The sea restaurant, Baratie, was plunged into a dead silence.
In the wake of Mihawk's departure, his final words hung in the air, heavy and unbelievable.
Shock and confusion were etched on every face.
"Captain... Mike?" someone finally whispered, breaking the spell.
"Same name, same Navy... Could the Captain Mike that Mihawk mentioned just be a coincidence? The same name as that lazy bum from Branch 186?" a hesitant voice speculated.
"..."
"There are thousands of Marines! It's gotta be a coincidence!" another man declared, a little too loudly.
"Yeah, yeah, that's it! Must be a coincidence!" More people nodded eagerly, desperately clinging to the idea.
"A Headquarters Captain versus a branch Captain from the East Blue? It's like comparing the Krieg and Whitebeard!"
"Exactly! The gap is too huge! How could a guy nicknamed the 'Shame of the East Blue Navy' suddenly get promoted to Headquarters overnight? Absolutely impossible!"
"Right? Hahaha! That almost got me!" another laughed, the sound hollow.
"I almost had to eat... you know..." The man who had boasted about eating his own boogers muttered resentfully, full of relief and renewed disdain for the local Marine Captain Mike.
However, their self-comfort was short-lived.
Mihawk, who had not yet fully departed, slowly swept his piercing gaze over the crowd.
His sharp, hawk-like eyes instantly silenced the rising clamor.
"That 'kid' Mike did indeed come from Marine Branch 186," Mihawk said coldly, his voice carrying an undeniable authority that cut through the murmuring.
"He is the so-called 'Shame of the East Blue Marines' you've all been mocking."
He paused, his piercing gaze locking onto those who had been the loudest.
"The first time could be excused as ignorance. But you dared to mock him a second time?" His voice dropped, becoming dangerously quiet.
"You think a man like that gets ahead on luck?"
"Listen well," Mihawk let out a cold, humorless laugh. "Mike is a man I acknowledge." He let the weight of those words sink in before delivering the final, world-shaking blow.
"He will be the next to sit upon the throne of 'World's Strongest.'"
"What gives insects like you the right to gossip about him?"
Mihawk's words cut through them like an icy wind, freezing their mocking remarks in their throats.
His overwhelming presence left the passengers utterly cowed, heads bowed, not daring to utter another word.
"Pathetic," he snorted disdainfully, turning away without hesitation and stepping onto his Coffin Boat.
Only after his vessel was a speck on the horizon did someone in the Baratie finally manage to draw a deep, shuddering breath.
"..."
"S-so... it's really... that Mike?" someone asked in a trembling voice.
"It's really him!"
"How... is that even possible?"
"Mihawk said it himself! How could it be fake?" someone retorted weakly.
"Hey buddy," a man with a smirk couldn't resist teasing.
"Weren't you going to eat your boogers?"
The boastful man instantly broke into a cold sweat.
"Uh... I'll eat it i'll eat it!" he stammered. "Haha, I love to eat my own boogers actually!"
"Fair enough," the other man smiled meaningfully before pulling out a camera Den Den Mushi.
"Then get started! I'm a reporter for the East Blue Daily—you're about to be famous, pal!"
"Fuck!"
Meanwhile, Zoro lay quietly on the deck, his eyes closed, his breathing labored.
Yet a new, quiet fire was burning in his heart.
"Captain Mike..." Zoro recalled Mihawk's words, feeling an inexplicable surge of fighting spirit.
'So there really is someone else who has come so close to that throne'.
The battle had shattered his pride but forged his goal into something clearer and sharper than ever.
Before he could challenge Mihawk again, he first had to overcome a more immediate target.
"Mihawk..." Zoro muttered, gripping Wado Ichimonji tightly.
"Next time, I will surpass Mike, and then I will come for your head!"
Just then, a shrill burst of mocking laughter erupted from inside the Baratie.
"Ahahaha! That terrifying hawk-eyed man is finally gone!" Don Krieg roared, reveling in his own survival.
"And that utterly foolish three-sword idiot actually dared to face such a monster! Look at him now, seriously injured! Serves him right!"
The remnants of his crew joined in, their jeers filling the restaurant.
"To achieve victory, any means are justified!" Krieg sneered. "Honor is for fools!"
"Ahahaha!"
His triumphant laughter was cut short as someone gave his back a heavy slap.
He turn around to find a straw-hatted boy with a deadly serious expression, slowly clenching his fist.
"Hey," Luffy's voice burned with a cold fury. "Don't you dare talk about my crewmate like that." His usual carefree grin was gone, replaced by sheer, protective anger.
"That was a duel between swordsmen! A coward like you has no right to mock it!"
Before Krieg could react, Luffy's fist shot back.
"Gum-Gum... ROCKET!"
"BOOM—!"
Luffy's fist struck Krieg's chest like a cannonball, shattering his golden armor.
He was sent flying like a ragdoll, crashing to the ground in a heap.
The rest of the Krieg Pirates, starving and exhausted, were no match for the combined might of Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp.
*****
Aboard Kizaru's warship, the atmosphere in the Captain's cabin was heavy.
"Kuro of a Hundred Plans" was drenched in sweat, feeling an unprecedented pressure under Mike's calm gaze.
The question—"Do you want to die, or live?"—was a fork in the road of his destiny.
Kuro swallowed, his throat dry.
He was a man as cunning as a fox; he refused to give up his life so easily.
This man had offered him a choice, a glimmer of hope.
He had to take it.
"I... I want to live!"
Hearing this, Mike smiled faintly and nodded.
"Good." He preferred not to use force; it was far too troublesome.
He glanced at the officer standing by the door.
"Commander Hayes, I'd like to speak with him alone."
The Commander nodded understandingly and promptly left, closing the heavy door behind him and leaving them in a sealed, silent space.
The suffocating silence returned.
Mike spoke slowly, his voice calm and even.
"Kuro, follow me, and you'll live."