"Where did that slash come from?!"
Fisher Tiger landed back on the deck after his leap, his usually resolute face now etched with profound shock. That dark, flying slash, which had streaked in from the horizon, was incredibly sharp! The pure sword intent it contained—as if it could cleave everything in the world in two —made even a powerful warrior like him feel a deep, soul-level sense of crisis.
A flying slash of that magnitude could never be unleashed by an ordinary person; its wielder had to be a Great Swordsman standing at the very pinnacle of the Way of the Sword. And if... Tiger's heart tightened. If the target of that attack hadn't been that unlucky Sea King, but himself... He had no doubt that his proud, powerful physique, capable of withstanding the immense pressure of the deep sea, would have been decapitated instantly. At this thought, Tiger's expression became incredibly serious. He vigilantly stared in the direction the slash had come from, preparing himself as if facing a formidable, unknown enemy.
On the deck, Takuro slowly turned his head. His usually arrogant black eyes were now filled with a hint of amusement. He looked with keen interest towards the distant horizon. In his perception, there was indeed a Ki presence there —not overwhelmingly powerful, but exceptionally condensed and sharp, like a fine blade —and the person was currently staying put.
The corner of his mouth curved into a smirk. "Ho, how interesting."
Robin, standing beside him, looked at him curiously. "What's wrong, Master? Did you encounter someone?"
Unlike Tiger, Robin wasn't scared at all. In her opinion, Takuro was invincible, and that slash posed no threat.
Takuro smiled and replied to her, "He's an interesting fellow. You'll get to meet him soon."
Robin said nothing more, silently stepping aside to give him space.
Meanwhile, several nautical miles away from the "Conqueror" and just beyond the distant horizon, a small, incredibly unique boat—a coffin shape with a giant crossmast—floated silently on the sea, glowing with an eerie green ghost fire.
Standing at the bow of that tiny boat was a serious-faced young man, currently holding a sword-wielding posture. In his hand was the giant black blade, Yoru, shrouded in dark Armament Haki as deep as the night. A terrifyingly sharp sword pressure emanated from the young man's body, like a peerless, famous blade freshly drawn from its sheath. That sword pressure swept wildly outwards like an invisible tide, causing the surrounding fish schools to scatter in a frenzy—it was truly Haki overflowing!
Most striking were the young man's golden, eagle-like eyes. They seemed to possess an absolute sharpness capable of cutting through all illusions in the world. He was the one who had unleashed that earth-shattering slash.
"...It hit!"
After perceiving with his powerful Observation Haki that his all-out strike had precisely hit the vital point of that giant Sea King... Dracule Mihawk's expression instantly changed!
What peerless sharpness! What Haki overflowing! What the lofty solitude of the future greatest Great Swordsman! In that instant, all of it... completely vanished! In its place was pure, unadulterated ecstasy!
Since his last time, when he had accidentally lost his way again while chasing an interesting pirate ship, this was already his seventh day of aimlessly wandering this vast ocean. The pitifully small amount of food stored on his tiny coffin boat had been completely consumed three days ago.
Although, with his strength, he certainly wouldn't starve to death. From time to time, he could use his sword to spear a few oblivious fish from the sea, grill them, and barely fill his stomach. "But... it was fish again! Fish again! Every day it was this damned grilled fish! Without even a hint of salt! I was practically about to throw up from eating it!"
He, Dracule Mihawk, secretly swore that once he finally reached land this time, he would never eat grilled fish again!
"But Sea Kings, that's different!"
Their massive bodies, full of life energy, tasted more like land creatures, such as prime beef! Especially the fatty, oil-rich parts. After a simple charcoal grilling, they would emit a peculiar aroma that was difficult to describe in words. "That flavor is far beyond what ordinary, dry-fleshed sea fish can compare to!"
"I'm saved! Finally... finally, I can have a decent meal!"
Just thinking of the tender, juicy grilled meat and the melt-in-your-mouth fatty oils, saliva began to uncontrollably secrete in Mihawk's mouth! Impatiently, he used his Supreme Grade Sword, Yoru, as an enormous oar. He put all his strength into it—of course, all strength except that required to maintain a Swordsman's composure—and excitedly rowed with all his might towards the direction of the giant Sea King's corpse!
As he rowed and rowed, his heart was happily calculating. 'This Sea King is big enough. If I eat sparingly, it should... last until I find the next island, right?''I wonder if there are any good wine-producing regions nearby...'
However, as he continued rowing... and rowing... he suddenly felt that something seemed... a little off.
An incredibly massive, futuristic, silver-white giant ship, like a moving steel beast, suddenly appeared before his eyes, completely blocking the sea path ahead of him! And he himself, because he was so hungry just now, had concentrated all his Observation Haki on the Sea King that was to be his "dinner," so he actually... actually completely failed to notice the existence of this colossal object, which was as big as a moving island!
And at this moment, Mihawk finally noticed.
Quite a few people were standing on the deck of that colossal ship. Their gazes were all fixed on him, as if they were looking at some rare, strange animal... watching him. And among them, the most striking was the black-haired young man standing at the bow.
The young man was looking at him with an extremely peculiar gaze. It seemed to be mixed with "sympathy," "pity," "amusement," and "pure curiosity".
Then, the young man spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached Mihawk's ears, hitting him like a bolt from the blue.
"...Buddy."
"Looking at you like this... rowing and fishing..."
"...Are you... shipwrecked?"
Mihawk: "..."
His hand, which was tightly gripping the black blade Yoru—a hand that had once cut down countless powerful enemies, even cleaving giant icebergs in two, steady as a rock—at this moment, trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly.
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There will be no chapter updates for few days as I'll be on a trip after a long time. I'll be back on the 19th, and from then on I'll upload chapters regularly. I'll also upload bonus chapters and start a new book then.
You can read advanced chapters here: patreon.com/GregariousLion