With Bardock forcefully terminating the match, Killer and Hawkins immediately stood down.
As the battle adrenaline rapidly faded, the physical toll of the intense spar violently crashed down on Killer. His legs suddenly gave out, and he swayed dangerously, nearly collapsing into the grass.
"Killer!"
Eustass Kid roared, instantly sprinting forward to catch his first mate before he hit the ground. Mansherry fluttered down right behind him to perform a medical assessment.
The results were completely polarizing. Thanks to his bizarre voodoo dolls, Hawkins was entirely unscathed, looking as if he hadn't even been in a fight. Killer, however, was suffering from severe lacerations and heavy blood loss.
Without hesitating, Mansherry tossed a few glowing dandelions onto Killer. In a matter of seconds, his deep wounds vanished completely, and his stamina was instantly restored to maximum.
This miraculous sight completely blew Hawkins' mind. He had always firmly believed that his Straw-Straw Fruit's damage-transfer mechanism was the absolute pinnacle of physical recovery. Now, he had witnessed a Devil Fruit capable of genuine, instantaneous cellular regeneration.
Through this fierce spar, the crew had directly witnessed Hawkins' bizarre, highly effective combat abilities, officially accepting him into their ranks.
Later that evening, a massive, rowdy welcome banquet was held on the deck of the White Dragon. As the night progressed, Hawkins gained a solid understanding of his new crewmates' personalities and strength. Originally, his decision to request to join was merely a pragmatic survival choice dictated by his tarot cards. But now, after personally witnessing the terrifying potential of this crew, he genuinely felt that aligning with the White Dragon was a fantastic move.
"Yo, Hawkins!" Kid called out, his cheeks flushed from the alcohol. "I hear your fortune-telling is supposedly top-tier. So... can you divine exactly where the One Piece is?"
Kid wasn't actively trying to antagonize the newcomer; driven by liquid courage, he was genuinely curious.
Hawkins blinked, slightly caught off guard. He had honestly never considered divining the location of the ultimate treasure. Intrigued by the challenge, he pulled out his tarot deck. This was certainly more interesting than calculating daily luck.
He shuffled, drew a card, and stared at it. His stoic expression instantly cracked into deep confusion. "Hm? There is absolutely no result. Why is the reading completely blank?"
"Ha! Are you sure you're actually good at this?" Kid laughed mockingly.
Hawkins let out a low, irritated hmph. If he hadn't literally just joined the crew hours ago, he absolutely would have drawn his sword to teach the red-haired brat a lesson in respect.
At that moment, Bardock walked over, having overheard the exchange. "Hawkins, try divining the current direction of the Vinsmoke Family."
As a mobile, seafaring nation composed of massive snail-ships, the Germa Kingdom had absolutely no fixed territory. Tracking them purely through standard intelligence networks was incredibly tedious; by the time a sighting was reported, they had usually already moved. Bardock wanted to intercept them immediately.
"The Vinsmoke Family? You mean the royal rulers of Germa 66?" Hawkins' eyes lit up. As a native of the North Blue who grew up reading the Sora, Warrior of the Sea comic strips, the prospect of tracking down the mythical evil army was highly intriguing.
He quickly laid out a new spread of cards. After a moment of rapid calculation, he pointed his finger toward a specific heading. "Captain. If we set sail in that exact direction, there is an 80% probability that we will intercept Germa 66."
"Oh? That way?" Bardock smiled. "Let's put your cards to the test, then."
Operating on the principle that they had absolutely nothing to lose, Bardock officially locked in the White Dragon's new course.
The rowdy banquet raged late into the night. By the time the crew finally recovered and set sail, it was already the following afternoon.
As the White Dragon cruised smoothly across the waters of the North Blue, Enel suddenly materialized next to Bardock in a flash of static.
"Captain. Another pirate ship is rapidly approaching from our rear. It's flying the Donquixote Family flag again. Since you threw a fit last time and claimed they hoard valuable loot, I decided not to instantly vaporize them this time."
"Where?" Bardock walked to the stern and squinted at the horizon. "Oh, I see it. It looks like a scaled-down version of their main flamingo galleon. I wonder if 'Mingo' is on board?"
"'Mingo'? You mean Doflamingo?" Enel shook his head, his Mantra having already swept the enemy ship. "No, the Captain isn't there. The strongest aura on that ship belongs to one of his top executives. The guy who runs the Diamond army... Diamante."
"Tch. Just a small fry," Bardock clicked his tongue in mild disappointment. "Whatever. Tell the crew to hold their fire. Let's wait for him to pull up alongside us and see what he wants to do."
Following Bardock's orders, the White Dragon didn't accelerate to escape; instead, it purposefully dropped its sails and significantly slowed its pace, casually waiting for the smaller flamingo ship to catch up.
A short while later, Diamante stood proudly at the bow of his heavily armed galleon, his ship finally pulling into firing range of the White Dragon.
Staring at the massive, golden ship, Diamante smirked arrogantly, adjusting his flamboyant cape. 'Finally caught up to these rats,' he thought with malicious glee. 'Let's see how you try to run from me now!'
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