Gin was still sitting on the floor shaking whenhe began to speak, unable to look anyone in the eye: "I'm really sorry. I neverthought things would turn out like this." "You don't have to apologizefor your captain, you wimp," Zeff grumbled. The pirate and the chefslooked at the blonde in disbelief. "Besides, Sanji did the right thing! I wouldalso help a person in need and make sure that he gets something in hisstomach." "But Chef! What are you talking about? Why are you suddenlytaking sides with Sanji? It's all his fault!" Patty protested. "Yes,exactly! He got us all into this mess!" One of the chefs pointed at the man inthe suit. "Because of him, the wonderful restaurant will soon be nothing but apile of rubble!" "Shut up, you idiots!" thundered Zeff. Some of the cooksbacked away in slight shock before the owner continued: "Have you ever had theexperience of almost starving? Can you imagine how terrible it is? Neither foodnor water in the vastness of the sea?" While the old man spoke, Sanji satdown at the end of the stairs and lit another cigarette. "Uh, what...whatdo you mean, Chef?" Patty asked, confused. He took a deep breath before hecontinued speaking more calmly: "The difference between all of you andSanji is that he knows this feeling." The chefs looked at each otherquestioningly. "What does he mean by that?" "What does Sanjiknow about that?" Zeff began to grin slightly before he looked aroundagain and said: "Instead of standing around here uselessly and chatting,you should leave this place as quickly as possible!" The eyes of the Cookswidened. Zeff couldn't be serious! Right? Patty's grip on his weapon tightenedbefore he spoke, "I'll stay here and fight! I can't just let myself be trampledlike that!" "Me too! After all, this is where I work!" "I havenowhere else to go." The chefs' fighting spirit had been awakened. Luffy couldalready feel the joyful tingling in her fingers. How long had it been since shehad been involved in a real fight? Gin couldn't believe what he saw. He slammedhis hands on the ground. "What are you doing?! Haven't you seen how strongDon Krieg is?" "Hey, Gin." Sanji had gotten up and walkedtowards him. "Feeding the hungry is what chefs do. Anyway..." He had puthis foot on one of the legs of a fallen table before kicking it back up andslamming his foot on it. "...now that your captain has eaten, he is nothingmore than a marauder. Whatever I do with your buddies, don't come to me to cry.I will destroy anyone who dares to steal this restaurant! Even you!" By thelast sentence, the chef's otherwise friendly face had twisted into a frightenedmask that you would otherwise only see in your worst nightmares. "Did youunderstand that?" Gin couldn't answer him. The only thing he did was swallowthe lump in his throat. They were really serious. "Hey, you just saved his lifeand then finished him off? How considerate of you, Sanji," Patty said,putting his gun on his shoulder. "Shut up, you third rate chef!"

