"Help!"
Brook, whose heart was in a state of panic, didn't want his recently reunited companion Laboon to be killed by this powerful man who had suddenly appeared. He let out a desperate cry.
"It's Hawkeye!" Jonathan frowned. He subconsciously reached for his waist, about to pull out the two soft swords wrapped around it.
But Rorschach's movements were faster than his.
Everyone only felt a violent gust of wind in front of them, and Rorschach instantly disappeared from their side.
When he reappeared, he was already in front of the giant slash Hawkeye had unleashed.
Facing this hundreds of meters long, huge crescent-shaped slash, Rorschach opened his hand, and his fingertips sparked with electricity.
On the small warship docked at the bottom of the cliff, a black afterimage shot out like lightning, landing in his hand. He clenched his five fingers, swung his single arm, and smashed it toward the incoming giant slash.
"Boom!"
Visibly, in front of Rorschach, a huge depression instantly appeared in the air for hundreds of meters around, as if it had been blown open by thousands of tons of dynamite.
The void seemed to have been blasted in by his smash.
The depressed atmosphere exploded, turning into a rolling impact that collided with the incoming slash like a flash flood.
Then, a huge collision roar sounded between Rorschach and Hawkeye.
The surging airwaves caused by the collision of the shockwave and the slash blew the nearby Brook into a rolling gourd, causing him to roll backward and fly away without any resistance.
He didn't stop until Jonathan, who was rushing forward, pressed him on the back.
The air vibrated violently, and the constant sea currents on Reverse Mountain were broken by this terrifying force. A huge amount of seawater was blown hundreds of meters high, crashing against the surrounding rock walls and splashing everywhere, as if a torrential downpour was falling in front of the lighthouse.
The misty water vapor quickly created a rainbow in the sky under the sunlight.
Behind Rorschach, a very human-like look of fear appeared in the giant eyes of the whale Laboon. It quickly retreated, moving away from the foot of Reverse Mountain where the two of them were.
At this moment, the people in front of the lighthouse also ran over.
Jonathan was the first to speak. "Mihawk! What are you doing? Why are you attacking Laboon? As far as I know, you are not the kind of man who would kill so casually."
Hawkeye stood on his coffin-like boat, his black sword Yoru still in his hand and not put away.
He didn't answer Jonathan. He just looked up at Rorschach, who was floating in the air.
Seeing Hawkeye looking at him, Rorschach couldn't help but smile and say, "I think that slash was aimed at me. Am I right, Hawkeye?"
"What? Why?" Jonathan's body trembled, and he was very confused.
He knew Hawkeye quite well.
Although Hawkeye had the title of a "Marine Hunter" when he was young.
That was a title he got after he caused destruction in a town while sailing the seas to train his swordsmanship. This led the Marines to pursue him, and he killed them in return.
But after Hawkeye became famous, especially after he took the throne of the world's greatest swordsman, he seemed to have detached himself from vulgar interests and rarely attacked the weak.
The opponents he wanted to challenge became those at the level of the Sea Emperors.
For example, the fourth Sea Emperor of the New World, Red-Haired Shanks, was Hawkeye's close friend. The two of them would often spar and duel.
Now, Rorschach said that Hawkeye's slash was actually aimed at him.
Could it be that Hawkeye was interested in Rorschach?
But that didn't make sense. Rorschach wasn't a swordsman.
Zoro stared straight at Hawkeye, and his hand holding Shusui was trembling.
"The man with the hawk eyes. He is the world's greatest swordsman, Hawkeye, Dracule Mihawk! The strongest swordsman in the world. The man Kuina and I want to surpass..."
As if feeling Zoro's gaze, Hawkeye's eyes moved away from Rorschach and glanced at Zoro.
But it was only a brief glance. He then focused on Shusui in Zoro's hand.
"The treasured sword Shusui, the personal sword of the Dragon-Slaying Samurai. Another black sword. It's a shame. I wasn't born two hundred years ago to have a match with Shimotsuki Ryuma."
Hawkeye said calmly.
Zoro's fingers tightened around the hilt of Shusui, and his arm bulged with veins.
He felt that he had been ignored by Hawkeye.
The man would rather focus most of his attention on the famous sword in his hand than give him another look.
It was obvious that the man in front of him looked down on him.
"Whoosh."
The sound of wind was heard. Hawkeye's feet shook, and he, along with his boat, left the currents at the foot of Reverse Mountain and landed steadily on the cliff.
Rorschach also landed from the sky, with the increasingly dark and profound Dragon Slaying Halberd in his hand.
Hawkeye's gaze once again fell on the Dragon Slaying Halberd in his hand.
