~ Thank you, This is the Bonus Chapter For Hitting 1,400~
~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
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PS : I was working on this chapter while listening to "THE WEEKND - SAO PAULO (BEST PART LOOPED)," and it was absolutely flawless!
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"Rowen!" Seeing Rowen step forward to face Mihawk directly, especially after witnessing Zoro's utter helplessness against him moments before, Nami cried out, her eyes filled with fear and worry.
Zoro was renowned throughout the East Blue, a pirate hunter feared even by pirates with multi-million Beri bounties. Yet, before the Hawk-Eyed man, he was as fragile as an infant.
Rowen was strong, yes... but against a monster like this...
Nami watched Rowen's back as he faced Mihawk, her hands clasped tightly over her heart, fraught with anxiety.
"One after another... are they all crazy?! That moss-head... he was facing the World's Strongest! He should have known the outcome before even starting! Couldn't he just give up on his ambition? It's simple, right? Just give up..." Sanji muttered, watching Johnny and Yosaku haul Zoro's broken body onto a small boat.
He then looked at Rowen, who stood firm before Mihawk despite the vivid example of Zoro's defeat.
Sanji wasn't dismissing Rowen or Zoro.
Instead... he was trying to convince himself!
Although he found the moss-headed swordsman annoying and deeply envied Rowen for winning the beautiful lady's favor, Sanji looked at them and saw... kindred spirits.
People willing to risk everything, even their lives, for their ambitions and dreams.
His own act of feeding Don Krieg earlier... fundamentally, how different was it from that idiot moss-head challenging Mihawk?
Sanji felt a flicker of longing... a pull towards joining this crew.
But he still owed Zeff a debt of gratitude he hadn't fully repaid...
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"You are companions of that young swordsman, correct? Thank you for staying to witness the end," Mihawk stated calmly, looking at Rowen. A faint crimson-black light flickered within his hawk-like eyes.
"To possess Haki of this caliber... in the weakest sea... It is quite surprising," Mihawk acknowledged, his tone becoming slightly more serious.
This was respect offered to another man who had awakened Conqueror's Haki, who possessed the disposition of a King.
"It seems you have business with me. However... allow me to conclude this matter first," Mihawk said slowly.
The simmering Conqueror's Haki around Rowen subsided slightly, indicating his assent.
"Young swordsman! It is too early for you to die!" Mihawk called out, looking towards Zoro who had just been pulled aboard the boat.
"My name is Dracule Mihawk! Discover yourself! See the true world! Become strong! No matter how many years it takes, I shall wait for you at the top! Surpass this sword! Surpass me! Roronoa Zoro!"
Mihawk's words were an acknowledgment from the World's Greatest Swordsman of Zoro's performance.
This young swordsman possessed the powerful spirit required to become a truly great swordsman. He also possessed... the pride of a swordsman.
It had been a long time since Mihawk encountered a newcomer with such potential, one worth anticipating.
Ever since Shanks lost his left arm, sealing away his left-handed swordsmanship forever, Mihawk had felt a profound loneliness.
In terms of pure swordsmanship, no one left on the seas could truly force him to be serious.
"Big Bro! Wake up!" Johnny and Yosaku sobbed, while Usopp frantically applied medicine and tended to Zoro's wounds.
Mihawk, however, knew Zoro was merely unconscious. He had held back.
"Boy. What is your goal?" Mihawk turned his gaze towards Luffy.
This boy... chosen by Shanks.
"To be King of the Pirates!" Luffy declared loudly, facing the World's Strongest Swordsman without flinching.
"Hmph. That is a path even more arduous than surpassing me," Mihawk replied, a slight curve appearing on his lips.
Just as expected. A boy chosen by Shanks should be like this.
"I don't care! I'm gonna be it anyway!" Luffy finished, then stuck his tongue out and made a face at Mihawk.
"He's alive! Just passed out!" Usopp's shout drew Luffy's attention back to Zoro.
Rowen, the crimson-black light in his eyes softening slightly, also looked towards Zoro.
"Big Bro, say something!" Johnny and Yosaku pleaded tearfully.
Clank! With his last ounce of strength, Zoro raised his only remaining sword, Wado Ichimonji, high into the air.
"Luffy! Rowen! Can you hear me?!" Zoro gasped, exhausted and severely injured, but his voice remained firm.
"Yeah!" Luffy yelled back.
"We hear you," Rowen replied, his expression solemn.
Even an awakened King would show full respect to a man like Zoro.
"Sorry... for making you worry!" Zoro held the sword aloft.
"If I... don't become the world's strongest swordsman... it would cause you guys trouble, right?! Cough cough!" He couldn't finish before a wracking cough shook his body due to his severe injuries.
"Big Bro! Don't talk anymore! Your wounds are reopening!" Johnny and Yosaku cried out anxiously.
But Zoro pushed through the pain, continuing.
"I... will never... lose again!" Zoro covered his eyes with his free hand, tears streaming down his face. This incredibly tough man, who could endure twenty days of starvation without showing weakness, shed tears of humiliation after suffering such a crushing defeat.
It also signified... Zoro's ambition would continue!
"Until I defeat him... and become the world's greatest swordsman! I absolutely... will never lose again!" Zoro roared. Mihawk's lips curved slightly further.
"Do you have a problem with that?! King of the Pirates! Sky Sovereign!" Zoro yelled defiantly.
