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Lightly shaking the blood off the Yamato, he said to Blue Knight, "Lancelot, please help me guard the ship. I'll go bring back the two remaining valuable guys from Krieg's Pirate Crew."
"Understood."
Seeing Blue Knight agree, Yang Tao, without any hesitation, lightly leaped onto the sea surface, stepping on the appearing ice blocks, and walked step by step towards the Sea Restaurant.
At this moment, a group of people stood on the deck of the Sea Restaurant, staring dumbfounded at Yang Tao, who was walking towards them step by step.
Jumping onto the deck, the surrounding people quickly made way, and Yang Tao walked directly towards Gin, who had bandages wrapped around his head:
"Demon Gin… hmm, 12 million Berries. Are you coming with me willingly, or do you want me to take you by force?"
Demon Gin stared at Yang Tao with a solemn gaze, reaching out and pulling out two side-handle batons: "What did you do to Captain Krieg!"
"Blind loyalty, unfortunately, you've entrusted yourself to the wrong person…"
Yang Tao lifted his foot and took a step towards Gin, activating the Drawing Sword skill, and his figure instantly appeared beside Demon Gin.
Gin reacted extremely quickly, swinging the side-handle batons in his hand to swiftly strike Yang Tao's body.
It was a pity that with his 800 health points, he was no different from an ordinary pirate in Yang Tao's eyes.
The Yamato was unsheathed.
A breathtakingly bloody aura flashed and disappeared, and a deep, bone-deep wound appeared on Demon Gin's chest.
The massive wound caused Gin to instantly lose his ability to resist, the continuously overflowing blood forming a small stream.
"Tsk tsk…"
Yang Tao squatted down and lifted Demon Gin from the ground, his face full of admiration: "Your vitality is truly tenacious…"
"Let him go."
Just as Yang Tao was about to carry Demon Gin back, a voice came from the side. Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw Sanji staring at him with a serious expression.
"This gentleman, he is my guest now…"
A spinning wooden stick flew past Sanji's face. Yang Tao looked at Red Foot Zeff, who was blocking his way, and said with a light chuckle, "Red Foot Zeff, I'm just teaching him a lesson. Not everyone in this world will spoil him like you do."
Bang…
The wooden stick fell onto the deck, making a crisp clanging sound. This was Zeff's prosthetic leg.
"Mr. Yang Tao, Sanji is being ignorant…"
Having eaten at the restaurant every night for so many days, Zeff naturally recognized Yang Tao.
"Forget it. For your sake, prepare a hundred servings of food for me later, and we'll consider this matter settled."
As Yang Tao was about to walk back, carrying Demon Gin, Krieg's Dreadnought Saber suddenly split in the middle.
The sinking warship caused monstrous waves.
Zeff immediately shouted, "Pull up the anchor! Our ship will be affected too!"
After a period of chaos, the Dreadnought Saber finally sank into the sea, leaving only some broken hull pieces floating on the surface.
Behind the sunken ship, a coffin-shaped raft appeared, with candles lit at the front, though the candlelight was eerily blue.
A figure sat on the coffin, possessing sharp, eagle-like yellow eyes, a short beard, and a black top hat adorned with white fur.
His wine-red patterned shirt and black trench coat made him look very dashing. A golden cross hung on his chest, and a large, cross-like sword was strapped to his back.
Zeff, who had always been very calm, finally broke down upon seeing Mihawk's figure, his face showing extreme shock: "It's… it's him… How is this possible?"
Yang Tao, standing beside Zeff, couldn't help but retort, "Riddler, get out of the world of pirates!"
He pointed at the figure on the sea and said, "The World's Greatest Swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, is his name too hot to say?"
Besides him, there was one other person even more excited than Zeff: Zoro, who was standing among the crowd. His goal was to become the world's greatest swordsman.
And Dracule Mihawk was the strongest swordsman in the world today. He knew he was definitely not as good as Mihawk, but he wanted to know the gap between himself and the opponent.
Upon hearing Mihawk's name, everyone on the deck fell into shock.
Yang Tao sighed, glancing at his warship, which was constantly swaying in the sea due to the waves.
He grabbed Demon Gin's collar, summoned his magic broom, and returned to his warship. He was worried that if he stayed with Zeff and the others for too long, he would also become a riddler.
He threw Demon Gin onto the deck.