"The national treasure of the Flower Country in the West Blue. The ancient halberd is said to be able to cut down heavenly lightning. It looks like it's about to become a black sword as well."
He looked at Rorschach, his gaze as sharp as a blade, as if it could pierce people's hearts and see through everything. This put a lot of pressure on Hibari and Hawkins, who didn't dare to look at him.
"You are Rorschach, the one who suddenly emerged in the Navy. I heard you killed Shiki. Is that true? How was his swordsmanship?"
Rorschach raised his eyebrow. He thought to himself, 'No wonder I felt like I was being targeted by Hawkeye's killing intent just now. It turns out he was looking for me because he was curious about this.'
"Are you very interested in Shiki?" Rorschach asked in return instead of answering.
Hawkeye held the black sword and walked down from his small boat, stopping not far in front of him. He shook the water droplets on the long sword. "I am indeed very interested. I've long heard that Shiki was the strongest swordsman of the previous era. I've always wanted to challenge him. Unfortunately, ever since he escaped from Impel Down, he has never appeared on the sea again. I thought I would have a chance to fulfill my long-cherished wish this time, but I never expected the great Flying Pirate Shiki to be killed by a teenage Marine. So, I want to see if the fifteen-year-old Marine Vice Admiral, whom Morgans has praised to the heavens, truly has what it takes."
"Fifteen... years old?" Zoro's eyes widened. He looked up at Rorschach in disbelief.
He couldn't believe that Rorschach, who was nearly three meters tall, was only a fifteen-year-old teenager.
Not only his height, but the slash that Hawkeye just unleashed was also easily blocked by Rorschach.
How powerful that slash was didn't require him to experience it firsthand. He could feel the desperation from the violent air currents that came from the clash.
Zoro knew that that slash was probably an attack he could absolutely not stop.
It was no wonder Hawkeye didn't even bother to look at him.
He was too weak right now.
Zoro's age wasn't actually that old either.
It wasn't yet the year '18. The newspaper said Rorschach was fifteen, but in reality, he was still fourteen.
And Zoro was sixteen, almost seventeen, this year.
This meant that he was two years older than Rorschach.
Rorschach was the same age as Luffy.
Hearing Hawkeye's words, Rorschach said seriously, "Shiki's swordsmanship was very powerful. Among all the opponents who used swords and blades that I've encountered, he was the strongest. I think if it weren't for his old age and a body full of injuries, I wouldn't have been able to kill him with my current strength."
Jonathan, who was on the side, pouted but didn't say anything.
He had indeed been no match for Shiki back then.
"You're a little more humble than I expected. I thought that a successful young man would be a bit arrogant after taking the head of a legendary pirate. Hehe, it seems the Navy has indeed found a good candidate."
Hawkeye raised the black sword in his hand and, under Hibari's nervous gaze, pointed it at Rorschach.
"I want to see what kind of strength a person who can kill Shiki possesses."
Rorschach lifted the Dragon Slaying Halberd in his hand, grinned, and showed a mouthful of white teeth. "Is that so? I've also wanted to experience the slash of the world's greatest swordsman for a long time. I think you should be the strongest among the Shichibukai, right? I've already beaten two of them. With you, that makes three."
The people nearby all opened their mouths wide.
What did he mean by "he had already beaten two of the Shichibukai"?
That was a bit too arrogant, wasn't it?
However, thinking of Rorschach's amazing combat record, it seemed that those two Shichibukai were indeed no match for him.
Even Shiki and Wang Zhi were killed by him.
An ordinary Shichibukai was truly no match for him.
But the man in front of them was Hawkeye, who was recognized as the world's greatest swordsman!
Could Rorschach really defeat him?
Jonathan was unsure and couldn't help but feel worried for Rorschach.
Among the people present, only he had fought Hawkeye and knew deeply how powerful Hawkeye was.
The world's greatest slash. His normal attacks were like ultimate moves. Splitting an island and parting the sea were just basic moves for him.
Hearing Rorschach's answer, a smile appeared on Hawkeye's face. He turned and walked forward.
"Good. Then..."
"Wait!"
Suddenly, a loud shout came from behind them.
Hawkeye was startled. He turned around and looked at Zoro, who had suddenly spoken.
Zoro suppressed his excitement and, under everyone's gaze, stepped out and walked in front of Hawkeye. He took a deep breath and said seriously, "Hawkeye! I want to challenge you!"
Rorschach looked at Zoro with some surprise.
According to the information he got from Marineford, the reason Hawkeye didn't accept the summons to participate in the G-1 naval battle was because he was in the East Blue.
