Taro was in no hurry to answer Perona's question. Instead, he first clinked glasses with Hawkeye, taking the opportunity to observe Hawkeye's reaction.
He wasn't sure what Mihawk's attitude would be toward Perona potentially leaving, so he wanted to confirm.
Sensing Taro's gaze, Hawkeye's eyes turned cold.
"If you know, then speak. Why are you looking at me?"
Taro understood and looked at Perona, shaking his head.
"I don't know!"
Perona was immediately disappointed and anxious. Her large black pupils instantly lost their focus, and her eyes filled with tears.
"How... how could you not know? It was clearly written in the newspaper that you fought on an island!"
Taro pushed the apple juice toward the edge of the table and looked at the Gothic girl.
"I did see him on that island, but after that, he left! As for where he is now, I truly don't know!"
Noticing that Mihawk had been watching his expression, Taro shrugged.
"Don't look at me like that, I'm telling the truth!"
Hawkeye withdrew his gaze, swirled his glass slightly, and downed it in one gulp.
"What was the name of that island?" Perona pressed.
Taro hesitated for a moment before answering, "Sicily Island."
He paused, then added another sentence.
"However, I should remind you that Moria is now with the... wanted criminals sought by the World Government, Wanluos Group. The situation is much more dangerous than when you were on Thriller Bark."
Taro had always found Perona's character setting quite baffling.
In the original plot, when Moria was defeated by Luffy, she was more cowardly than anyone else, packing her bags and running at the first sign of trouble.
Hundreds of chapters later, she suddenly displayed emotions toward Moria as if he were her father.
It was quite sudden!
If that's the case, why did you run away back then?
"I'm not afraid! I'm going to find Master Moria!"
Having obtained useful information, Perona seemed a bit happier. Four Negative Hollows circled around her, letting out eerie laughter.
Taro secretly glanced at Hawkeye's expression.
Hmm, very calm.
Hawkeye felt a surge of anger from Taro's repeated strange glances.
With a 'clack,' he set his wine glass on the table.
Taro quickly withdrew his gaze, and Perona also stopped in confusion, turning back to look at him.
Hawkeye's sharp gaze fixed on Taro as he said coldly, "Pour the wine!"
Then he added indifferently, "Be careful on the road!"
"Pfft—"
Taro couldn't help it and suddenly burst out laughing.
Immediately after, he felt the temperature in the room drop sharply, and the air seemed to freeze.
Realizing things were going south, he quickly stifled his smile and poured wine for Hawkeye.
"I was drinking apple juice before, and suddenly switching to wine, I wasn't used to it and got choked!"
As he spoke, he signaled with his eyes toward the cup of juice nearby to prove he had indeed been drinking it.
Hawkeye's pupils constricted violently, and his fists clenched tight.
"So gentle... don't suddenly say such gentle things!"
At this moment, Perona, who had been stunned for a while, cried out. She covered her eyes with her arms and wailed loudly.
After a while, she stopped crying and said gratefully,
"Thank you for everything up until now!"
Oho, the iconic scene has happened early!
It's only been a few months, and their relationship has developed quite fast!
Having learned his lesson from the previous times, Taro didn't look at Hawkeye this time. He just lowered his eyelids and chuckled to himself.
Even so, Hawkeye, sitting opposite him, still noticed Taro's change. His breathing suddenly hitched.
Shing—
Hawkeye directly drew his black blade yoru and slashed forward.
Clang—
Taro drew a section of thunderstorm with a backhand to block it!
Holy crap, no way, no way!
He's flustered! Hawkeye is flustered!
Thinking this, Taro's face became very solemn.
"Cough, cough, an accident! Let's talk business first! Business!"
The sudden clash between the two left Perona completely dazed. She had no idea what had happened!
Hawkeye was merely displeased with Taro's expression. This strike was a way of showing his stance, and his power was well-controlled.
Taro naturally understood this, so he didn't activate his abilities either.
Hawkeye gave Taro another warning look before they both sheathed their swords.
"It seems you've found a way to refine your blade using your own ability!"
As the World's Greatest Swordsman, that single exchange just now was enough for Hawkeye to see that Taro's sword had changed.
Taro didn't intend to elaborate and smiled easily. "Just a coincidence!"
He then turned to Perona.
"Ghost Girl, I suggest you wait and see! Moria hasn't just offended the World Government now. With that report out, 'Beasts' Kaido won't let him off either!"
Perona wasn't stupid. She floated in front of the two with a thoughtful expression.
"But Master Moria made such a big scene; he clearly wants us to go find him!"
Taro raised an eyebrow and shook his head with a smile.
"No, I think it's exactly the opposite. He doesn't want you to find him; he just wants his former subordinates to know he's still alive!"
Perona was clearly not that easy to fool. She thought for a while and said hesitantly,
"Do you have any basis for saying that?"
Sensing Perona's hesitation, Taro added more fuel to the fire.
"If Moria wanted you to find him, then he would definitely create another big piece of news to mark his location for you."
"Correspondingly, if he vanishes from now on, it means he's just telling you he's safe and doesn't want you to find him so urgently. After all, he isn't stable right now—it's even very dangerous!"
"That's why I suggest you wait a bit longer!"
Under Taro's verbal onslaught, Perona was suddenly undecided, floating in the air and spinning in circles.
Finally, she looked at Hawkeye, hoping Mihawk could give her some advice.
Hawkeye's expression was indifferent as he looked at the wine in his glass and spoke softly.
"Moria is a man with very tenacious vitality!"
This was hinting to Perona that Moria wouldn't die so easily! There was no need to rush to find him!
Taro understood this in his heart and lowered his head again.
Tsk tsk, there's definitely something going on, Mihawk!
Hearing the sound of knuckles clenching across from him,
Taro quickly raised his head, tucked away his strange expression, and looked serious.
"You might as well wait in Sabaody for a few days. If the latest news about Moria comes out, it won't be too late to make a decision!"
"Taro, you Marines can definitely..." Perona still didn't want to wait in vain. She approached Taro, her tone somewhat pleading.
Taro understood Perona's meaning. He waved his hand to interrupt her, his tone grave.
"With the stealth capabilities of Moria and the Wanluos Group, never mind whether the Marines can get intelligence on Moria, even if we could, I cannot just leak Marine intelligence to you at will!"
"Our friendship is one thing. What I can say, I naturally will."
"I can take the initiative to speak, but you cannot force me! Understand?"
Taro's blunt tone made Perona feel even more desperate. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked to Hawkeye for help.
Hawkeye didn't look at Perona. He lowered his gaze and said softly,
"He is a Marine!"
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.