"Shishishi! Nope!" Luffy grinned widely, overjoyed.
Rowen didn't answer verbally. He simply smiled, then the crimson-black light in his eyes flared intensely as he turned back to face Mihawk.
His actions would be his answer to Zoro.
"'Sky Sovereign'... Is that your title? Quite arrogant," Mihawk commented.
"You are not a swordsman. What business do you have with me?" Mihawk asked calmly.
"How about you do me a favor? Measure... my 'Disposition'," Rowen replied, a confident, powerful curve to his lips.
Encountering a man like Mihawk, standing at the absolute pinnacle of the seas... how could Rowen not want to gauge his own current 'Disposition', to understand the gap between himself and such a peak powerhouse?
And given Mihawk's connection to Shanks, he was the most suitable target for such a measurement.
"Hm?" Hearing Rowen's words, and following his subtle gesture towards Luffy's hat, Mihawk understood.
This young man... knows about my relationship with Shanks?
Then this favor... indeed, must be granted.
"'Disposition', you say? Very well," Mihawk agreed, the crimson-black light within his own hawk-like eyes beginning to flash intensely.
"And also..." Rowen continued before Mihawk could finish.
"...Let my comrade know what kind of power he needs to attain... before he can challenge you again!" Rowen laughed, and incredibly, faint arcs of crimson-black lightning began to crackle around his body.
Without the power of Infused Conqueror's Haki, defeating Mihawk completely was impossible.
"Hm?" Hearing this, and seeing the crimson-black lightning flickering around Rowen, Mihawk's eyes suddenly narrowed.
"You... have you been to the Grand Line? No... to the New World?" Mihawk asked gravely.
This young man had not only awakened Conqueror's Haki, but he also knew it could be infused into attacks—knew it was the most domineering power on these seas? Otherwise, why would he say such a thing?
In the East Blue, even the first half of the Grand Line, forget Conqueror's Haki; most didn't even know about Armament Haki.
No, even in the New World, only a very small number of top-tier powerhouses understood the true nature of Conqueror's Haki.
"Never been. But my comrades and I... are about to conquer it," Rowen replied boldly.
"Though I do not know how you learned the truth about Conqueror's Haki... since you know... what is the point of displaying such power to that young swordsman? This power is innate. Without the aptitude, it cannot be awakened," Mihawk stated, his sharp eyes fixed on Rowen.
Aside from Rowen with his System, even Mihawk couldn't know for certain if Zoro possessed the disposition of a King.
Therefore, Mihawk's earlier words to Zoro—telling him to get stronger and surpass him—referred purely to swordsmanship. Without Infused Conqueror's Haki, even if Zoro's skill eventually equaled Mihawk's, he would have no chance of truly winning.
Mihawk had simply intended to plant a seed, to see if this young swordsman's skill might one day reach a level where they could spar for enjoyment, allowing Mihawk to briefly alleviate his boredom.
Of course, in such a spar, Mihawk wouldn't use his own Infused Conqueror's Haki.
"He will awaken such power, of course," Rowen stated, a supremely confident curve to his lips.
"He is, after all... a man acknowledged by me, Rowen!" Rowen laughed boldly.
The wreckage of Don Krieg's ship around them seemed to tremble and crumble slightly under the pressure of his aura.
Standing upon the sea, empowered by his Born of the Sea Trait, and unleashing his Conqueror's Haki... even Mihawk could not ignore Rowen now.
"Hm?" Mihawk's pupils constricted sharply.
This is... already capable of causing tangible physical effects on the surroundings.
After awakening, Conqueror's Haki initially only affected weaker wills, causing them to faint.
With further strengthening, it could exert physical force on the environment. Eventually, one could learn to infuse it into attacks, and finally, complete mastery of Infused Conqueror's Haki granted the power to become one of the absolute strongest on the seas.
This young man before him... was already walking the correct path... the path towards the absolute pinnacle of this world.
And!
Mihawk wasn't sure if his sharp eyes were deceiving him... but in this young man... he thought he saw a faint shadow... of the man whose execution he had once witnessed... the Pirate King!
Extreme confidence, extreme dominance... just standing there, he seemed like the radiant center of the sea itself.
Although this young man's Haki was far weaker than the Pirate King's, the potential... the nascent form... was unmistakably there.
The weakest sea, the East Blue... has produced such a young man.
Waves stirred within Mihawk's usually calm heart.
"Zoro... is the man who will become... the World's Greatest Swordsman!" Rowen declared, laughing boldly.
Zoro, still covering his eyes, felt fresh tears flow uncontrollably. Rowen!
He... would never lose again!
"Hmph." A genuine smile touched Mihawk's lips.
Interesting!
The next moment!
VMM! BOOM!
Rowen's eyes narrowed intensely. The crimson-black light within them solidified, erupting outwards like a raging storm.
BOOM! Mihawk's hawk-like eyes narrowed in response. His own Conqueror's Haki roared forth to meet the challenge.
Two storms of pure will collided mid-air!
CRACKLE! BOOM! Crimson-black lightning tore through the atmosphere, two opposing forces clashing violently!
A tempestuous vortex of power erupted, centered between Rowen and Mihawk, raging outwards...
"AAAAHHH!" Luffy, standing closest to the clash, was instantly blown away by the sheer force of the colliding Haki storms.
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