He originally thought the plot of Zoro challenging Hawkeye from the manga had already happened.
He didn't expect it to happen here?
He was a little excited.
Rorschach couldn't help but smile.
Hawkeye frowned slightly as he looked at Zoro, who had walked out from the crowd. "Are you serious?"
"Of course, I'm serious! I set out to sea to find you!"
It was clear that although he was trying to control himself, Zoro was still very excited, and even his voice was trembling a little.
"Oh? Why?" Hawkeye's expression became indifferent.
Zoro drew Wado Ichimonji and another ordinary long sword from his waist. "To fulfill a promise to my companion, and to... become the world's greatest swordsman!"
"Hmph, you pathetic fool."
Hawkeye turned away indifferently and didn't even look at Zoro anymore, walking straight into the distance.
Seeing him walk away, Zoro anxiously rushed forward and blocked Hawkeye. He said loudly, "Please! Fight me, Hawkeye!"
"Get out of my way! You pathetic weakling. I have no interest in fighting an ant. If you were a top-tier swordsman, then I think you would be able to feel the gap between us."
Hawkeye said this and wanted to walk past Zoro again.
Zoro gritted his teeth, bit down on Wado Ichimonji, and held a long sword in each hand. He let out a low growl, "Hawkeye! I have a reason to defeat you!"
Hawkeye frowned, his patience running thin. His pair of sharp golden pupils suddenly narrowed.
In the next second, Zoro, who was blocking in front of him, was as if he was hit by an invisible force. A blood flower burst from his chest, and he let out a muffled grunt. His body left the ground as if it had been hit by a cannonball, flying back seven or eight meters and crashing to the ground with a bang.
The long swords he was holding and the Wado Ichimonji he was biting all fell to the ground.
He lay on his back, breathing heavily, feeling as if all the bones and muscles in his body had been pierced and scattered by that single glance.
Just from a single look from Hawkeye, he couldn't handle it. He was sent flying seven or eight meters back and couldn't get up from the ground for a long time.
The sudden change left everyone behind them speechless.
Rorschach was also stunned.
He was waiting for Zoro to say the famous line, "A wound on the back is a swordsman's shame."
But...
Hawkeye didn't follow the script.
"Green-haired moss head! Are you okay?" Selene quickly ran over and crouched down, trying to help Zoro up, but he pushed her away.
Zoro gritted his teeth, rolled over, and used his hands to support himself on the ground, slowly getting up. He looked at Hawkeye, who was walking past him indifferently, with red eyes.
He clenched his hands tightly, allowing his fingernails to dig into his palms, and crimson blood flowed from between his fingers.
"Is the gap... really this big?"
Thinking of his promise to Kuina, Zoro felt an endless surge of unwillingness in his heart.
All those countless days and nights of furiously swinging his sword, all those countless dawns and dusks of biting rocks and buckets to train his jaw strength until his mouth couldn't close, all those times he sat in front of Kuina's tombstone and promised her that he would definitely take the long sword she left behind and ascend to the throne of the world's greatest swordsman.
But now...
Now that he had finally found the man with the hawk eyes and wanted to challenge him, he couldn't even force him to draw his sword.
He was completely defeated just by a single look from the other party.
"Kid, there's nothing wrong with chasing your dreams, but you shouldn't be a frog in a well, a mere clown. A person needs to know their own limits."
Hawkeye continued to walk farther away, leaving behind a sentence that left Zoro stunned in his spot.
Suddenly, a hand reached out and patted his shoulder.
Zoro was startled. He looked up and saw Rorschach smiling.
"Don't be discouraged, Zoro. You are a man whom even I, Rorschach, acknowledge. Don't look at how strong he is. He's just a few steps ahead. As long as you stay true to your heart and firmly walk on the path you pursue, you will eventually reach or even surpass his height."
With that, Rorschach bent down, picked up Wado Ichimonji and Shusui from the ground, and put them into Zoro's arms.
"You're still very young. Don't forget that he's more than twenty years older than you. He's old enough to be your father. I believe that one day, you will take your companion's promise and these two swords and surpass that indifferent guy to stand at the top of the world."
He patted the stunned Zoro once more, stretched his neck, and walked toward Hawkeye with his Dragon Slaying Halberd.
"Now, watch me get some revenge for you."
End of Chapter)
────────────────────────────────────
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Naruto: Starting with Tsunade-san]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Battle Through the Heavens: Heavenly comprehension]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Soul Land 2: Golden Dragon King]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Marvel: The Fantasy Crystal]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Marvel: Hades]."
"If you want early access to nearly 60+ chapters, join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"