Sword Master?
Mihawk pulled a bottle of iced black tea from the ice bucket. "Let's see you release a Flying Slash first."
A Flying Slash is a sword technique where a Sword Master swings the blade to generate a blade of air that leaves the weapon and strikes from a distance.
Don't look down on me.
Seven gritted his teeth and purchased Sword Master cultivation experience. "One month. I'll become a Sword Master."
Mihawk gave him a sidelong glance. "If you can release a Flying Slash within a month, I'll grant you one condition."
Raising an opponent might be... rather interesting.
Of course, the premise was that Seven had to cross the realm of Iron-Cutting and master the Flying Slash within a month.
Was that even possible?
Not a chance.
Mihawk suspected that on Roger's ship Seven had poured all his energy into culinary research; otherwise he could never have produced such delicious food and iced black tea.
Mihawk, you're definitely going to be my First Mate!
Seven was pumped like a rooster on steroids. He howled and pulled out his Plasma Sword to train. Mihawk, you'd never guess—Captain here is about to cheat his way up.
[Using Sword Master cultivation experience]
A flood of training experience poured straight into his brain, like suddenly awakening a foreign memory. Rubbing his brow, Seven discovered to his embarrassment—
Brain: I get it, I get it!
Hands: We don't!!!
One slash, another slash, and another.
At first his form looked awful, but after barely a thousand swings Mihawk's eye began to twitch.
The rhythm of the swings had already acquired a pattern.
Seeing this, Mihawk pressed his lips and decided to raise the difficulty for the future Captain. "You steer; I'm turning in."
Seven nodded. "Got it."
Mihawk, I never thought a man like you could get rattled. So what if you do?
The First Mate I, Barzeb Seven, have my eye on won't get away.
Mihawk lifted the ice bucket and returned to the cabin; ever since Seven had produced the sweet little iced black tea, Mihawk had hardly brewed any himself.
In the month since meeting Mihawk, Seven had played four trump cards in a row—the great treasure, gourmet food, sweet drinks, and the Gold Country. Who wouldn't be dazed?
It was practically moistening all things in silence!
You could only say Seven's training was a success; the day Mihawk became First Mate was... not far off.
The weather on the Grand Line is exactly like a girlfriend's mood—clear skies and smiles one second, torrential rain and glaring fury the next.
Gale-driven waves surged. Seven hurriedly summoned lightning to form a protective barrier around himself, Vaporizing the seawater that splashed onto the deck.
After eating the Rumble-Rumble Fruit,
Seven's hatred of seawater surpassed even Momonosuke's, topping the list of things he loathed most.
Black clouds blotted out the sun; the sea turned ink-black.
The pirate ship drifted alone, tossed about by the waves.
Luckily, Seven didn't get seasick.
While the rain bucketed down, Seven steered with one hand and browsed the trading platform with the other.
Aboard the Roger Pirates, steering and sailing were basic skills every crew member had to master—even the cook.
[For sale: bamboo copter, 500 points. Seller's note: conceptual anti-gravity device, no energy needed, unbreakable.]
Seven hissed in awe. An anti-gravity flier? That's good stuff.
A Rumble-Rumble user can also fly, but not in the conventional sense—he shifts position instantly via elementalization and electric conduction.
Still, using Devil Fruit powers drains stamina; when that runs out, the bamboo copter's advantages shine.
Sadly, he only had 266 points.
Gazing at the surging waves, he burned with resolve. "I have to conquer Sky Island fast, or all these goodies will remain window-shopping."
Sky Island shells and Devil Fruits were the quickest ways he'd found to earn points.
Devil Fruits sold for at least 1,000 points, but a heaven-defying fruit like the Ope-Ope no Mi that grants immortality had to be kept as a strategic weapon.
After all, who wouldn't crave eternal life?
Three days later, a large island appeared on the horizon: Sandy Island, home of Alabasta.
Seven had no intention of exploring Sandy Island.
His goal was clear—head straight for the waters off Jaya Island, find the Knock-Up Stream, and shoot up to Sky Island.
Back when they'd searched for the Final Island, he'd logged every island with a Log Pose, claiming he'd sail the same route again someday.
Now it looked like a stroke of genius.
Beside the helm Mihawk suddenly asked, "What kind of man was Pirate King Roger?"
Seven paused before answering.
"Captain was... an excellent pirate."
An unqualified husband and father.
"Only excellent?" Mihawk sipped his iced black tea. "I thought you'd say the strongest. Then who, in your mind, is the strongest?"
"Rocks and Mr. Jabba."
Before Mihawk could ask, Seven continued.
"In a world where men abandon wives and children for dreams, Rocks gave up his ambitions for his family—that's a real man."
"But compared to Rocks, I actually admire Mr. Jabba more."
"Next to Mr. Jabba, Golden Lion, Kaido and the like all pale."
After this explanation Mihawk's gaze sharpened, but since Seven didn't mention Jabba's whereabouts, he shelved the matter.
"By your account, he truly is formidable."
Seven grinned smugly; after training on Sky Island he'd squeeze in a trip to Elbaf to learn from Mr. Jabba how to become a top scholar.
"I'll explain later. When we go find Mr. Jabba, you'll understand."
"Our current target: the Gold Country."
They docked at the harbor and split the tasks—Mihawk would buy food and water, Seven would repair the hull.
Ask him why and the answer is: learned it on the Roger Pirates.
As the only non-combatant in the Roger Pirates, Seven had dumped every point of his skill tree outside of battle.
Not on purpose—his Talents were just skewed.
Seven's physical-combat talent was abysmal,
but his life-skill talent was off the charts. As a cook he excelled, and he could also steer, repair ships, chart seas... even craft Eternal Poses.
Great at everything except fighting... East Blue, Conomi Islands.
CP9 agent Lu Bian Yi Tiao returned and found the muscular man: "Has Barzeb Seven come back lately?"
The muscle-head hurried to reply, "Little White Hair hasn't returned, sir. But I just remembered something weird."
"Weird?" Lu Bian Yi Tiao raised an eyebrow and pulled out ten-thousand Berries.
"Let's hear it."
The man pocketed the cash. "You know we used to bully Little White Hair, but one time red light suddenly burst out of him..."
"Then we all fell asleep."
Lu Bian Yi Tiao waved irritably. "Got it."
A country bumpkin who doesn't even know who Roger is isn't credible.
Red light? Give me a break.
Couldn't be Conqueror's Haki, right?
Everyone knew Barzeb Seven joined the Roger Pirates at nine—how could a kid under nine possess Conqueror's Haki?
Thinking of the little chef slipping away and his promotion vanishing, Lu Bian Yi Tiao burned with rage.
"Barzeb, damn you! A guy like you ought to be arrested by my own hands!"
He didn't regret not calling the Marines at Loguetown; he only hated how cunning the brat had been to vanish under surveillance.
"How the hell did that guy get away?"