As the sinking wreckage of the Dreadnaught Sabre groaned its final death throes, Johnny stood on the deck of the Baratie, bowing so low his forehead touched the wooden planks.
"I am so sorry, Aniki!" he wailed, tears and snot streaming down his face. "We failed you! We let that witch Nami get away!"
The memory of the betrayal was still fresh, still stinging.
A few hours earlier, on the deck of the Going Merry…
Nami was casually flipping through the stack of wanted posters they had recovered from Johnny.
"20,000,000 Beli for this guy," she mused, stopping at a particular poster. It featured a terrifying-looking fish-man with a sharp, saw-like nose. The name read: 'Arlong the Saw'.
Johnny and Yosaku, who were relaxing nearby, shuddered. "Arlong…" Johnny muttered. "That monster has been quiet for a while, but I hear he's started rampaging in the East Blue again. A truly vicious bastard."
Nami's expression turned strangely blank for a moment, a shadow passing over her eyes before she quickly masked it with a cheerful smile. "Well, he sounds like someone to avoid!"
She then stood up, carrying a large sack filled with Johnny and Yosaku's own treasure, which she had been 'safeguarding' for them. She placed it on the Merry's deck.
"Okay, you two," she said, her voice sweet as honey. "Could you turn around for a second? A girl needs some privacy to change clothes."
The two bounty hunters immediately turned beet red, their backs ramrod straight as they faced the sea, a fierce internal battle waging within them. "Y-yes, Nami-aneki!"
While their backs were turned, Nami didn't change. She just quietly untied the mooring ropes connecting the Going Merry to their small boat.
With a mischievous grin, she placed her hands on their backs.
"Thank you for everything," she said.
And then she shoved.
The two bounty hunters yelped as they were pushed overboard, landing in the sea with a massive splash. Nami stood on the railing, looking down at them.
"I had a nice time, really," she called out, her voice losing its sweetness and gaining a harder, more professional edge. "But I'm a pirate thief who steals from pirates. No exceptions."
She gave them a final, bittersweet wave. "Goodbye. If fate truly links us, then perhaps we will meet again someday."
And with that, she sailed away on their ship, with their treasure.
In the present, the memory still brought a fresh wave of tears to Johnny's eyes.
Zoro's anger was colder, quieter. "That damn witch…" he growled, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
"She took the Going Merry!" Usopp wailed, his grief focused entirely on their beautiful new ship.
Luffy, however, was just staring out at the horizon, his eyes narrowed. He pointed. "There she is."
Far in the distance, the distinctive silhouette of the Going Merry was just visible.
"Alright," Luffy said, his voice calm and decisive. "We're going after her."
Zoro turned to him, incredulous. "Are you crazy? She's a thief who betrayed us! Let her go! We can find another navigator!"
"No," Luffy said simply, his gaze never leaving the distant ship. "I won't accept anyone else as our navigator."
His decision was absolute. Zoro stared at his captain's back, a mixture of annoyance and grudging respect on his face. 'Why did I end up following such a troublesome captain?' he thought to himself. He let out a long sigh. "Fine. Captain's orders."
They prepared Johnny and Yosaku's small boat for the pursuit. Zoro, Usopp, and the two bounty hunters would go.
"What about you, Luffy?" Usopp asked.
"I can't leave yet," Luffy said, looking back at the restaurant. "I still have a debt to repay that old geezer."
"Be careful, Luffy," Zoro warned. They were about to part ways when a new wave of panic erupted from the Krieg pirates clinging to the wreckage.
"IT'S HIM! HE'S BACK! THE MAN WHO DESTROYED OUR FLEET! HE'S COME TO KILL US ALL!"
Aboard the Baratie, all eyes turned to the lone, coffin-shaped boat that was drifting calmly towards them through the carnage.
"That man… with eyes like a hawk…" Zeff muttered, recognizing the description instantly.
The figure on the boat drew closer, his features becoming clear: the ornate robes, the colossal black sword, and the piercing golden eyes.
"It's him," Zeff confirmed, his voice grave. "The world's greatest swordsman, Dracule 'Hawk-Eye' Mihawk."
Zoro's entire body went rigid. It was real. The man he had been searching for his entire life was right there.
The Krieg pirates were screaming at Mihawk, demanding to know why he had followed them from the Grand Line.
Mihawk's voice was a deep, bored baritone that carried effortlessly across the water. "Simply to kill time."
The casual, insulting reason was too much for one of the pirates. He raised his rifle and fired.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Mihawk watched the bullets fly towards him with a look of utter boredom. He reached over his shoulder, his hand closing around the hilt of the colossal black sword, Yoru. With a movement that was impossibly fluid and graceful for a weapon of its size, he drew the massive blade. He held it with one hand, as if it weighed nothing.
As the bullets neared, he didn't swing or block. He simply made a series of tiny, precise adjustments with the tip of the giant blade, just enough to touch each projectile. The bullets ricocheted away, veering off into the sea and the wreckage with sharp whining sounds. He then rested the sword on his shoulder, the entire act performed with a sublime, almost lazy elegance.
The pirates stared, dumbfounded. Zoro, however, understood the impossible skill he had just witnessed.
"He didn't just block them," Zoro said, his voice filled with awe. "He changed the trajectory of each bullet with the tip of that massive sword… The strength and precision required to do that are inhuman." He looked at Mihawk. "I've never seen such a sword handled so gracefully."
Mihawk glanced at him, a flicker of interest in his hawk-like eyes. "Strength without grace is nothing but brute force."
"That galleon… did you cut it?" Zoro asked, needing to be certain.
"Yes."
That was all the confirmation Zoro needed. This was him. The pinnacle. The goal.
He began to tie his black bandana around his head. "I set out to sea for one reason: to meet you."
"A duel?" Mihawk asked, sounding bored.
"That's right," Zoro declared, his voice ringing with conviction. "To become the strongest swordsman in the world."
The chefs and pirates alike stared, finally realizing who this green-haired man was. He was the infamous "Pirate Hunter" Zoro.
"Luffy, the Merry is getting farther away!" Usopp warned, but his captain wasn't listening. Luffy was completely transfixed by the standoff between the two swordsmen.
Mihawk disembarked from his boat, stepping onto a piece of floating wreckage as if it were solid ground. He looked at Zoro, his gaze dismissive.
"You are a weakling," he stated simply. "If you were a true swordsman of any skill, you would know the difference in our power without even needing to cross blades. Is this desire to duel me born of courage… or of sheer ignorance?"
Zoro placed Wado Ichimonji in his mouth, drawing his other two swords. His body was trembling, not from fear, but from an electrifying excitement.
"It is for my own ambition," he declared, his voice muffled by the sword. "And for a promise I made… to a friend."
Far away, sailing on the stolen Going Merry, Nami stood at the helm, the wind whipping through her orange hair. She clutched the sack of treasure at her feet, but there was no joy in her expression.
She thought of the goofy boy who had eaten her mikan oranges. She thought of the long-nosed liar who had been so brave. She thought of the grumpy swordsman who had protected them all.
They were… good people.
"Will you still call me your friend…" she whispered to the empty sea, "…if we ever meet again?"
A single tear escaped her eye and traced a path down her cheek.
"I just want to be free…" she sobbed, her voice breaking. "Bell-mère-san…"