Grinning, Luffy looked up at her friends andpointed at the blonde chef. "Didn't I tell you he's great?""Who's interested in him right now?!" Usopp shouted in panic. Hestuck his head under the banister. "Let's finally get out of here!""Calm down," Zoro said to him, "Even considering that he's Krieg,he's still under the weather." Suddenly the black-haired woman rememberedsomething and turned her head to the pirate. "Hm? Gin! You said beforethat you didn't know anything about the Grand Line, right? But you were there,weren't you?" There was silence in the air as all eyes turned to him. Gin hadto swallow again before lowering his head. Sweat ran down his face. "The truthis that I don't know anything. What happened on the Grand Line on the seventhday... Was it a dream or was it reality? It's still fresh in my memories. Itwas unbelievable... One man alone...destroyed our entire fleet of 50ships!" Shock and disbelief was written on the faces of everyone present,except for Zeff. "WHAT?!!!" "It all happened so suddenly. He appeared out ofnowhere and started sinking one ship after another. If a storm had notoccurred, our flagship would also have been destroyed. I don't know how many ofmy comrades on the other ships survived. I don't even want to think about whathappened! That man...His gaze went straight through you, like the eyes of a HAWK!""What?!" Zoro shouted. He had gripped the railing, sweat slowly trickling downhis face. Could it be that it was really HIM? The black-haired man looked atthe swordsman confused. What did he suddenly have? "What did you just say?" ButGin remained silent. Trembling just from the memory, holding his head with onehand. "This guy..." Zeff began, "...it must have been the manknown as 'Hawkeye.' The fact that you mentioned his eyes makes me think it'sTHAT man. It sounds like something he would do." Now it was Zoro who began totremble, even if only Usopp noticed. "The man with the hawk eyes." Luffy lookedquestioningly at her first mate. He had to have something to do with the guy."Hey, do you know that guy, Zoro?" Her voice had broken the swordsman out ofhis paralysis. He closed his eyes before speaking, "This is the man I'mlooking for. I traveled across the sea just to find him." "Maybe hehas some grudge against you, which is why he wanted to get even with you,"Sanji speculated. "Not that I know of." "You probably disturbedhim during his nap," the older blonde said. "Stop talking such nonsense!Why on earth would someone destroy our fleet because of SOMETHING like that?" Zeffchuckled. "Do not get so upset. I'm just making assumptions. The weirdestguys hang out on the Grand Line, something like that can certainly happen.""What kind of place is that?" asked Usopp anxiously. "A place where anythingcan happen," the green-haired man answered him. Why did he come along? He couldnow be SAFE on Geko and spend some time with Kaya or the Usopp Pirates! That'sright. He wanted to become a brave warrior of the seas. "Hey, Luffy, do wereally really have to go there?" The straw hat wearer's shoulders shook. Asmall glimmer of hope germinated in the black-haired man. Did she perhapsrealize that it was crazy to sail there? However, his hope was mercilesslydashed with the next words Luffy uttered: "Ahh! My fingers are really tingling!It's going to be amazing, boys!" The more she found out about the Grand Line,the more she wanted to go there. There are certainly countless, excitingadventures waiting for her there and she definitely didn't want to miss them!"Are you completely crazy?! Just think about our safety!" Why does life botherhim so much? What has he ever done wrong in his life, other than lying? "It'sclear to me too," Zoro began, "I've finally set myself a goal. I have to go tothe Grand Line!" Tears ran like streams down Usopp's face. Why had the bot hofthem such deathwishs? Zoro leaned against the stone pillar and crossed hisarms. "This Hawkeye is on the Grand Line. He's hiding out there somewhere andI'm going to track him down." "Tell me...are you stupid?" Sanjiasked after looking at Zoro for a while. "Do you really want to risk yourlife?" "Of course I'm putting my life at risk. But I'm not stupid!I've decided to become the best swordsman in the world and I'm not going to letthat stop me! I have decided to becomethe best swordsman in the world and I won't let that stop me. The only thingthat would be stupid now, Sanji, would be to retreat!" The two looked at eachother. The cook began to understand a little why Luffy had accepted him into hercrew. "Yes, I think so too!" exclaimed the black-haired woman enthusiastically.Zoro had really hit the nail on the head. "Yes, exactly, I think so too! I'mnot afraid of anything or anyone!" said Usopp, unconvincingly. Zoro had pulledone of his swords out of his hamakiri and nudged the black-haired man in thehead with it as he said angrily: "Don't talk such rubbish, Usopp!"Zoro gritted his teeth before turning away and saying: "Nonsense! This juststupid." A small smile appeared on Zeff's face. When this was all over, hewould have a conversation with the Straw Hat Girl. Because of her cook problem.

