Chapter 335: Navy vs. Hawkeye!
Under the cover of night, a lone figure wandered through the Alabasta desert. His coat fluttered in the wind, and the moonlight glinted off his skeletal fra.
"Hm... Looks like the Poneglyph has already been moved," Brook muttered, staring at the empty chamber below the ruins. "Then the rumors must be true... the Dragon Hunter Pirates have taken the knowledge of Pluton for themselves."
A strange intensity burned behind his empty eye sockets.
"Peruru... Peruru..."
The Den Den Mushi in Brook’s coat suddenly rang.
"Tch. Who dares call at this hour?" Brook hissed, clearly displeased. If soone on the Dragon Hunter Pirates’ ship discovered this call, it could very well be his last.
The Den Den Mushi’s face transford into the image of a masked agent.
"Sir, we’re ready," the voice on the other end said cautiously. "I’ve fully deciphered the material we recovered. Awaiting your command."
Brook’s voice dropped into a dangerous calm.
"Proceed as planned," he ordered. "The Whitebeard Pirates have outlived their place in the world. It’s ti for them to fade with the tide of history."
"...Whitebeard?" The voice wavered. "Understood."
With that, the line went dead.
Brook closed the receiver and turned to leave. He had lingered too long. Staying alone increased the chance of being discovered. For now, he needed to return and play his role.
—
The next day, the Dragon Hunter Pirates resud their voyage. Their next objective was clear: enter the New World and establish dominance.
The battle with the World Governnt had shaken the power structures across the seas. Allied nations were beginning to doubt their loyalties. The Dragon Hunter Pirates intended to press that advantage—to force the Governnt into revealing its true hand.
Ryuunosuke had another goal too—Raftel.
But unlike Luffy, he wasn’t interested in collecting Road Poneglyphs one by one. What he needed was the eternal log pose in the possession of Douglas Bullet. The truth of the final island lay there—not in chasing history but in owning the ans to reach it.
—
A few days into the voyage, the waters stirred with tension.
A massive navy fleet cut through the sea, its sails bearing the insignia of the World Governnt. Their target: the Kuraigana Island.
Their mission? Eliminate one of the remaining Seven Warlords of the Sea—Dracule Mihawk, the World’s Strongest Swordsman.
"I don’t get it," one of the sailors muttered under his breath. "They want to scrap the Warlords? Fine. But why send us to confront Hawkeye of all people? That’s suicide."
The murmurs spread quickly. No one on board was thrilled about the assignnt.
"Shouldn’t a fleet admiral or at least admiral lead this mission? We’ve only got a vice admiral!"
Another soldier nodded. "Yeah. Strawberry strong, but... we’re talking about Mihawk here."
Their commanding officer barked out, "Enough whining. We’re four days from the target. Just stay sharp and follow orders. Word is, the World Governnt gave us sothing special for this fight."
That didn’t calm anyone’s nerves.
"Ship sighted!"
The cry from the crow’s nest broke the tension. "It’s small... and—wait... are those baboons?!"
Confused chatter rippled through the deck.
In the distance, a modest vessel sailed toward them. Its crew? Several sword-wielding baboons.
"What the hell is this?" one marine whispered.
"These aren’t just random animals," another corrected. "Those are Mihawk’s trained warriors. They’ve inherited the ruins of the Gloomy Kingdom. If they’re here, then..."
"Mihawk must be nearby," soone muttered darkly.
But just then, the lookout shouted again. "Wait! I see soone else—lying on the deck!"
A mont later, a marine rushed to Vice Admiral Strawberry.
"Sir! That’s Roronoa Zoro of the Straw Hat Pirates on the ship!"
"...Zoro?" Strawberry frowned. "What’s he doing with Hawkeye?"
He hadn’t heard of any alliance between the Straw Hats and the swordsman. That made this situation even more puzzling.
"Hold formation," Stoloberry ordered. "No need to engage just yet."
—
On the baboon-crewed ship, Zoro slowly woke up.
"Ugh... middle of the day already?" he grumbled. "Can’t a guy get so sleep?"
He blinked at the baboons chattering around him. "What now? Are we at Sabaody yet?"
The baboons ignored him and instead drew their swords.
Zoro’s instincts kicked in the mont he felt the surge of sword aura.
"Enemies?" he muttered, staggering to his feet and stepping toward the bow.
From there, he spotted the navy fleet looming in the distance.
"Huh... are they lost? Maybe they need directions."
Zoro tilted his head, completely unfazed by the overwhelming number of battleships. His confidence—or perhaps cluelessness—was as absurd as ever.
The baboons beside him shook their heads in disbelief. How could soone so perpetually lost act so smug?
"Wait... I’m a pirate, aren’t I?" Zoro said as if just rembering. "So they’re probably here for ."
Just then, a second boat drifted into view.
From it, a tall figure stepped onto the deck—cold and composed, with a massive black blade strapped to his back.
Dracule Mihawk had arrived.
Zoro’s expression lit up. "You’re here..."
"Get ready," Mihawk said calmly. "This is no ti for a nap."
"I don’t suppose you’ve improved since the last ti?"
Without waiting for an answer, Mihawk raised his arm—and with a flick of his wrist, unleashed a blindingly fast slash.
BOOM!
A massive wave of sword energy ripped through the sea, cleaving a warship in half. Marines scread as the deck split apart, smoke rising into the sky.
Even Strawberry, experienced as he was, had no way to block that attack. He barely managed to leap out of danger in ti.
"Mihawk!" he shouted. "By orders of the World Governnt, the Warlord system has been dissolved! You are to surrender imdiately!"
Mihawk turned toward the fleet, expression unreadable.
"Surrender?" he echoed.
"To be thrown into Impel Down—a prison already shattered by the Revolutionary Army?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"After all these years... perhaps you’ve forgotten sothing."
"I didn’t beco a Warlord because the World Governnt spared ."
His voice was razor-sharp, and for the first ti in years, Mihawk truly spoke his mind.
"I beca a Warlord because you feared what would happen if I wasn’t."
He raised his sword again.
Zoro, still watching from the sidelines, blinked.
"Yeesh... and here I thought I was ready for a rematch..."
The next slash tore through the fleet like a tsunami of steel.
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