Inside the Baratie, Fullbody had fired the signal flare and waited a long while.
"O-Owner Chef! They’re here! The Krieg Pirates’ ship!"
As soon as one of the cooks spotted the Krieg Pirates’ vessel approaching from far away, he rushed down to report it.
"Excellent! We’ll wipe them out in one fell swoop!"
"Hey, Marine officer! I don’t know what rank you are, but do you really think you can take on the Krieg Pirates alone? They’re a giant fleet with five thousand men! What are you doing here by yourself when you should be calling for reinforcements!"
Patty shouted in a panic, criticizing Rengoku.
"Don’t worry. I brought enough to catch them all."
"No, what are you even planning to do alone!!"
Watching Patty make a complete spectacle of himself, Rengoku realized just how far behind East Blue’s information network really was.
In the New World, it was common for a Marine officer alone to wipe out a giant fleet of thousands.
On the other hand, it was also common for a pirate captain to overturn a single Marine warship.
In the face of absolute combat power, numerical superiority meant very little.
But here in East Blue, they were still so lacking in information that they were panicking over nothing more than being outnumbered.
Brrrrrr.
Brrrrrr.
Click.
"What is it?"
"J-Justice! Something terrible has happened!"
"Something terrible?"
"M-Mihawk, the Hawk-Eye, has been spotted in a small boat!"
"Hawk-Eye?"
"The exact location is..."
Rengoku was not the only one shocked by the Marine’s report.
Zeff of the Red Leg had naturally heard of a strong man on the level of Hawk-Eye.
And over in the corner, Roronoa Zoro was gripping his sword hilt with visible excitement, because Hawk-Eye was his target.
"Hey, Marine, what are you going to do about this? Hawk-Eye is here!"
"What is Hawk-Eye?"
At Luffy’s question, Rengoku answered in his place.
"Hawk-Eye, Dracule Mihawk! The strongest of the seven pirate warlords officially recognized by the government! At the same time, he is the world’s officially acknowledged greatest swordsman!"
"Eh~? So he’s pretty strong?"
"Hey, Luffy, Hawk-Eye isn’t just ‘pretty strong’..."
That man...
Is my target!"
Zoro was gripping his sword tightly, excitement burning in his eyes.
"You said Hawk-Eye was your target?"
Rengoku paid close attention to Zoro’s words.
"That’s right! The reason I came out to sea with this sword was to defeat that bastard and become the world’s greatest swordsman!"
"Hmm! That will be impossible!"
"What?"
Zoro seemed angered by Rengoku’s blunt denial.
"The difference in skill between you and Mihawk is obvious! More than that, you’re fundamentally behind even in equipment! A swordsman whose black blade hasn’t even manifested yet saying he’ll defeat Mihawk? That’s nothing but nonsense!"
"You bastard..."
Zoro clenched his teeth at Rengoku’s direct words.
"W-wait!"
Nami suddenly cut in.
"If that Warlord is a government-approved pirate... then what side is he even on?"
At Nami’s question, Rengoku answered kindly.
"The Marines and the Warlords are both under the World Government. Therefore, Mihawk can attack pirates other than us Marines, and he can also attack ordinary civilians!"
"Th-then that means this Baratie could be attacked by Mihawk too, right?"
"In principle, yes!"
"Kyaaah! That’s impossible! We’ve only just set out to sea, and we’re already doomed!"
Seeing Nami sink into despair, Rengoku tried to comfort her.
"There’s no need to worry! Even though it’s unclear why Mihawk, who operates in the New World, has come all the way to East Blue, if he attacks civilians in front of the Marines, I will stop him!"
But even with Rengoku’s reassurance, Nami still could not calm down.
"You said he’s the world’s greatest swordsman recognized by the World Government! Can you beat him?"
"No! The title of world’s greatest swordsman is no empty name! As I am now, I cannot promise victory against him!"
"Then we’re all..."
"But! Even when facing an evil so great that it cannot be defeated, a Marine does not retreat! Whether or not victory is possible, if Mihawk runs wild, I will personally stop him as a Marine officer!"