"Hey, hey! Do you even understand what this is about?" thundered Patty, "Don Krieg's ship is right in front of our restaurant! You can chat as long as you want AFTER we sort things out!" Suddenly Luffy began to unbutton the buttons on her shirt. "What the hell are you doing, girl?!" the chef shouted, his face red. The others, with the exception of Zeff, were no better. Why did she start taking off her clothes NOW? Sanji didn't know what to do. Either watch the angel undress like everyone else or kick every onlooker and give her his jacket to cover her nakedness. "What the hell are you doing, Luffy?" Usopp shouted. Zoro, on the other hand, placed a hand over his eyes. What reason will she give them now? "Huh? Isn't that obvious? I'm taking off the uniform before it gets torn apart in battle and I have to pay for it too," said the black-haired woman as she took off her shirt. Her red vest came out, which surprised those present. The apron and trousers were quickly taken off and placed over one of the fallen tables. She began to stretch. "Ah, that feels much better! Now I can move freely again." Less than a second later, the wild shouts of Krieg's men rang out from outside. The attack had begun. "Here they come! I can hear them!" "We won't let them through because this ship is OUR restaurant!" Suddenly it became dead quiet. What happened? The surprising calm was broken by the panicked screaming of pirates mixed with the sound of cracking wood. Everyone's eyes had widened as they looked out the open doorway where Krieg's ship had once been visible. "What?" breathed the straw hat wearer in disbelief. That was impossible and yet it happened. The ship was cleanly cut in half. The waves hit high, while individual parts were already sinking into the depths of the blue sea. The baratie began to sway violently, making it almost impossible to stay on there feet. "Come on, raise the anchor! Or our ship will be dragged into the depths!" Zeff gave the order. "Yes, Chef!" As soon as Luffy had found a firm footing, she ran to the entrance. "This is bad. Nami, Johnny and Yosaku are still on our ship!" said Zoro before jumping down the railing and following his captain. As Usopp tried to pull his head back before standing up, he hit his head against the iron frame and cursed, "Damn it! We could already be too late!" He stumbled down the stairs as quickly as he could and followed the other two outside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Outside the restaurant ~

The three of them watched as Krieg's ship was slowly being pulled further and further into the depths when suddenly Johnny's voice sounded from the water. "Ane! Aniki!" Alarmed, Luffy ran to the railing and saw the two bounty hunters swimming in the water with their faces flooded with tears. Panic began to spread through her body. Where was Nami? And where was the Merry? The floods didn't... "Yosaku! Johnny! Are you okay?" Usopp and Zoro were already standing behind her when she asked them both. "Where is the ship? What happened to Nami?" said Zoro. Even he was nervous and slightly panicked. "She's..." Johnny began, "...I'm sorry, Aniki! She is gone! Sister Nami is..." "She ran away with all the treasure!" Yosaku finished the sentence. "W-what did you say?!" the three robbed ones screamed in disbelief. Why...why would she do something like that? Luffy didn't understand. Maybe it had something to do with her dislike of pirates? Or was there another reason? "It's him," the three heard Zeff say tensely. Zoro looked at him first before following his gaze. His gray eyes widened as he spotted a person on a small boat among the rubble. The ship looked like an opened coffin with a mast in the middle, reminiscent of a cross. Under the mast there was a kind of throne on which the person sat. A candle with a green flame was placed at each edge of the ship. The most striking thing about this ship, however, were the pitch-black sails, which weren't even down even though the ship was moving. The person was still too far away to see him clearly. Zoro broke out in a sweat and started shaking. "That can't be. Is that...Hawkeye?"

With joining forces, the two black-haired teensmanaged to get Johnny and Yozaku on board of the Baratie. They lay panting onthe wooden planks. "What did you say?!" Usopp asked again in a panic. He deeplyhoped he had misheard. "Nami ran away with the Going Merry?!" Luffydidn't want to, no, couldn't believe this. Zoro also chimed in: "Whatexactly happened?" "Everything happened so suddenly," Yosakushrieked before he began to explain what had happened.

