"Loguetown... it's been a long time."
Exhaling a long breath, Mihawk regained his composure as he gazed at the bustling city before him. Twenty years ago, when the Pirate King, Gold Roger, was executed in this very town, he had been among the spectators. Back then, he was merely a fledgling swordsman with no name. Now, he returned as the World's Greatest Swordsman, whose name shook the four seas.
He wondered if this trip to the East Blue would lead him to the owner of that monumental Sword Intent. Mihawk shook his head; that would depend on fate.
Just as he prepared to walk into Loguetown, his gaze sharpened. A figure in white stood blocking his path.
"Dracule Mihawk! As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, what are you doing here?!"
Even though Smoker felt an uncontrollable chill looking into those eyes, he stood his ground firmly before the swordsman and asked in a deep voice. As the supreme commander of the Loguetown Marine Base, even if the man before him was the World's Greatest Swordsman, he was still legally a pirate. Smoker would not allow any pirate to act recklessly on his turf.
"What I do is hardly something I need to report to the Navy, is it?" Mihawk's rich, low voice sent a shiver through Smoker's heart.
Is this the power of the World's Greatest Swordsman? Without making a single move, a mere sentence was enough to instill an instinctive fear in a hardened Marine.
Bracing against the feeling of his scalp tingling, a rigid Smoker gritted his teeth and said, "This is Loguetown under my jurisdiction. I won't permit a pirate to run wild here!"
Mihawk's hawk-like eyes looked at Smoker coldly. He spoke slowly, "If I remember correctly, the Seven Warlords and the Navy share an equal status as allies."
"Hmph! Even as a Warlord, if you cause trouble on my watch, I won't let you off!" Smoker replied with an equally cold expression.
"How boring."
Mihawk dropped the comment and simply walked past him.
Drip...
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Smoker's forehead. As he and Mihawk crossed paths, Smoker's fists were clenched so tight his knuckles turned white. In that moment, the impulse to strike had reached its peak. But at the last second, he let go.
His sixth sense told him that if he had failed to restrain himself and attacked, the consequences would have been unbearable. It would have ended very badly for him.
Inside the Tavern.
Having "successfully" concluded his trade with Zoro, Rowan had returned to his table.
"What is that guy thinking? He actually refused an offer from someone like you, Mr. Rowan... I honestly can't believe it."
Tashigi's gaze was still fixed on Zoro at the bar. Watching him gorging himself, she muttered through gritted teeth. To her, Rowan was a master on par with Mihawk. Did this guy have any idea what kind of destiny he had just rejected? If she weren't so unfamiliar with him, she would have run over and accepted for him.
"Girl, why are you so fired up?" Rowan glanced at her, puzzled.
"It's nothing." Tashigi shook her head, withdrew her gaze from Zoro, and began eating her meal in a huff.
While Luffy slept, the table had been refilled with fresh dishes. The speed of service was indeed worthy of the largest tavern in Loguetown. However, Tashigi felt a strange sensation; that pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro, seemed to be avoiding her gaze.
As Tashigi started on her food, Rowan's eyes suddenly drifted toward the entrance. He narrowed his eyes, brought his pipe to his lips, and took a slow drag, exhaling a thin cloud of smoke.
"An interesting fellow has arrived..."
The words had barely left his mouth when—Creak...
The door was pushed open gently. A figure with a massive black blade strapped to his back stepped inside. The moment he entered, the temperature in the lively tavern seemed to drop by several degrees. A sharp, piercing Sword Intent flooded the room like a shadow.
Sensing the shift, Zoro, who had been burying his face in food at the bar, turned his head. The moment his eyes landed on Dracule Mihawk, his entire body froze. His frame began to tremble uncontrollably.
"The World's Greatest Swordsman... Hawkeye Mihawk!"
Zoro spoke the words one by one through gritted teeth. After so long at sea, he had finally met the man.
"Hawkeye Mihawk?! A Warlord... why is he here?" Someone in the tavern recognized him instantly. In a heartbeat, the bustling room fell into a deathly silence.
The customers instinctively hunched their shoulders. The owner's expression froze as he quietly retreated into the deepest corner behind the bar. If Roronoa Zoro was someone he could manage, Mihawk was a guest of a caliber his tavern was simply not equipped to host.
Zoro, who had made becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman his goal since childhood, was vibrating with a mix of shock and exhilaration. His fists were clenched tight, and his muscles were coiled like springs—a state that completely betrayed his inner turmoil.
Beside him, Tashigi, also a swordsman, found her breathing becoming rapid. In the entire tavern, only the snoring Luffy and the smoke-puffing Rowan appeared completely unbothered.
Rowan glanced at Zoro. He understood the boy's reaction. To a swordsman who has sworn an oath to reach the top, meeting the holder of that title is an inevitability. The fact that Zoro was restraining himself from charging forward immediately was a testament to his self-control.
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