Click.
Mihawk slid the small knife back into its sheath, then turned his head toward Kuina, whose body was lowered and tense from head to toe.
"The World's Greatest Swordsman, Drac… what was it again?"
Zoro suddenly spoke with his face pressed against the ground.
His voice sounded muffled, and the irritation behind it was obvious, but halfway through, he awkwardly realized he could not remember the full name!
"Hawk-Eye! I was looking for you!"
Fortunately, Zoro was not the type to dwell on small details.
Since he had forgotten Mihawk's full name, he simply called him Hawk-Eye instead.
"Can you still get up?"
Mihawk's attention had originally been on Kuina, but when he heard Zoro speak, he lowered his gaze toward Zoro lying on the ground and spoke in an indifferent tone.
"Heh!"
Zoro suddenly pushed himself up. The sword that had fallen beside him earlier was already back in his hand.
However, perhaps because he had risen too quickly, or perhaps because Mihawk's earlier attack had affected him, Zoro's body swayed after he stood.
"To become swordsmen capable of flying slashes at your age is already rare. I acknowledge your potential."
Looking at Zoro, who had forced himself upright, Mihawk turned his gaze back to Kuina and spoke.
"Hawk-Eye, why are you here?"
Although anything could happen on the sea, Mihawk's appearance still felt far too coincidental.
"Because of a request from a certain bastard. I came to give the two of you some guidance in swordsmanship. But even when I teach someone, I still have standards. The two of you barely qualify."
Mihawk said this after hanging the small knife back around his neck.
"A request?"
"Teach us swordsmanship?"
Zoro and Kuina, who had just pulled themselves together, both froze.
"Your Hunter Guild chairman senpai."
Seeing their expressions, Mihawk spoke in a strangely amused tone.
The Hunters lying on the ground and pretending to be dead immediately froze when they heard that.
One after another, they stopped pretending and raised their heads in shock.
My Hunter Guild chairman senpai?
What kind of ridiculous plot twist was that?
So these two really did have a connection to the chairman?
These Hunters had often heard Kuina and Zoro mention the chairman's name before.
However, they had never paid it too much attention.
After all, in their eyes, someone like Cyrus was simply too far removed from people like them.
"Cyrus sent you?"
Kuina straightened her body, her expression somewhat complicated as she asked.
"Mm. A rather unpleasant errand, though I really didn't have anything else to do. However, the gap between your strength and Cyrus's is still rather large."
Mihawk had already tested Zoro earlier.
At Zoro's age, reaching the level of a swordsman capable of flying slashes was already enough to be called genius.
But since Zoro and Kuina were connected to Cyrus as juniors, the moment Mihawk thought of Cyrus's strength, he suddenly felt that being a swordsman at this age was not quite enough.
Although Cyrus's swordsmanship was honestly terrible, everything else about him was terrifyingly strong.
"I'll travel with you for a while and guide your swordsmanship. Just don't become like Cyrus," Mihawk said.
Zoro and Kuina looked at each other.
Logically speaking, with Hawk-Eye standing in front of them, they should at least declare their dream of challenging the World's Greatest Swordsman.
But now, Mihawk was someone Cyrus had invited to teach them.
Would saying that right now be a little inappropriate?
"Cyrus is in the New World. He said your goal is to become the world's greatest swordsman. I very much hope to see you achieve that. But before then, you will have to defeat me first."
Seeing Kuina and Zoro repeatedly exchange glances, Mihawk spoke again, and this time there was a hint of expectation in his tone.
Good opponents in swordsmanship were not easy to find. Perhaps personally raising an opponent would also be interesting.
Of course, that person had to possess enough talent.
By now, Mihawk also understood Cyrus's real purpose.
Although Cyrus had said he wanted Mihawk to give these two some guidance, in truth, he had asked him to serve as their bodyguard.
After all, Mihawk understood the current relationship between Cyrus and the World Government.
If the identities of the two people in front of him became known to the World Government, trouble would inevitably follow.
Still, the next time he met Cyrus, he would have to demand some compensation.
"Then what do you plan to do next?" Kuina asked after finishing her silent exchange with Zoro.
"I'll stay with you for a while. At least until you enter the New World. But that will also depend on your progress in swordsmanship." Mihawk answered.