He and Johnny had spoken to Nami while she waslooking at the wanted posters. It was the wanted poster of a pirate with one ofthe highest bounties in the East Blue: Arlong- 20,000,000 Berry. They warned her better not to mess with this one whenNami suddenly put a new shirt on the railing and asked the two of them to turnaround because she wanted to change. The two of them did this. But when they wantedto turn around, because they uh... heard a noise. Yes, exactly a noise! Theorange-haired woman gave them a push and they fell over the railing into thewater. When they reappeared, the bounty hunters confronted her. Smiling, thethief told them that she was doing what she did best: stealing from pirates.She said she was never part of the crew but enjoyed her time with them. She setsail and began to move further and further away. The two of them had beencalling after her when Krieg's ship suddenly broke in two and began to sink.

"...and that's how we lost the ship!" Johnny finished the story and sat in front of them with Yosaku and his head bowed. "Forgive us!" Zoro angrily hit the wall of the restaurant with his fist. "Damned! She took advantage of us!" He hadn't trusted this witch from the start and now they had lost their ship. Usopp was also angry, even if it had a different reason than Zoro's. "Kaya gave us the ship!" The fact that Nami simply stole Kaya's ship was bad, but the fact that Johnny and Yosaku fell for the oldest woman's trick in the world was disappointing. At least Luffy wasn't as devious as the orange-haired woman. While the two male members of the pirate crew fought with their anger, the black-haired woman climbed onto the railing and scanned the horizon. There was something there. She could still see it faintly, it was Merry! "Wait! I can still see her! It's the Going Merry!" She turned to the others. "Where is your ship?" "We still have it, but..." Yosaku began. "Zoro, Usopp, get on your way! Use your boat to pursue Nami." "It doesn't matter. Just let her go. There is no reason to chase after this woman," Zoro said. While the green-haired man spoke, Luffy had her head lowered slightly so that her straw hat covered her eyes. Zoro couldn't understand that...that... "I don't accept anyone else as my navigator!" She looked them straight in the eyes as she said this. Usopp tried as best as he could not to give in, but he felt his steadfastness slowly giving way. He just couldn't argue with her, and not just because she was the captain. Things were different with Zoro. Gray met brown as they looked at each other. Determination versus determination. Her eyes bored deeper and deeper into his soul, leaving not the slightest room for argument. Annoyed, he broke eye contact and touched his forehead. "Fine!" he growled. Why did she even have to have such determination in her big brown eyes? "What a nerve-wracking captain," he murmured, barely audible, before adding loudly, "Come on Usopp!"

The two bounty hunters set the anchor when theywere within range of the Baratie and shouted: "The ship is ready, BrotherZoro!" Zoro turned to the black-haired woman and asked: "What aboutyou, Luffy?" "I still have my debts not paid, so I can't leaveyet." "Take care of yourself. Things here are abnormal." "Yes, I knowthat." When it came to abnormality, she already had 10 years of experience. Theboys were about to board when suddenly the panicked voice of one of the piratesrang out: "Don Krieg! It's him! The man who destroyed our fleet!" The fivelooked up in surprise. Zoro's eyes narrowed and sweat ran down his neck. "Thisman is..." He swallowed. "This man is..." The mysterious man was now clearlyvisible, sitting there on his throne with his legs crossed. He had short blackhair and a small beard. He wore a sort of cloak that was burgundy and decoratedwith flowers and whose sleeves reached down to his hands. His chest wasexposed, showing off his muscular torso. Over his coat he wore a black,sleeveless jacket and a black hat with a feather that was wine red on theinside. He was wearing light purple pants and black boots. A golden cross hungaround his neck and he carried a huge sword on his back. His eyes were hiddenby his hat. Krieg had placed one foot on the railing of his wrecked ship as helooked down, growling. "That scum." "Did he come all this wayjust to finish us off?!" "We're damned!" Luffy looked at her firstmate. "Zorro, do you know who that is?" He didn't turn to her as heanswered her: "That's the man I was looking for, 'Hawkeye' Mihawk."" Hawkeye Mihawk?" She had never heard of this man, but that appliedto a lot of her journey so far. And if this was the man Zoro was looking for,she would be the last to stand in the way of his dream. "The best swordsman inthe world!" Hawkeye's ship was getting closer and closer.

