The clash of steel echoed continuously across the outer deck of the Baratie.
Nami and Zoro's blades beca a blur as they collided repeatedly, leaving behind only afterimages.
To the average person, the trajectories of their strikes were impossible to follow.
But for those with sufficient strength, it was clear how effortlessly Nami was handling the fight.
In their battle, Zoro was the one constantly attacking, while Nami flawlessly blocked every single one of his strikes.
Perhaps she didn't want to damage Zoro's swords, or maybe she was just passing the ti—or even practicing.
Whatever the reason, Nami refrained from using her lightning powers.
Instead, she relied solely on ordinary slashes to counter Zoro's attacks.
Not far away, the pirates aboard Krieg's ship were closely observing the duel between Zoro and Nami on the outer deck.
"Vice-Captain Gin, is Captain Krieg okay?"
"Vice-Captain Gin, what exactly happened inside the restaurant?"
"Yeah, why is Captain Krieg's arm severed, and why is he unconscious?"
"And who are those two fighting on the deck?"
"Yeah, they're so strong—especially that woman. She feels incredibly dangerous!"
The pirates of the Krieg Pirates gathered together, looking worriedly at Krieg and at the ongoing duel between Nami and Zoro outside the Baratie.
"Stop worrying about that. Everyone, finish your food as quickly as possible," Gin said darkly, addressing the pirates around him.
"Then we'll take Captain Krieg and leave this place."
At this mont, Gin had already recognized Nami's identity.
Through her, he had also learned about Arton's.
A man capable of defeating Shiki was not soone Krieg's pirates could hope to stand against.
Even though Nami and Arton weren't currently attacking them, that didn't an they wouldn't later.
In Gin's mind, the best course of action was to ensure the crew ate their fill and left as soon as possible.
After regaining a bit of strength, Gin urged everyone to prepare to set sail and leave as quickly as possible.
However, his words were interrupted by a grim voice.
"No, we can't leave."
"If we leave, I won't be able to get my hand reattached."
Gin turned toward the voice, surprised to see that Krieg, who had been knocked unconscious by Nami's kick, had opened his eyes again.
"Captain Krieg, are you alright?!" Gin quickly reached out to help Krieg sit up.
"How could I be alright?!"
"My arm is severed!"
"No matter what, I have to get it reattached!"
Krieg gritted his teeth, his gaze fixed on the ongoing battle between Nami and Zoro.
Though he had been unconscious for so ti, he still rembered Nami ntioning there was a way to reattach his arm.
Gin frowned, wanting to persuade Krieg further, but Krieg was no longer listening.
Despite the pain wracking his body, Krieg forced himself to stand on the deck of his pirate ship. He pulled out a poison gas bomb and aid it at Nami and Zoro, who were still locked in combat.
However, just as he was about to act, Nami's expression suddenly sharpened. She glanced briefly in Krieg's direction.
Noticing Nami's change in deanor, Krieg panicked and quickly pulled the trigger.
But as soon as the poison gas bomb left the barrel, Nami unleashed a lightning-infused flying slash.
The slash reached the bomb in an instant, shattering its tallic casing. The poison gas inside dispersed in all directions.
And it didn't stop there.
The lightning-infused flying slash not only destroyed the poison bomb but also sliced cleanly through Krieg's entire left arm—and even through the pirate ship beneath him.
Monts later, Krieg's left arm separated from his body.
The pirate ship split apart, first into two halves, then into four.
"Amazing... She actually sliced through the pirate ship?!"
"Wow, Kaya, is this new crewmate of yours always this strong?"
"Was she already this powerful when she joined you?"
Usopp, astonished, turned to Kaya for answers.
"No, you're wrong, Usopp."
"Nami wasn't strong when she joined."
"It's only thanks to Captain Arton's help, and Nami's… effort that she's been able to beco soone capable of slicing through a pirate ship."
Kaya pressed her lips together, her face slightly flushed as she spoke.
As a crewmate, she naturally knew what kind of "effort" Nami had put in.
Rather than true effort, it was more like Nami finding creative ways to offer Arton… "benefits."
"I see… So, what about you, Kaya? Have you also grown a lot stronger?"
Usopp asked curiously.
Kaya nodded slightly and casually threw a punch into the air beside her.
Though it landed in empty space, Usopp clearly heard a resounding boom.
His eyes widened once again.
"That's… that's incredible!"
"How much power must that punch have?"
Usopp was stunned.
"It's not that strong," Kaya said with a soft laugh.
"If anything, at this rate, Nami's going to surpass ."
"What? You're stronger than Nami?"
Usopp was dumbfounded.
For a mont, he began to question his understanding of the world.
"We can talk more later, Usopp," Kaya said, her tone suddenly serious.
"More importantly, soone's coming."
"Soone? Who?" Usopp asked, his curiosity piqued.
"I'm not sure, but earlier, when Nami swung her blade, there was another flying slash from that direction."
"It joined with Nami's and split the pirate ship into four pieces," Kaya explained, her expression grave.
Though she said she wasn't certain, based on what she had read in Arton's journal, she had a strong suspicion about who the person responsible for that slash was.
"What? So it wasn't just Nami who split the pirate ship into four pieces?"
"There's soone else out there?"
Usopp quickly pulled out his telescope and scanned the area in the direction Kaya was looking.
"You—how dare you attack soone else during our fight!"
