Robin set down her pen and frowned slightly.
"If that's the case, Don, then there's still much you need to handle."
"After all, you said it yourself—you want to become a figure of influence, a presence like the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Only then can your ideals take shape."
Her tone was grave.
She understood now what kind of impact true strength could wield upon the seas.
Anything else could be forged—but not power.
A man who could roam freely across the Grand Line, unmatched and unyielding, possessed a charisma that could shake the world itself.
But she also knew… achieving that would be an unimaginably steep climb.
"I've already prepared myself," Don said, smiling faintly, his voice relaxed yet resolute.
"And I will make it happen."
Seeing such confidence, Robin nodded and fell silent.
The notes she had taken were handed to Gan Fall.
Once Crocodile's men arrived on Sky Island, Gan Fall was to deliver them.
Only one problem remained—what to do with Enel.
Killing him would be a waste.
But leaving him behind on Sky Island until Crocodile's men came might prove troublesome. The self-proclaimed god could easily cause chaos again—or even ruin Don's arrangements here.
Returning later to clean up the mess would only waste more time.
So it was better to take him along and hand him directly to Crocodile at Sabaody Archipelago.
"Anything else you need to take care of?" Don asked, turning to Robin.
"No. I've already finished copying the Poneglyph. It's not about the Ancient History, though—it seems to record information about one of the Ancient Weapons."
She hadn't fully deciphered it yet, but the general content was clear enough.
"Then take your time with the translation."
Don turned to summon Mihawk, Issho, and Enel.
"Preparing to leave?" Issho asked, once gathered.
"Yeah. What needed to be done here is done. The rest will be handled by others."
Don nodded, then looked toward Mihawk.
"Once we reach the sea below Sky Island—let's find an island and have a match."
Mihawk blinked, then nodded silently.
Don found it a little regrettable.
The swordsman before him was not yet the Mihawk who would one day found the Cross Guild.
Still, after their time together, Don could feel it clearly—Mihawk's yearning for a worthy duel.
So, he would grant him that wish… and then part ways.
Whether Mihawk would later join the Hunter Association was something to decide another day.
"I…"
Enel had gone quiet.
Three of the four men present could beat him single-handedly. There was no room for defiance.
"You can't stay here," Don said with a faint smile.
"Go see the Blue Sea below. The world's much bigger than you think."
The tone was gentle—but Enel heard what lay beneath it.
There was no option to refuse.
The ship soon rose once again into the sky.
Gan Fall stood below with his men, watching the vessel blaze upward through the clouds. Lowering his gaze to the paper full of written instructions, he sighed.
He no longer knew what future awaited Sky Island.
But choice was a luxury he did not have.
He couldn't even resist Enel before—let alone these people who had defeated him with ease.
He could only hope things would turn out for the better.
As the ship descended from the sky toward the Blue Sea, Don steered it along the permanent log pointing to Sabaody Archipelago.
He glanced at the quiet Enel sitting on the deck, then looked back to the compass in his hand.
Their battle had yielded little gain.
Enel's mastery of his Devil Fruit was impressive, but not yet at the level of awakening.
Perhaps when the Ark Maxim was completed and he could command the thunder of the heavens themselves, he would reach that stage.
Even then, the odds of Don achieving his own fruit awakening through that fight were slim.
After all, lightning and fire were vastly different powers.
The system interface still only displayed "Full Control."
No change.
To truly awaken, he would need more battles… more challenges from the strong.
As that thought crossed his mind, the ship tilted and began gliding downward.
Feeling the descent, Enel leaned over the rail and stared below.
The clouds parted—revealing the endless blue of the sea.
"So this is the Blue Sea…" he murmured.
He had dreamed of the "Infinite Earth" his whole life, but never truly imagined what it might look like.
Perhaps… it was just a place like this.
Eventually, the ship touched the water's surface, rocking gently with the waves.
"Here will do."
Don stood and looked ahead—toward a lonely island he'd sensed earlier through Observation Haki.
There were countless islands scattered across the sea, most small and uninhabited.
But this one seemed just right.
"Stay back," he said. "You don't want to get caught in the crossfire."
With that, he leapt from the ship, blade in hand.
Mihawk took one last look at the barren island and followed him down.
"Mr. Issho," Robin asked, "what should we do?"
"Let's keep our distance," Issho replied calmly. "I might not be able to block the aftermath of this fight."
Though he was tempted to observe it firsthand, Issho knew—without him, the ship might not survive the clash of those two monsters.
At his word, Robin used her power to steer the ship farther away.
Enel watched as the island grew smaller in the distance.
What kind of battle would unfold there… between those two?
At the island's heart, Don and Mihawk stood face to face.
There was little greenery—only scattered stones and sparse shrubs among the rocky ground.
Mihawk reached back and grasped Yoru's hilt, his hawk-like eyes locking onto Don.
"Don't hold back by using only swordsmanship," he warned. "If you do, this fight will be meaningless."
Those sharp eyes glinted with anticipation.
"Of course not," Don replied, smiling. "You've waited long enough—I'll make sure it's worth it. Who knows, you might even taste defeat today."
"If that's the case…" Mihawk's lips curved into a rare smile. "Then I look forward to it."
For a swordsman, to clash with a true equal
even to lose
was a gift that could make one's blade grow stronger.
END OF CHAPTER
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