"This is the guy who sank Krieg's 50-shipfleet that was supposed to defy the Grand Line in one fell swoop?" Pattyasked nervously. "And he just sank the last of Creek's ships!" Carne added."But he doesn't look any different from any other person," said oneof the chefs, "and it doesn't look like he's equipped with anything special."Zeff had relaxed again and folded his arms before saying, " His weapon ison his back." "That can't be right! You don't mean...?!""He destroyed the huge ship with THAT sword?!" "He's the bestswordsman in the world, Hawkeye. A swordsman among all the swordsmen in theworld," Zeff said. Just then, Hawkeye looked up. His eyes were orange, brown,they remind of a hawk. A grin spread across Zoro's face. "I never thought I would meet him so early. Finally, the moment of fatehas come." He had put his hand on one of his swords. "Hey, you there!"shouted one of Krieg's men who was near Hawkeye, "Why are you following us? Whydid you attack us?!" Hawkeye looked sideways at the man. "Just to pass time,"he said in a calm and aristocratic-sounding voice. "What?! You must bekidding with us!" The pirate pulled two pistols out from under his jacket andpointed the barrels at the swordsman. With incredible calm, he pulled his swordfrom his back, stretched it out in front of him, before turning the bladetowards the pirate. Luffy didn't know much about swords, but she found it veryimpressive. The handle itself was large enough to hold with both hands. Theguard was almost as wide in both directions as his arms were wide. In themiddle it was decorated with some jewels. What was most striking, however, wasthe black blade that glowed in the sun. It almost resembled a cross. A doubleshot rang out. It was barely visible, Hawkeye moved his sword only slightly andthe bullets deviated from their course. If the black-haired woman had blinked,she wouldn't have even noticed it like the people around her. Then she noticedthat Zoro was no longer behind her. He had moved behind the pirate who hadfired. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. There it was again. Thisfeeling, which had never boded well since she first felt it.Worry began to growwithin her, but she trusted Zoro. She would always trust him! "What wasthat?! I aimed right at him!" "You'll never catch him like that!" said thegreen-haired man behind the pirate. He turned around in shock. When did the guycome up behind him? "He used the tip of his sword to change the flightdirection of the bullets." Hawkeye put the sword back. "That'simpossible!" With a hint of a smile, Zoro walked past the pirate, his handresting on the hilts of his swords. "Hey you, tell me, WHO are you?" "He hasthree swords! Could it be that..."

"I've never seen anyone so quick with asword," Zoro said approvingly, ignoring the question indirectly asked ofhim. Hawkeye's eyes landed on him. "Well recognized, speed pays off." "And youonly destroyed this ship with this huge sword?" "Yes." "I see. Then you're thebest." Hawkeye didn't reply. "I went to sea to meet you." He reached forhis headband, removed it from his arm and began to put it on. "What are youplanning to do?" Zoro grinned at him as he pulled the headband closed. His eyeswere slightly shadowed. "I will defeat you!" This made the older man smile. "He,you fool." Zoro drew his white sword, Wado-Ichi-Monji, and pointed theblade at the man. "Come on get ready! I will challenge you to a fight!" Now thepirates recognized him. "Th-th-this is Zoro. The fighter with the three swords.This is Roronoa Zoro!" "WHAT?!" Krieg was still standing there with his armscrossed and one leg on the railing. "Ha, the 'Pirate Hunter.'" "Thatcan't be," muttered Sanji. The moss head was this infamous pirate hunter?And on top of that, now a pirate himself? In his angel's crew? Zeff stoodsilently and continued to watch. Usopp saw the Going Merry getting further andfurther away. "Hey, Luffy! If we don't set off immediately, Nami will soonbe out of the woods with the going Merry!" However, she only looked at herfirst mate. "Luffy!" "Great," the swordsman sighed beforelooking at Zoro. Why do teenagers always want to prove themselves? Even thoughthe young man before him seemed to have made a name for himself, they werestill in the East Blue, the most peaceful and weakest of the four blues."You beginner want to challenge ME?" Zoro's look showed puredetermination. In the blink of an eye, Hawkeye found himself on the piece ofwreckage on which Zoro was standing, his arms crossed over his chest. "Ifyou were really a good swordsman, you would be able to judge the difference instrength WITHOUT drawing your sword." Zoro lowered Wado and turned to hisopponent as he continued to speak. "To challenge me. Are you brave or justcareless?" "That's just for my own dream!" He put Wado betweenhis teeth and drew the other two swords, letting their scabbards fall to theground. "And the promise to my fallen friend!" "'The best swordsman in theworld', Hawkeye Mihawk against 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro," Patty began, holdingon to the baratie's railing, "How will this fight turn out?" "Noone can win against Brother Zorro!" Yosaku said confidently. Johnny agreed:"Aniki is the best!" Luffy glanced at the two before looking back atZoro. She admired the trust the two showed towards Zoro. But...nobody should everbe too sure. This kind of carelessness and even overestimation would once havecost her her own life.

