The sea near the City of Waters seven. On a solitary coffin drifting along the waves sat a man with short hair, dressed in a black windbreaker and a burgundy patterned shirt. Most notable was the cross-shaped weapon on his back—the Supreme Great Sword, one of the 12 Works, the Black Sword Night. His identity was also well-known—as the world's strongest swordsman and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Hawkeye Mihawk, whose full name is Dracule Mihawk. At that moment, he was sitting cross-legged, savoring red wine from a glass. Suddenly, his brow furrowed.
— "Flying Slash?"
Several golden flying slashes zipped past him, heading straight towards him, but Mihawk didn't even flinch. They vanished without a trace before reaching him.
— "A swordsman capable of using Flying Slash, quite interesting. It must be coming from… hmm…"
— "Water seven…"
A spark flickered in Mihawk's hawk-like eyes, and he immediately turned his boat toward the not-too-distant City of Seven Waters. More precisely, in the direction of the flying slashes. As the strongest swordsman in the world, Mihawk, although he held the highest rank, never shied away from a challenge from opponents; in fact, he sought them out himself. It was evident that the sword energy released by Karl out of boredom had caught his attention.
Shipwreck Island. Under Lieutenant Nelson's command, the marines were cleaning up the battlefield. The bodies of the fallen pirates were being thrown into the sea, and the pirate ships were being looted and taken to a secret location where they were left. After this operation, Shipwreck Island looked exactly as it did before the arrival of the White Wolf Pirates, calmly awaiting the Pirates of Flame. But the silence was broken by an uninvited guest.
— "Look, Lieutenant Nelson, a boat is heading our way!"
Lieutenant Nelson frowned and quickly raised his telescope to take a look. As he clearly saw the person, his pupils narrowed to a point.
— "What?! It's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea! Hawkeye Mihawk!"
— "Lieutenant Nelson, are you talking about the world's strongest swordsman?"
— "Yes, that's him! I'll never forget those fearsome eyes."
The marines were suddenly a bit startled and confused. Nelson took a deep breath and pulled out the Den Den Mushi.
In the café, Karl was flirting with a beautiful woman he had just approached. Laughter erupted from time to time from the stools.
— "Bu-lu-bu-lu~"
The sound of the Den Den Mushi interrupted their conversation. Karl politely smiled and answered the call.
— "What now?"
"Reporting to the colonel, Mihawk has arrived!"
"Which Hawk?"
"The world's strongest swordsman, Shichibukai Hawkeye Mihawk!" Nelson's voice held a hint of excitement.
Upon hearing this, Karl's smile gradually faded. Why did he come here?!
Alright! Another big player you shouldn't provoke!
Even though Hawkeye is a Shichibukai, he might not be polite with the marine corps. At least from the marine perspective, Mihawk is a man who doesn't care about anything and acts according to his whims.
The other Shichibukai aren't much better. The seemingly loyal Bartholomew Kuma is actually a secret agent of the Revolutionary Army.
In any case, Karl doesn't have a great impression of these Shichibukai. They're just a bunch of unreliable mercenaries.
"Ding~ Mihawk's intent to engage in combat with the Master has been detected. Triggering the quest series [Don't Hit Your Own 1/7]."
A special mission for the Seven Warlords of the Sea: As allies, you must cherish each other and live in peace. Do not fight or kill one another as it disrupts harmony and wastes valuable time.
"Quest: Avoid battling with Hawkeye Mihawk, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"Reward: Black Sword Forging Method, Armament Haki Enhancement Card*5"
Karl's breath caught, and a flash of surprise appeared in his eyes. The rewards are very generous! The key word is quest series. Seven Warlords of the Sea!
"Sorry, I have official business. Perhaps we'll have the fortune to meet again!"
"Huh? You're leaving so soon?" The beautiful woman with long burgundy hair looked a bit offended.
But Karl said nothing and left the café straight away.
On Shipwreck Island, Mihawk leaped off a coffin-shaped raft, gracefully landing on the island, looked around, and found that there was only a group of regular marines.
"Who's in charge here?"
The marines, confronted with this question, all looked at Nelson, and Mihawk's gaze followed theirs.
"Are you in charge? What just happened here?"
Despite a slight fear of Mihawk, Nelson stubbornly responded, "Mr. Mihawk, although you are one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, you don't have the right to interfere with the marine corps' internal affairs, correct?"
In the next second, the Black Sword was in front of Nelson, and Mihawk's keen eyes looked calmly at him.
"I'll repeat my question, what just happened here?"
"Just a few pirates met their end. There's no need to draw a sword over such a trivial matter, right, Mihawk?"
Mihawk looked up and saw a handsome marine standing nearby, with a black bird perched on his shoulder.
"Who are you?" Mihawk's tone remained even.
"Colonel of the Marine Headquarters, Karl."
Mihawk slowly placed the Black Sword Yoru behind his back, gazed at Karl with sharp eagle-like eyes, and said, "It was you who just unleashed the Flying Slash, wasn't it?"
Although Karl did not have the typical stance of a swordsman, Mihawk sensed the presence of a strong man in him.
"I must say, you're very observant!"
Karl felt slightly excited. Isn't this the insight of the world's greatest swordsman? He didn't even draw his sword.
Raven: Caw-caw?
"It seems you are the one."
As soon as he said this, Mihawk grabbed Black Sword and struck at Karl. A sharp crescent-shaped Flying Slash raced towards Karl like a meteor.
"Ding~ [Don't Hit Your Own 1/7] Quest failed."
Karl: ???
Wait, did the quest fail just like that?
But as the flying slash approached ever closer, Karl cursed, "Damn it!"
The Raven immediately transformed into combat mode, followed by a triple slash. Three flying slashes collided with Hawk Eye's slash and barely neutralized it.
Karl stood, breathing weakly, with a massive sense of resentment boiling inside him.
Damn it, Mihawk, you really deserve to die! Damn it! This hurts more than killing me! Ohhhh!
"Yes, your sword is very interesting."
Mihawk was looking at the raven in Karl's hand. He had clearly seen just now that Karl's sword had transformed from the bird on his shoulder. It was the first time he'd seen such a thing.
But I think I know this weapon, it resembles the first generation Kitetsu, but only the blade and patterns on it are completely different from the lower part of the guard.
Karl took a few steps forward, holding the raven in his hand, and as he passed by, he said in a cold voice, "This saber is called Raven, the blade is four feet and seven inches, pure weight ten pounds and five ounces. It can cut through anything and kill people silently."
Hawkeye: ???
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