The journey is complete! As Mihawk in OP has officially reached its ending with 159 chapters on P@tre0n!
Want to read the full story and discover how everything ends? Join us on P@tre0n and read all 159 chapters!
How to access it: Go to → p atreon .com / Hemlet (remove the spaces and type it normally in your browser)
---
Down on the main deck, Cavendish shot a dark glare toward the cabins where Crocodile had disappeared with Kiku. "A nakama…" he muttered, tearing a petal off the rose he had picked up. "What grotesque absurdity!" He crushed the petal beneath his heel in disgust.
Perona, emerging from the hold, overheard him. She floated nearby, arms crossed, still sulking but less panicked. "You said it!" she retorted. "I say he's going to poison us in our sleep. Or turn the ship into a desert!" She shivered. "I hate sand. It gets everywhere."
Korran passed by, carrying a barrel of beer on each shoulder. "The Captain must have his reasons. Otherwise it's pretty incredible he managed to convince someone like him."
"I wouldn't be so enthusiastic if I were you…" a voice cut in.
It was Law, slowly descending from the quarterdeck.
"What did the Captain tell you, Law?" Korran asked.
Law stopped near them, hands buried in his trouser pockets. "Wano," he said simply.
Perona flinched. "Wano? The closed-off country?"
"Precisely," Law confirmed, his tone neutral but with an undercurrent of tension. "The Captain's aiming for Wano. To wrest it from Kaido."
Cavendish's eyes widened, his outrage momentarily replaced by incredulity. "Kaido?! The Hundred-Beast?! He plans to challenge an Emperor? With him aboard?" He jabbed an accusing finger toward Crocodile's cabin.
"Apparently, Crocodile has his own reasons for going," Law explained, casting a sidelong glance at the prow, where Mihawk stood watching the horizon. "The Captain believes his strength—and his… currently predictable motivations—will be useful."
"Useful?!" Perona exclaimed, her Horos spinning wildly again. "He's going to sell us to Kaido the moment we reach the waterfalls!"
Korran scratched the back of his head. "I don't know Wano, but Kaido… that's some target." He clenched his fists. "Either way, I'm not just going to sit and watch like in Dressrosa!"
Law gave a dry, humorless laugh. "The Captain is right about one thing: Crocodile is strong. And if we're going up against Kaido and his commanders, every ounce of strength counts. Even that of a jackal." His eyes hardened. "But I'll keep an eye on him. We were told not to provoke open conflict…" A cold smile ghosted across his lips. "…no one said anything about active suspicion."
Perona nodded faintly. "I'll watch him too! My Horos can slip anywhere! Even under a door!" She hugged a little ghost to her chest, as if to steel herself.
Cavendish let out a long, melodramatic sigh, adjusting a lock of his blond hair. "Very well. If it's for a quest as grand as defying an Emperor… I suppose I can endure the presence of that malodorous brute. Temporarily." He shot one last disgusted look at the cabin. "But if he so much as touches a single one of my roses, or dares to criticize my aesthetic in front of a mirror, the no-provocation rules are off!"
---
In the guest cabin, Crocodile was inspecting the room with a critical eye. It was spacious, clean, simply furnished—a solid bed, a desk, a wardrobe, a porthole looking out at the sea. Not the luxury he was accustomed to, but acceptable. Kiku stood silently by the door, watching.
"This will do," he declared brusquely, tossing his fur coat onto the bed. "For now. Now get out. And tell your captain I expect the first of these famous… revelations." His smile was a humorless sneer. "Without delay."
Kiku bowed slightly, wordless, and slipped out, closing the door softly behind her. Crocodile remained alone in the dim cabin. He lit a fresh cigar, the glowing tip briefly illuminating his hardened face.
---
The sound of a door opening startled everyone on deck. Kiku emerged from the staircase leading to the cabins.
"All go well?" Perona asked anxiously, floating toward her. "He didn't… I don't know… sabotage the bulkhead or steal the blankets?"