Rengoku knew Mihawk’s character well enough to know that he was not the sort of man who would go around acting like some Morgania-type pirate bastard.
But that only made the question more puzzling: why in the world had a man like Mihawk come all the way from the New World to East Blue?
Kuuung—
The massive Krieg fleet slammed into the Baratie.
And from within it, countless pirates poured out in a rush.
"Hiiik!"
Leaving the shocked Nami and Usopp behind, Rengoku stepped forward and looked over the pirates’ appearance.
Every single one of them looked like a half-dead corpse, skin and bones.
At this rate, Chief Petty Officer Tashigi could probably handle them all by herself.
And if Chief Petty Officer Tashigi could handle them all by herself...
"Straw Hat boy! Green-haired swordsman!"
Rengoku called out to Luffy and Zoro.
"I think I need to make pre-contact with Mihawk! If you don’t mind, could you handle these pirates?"
"Yeah! Sure!"
"Hey, I’m the one who’s going to handle Mihawk!"
"Don’t worry! If nothing happens, I’ll bring him right over to the green-haired swordsman myself!"
Just then, a heavy sound rang out from the outskirts of the Baratie.
"Don Krieg!"
Gin, who had been eating off to the side, shouted.
"Hey, Gin, you rude bastard... huh?"
"Excuse me, pirate. I’m not interested in you, so could you move aside?"
"What?"
Don Krieg frowned at the Marine standing before him, who was at least fifty centimeters shorter than he was.
"Heh heh heh. Don Krieg, leave this little Marine brat to me."
A man with his entire body covered in round shields stepped out from behind Krieg and spoke.
"H-hey! You guys!"
As the shield man appeared, Gin called out to the Marines guarding him.
"That man is strong! Your superior is in danger!"
But even with Gin’s well-meaning advice, the members of the First Rifle Squad did not even blink.
Instead, they stared at Gin with strange looks, as if to say, What is this country bumpkin?
"Would you mind stepping aside? I have business with someone other than you."
"Heh heh, you’ll have to beat this Paal first... guh!"
It happened in an instant.
Rengoku’s left fist drove straight into Paal’s thickest body shield.
It was nothing more than an ordinary body blow, with nothing wrapped around it.
And yet that utterly ordinary punch instantly smashed the thick steel shield, several centimeters thick, to pieces.
It shattered in a single moment.
"If you want to fight me, first go beat that Straw Hat boy over there. Is that fine, Straw Hat boy?"
"Yeah! Leave it to me! Shishishi!"
Leaving the dazed Krieg and the unconscious Paal behind, Rengoku stepped up onto the Baratie’s railing.
"Hey! Take me with you!"
Meanwhile, Zoro rushed out and grabbed Rengoku’s clothes.
Thump, thump, thump.
"Eh?"
"Hm? When did you come up behind me?"
"Wait a second! Are you flying right now?"
It was [Moon Step].
"I understand your intent well enough, but I cannot protect you!"
"I don’t need that! I’ve only come after Hawk-Eye!"
----!
Rengoku’s Observation Haki activated.
"Hold on tight!"
Rengoku immediately drew his beloved blade, Flame Wheel Demon-Slaying Blade, from the sky.
The blade was instantly ignited, and Rengoku sent a slash downward from midair toward the Krieg Pirates’ fleet below.
"Flame Breathing--"
"Third Form!"
"Blazing Universe!"
A massive fireball fell from the sky like a meteor.
But it did not reach the sea.
No, it could not reach it.
Right below, a sharp green sword aura shot up toward the heavens.
The flames and the sword aura met in the center of the ships, creating a tremendous explosion, and every single one of Krieg’s pirate ships was reduced to ashes on the spot.
The sailors aboard were all burned, knocked unconscious, and sent tumbling into the sea.
Rengoku landed on a wooden plank floating on the water.
"It’s been a while, Hawk-Eye, Dracule Mihawk!"
"Oh? I didn’t expect to find you in East Blue, Flame Hashira Rengoku."
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