"But we still have to take the Hunter Exam and capture pirates," Zoro instinctively said after hearing Mihawk's plan.
"The Hunter Exam?"
Mihawk froze for a moment, then looked at Zoro with a strange expression.
"With that man around, do you still need that?"
Mihawk did not think there was anything wrong with using one's connection to Cyrus to formally become a Hunter.
That kind of connection was also part of a person's strength.
"I'm definitely taking it! I'll become an official Hunter myself. And one day, I'm going to defeat Cyrus and take back the title of senpai."
Zoro clenched his fist and spoke with complete seriousness.
"Defeat Cyrus?"
Mihawk was briefly speechless.
Then he looked Zoro up and down, his tone turning a little strange.
"Good. I would quite like to see that day. But before that, prepare yourself. My guidance will not be easy."
As for defeating Cyrus, that was something worth hearing as ambition, nothing more.
At least with Zoro's current strength, there was not even the faintest sign that such a thing was possible.
After that, the group headed toward the harbor and boarded their ship for Little Garden.
And Mihawk began this journey as their teacher!
…
Dressrosa.
"Thunder God's Spear!"
Enel's roar rang out, and a blinding white spear was hurled from his hand.
The spear carried incandescent lightning as it tore through the air, striking the pirate ship in the waters outside Dressrosa in the blink of an eye.
Boom!
A huge explosion mixed with arcs of lightning erupted across the sea.
Swish!
Before the explosion landed, a figure leapt from the pirate ship.
In the next instant, he was already in front of Enel, the strange sword in his hand piercing straight into Enel's chest.
Without relying on any special method, the speed of his body alone had already surpassed many people on the sea.
"Oh? You dodged it?"
The swordsman looked at Enel before him and spoke with some surprise.
Where the umbrella sword had pierced his chest, white lightning flickered.
Enel's Observation Haki was extremely powerful. In the past, its range had even been comparable to Cyrus's.
Back on Skypiea, the elemental intangibility of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit alone had been enough to handle everything, until he met Cyrus and the others and was beaten down by three people in a row.
After that, Enel had understood that there were always higher skies and stronger people beyond him.
Among the things Cyrus had shown him was the technique of combining Observation Haki with Logia intangibility.
In a certain sense, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was even more suited to that kind of technique than Cyrus's flames.
"You bastard…"
Enel's heart jolted, and he immediately raised his hand, firing out a bolt of lightning.
Swish!
The old man in front of him had already vanished, faster than the lightning itself.
Looking down at the rooftop of a house below, Enel frowned in thought before descending as well.
He landed on the rooftop of another building and faced the old man holding the umbrella.
The other party's speed was astonishing.
"As expected, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit."
Seeing Enel descend, the old man across from him spoke, his tone carrying a trace of emotion.
"Who are you?"
Hearing the man's words, Enel's tone turned hostile.
However, the other party was not weak.
So Enel did not immediately start fighting.
"My name…"
"Patrick Redfield."
The man gave his name, then looked toward Enel after speaking.
A trace of confusion flashed through Enel's eyes.
During this period, he had been reading through the bounty posters issued by the Marines.
But most of what he had read concerned currently active pirates.
This name, however, was one he truly did not know.
"You haven't heard of me? Well, that is normal."
Redfield naturally noticed Enel's expression, but he did not care much.
After discovering the gap between himself and Roger and Whitebeard, he had given up on becoming the so-called Pirate King and entered the Great Undersea Prison.
How many years had passed since then?
Redfield thought back on it, his expression filled with faint nostalgia.
"No matter who you are, as long as you're a pirate, you're someone I'm supposed to capture."
The moment Enel's voice fell, lightning flashed.
His figure appeared behind Redfield.
Rumble!
Lightning burst out, blasting the rooftop and sending shattered stone flying.
But Redfield, who had been standing there a moment ago, had already vanished.
Enel abruptly turned and looked toward the old man who had changed positions.
"I didn't come here to fight you, I still have matters to handle! This was only a greeting, if you can contact your chairman, tell him I will personally visit him later.
"Oh, right. A few old fellows may come here afterward. Perhaps they're only passing through, but those old men are not easy to talk to."