Of course, Cyrus wasn't just thinking about getting Hawkeye into the Hunter Association.
There was also Hawkeye's swordsmanship.
Although a person's strength depends on their overall abilities, in his exchange with Hawkeye, he had only used swordsmanship, not his Haki or Devil Fruit powers.
But a gap in swordsmanship was still a gap.
Cyrus remembered that when he first arrived in this world, he had planned to master Haki, swordsmanship, and his Devil Fruit.
Right now, with swordsmanship alone, he could defeat ordinary master swordsmen with his strength and technique, but it was clearly not enough against Hawkeye.
This wouldn't do.
"Let's find another place, somewhere we can go all out," Cyrus said to Hawkeye.
"Alright!"
The image of Cyrus with his blade wreathed in flames and Haki surfaced in Hawkeye's mind.
He was actually looking forward to it.
After all, it had been a long time since he'd had a proper fight.
What's more, there was another true Great Swordsman right in front of him.
However, Hawkeye would never have guessed that this fellow, Issho, had integrated his swordsmanship and Devil Fruit Ability even better than Cyrus had.
Cyrus, after all, had only mastered his ability and swordsmanship for a short time, whereas Issho had been at it for a very long time.
Cyrus had Hawkeye and Issho wait at the pier while he took Robin back into the city.
"What are you doing?" Robin was a little confused as Cyrus led her back into the city.
"Buying you a sword!" Cyrus replied to Robin's question.
"Huh?"
"The world's Greatest Swordsman is right here. There's no harm in learning a thing or two," Cyrus said, turning to look at Robin.
"So, what are you planning to do?"
Robin suddenly sensed that something was off and immediately asked.
"I'm not planning anything. I just intend to seriously improve my swordsmanship."
"Isn't your swordsmanship already very strong?" Robin asked upon hearing this.
Cyrus pointed at his own chest.
"I took two hits."
In terms of pure swordsmanship, he was still too inexperienced.
So, this was a rare opportunity.
Moreover, Cyrus was thinking of temporarily tricking Hawkeye onto his ship and then taking him to Sky Island as a hired gun.
Him, plus Issho, plus Hawkeye, ganging up on Enel.
Seeing the malicious smile appear on Cyrus's face, Robin subconsciously took two steps away from him.
'It seemed Cyrus was thinking of something unpleasant.'
The two moved quickly.
Although things were tense at the pier and everyone had fled, the city itself wasn't much affected.
After casually buying a few fine-quality swords, Cyrus returned with Robin.
At the pier, when Hawkeye saw Robin holding a large pile of swords, a bad premonition inexplicably surfaced in his mind.
...
The ship set sail again.
But this time, the small boat was crowded with four people.
The little boat, which had only one cabin to begin with, was now quite cramped.
"Are there any islands nearby?" Cyrus looked at Robin.
Robin understood immediately.
"I don't think so. There might be inhabited ones, but as for uninhabited islands, I'm not sure."
Their conversation made Hawkeye turn his head to look at them.
"How about this? Our destination is Jaya Island. If we happen to come across an uninhabited island on the way, we can have an all-out fight then. Of course, if you have something to do, you can leave first. We can settle this the next time we meet," Cyrus said when he saw Hawkeye turn his head.
"I'm free!" Hawkeye replied, then turned back around.
But he still felt that something wasn't right.
Issho also sensed the strange situation but didn't say anything.
Not long after the four of them left by boat, people began to reappear at the pier.
"Report immediately! Hawkeye left with Cyrus."
Two Navy officers exchanged a look, then hurriedly left with a squad of marines.
From the commotion earlier, it looked like the two were fighting.
Why did they suddenly leave together?
Watching the Navy leave, Galdino looked back at the sea where the ship was no longer visible, his face full of confusion.
He then took out a Den Den Mushi.
"Boss, you might not believe this, but Hawkeye left with the new Boss."
Crocodile: ???
The Den Den Mushi went silent after Galdino finished speaking.
Evidently, Crocodile on the other end hadn't processed it.
Galdino didn't realize there was anything wrong with what he'd said and proceeded to recount what he had seen.
"So, they left together after another fight?"
Crocodile's unfriendly voice came through, clearly displeased with Galdino.
"The fight was very short, but the commotion was not small," Galdino answered cautiously.
"I understand. You proceed with the original plan and await orders."
With that, the Den Den Mushi was hung up.
Galdino was a bit puzzled.
'The Boss didn't seem to be in a very good mood.'
He was completely unaware that Crocodile's bad mood was because of him!
...
"Is that guy face really that useful?"
This was the first thought that popped into Crocodile's mind after he hung up the Den Den Mushi.
He now knew everything that had happened at the Rain Banquet.
Cyrus and Issho had clearly just met at that time.
Then, after fighting Cyrus, Issho had started following him.
And then Issho had beaten him up.
And now, the same thing happened with that guy Hawkeye?
Crocodile subconsciously raised a hand to scratch his head, feeling an itch in his brain.
As a fellow Shichibukai, he had never met Hawkeye before, but he still acknowledged Hawkeye's strength.
Not just anyone could become a Marine Hunter and still roam the seas freely, even getting invited to become a Shichibukai.
The title of the world's Greatest Swordsman was no empty boast.
It was recognized by the Navy and by the swordsmen of the sea.
"What kind of magic does this Cyrus guy have?" Crocodile muttered.
Daz, standing to the side, heard Crocodile's words and had a speechless look on his face.
'Boss, have you forgotten? You're one of that Cyrus's subordinates now too!'
...
"We need to get a big ship as soon as possible," Cyrus said to Robin with a serious expression.
Robin nodded with an equally serious expression.
Hawkeye and Issho heard them and looked at the two speakers, both with blank faces.
Seeing their expressions, Cyrus felt a bit helpless too.
Before, he thought he couldn't handle a big ship by himself.
After Robin joined, the small boat was more than enough for the two of them.
But now, with two more people suddenly added, it was truly crowded.
It wasn't that it couldn't fit the four of them, but the space on the boat was just that limited.
Acquiring a fully equipped ship had to be put on the agenda.
"Just bear with it a little longer. We should be at Jaya Island soon," Robin said comfortingly, seeing Cyrus's expression.
"You guys stay on the boat. I'll fly!"
After saying that, Cyrus turned into flames and shot straight into the sky, disappearing through the clouds in an instant.
The three people on the boat all looked up, watching the flame that was Cyrus disappear into the clouds.
All three of them were dumbfounded.
Even Hawkeye was no exception.
At this point, he felt that Cyrus had a screw loose.
Hawkeye turned to look at Issho.
"Is he always like this?"
Issho was taken aback by the question. He didn't answer Hawkeye but looked at Robin instead.
Robin withdrew her gaze, looked at Issho, then at Hawkeye, and nodded helplessly.
"Yes, he's always like this."
---------
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