[A/N: thanks for watching my fanfic 100K views and 295 collections]
Chapter 50 – Part 3 — The Black Blade Approaches
Sunny POV
The Baratie's kitchen still smelled like blood, sweat, and overcooked soup. Broken chairs and dented pans littered the floor. Sanji was raging, cigarette bouncing between his lips as he shouted at Lucy for eating leftovers off the floor like some starving raccoon. Usopp had climbed onto a table, declaring himself "Hero of the Battle of the Soup Pots," while Zoro leaned against a wall polishing his swords as if nothing had happened.
Me? I was just sitting back, letting the chaos swirl around me like a storm I had no intention of cleaning up.
Lucy tried to steal a steak off Sanji's plate. "FOOD IS LOVE! FOOD IS LIFE!" she cried.
Sanji's foot came down on her head. "YOU GLUTTONOUS WITCH, YOU'RE RUINING MY ART!"
I chuckled. "Well, you did say you'd feed any lady for free."
"NOT HER!" Sanji barked, vein popping on his forehead.
The banter went on, but beneath it, I felt something. The air outside shifted—quiet, tense, heavy. My Observation Haki hummed faintly in my bones, warning me like the pressure before a storm.
---
The Sea Turns Still
Through the windows, the ocean looked strange. Out there, drifting half-broken, was a massive ship. Or what was left of one. Its sails were torn, its hull burned. Men staggered on deck like walking corpses.
Don Krieg's fleet voice bellowed across the water, desperate but triumphant. "WE ESCAPED HIM! HAHAHA! WE ESCAPED THE HAWK!"
I narrowed my eyes. Escaped?
Then I saw it.
Behind Krieg's ruin of a ship, a tiny boat slid forward across the sea. One man sat in it, calm as if he were out for an afternoon sail. His hat was wide-brimmed, his cloak black as midnight, and the long cross-shaped pendant at his neck glinted in the sun.
His eyes caught me first—cold, golden, sharp enough to cut through stone.
The man didn't say a word.
He simply drew his blade.
---
The Black Sword Falls
For a heartbeat, silence.
Then—
SCHINK!
With one swing, Krieg's entire ship split apart like paper. Wood cracked, sails shredded, steel snapped like brittle glass. The pirates screamed as the sea swallowed them whole, their voices cut off by waves.
No survivors. No second chance.
Just death. Clean, merciless, absolute.
The Baratie went quiet. Every fork, every plate, every laugh in the restaurant froze in the air. Even Lucy's jaw dropped, her cheeks stuffed with stolen bread.
"WOAHHHH!" she shouted, clapping. "THAT WAS AWESOME! DO IT AGAIN, MISTER SCARY EYES!"
Usopp keeled over. "D-D-Did he just cut a SHIP in HALF?!"
Sanji took a long drag on his cigarette. "…Tch. Show-off."
Zoro stood up, hand already drifting toward his swords. His eyes locked on the man in black like a starving wolf finding meat.
---
The Hawk Appears
The small boat drifted closer, its rider standing tall as if the sea itself obeyed him. He stepped lightly onto floating wreckage, his coat trailing behind him like dark wings.
Dracule Mihawk.
The strongest swordsman in the world.
My skin prickled at the weight of his presence. He wasn't screaming, or flaring his aura like some pirate brute—no, his silence was heavier than cannon fire.
{ego} purred in the back of my head.
{ego}: "Finally… someone worth killing. His eyes are sharp. I want to see them dull."
[system] hummed sweetly.
[system]: "♥ Master shouldn't! This isn't your fight. Let Zoro play his little dream scene~."
I ignored them, my focus still on Mihawk. His movements were relaxed, unhurried, like a predator that never needs to run.
---
The Challenge
Zoro stepped forward, swords rattling as he drew them. "Oi. You. Hawk-eyes." His voice was steady, his grin wild. "I've been waiting to meet you."
Sanji scoffed. "Great. The marimo's found someone else to embarrass himself against."
Zoro shot back without looking. "Shut up, cook. Go fry your eggs."
"Oh? Want me to cook your last meal before he guts you?" Sanji's smirk was sharp.
Nami pinched her nose, sighing. "Idiots, both of you…" She glanced at me, whispering low. "Sunny… do you sense it too? He's dangerous."
I met her eyes, and for a second, let her see the seriousness in mine. "Yeah. He's the real deal."
Lucy, oblivious as ever, hopped up beside Zoro. "DO IT, SWORD-GUY! BEAT THE SCARY HAWK AND WIN FOOD FOR LIFE!"
"…I'm not fighting for food," Zoro muttered, but there was a flicker of a smile.
---
The Hawk Responds
Mihawk finally spoke, his voice smooth and calm, carrying easily across the water. "A challenge? From a child waving swords? …Very well."
He reached to his chest. For a moment, everyone tensed, expecting the massive black blade to swing again.
Instead, he drew a tiny knife. No bigger than a dagger, shaped like a cross.
He held it between two fingers, casually. "This will be enough."
The silence after that sentence hit harder than cannon fire.
Zoro's grin widened. His spirit burned. Sanji muttered, "…The swordsman's insane." Usopp wailed, "HE'S GONNA GET CARVED LIKE A THANKSGIVING TURKEY!"
And me? I leaned back, arms folded, watching history unfold.
This was Zoro's fight.
---
To Be Continued…
Mihawk's golden eyes gleamed as he raised the tiny blade. Zoro lowered into stance, every muscle tight, his dream burning in the edge of his swords.
I exhaled slowly.
The gap between them… it's endless.
But Zoro wasn't backing down. And for that, even the Hawk raised his weapon.