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"How long did they fight for?" Luffy asked, "The battles between Red Hair and Hawkeye were said to last for days on end. So how long was it this time…?"
"Two days and three nights…" Morgans said, "I only have the footage for the first day, because they were taking things mildly… after that, the battle got so intense that my men weren't able to stay anywhere near the island."
Luffy gave him a disappointed look.
"Hey, don't give me that look," Morgans complained, "Even the Marine ships that came to stand by near the island had to retreat after the first day. And they had Vice-Admirals on those ships."
"Yes, yes, glorified cannon fodder." Luffy rolled his eyes.
Morgans scoffed, "Their battle might not have affected this far into the Grand Line, but the other three Yonkos were getting pissed at how much all the nearby islands were shaking due to their fight. The last report also said that 'Fire Storm' Ace was seen on that island as well. Maybe to carry out orders from Whitebeard, who knows? It's definitely not the first time he went after them in their yearly dual."
Of course, Morgans knew Ace and Luffy had a good relationship. But he didn't know how deep it was. So he just guessed that Ace and Luffy had hit it off back in Alabasta.
"Heh, I'm pretty sure that moron didn't go there on Whitebeard's orders. He might as well have gone there to throw his own hat into the fight…" Luffy chuckled. No wonder Ace was strong, he had a habit of popping up near where Shanks and Mihawk fought to get his ass kicked.
Also, Ace was trained by Rayleigh, the previous title holder for the World's Strongest Swordsman. So yeah, he also had some interest in that title. Definitely not like Zoro, or Kuina. But he did have some interest there.
"That might be the case…" Morgans said, finally closing the video device. "Let's talk about payment."
Luffy nodded, mildly disappointed that the show ended. He was definitely buying it. But then again, knowing Morgans, the last thing he will want is money, "Hmm… what do you want?"
"I need you to do a job for me… take down a pirate worth at least a hundred million, and before you say anything, this will of course boost your reputation as a new Warlord. Of course, you wouldn't be able to do it now, with the Warlord meeting and all, but after that, you have to do it." Morgans said, "I need to boost my sales, and that's a very good way for both of us. What do you say?"
Luffy scratched his chin, "Sure, but I will choose the target… also I know you might have some ideas on it. But why is the Warlord meeting happening right now? Shouldn't it be much later?"
Morgans frowned, "I thought you already figured it out." He said, shaking his head, "It's because of Mihawk, everytime he and Shanks fight. Both of them usually keep themselves out of battle for a few months."
Luffy blinked, "What, injuries don't take that long to heal." He said, okay maybe for the normal world people they do but for One Piece people? Even the most severe of injuries were —unless they were losing a limb— healed within a week.
"It's kind of a tradition… they more or less party before challenging each other again. The people of the New World even dubbed it as battle season, as at the same time Kaido usually comes out of Wano to fight Whitebeard or Big Mom. But Kaido this year might not come out since he will have enough of it in the war against the Marines, but who knows really."
Luffy nodded. He knew that. How else would someone fight for their title as the World's Strongest if they didn't have a season for it. It was truly a thing that is done in the One Piece world.
Morgans continued, "The Navy has been trying to get into contact with Mihawk for quite a while…" Morgans said, "I will say it as a hunch, but Mihawk might not join the meeting or the war."
Luffy blinked, opening and closing his mouth. That… that was a huge blow to the Navy's force. "That's unexpected… but why did Mihawk join the Warlords if he's not going to fight in the war for the Marines?"
Morgans gave him a look, "Sure the Marines might have recruited him, but it's not like they could have captured him. Taking him down would have taken a lot of resources from the Marines. He was previously called the Marine-Hunter for a reason. So it was better that he joined as a Warlord. Unlike the others, he holds the position of a Warlord purely based on his strength." He said, "Unlike the Admirals, the World Government can't just order Warlords around. Especially not Mihawk."
Luffy had to agree with this one, it was kind of like a butterfly effect in some ways. In canon, Mihawk was fighting with the marines against Whitebeard. But that might be just because he wanted to test his strength against the old man, and because he was bored because Shanks wasn't giving him satisfaction… wait, that sounded oddly sexual for some reason.
Anyway, here with Shanks still having his dominant arm and being a contender for the World's Strongest Swordsman? He could see Mihawk being satisfied with fighting Shanks rather than doing stuff on his own.
Not to mention that Shanks and Whitebeard both had connections to Wano. So there was a good chance that both crews might want to take Wano when Kaido left for the war. And Big Mom being the wench she is might join in just because… so yeah, things might get pretty wild here.
Luffy shook his head, there was still a chance that Mihawk might join the war. And even if he doesn't it won't change much. For him at least…
When Luffy first came to the One Piece world, the Straw Hats just went to egghead. So he didn't know how strong the admirals were after the time-skip. But in his estimation, they should be strong enough to hold Kaido off at the least.
King and Queen would be an issue. Especially King, but they shouldn't be too tough. 'I'm not strong enough to hold off King, but there's still time before the war. So I should be able to get to that level. But my main target isn't King to begin with… it's Kaido. So nothing much changes in the grand scheme of things.'
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