"I'll never forget... that night... that man with the hawk eyes..."
Hearing "hawk eyes," Zoro's spine went ramrod straight! That was the guy, his ultimate target!
His dream? To be the world's greatest swordsman! And the current champ was Hawkeye, no doubt about it!
Ignis, though? He was tuning out the Hawkeye hype. He was having a pow-wow with the System in his head.
"System, what gives? Why's my body feeling like a freakin' tank after making that Randuin's thingy?"
"When you forge a piece of gear, Host, the item's stats become part of you!"
Aha! No wonder! He'd felt different blocking Krieg's bullets earlier.
Before, he wasn't scared of bullets, but they'd still kinda stick in his skin. Doran's Shield's healing kept the damage at zero, but still... He thought his body was tough then!
Now? Bullets just bounced right off, didn't even leave a scratch!
He muttered to himself and yanked the Randuin's Omen outta his System stash again.
Just like Nami said, the shield looked like it weighed a ton, but it felt crazy light in his hands.
He wondered if Hawkeye's experience points would be enough to get him a level up.
Host: Ignis Fireheart
Bloodline: Forge God
Level: 2
Skills:
Living Forge
Bellows Breath (Level 1)
Searing Charge (Level 1)
Personal Gear: Doran's Shield, Randuin's Omen
Balance: 0
"Say, Captain," Ignis said, "gotta ask ya something."
"What's the deal, Ignis?"
"Mind if I take on that Krieg guy?"
Luffy didn't sweat the small stuff. To him, a fight was a fight! Besides, there were still 100+ goons on the ship besides Krieg.
He stared at Ignis for a sec, then BOOM! That goofy grin spread across his face again.
"If you're serious, then go for it!"
Luffy might act like a total airhead most of the time, but he was sharp when it came to his crew. Like, almost scary sharp.
Once he saw a crewmate was dead-set on winning, he'd trust 'em with his life.
"Leave a few scraps for me!" Zoro growled.
Even though the moss-head was gonna be outta commission soon, Ignis couldn't spoil the surprise. He knew that even if he told Zoro that Hawkeye was coming and he'd just get creamed,
Zoro'd probably still charge in with a battle cry as soon as he saw the guy.
Usopp saw everyone getting pumped for the fight, and he caught a little bit of the fever himself.
"Since you guys divvied up all the bad guys, I'll just, uh, cheer you on from the sidelines!"
Everyone: "..."
The guys at the table were still cracking jokes.
Patty couldn't take it anymore!
"You freakin' morons! Do you even get the situation? That pirate ship parked at the entrance..."
"That's the flagship of the most vicious pirate crew in the East Blue! [Captain] Krieg's freakin' Pirates!"
"Why are you all talking about this like it's nothing?"
"Wake up and smell the coffee, you dreamers!"
"What's the big deal?" Ignis was genuinely puzzled.
"I'm asking you, are you gonna run?"
Patty felt like he was getting the stink-eye. He might not be the strongest guy around, but he wasn't no coward!
"Who's running? I'm fighting till the end, dammit!"
"Then what's the problem?"
Ignis clapped Patty on the shoulder, noticing that the guy was still shaking like a leaf.
"If you've decided you're gonna stand your ground, even if it means dying..."
"Does it matter how strong the enemy is to you?"
Ignis' words hit Patty like a punch to the gut.
"You're too wound up."
Yeah, he was too wound up.
Wound up about how strong the enemy was, how slim their chances were, wound up about whether he was gonna bite the dust in the fight.
He didn't have the guts to say they'd win, but he wasn't gonna run.
He wasn't like Ignis and the others. He didn't know how strong they were. All he knew was that Ignis could shrug off bullets like they were nothing.
The only thing he was sure of was that the Baratie chefs were pathetically weak when facing Krieg.
But, whatever. Win or lose...
He, or rather, they, the Baratie chefs... If none of 'em were gonna run, then what was the point of worrying?
Patty's shivers stopped. A huge grin split his face, making his goofy mug even goofier.
"Hahahaha! You're right!"
"Who's the enemy? Who cares?!"
"I'm getting the booze! We're gonna party like there's no tomorrow after we win!"
"What if we lose? So what if we lose? Big deal, we die!"
The chefs' spirits shot through the roof!
"Yeah! What's so tough about those guys who just pigged out?"
"They just stuffed their faces! They'll get stomach cramps if they even move!"
"What's to fear? We ain't exactly pushovers ourselves!"
Zeff gave Ignis a surprised look. This muscle-bound kid might look rough around the edges, but he had a sharp mind.
He glanced over at Luffy, whose goofy grin hadn't wavered for a second, and who was still oozing confidence.
If Sanji ended up on this crew, his life was gonna get a whole lot more interesting.
Just then, the sea outside started churning like a cauldron.
Everyone bolted outside the Baratie. Krieg's pirate ship had been sliced clean in half!
And the one who'd done it? That lone black figure in the distance.
A ship? Nah, more like a freakin' toothpick raft!
It was just a tiny raft, but it was riding the waves like it owned 'em, just like the guy on board.
He was just one guy, but he was tearing up the whole world!
"Hawkeye!!!"
The guys on Krieg's ship raised their guns!
Hundreds of bullets flew at Hawkeye!
Hawkeye moved.
He reached for the massive sword on his back.
In a flash, all the bullets changed course! And his sword? It stayed right where it was!
Did he even draw it?
"He drew it! He used the blade to redirect the bullets!" Zoro said, answering the unspoken question on everyone's faces.
Zoro was already tying his green bandana. He was buzzing with excitement!
He was gonna challenge Hawkeye!
"Hey, Ignis! Talk some sense into that idiot! He's got a death wish!!!"
Ignis shook his head.
"Once a sword is swung for a dream and a promise, ain't nobody gonna stop it."