Hawkeye reached for his chain, ripped it offand, to everyone's surprise, pulled off the lower part of the cross, revealinga dagger. "Hey, what are you doing?" Zoro growled. Did he want tomake fun of him? "For someone like you, this will be enough. Even if you areknown enough to be called a swordsman, this is still the weakest of the fourseas, the East Blue. Unfortunately, I don't have anything smaller than thisdagger with me," he said the last sentence with audible regret. "Stopmaking fun of me!" Zoro ran towards Hawkeye. "Just don't regret itwhen you die!" "You're just someone who hasn't seen the REAL worldyet." "Oni Giri!"Zoro struck. But at the point where the three blades met, Hawkeye held hisdagger against it. Zoro couldn't carry out his attack and Hawkeye lookedanything but strained. "W-what?!" How was that even possible?"Zorro," came it worried over Luffy's lips. If she didn't see it withher own eyes, she wouldn't be able to believe it. "Aniki's Oni Giritechnique stopped just like that!" Johnny said in disbelief. Yozaku wasn'tdoing any better. "But that always worked 100%! What on earth just happened?!"Zoro tried with all his strength to somehow move his swords again, but itdidn't help. "I can not move! Whatjust happened? Nobody has been able to do anything against this technology sofar. But he only stoped it with his toy...Is this really happening?" Sweatslowly trickled down his body. "Is hisstrength really that far removed from mine? That can't be! It can never be thatfar apart!" Hawkeye's eye twitched briefly before Zoro broke away andshouted before simply punching him quickly: "I'm not that far behind theworld's stronges!" No matter what the green-haired man did, Hawkeyeparried every blow without any problem and without moving much. With a groan,Zoro fell backwards.

"That can't be happening, Aniki!" Yosakushouted, "Please fight seriously!" The straw hat wearing woman gave him anotherlook. Couldn't he see THAT Zoro was seriously fighting? This Hawkeye was reallygood and was obviously way out of Zoro's league. Still, she hoped thateverything would end well. She trusted Zoro and his abilities. Her heart slowlybegan to beat faster and faster in her chest. 

