Seeing Hawkeye's action, Kai raised an eyebrow slightly and said: "Oh... I understand what you mean."
Then he glanced at Doflamingo beside him and said flatly: "You feel the same way, don't you, Doflamingo."
Doflamingo didn't speak, which made his meaning clear.
"Alright then, everyone follow me."
After speaking, Kai stood up directly and walked toward the conference room door. Mihawk didn't hesitate for even a second, following directly behind Kai as they walked out.
The remaining few exchanged glances with each other, then followed behind Hawkeye as they headed outside.
...
"Look, look... it's White Dragon Admiral!!!"
"And! Following behind are... the Seven Warlords of the Sea!!!"
"Where are they going!? That direction is... the Marine training grounds! Could it be..."
A thought suddenly popped into the minds of the surrounding Marines, then began spreading wildly, becoming unstoppable!
White Dragon Admiral was going to battle the Seven Warlords!!!
This news spread like a hurricane, reaching every corner of Marine Headquarters within just ten minutes!
The Marine Training Grounds!!!
In less than fifteen minutes, the entire massive training ground was packed with people, mostly soldiers and petty officers, though there were quite a few field officers as well.
As for the general officers, only a few could be spotted here and there. After all, those at the general officer level could be considered high-ranking Marines, and it was hard for them to swallow their pride and come personally. Most were hiding in their offices, watching through Den Den Mushi video feeds.
For example, Marine Admiral Sakazuki!
At this moment in his office, Akainu's eyes were glued to the Den Den Mushi screen in front of him, his face showing a fierce expression as he muttered: "Defeated Whitebeard!? Hmph! I'd like to see how you defeat the Seven Warlords right under my nose!"
Even now, Akainu still found it hard to believe that Kai had actually defeated Whitebeard.
Fleet Admiral's Office.
Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru—these three pillars of the Marines—had gathered together. In front of them sat a video Den Den Mushi displaying the scene at the Marine training grounds!
"Ahahahahaha... let's see how that kid Kai defeats the Seven Warlords!" Garp picked up a donut and put it in his mouth, chewing loudly without any worry about Kai.
After all, Kai could even defeat Whitebeard!
Among the Seven Warlords, there wasn't a single one who could match Whitebeard. Even Mihawk, the strongest among them, still fell short.
"Hmm, as long as Kai can defeat Mihawk, Kuma, and Doflamingo, the other few will be easy to handle. However, fighting consecutively takes a huge toll on stamina—I wonder if Kai can hold out." Sengoku nodded in agreement but also voiced his concern.
"There shouldn't be any problem. After all, Kai isn't reckless," Tsuru said.
"Mm." "Mm."
Garp and Sengoku both nodded in response.
Then they stopped talking, focusing all their attention on the video Den Den Mushi.
...
At this moment, the Marine training grounds had fallen into an eerie silence.
Only faint breathing could be heard as all the Marines didn't even dare breathe heavily, their entire focus on the training platform.
After a while, it was Moria who broke the strange silence. Looking around at everyone, Moria spoke up: "Who... goes first!?"
Although they hadn't witnessed Kai's power firsthand, they all understood he was definitely stronger than any of them. Whoever fought first definitely wouldn't have a good outcome.
So no one wanted to be the first to fight.
Mihawk nearby glanced at Moria, then stepped forward directly. Raising his black blade Yoru and pointing it at Kai, he said coldly: "I'll go!"
As swordsmen, they all had what seemed like an instinctive intuition!
Especially Mihawk, being a master swordsman—his intuition was sharp to an almost mystical degree. But when facing Kai, two different intuitions arose in Mihawk's heart.
This had never happened before!
One intuition told Mihawk: facing Kai, he must draw his sword, or he would regret it for life!
But simultaneously, another intuition told Mihawk: facing Kai, he couldn't draw his sword, or he would suffer a miserable defeat!
These two intuitions flooded Mihawk's mind, which was why he had hesitated for so long. But in the end, Mihawk resolutely chose to draw his sword...
Because for a swordsman:
Regret was far harder to accept than crushing defeat!
Hearing someone speak up, the other few present all breathed sighs of relief. Seeing that it was Hawkeye Mihawk who spoke, they couldn't help but feel a bit of joy.
Because Mihawk was undoubtedly the strongest among them!
Bounty of 630 million berries!
The World's Greatest Swordsman!
He had repeatedly clashed with "Red-Hair" Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, with wins and losses on both sides!
He could absolutely be called the only one among the Seven Warlords with "Four Emperor" level combat power. Even if he couldn't defeat Kai, after a fierce battle with Mihawk, Kai definitely wouldn't be in good shape!
That way, they would have a chance of defeating Kai!
"Hawkeye Mihawk!? Hmph... don't lose in the first match—that would be embarrassing for the Marines." Akainu looked at Kai in the video feed and couldn't help thinking.
Five years ago, when Mihawk joined the Seven Warlords, it was Akainu who personally invited him. During their exploratory battle at the time, Akainu had been completely at a disadvantage!
"It's Mihawk, eh? That kid's swordsmanship is pretty good—not much worse than that old guy Rayleigh. Kai's gonna have a tough first match, ahahahahaha..."
In the Fleet Admiral's office, Garp laughed heartlessly. Anyone who didn't know better might think Garp was on Mihawk's side.
Kai looked at Mihawk who had stepped forward, smiled, but shook his head.
Just as Mihawk was puzzled and about to ask why, Kai spoke up, saying flatly: "Sorry, I'm in a hurry. All of you... come at me together!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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