"Hey! I'm talking to you—what are you looking at?"
Zoro, holding his three swords, shouted angrily at Nami.
This anger didn't stem solely from Nami attacking soone else during their sparring match.
It was also fueled by the power she had displayed—those flying lightning slashes from her blade, strong enough to cleave a pirate ship in two.
Zoro was furious with himself for being the one who forced Nami to hold back.
"Nami, let's end our match here," she said with a serious expression.
"Soone strong is approaching."
Hearing this, Zoro set aside his annoyance toward Nami and followed her gaze.
Soon, his mouth dropped open, his expression full of shock.
"No way… What's that man doing here?"
"You know him, Zoro?"
"How could I not know? That's the world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk—the goal of every swordsman in the world."
"Ah, so it's him!"
"Wait, you're not a swordsman? Then why do you have that expression?"
"What kind of expression am I supposed to have? I'm not aiming to beco the world's greatest swordsman."
"Can you even call yourself a swordsman then?" Zoro shouted angrily at Nami, his frustration with himself growing.
A woman who wasn't even aspiring to beco the world's greatest swordsman had stronger slashes than he did.
Even so, he turned to look in the direction Nami was staring.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind swept past.
Zoro barely registered a blur before a man with a black sheathed longsword on his back and eyes sharp as a hawk's appeared nearby.
Arton also observed the scene and captured it in his diary with a photograph:
[Photo: The sudden arrival of the world's greatest swordsman—Dracule Mihawk!]
[As expected, great things always happen at the Baratie.]
[And here he is—Dracule Mihawk!]
[Now I can use the blank character template challenge roll to further enhance Shirou Emiya's template.]
[The full-fledged Unlimited Blade Works of Emiya as a heroic spirit will surely be mine.]
[And after that, I'll need to acquire the black heroic spirit version of Emiya's dual guns. They're too stylish to pass up.]
[Of course, the power of Muramasa from Emiya's super version is also incredibly cool.]
Boa Hancock: "The Seven Warlords, Dracule Mihawk!"
Hina: "In the end, that man still managed to find Arton, didn't he?"
Tashigi: "The world's greatest swordsman might fight Arton, who possesses the power of Unlimited Blade Works. I'd love to see that in person."
Gion: "In the end, we couldn't catch up in ti, could we?"
Ain: "With the powers Arton now wields from Shirou Emiya, there should still be the red heroic spirit version of Emiya, the black heroic spirit version, and the Muramasa version to co, right?"
Doll: "Let's hope Mihawk doesn't push Arton into directly unlocking the Superhero Shirou Emiya power. Sigh, if that happens, inviting Arton will beco a nearly impossible task.
Charlotte Smoothie: "If Arton really fights Mihawk, I hope he records the battle as a video."
Belo Betty: "That way, we could also witness the power of the world's greatest swordsman."
Whitey Bay: "And once again marvel at the wonder of Unlimited Blade Works."
Charlotte Smoothie: "More importantly, it'll give us a clearer idea of what kind of power this future husband of mine truly holds."
As Arton uploaded the photo of Dracule Mihawk to his diary, it imdiately attracted the attention of the diary's replica holders.
While many of the diary replica holders didn't want Arton to grow too powerful through a battle with Mihawk—since it would make it even harder to recruit him into their factions—the allure of Shirou Emiya's Unlimited Blade Works was simply too great.
The won were deeply curious about how far Shirou Emiya's power could be strengthened.
Unfortunately, Arton, though planning to fight Dracule Mihawk eventually, had no intention of starting the battle imdiately.
[Though battling Mihawk is inevitable, I'll wait for now.]
[Zoro is bound to challenge Mihawk and try to earn his recognition.]
[This is crucial to whether Mihawk will take Zoro as his disciple in the future.]
[For now, let's watch and perhaps witness an iconic mont.]
Tashigi: "Mihawk might actually take Zoro as his disciple."
"Key point? What exactly did Zoro do?"
Kalifa: "That's interesting. If we could figure out what Zoro did to catch Mihawk's attention, could others use the sa approach to gain Mihawk's recognition?"
Charlotte Custard: "The world's greatest swordsman, huh? Maybe Zoro's thod could indeed be useful."
Arton's words piqued the interest of many diary replica holders.
For swordsn, in particular, this was especially intriguing.
At this mont, Zoro, as expected, found himself eting the gaze of Dracule Mihawk.
"You're Dracule Mihawk, right?!"
Zoro's eyes lit up with excitent as he stared at the man in disbelief.
However, Mihawk paid him no mind, his sharp gaze fixed squarely on Nami.
"I recognize you. You're Nami, aren't you?"
"That earlier slash was impressive, but you shouldn't have taken my prey without permission," Mihawk said.
"Your prey?"
Nami frowned and glanced at the broken remnants of Krieg's pirate ship and the crew mbers crying out in pain amidst the wreckage.
"Those were your prey?"
Hearing this, Mihawk nodded slightly.
"Indeed, they were. They're pests I hunted down in my spare ti after they disturbed my rest," Mihawk replied.
Nami couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth at his words.
"Never mind. eting you here is fortunate enough," Mihawk said, his tone indifferent.
"If you're here, then Arton must be here too."
As he spoke, Mihawk turned his gaze toward the entrance of the Baratie.
However, before he could see anything, Zoro stepped forward, deliberately blocking Mihawk's view.
Reviews
All reviews (0)