"Stop the bleeding, and don't let him die."
His subordinates hadn't fallen into the sea due to the waves, which clearly showed that their training was effective.
Looking at Blue Knight, whose body seemed to be one with the warship, Yang Tao asked with a smile, "How does it feel?"
"Very good."
"I'm going to challenge him, to hone my sword skills. If you're interested, you can try after I'm defeated."
Yang Tao watched Zoro, who had already jumped onto the ship wreckage and was walking towards Mihawk, then leaped onto his magic broom and flew towards Mihawk and Zoro's location.
Flying into the air, Mihawk, who was in the middle of showing off, looked up at him.
Yang Tao said with a smile, "After he finishes his challenge, I'll come…"
"A Devil Fruit user? Interesting."
Mihawk didn't care what Yang Tao's Devil Fruit ability was. He believed his strength was no less than anyone's.
His gaze turned to Zoro, who stood before him, and that determined look reminded him of his past self.
However…
"Even if we don't cross blades, I'm sure you're aware of the gap between us."
"To dare to draw your sword against me, should I say you have admirable courage or that it's born of ignorance?"
Zoro said with a firm and excited tone, "Because of my ambition!"
As he spoke, he opened his mouth and bit down on his sword hilt.
"And for the promise I made to a dear friend."
Upon hearing Zoro's words, Mihawk reached out and pulled down the cross hanging around his neck, drawing out the small knife from within.
Zoro's expression changed slightly: "What do you mean by this?"
"I am not like a foolish beast that uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. Although you are a somewhat famous swordsman, this is, after all, the weakest of the four seas, the East Blue…"
"Unfortunately, I don't have a smaller knife than this."
Insulted, Zoro said in a deep voice, "There's a limit to how much you can look down on someone…"
As he spoke, he charged towards Mihawk.
"Three Sword Style… Oni Giri."
Bang.
Mihawk merely pushed forward lightly, directly blocking Zoro's Oni Giri.
This single strike immediately made Zoro realize the immense gap between himself and Mihawk.
A world of difference.
But as a swordsman, he had no choice but to not retreat. Retreating now would directly end his career as a swordsman.
After a dazzling flurry of attacks, Mihawk's small knife pierced Zoro's chest.
"Why won't you retreat? Aren't you afraid of death?"
"I don't know either. I just feel that if I take even one step back here, my most important vow, ideal, and promise will disappear, and I will never return here."
Mihawk was interrupted by Zoro's words and looked at Zoro in front of him, saying, "That's right, that's called defeat…"
"Then I have even less reason to retreat."
Mihawk pulled out the small knife from Zoro's body, stepped back two paces, and placed his hand on the Black Blade Yoru.
"What is your name?"
"Roronoa Zoro…"
"A long-awaited strong opponent. I will remember that name. To show the courtesy of a swordsman, I will use this world's strongest Black Blade to send you to a watery grave."
"I am truly grateful."
Yang Tao, sitting on his magic broom, was also moved by the spirit of the two.
'No wonder shonen anime gets people so hyped. These lines are truly inspiring. Maybe I should also have the Tinkers' Construct Blacksmith forge a small knife for showing off?'
While he was thinking.
Mihawk, who had already drawn the Black Blade Yoru, defeated Zoro with just one strike.
Two of Zoro's weapons shattered into several pieces, leaving only the Wado Ichimonji, also one of the 21 Great Grade Swords, which he held in his mouth.
Zoro then sheathed his sword and faced Mihawk with open arms.
"What do you mean by this?"
"Scars on the back are a swordsman's shame."
A smile appeared on Mihawk's face as he said, "Remarkable."
Pfft…
The Black Blade Yoru slashed across Zoro's chest.
"Zoro!!"
Luffy anxiously shouted when he saw Zoro fall into the sea. Zoro's two subordinates, Joseph and Johnny, immediately jumped into the sea and pulled the severely wounded Zoro out.
Seeing this, Yang Tao descended from the sky onto the deck and took out the Yamato from his backpack.
"Mihawk, do you want to rest?"
Mihawk looked at the Yamato that appeared at Yang Tao's waist and asked, "Are you a swordsman?"
"Just a part-timer!"
Yang Tao placed his hand on the hilt of the Yamato and said with a smile:
"Dracule Mihawk, don't hold back… people really will die."
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