Devil Fruit," Cyrus stated his condition.
"A Devil Fruit?"
This demand was clearly beyond Garp's expectations.
"Even for the Navy, Devil Fruits are rare and scarce. The Navy has a large number of personnel, and any Devil Fruit we obtain is quickly eaten by someone."
"That has nothing to do with me. And, it has to be a Logia Type!"
Cyrus added another condition, and Garp on the other end of the Den Den Mushi fell completely silent.
'A Logia Type Devil Fruit? He really had the guts to ask that?!'
Issho and the other two also had strange expressions on their faces.
Devil Fruits were already very rare, and Logia Type Devil Fruits were the rarest of the rare.
Forget seeing one, even in the current Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, there were only about a dozen recorded Logia types.
Every time news of one surfaced, it had basically already been eaten.
"As for the demand, Vice Admiral Garp, you can go back and ask. Also, you don't need to come. I'll be leaving here in two days. If the Navy agrees, just give me the information when I reach the New World."
After speaking, Cyrus hung up the Den Den Mushi without waiting for Garp's reply and stuffed it into his coat.
Darcy looked at the Den Den Mushi that Cyrus had put away, his lips moving.
He really wanted to say that this Den Den Mushi wasn't bought with the base's funds, but with his own money.
But forget it.
Darcy directly took his leave.
"Are you really going to act for the Navy?"
After Darcy left, Robin was clearly surprised by what Cyrus had said.
"If it's for a Logia Type Devil Fruit, this old man thinks it's acceptable."
Issho aimed his white, upturned eyes at Cyrus.
"Actually, if we encounter him later, this old man would act even without a reward."
"We'll talk about it then. Anyway, this sea is vast. I've already stated my condition. If the Navy agrees, at most it will just be a waste of some time," Cyrus said with a smile, explaining to the two of them.
A Logia Type fruit, regardless of its use, could produce excellent effects.
It could even be used as a prize for the Hunter Association.
Just like how Doflamingo later used the Flame-Flame Fruit to organize a tournament.
"Without coordinates from the Navy, it's not easy to encounter a specific person on the vast sea," Robin said with a soft nod, clearly thinking it over as well.
"Anyway, the matter isn't immediate. The Log Pose still needs more than a day to finish recording the magnetic field. Let's go procure some supplies. We'll leave as soon as the recording is done," Cyrus said.
"Okay!" Robin nodded.
...
Garp stood on his dog-headed Warship, staring blankly at the Den Den Mushi in his hand.
Bogart looked at Garp, thinking about what he had just heard.
"Vice Admiral Garp, the Fleet Admiral will never agree to this condition."
Garp glanced at Bogart upon hearing this, then shook his head.
"Things aren't so absolute. But this demand is indeed very difficult, mainly because Logia Type Devil Fruits are too few. Besides, Cyrus is already a Devil Fruit user, why would he want another Logia fruit?"
Garp clearly couldn't figure it out.
A person can't eat two Devil Fruits, and the Flame-Flame Fruit is already a very powerful Logia Type.
'What if it was an equivalent amount of Belly to a Logia Devil Fruit?' Garp thought about it, then shook his head again.
That was also unlikely.
The price of a Logia Devil Fruit was incomparable to anything else.