Kiku shook her head gently. "He inspected the cabin. He commented on the 'exasperating modesty' of the furniture and the 'mediocre view.'" She paused briefly. "Then he asked where the ship's cigar and brandy stores were. I pointed him to the galley. He… helped himself to two bottles before I could suggest asking the Captain."
Cavendish let out a strangled cry of outrage. "My Aphrodisia brandy! The oak-aged one!"
Kiku inclined her head again, a hint of apology in the gesture. "Precisely, Cavendish. He chose the oldest labels."
Perona let out a small whimper. "He's already starting!"
Law sighed. "Let him. For now." His eyes turned to the prow. Mihawk had finally stepped down from his post and was descending the stairs. He stopped in the middle of the deck, surveying the gathered crew.
"Raise anchor," he ordered, his voice carrying effortlessly. "Set course northeast. We have a long crossing ahead."
Perona, perched on the aft rail, legs dangling, watched with a disgusted pout as wisps of smoke occasionally drifted from the cursed cabin's porthole.
"He's ruining the air and the wood with his horrible cigars," she grumbled, clutching her largest Horos to her chest. The ethereal creature gave a soft, sympathetic giggle. "And he stole Cavendish's brandy! He's a real pirate, in the worst sense of the word!" She shot a dark look toward the prow, where Mihawk stood, still as a statue of jet, scanning the northeastern horizon.
Lower down on the main deck, Korran sweated as he checked the lashings of a lifeboat. Nearby, Cavendish sat on a barrel, feverishly polishing Durandal.
"'Coexist'…" he muttered through gritted teeth, rubbing the blade with suspicious intensity. "Coexist with a venomous snake basking in my brandy… what degradation for a man of my standing." He raised the blade to inspect his reflection, adjusting a stray lock of hair.
Law, leaning against the main mast, arms crossed, watched the scene out of the corner of his eye. His hat shaded his gray gaze.
Kiku, silent as a shadow, methodically stowed fresh ropes in a chest near the prow.
Suddenly, the door to cabin three opened with a loud creak, making Perona jump and Cavendish's shoulders tense. Crocodile emerged, cloaked despite the heat, a new bottle of Aphrodisia brandy half-empty in one hand and a freshly lit cigar clenched between his teeth. He stretched ostentatiously, his boots clacking against the wooden deck. His yellow eyes swept over the crew with amused contempt.
"The silence is deafening, my little shipmates," he drawled, his tone mocking. He took a long swallow of brandy, savoring the amber liquid. "Feels like a funeral vigil. Someone die? Other than your good taste, obviously." His gaze fell on Cavendish. "This brandy is… acceptable. Passable. Where do you hide the rest?"
Cavendish turned crimson. He leapt to his feet. "Passable?! Passable?! That's a twenty-year-aged nectar, you mud-palated barbarian! And it's not yours!"
Crocodile let out a dry laugh, blowing smoke in the dandy's direction. "Everything on this ship belongs to the Captain, little lord. And the Captain has implicitly allowed me to help myself." He waved his free hand vaguely. "Consider it… my travel expenses."
Perona floated higher, out of reach. "Travel expenses?! You're a thief! A parasite! Mihawk!" She turned toward the prow, pleading. "He's draining our stores!"
Mihawk didn't turn immediately. His gaze remained fixed on the horizon. "The stores are sufficient, Perona. Crocodile is entitled to the same comfort as any crew member." He finally turned his head, his golden eyes briefly meeting Crocodile's. "Within reason."
The "within reason" carried a silent warning. Crocodile caught it—there was the faintest tightening around his yellow eyes—but his sneer didn't falter. He shrugged casually. "As you wish, Captain." He strolled to the port rail, away from the commotion, and leaned on it, staring out at the sea with a vaguely bored air.
Law pushed off the mast and approached the prow. "Captain," he said, forcing his voice to remain neutral. "A word about our heading? The Solstice Island? Why stop there?"
Mihawk descended the few steps to join Law on the main deck. The crew's attention—even Crocodile's, as he slightly turned his head—focused on them.
"A member of our crew is waiting for us."