Scientific research shows that after birth, the eyes are the only organ that does not grow with age.
At this moment, Kenji looked at the boy's sharp, hawk-like eyes and sighed, 'As expected of science, it is indeed correct.'
Not only were Mihawk's eyes same as how they would look in the future, but even his piercing gaze was almost identical to that of the 'Greatest Swordsman in the World' in Kenji's memory.
However, Mihawk's expression was very cold, appearing even more aloof than the young Crocodile, seemingly indifferent to everything around him.
Kenji noticed that his hand was always resting on the hilt of the wooden sword at his waist, as if he were ready to face an unknown challenge at any moment.
"He arrived here by sea with the previous group of wandering youths." Anna quietly explained to Kenji.
"After landing on the island, he didn't sign up for the training camp selection and barely interacted with anyone else."
"We don't know his name yet..."
By the end, Anna's tone carried a rare hint of emotion, and a trace of frustration and annoyance showed in her beautiful big eyes. Clearly, it was her first time encountering such a difficult kid.
"Hmm, it's okay, don't blame yourself." Kenji waved his hand, smiling as he comforted her.
"About this child... I know a bit."
Although Anna hadn't gathered much information about the boy, in Kenji's eyes, the boy's 'Hawkeyes' had already revealed his identity.
Kenji walked forward, looking at the precocious boy whose face was etched with 'Do Not Approach Strangers,' and a slight smile curved his lips.
"You are the little swordsman Dracule Mihawk?"
Upon hearing this, the Mihawk suddenly stood up, adopting a sword-drawing stance, and a hint of danger emanated from his sharp eyes.
However, he didn't immediately attack, responding coldly, "You've heard my story?"
Kenji chuckled, "Haha, your face is full of stories."
"..." Mihawk frowned at this, looking thoughtful.
"Are you here to join the training camp like them?" Kenji asked.
In fact, Kenji found Mihawk a bit difficult to handle.
He himself was not skilled in swordsmanship, and if he left him to a hands-off approach in the training camp, it would be a waste of this swordsmanship genius's potential.
Fortunately, Mihawk soon spoke up, helping Kenji solve the problem—though not in the way Kenji had hoped.
"I heard that an Admiral might appear here, so I came."
"I'm not here to join the training camp..."
"I'm here to witness the power that stands at the pinnacle of this world."
These words immediately relieved Kenji, who had been troubled.
Although more troubles might arise later, at least the previous one was resolved, wasn't it?
Mihawk wasn't here for the training camp at all, which was good. He no longer had to worry about finding a suitable instructor.
'Is this kid treating the training camp as a free sightseeing spot?' Kenji realized that the young Dracule Mihawk wanted to freeload.
He wanted to freeload a glimpse of an Admiral-level combat performance. However, freeloading was not allowed with Kenji.
"If you want to gain something, you have to pay a price." Kenji said with a cold chuckle.
He had already decided to teach this 'freeloading' kid a good lesson later.
Purupuru~!!
The Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.
It was a call from Spandine.
"Kenji, regarding the recent whereabouts of 'Red Count, Patrick Redfield' that you requested last time, I have largely finished gathering the information over the past few days."
"Hmm, go ahead."
"Alright... According to the intelligence, Red Count appeared at Twin Capes half a month ago, briefly showed up in Loguetown in East Blue ten days ago, and passed through Shimotsuki Village five days ago..."
"Is that so... Does Red Count have a purpose in coming to East Blue?"
"Hmm, based on his movements over the past three months... we speculate it might be related to the Roger Pirates."
The call ended, and Kenji put away the Den Den Mushi, turning to look thoughtfully at the distant sea.
Just then, a line of system prompt suddenly appeared in his vision.
[You have successfully tracked down the whereabouts of 'Red Count, Patrick Redfield'! Your performance is perfect even among the numerous elites at Marineford!]
[Mission (Main): Follow Marineford's orders to track down the Legendary Pirate 'Red Count, Patrick Redfield'! — Completed!]
[Reward: Upgrade a random owned trait 1 time!]
[Reward being distributed...]
[Your Observation Haki (Light Gold) has been upgraded to Observation Haki (Gold)!]
...
[Name: Kenji]
[Traits: Armament Haki (Super Gold), Observation Haki (Gold), Conqueror's Haki (Dark Gold), Physique (Gold), Hand-to-Hand Combat (Light Gold), Swordsmanship (Super Blue), Sea Beast Power (Light Blue), Superspeed Regeneration (Super Blue), Iron Body (Blue), Future Vision (Blue), Berserk (Dark Blue), Pressure of All Things (Light White)]
"Oh? The last few random upgrade rewards weren't off-target, my luck is good!"
Kenji released his Observation Haki, feeling the changes brought by the trait upgrade.
"Hmm, the perception range has increased... Eh?"
He was closing his eyes, testing the limits of his Observation Haki, when a glowing text appeared before him without warning.
[Due to your performance in the last tracking mission far exceeding Marineford's expectations, the Marine high command has decided to assign you an even more difficult mission—find 'Red Count, Patrick Redfield'!]
[Mission (Main): Locate and confirm the position of 'Red Count, Patrick Redfield', and report the intelligence to Marineford!]
[Reward: Upgrade a random owned trait 2 times!]
"Another tracking mission?" Kenji frowned, feeling a bit helpless.
"I should have known not to hang up so quickly."
He reached for the Den Den Mushi, preparing to contact Spandine again.
It was still the same principle: professional matters should be handled by professionals.
However, he had been relying on this 'tool' a bit too frequently lately.
Kenji's many years of experience in delegating Marine affairs to his subordinates told him that using a 'tool' so frequently could easily trigger a 'short-term slacking' mentality in them.
Fortunately, Kenji didn't expect to find the elusive 'Red Count' anytime soon, so he was quite relaxed about it.
"...Eh? This aura is..."
The next moment, before he could even activate the Den Den Mushi, his Observation Haki suddenly detected a powerful aura within its range.
This aura was easy for him to distinguish. He had briefly clashed with him over two months ago.
Red the Aloof, Patrick Redfield!
(End of Chapter)
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