Zoro sat up again angrily. "It can'tpossibly be that far away!" The swordsman looked down at the green-hairedman without any emotion. He had lowered the hand in which he held the dagger.With a shout, Zoro lunged from his crouch towards his opponent and began todeliver a rapid succession of strikes again. Without any hassle, Hawkeye backedaway and continued to fend off Zoro's strikes. It almost seemed like he wastrying to lure him somewhere. They reached the railing, which the older onejumped onto before leaping over the green-haired man as he parted the wood withhis sword. Hawkeye landed gracefully back on the wreckage before dodging Zoro'sincreasingly tired blows again. He blocked another blow as he said, "Suchferocious swordplay." With a scream, Zoro turned his head to meet Hawkeyewith Wado. He was also able to easily stop this powerful blow. They stood likestatues as one of Creek's men said, "He can only keep Zoro's three swordsin check with this thing!" The two fighters continued their dance ofattacks and parries. "This is a monster against a superior monster!"Slowly, Zoro's pride began to suffer from the fight. "I...I didn't come all the way here just to lose to a toy!""Zorro!" His eyes widened. This voice! It was HER voice! Kuina. Newdetermination sprouted within him. He stabbed, but Hawkeye took a small step tothe side. He was getting closer to the ground when he felt a blow on his neck.Hawkeye had struck him with the side of his hand. His eyes rolled back, hismouth open and Wado loose in the air. Memories came flooding back to him. Thenight the two made a promise to each other that one of them would become thebest swordsman in the world. The night before her fatal accident. That's why hefought with Wado-Ichi-Monji, her sword, so that they could both fulfill theirdream. His eyes rolled back again and he snapped Wado with his teeth. Swaying,he turned back to Hawkeye. "If I were todefeat this man..." He was breathing heavily as he walked towards hiscounterpart. He lashed out and fell to the ground as Hawkeye stepped aside. Thegreen-haired man gasped for air while the swordsman looked down at him. Zororaised his head and saw his hawk-like eyes directly at the older one. "Give up!Why do you fight so hard when you cannot win? You're a weakling." Zoro'seyes narrowed briefly for a moment. Give up?

"What are you saying?! Zoro a weakling? We don'tlike hering things like that!" Yosaku growled and drew his sword while he wasalready standing with one leg on the railing of his boat. "We'll show you, youbastard!" Johnny also growled as he drew his sword. With a scream they wereabout to intervene in the action when Luffy stretched her arms and grabbed themby the collar as she shouted: "Yosaku! Johnny! Stop! Stay here!" She pulled thetwo back onto their boat before grabbing their heads and pushing them down toprevent them from interfering any further. "Grr. He has to do this ALONE!" shegrowled. Her tone didn't tolerated an contradict. "Luffy...?" came itquietly from Usopp, who was standing behind her. What did she suddenly have? Heunderstood that this fight was important to Zoro, but why did the black-hairedwoman push herself so hard?

Zoro stood up again. "I can't afford tolose!" Hawkeye looked at him with interest, even if you couldn't see it.The swordsman could see a fire in the younger man's eyes. Zoro positionedhimself, ready for his next strike. "Tora..." Luffy's words came back to him. "'The best swordsman in the world? It's really crazy! Well, if thatdoesn't sound like an absolutely unbeatable team!'" "...Gari!"He wanted to strike, but Hawkeye was faster. He had stabbed him in the chestwith his dagger. Zoro lowered his arms a little. When had he moved? He didn'tnotice anything at all. Blood dripped onto the wood beneath him. "Did you wantit to hit you're heart?" Hawkeye said, "Why didn't you retreat?" Blood slowlycollected in the younger man's mouth and ran down the corners of his mouth. "Idon't know," he said firmly, "I'm not sure myself. But if I were to take evenone step back, I believe that all the important promises I have made up to thispoint would lose their meaning and I would never be able to face these peopleagain." "And that I guess that's what you would call 'losing'.""Hehehe, that's why I'm not giving up." "Even if it meant yourdeath?" "Death would be better!" There it was again, that firehe had already seen before. "He has astrong will! He prefers death to defeat." He pulled out his dagger. Zorrodidn't make the slightest sound. The black-haired man put the dagger back in itsgolden sheath. "Tell me, what's your name?" Zoro stretched out hisarms, holding his swords stretched out in front of him, before the left oneturned 180° and the hilt of the right sword against the crossguard of the otherone. "They call me Roronoa Zoro!" Hawkeye had put the dagger back around hisneck before reaching for his sword. "I will remember this name! I've beenwaiting for an opponent like this for a long time. Then let's see if you cancounter the sharpest blade in the world, the Black Sword Yoru." "Ofcourse. As far as I'm concerned, we can start!" "He has drawn his sword," saidone of the pirates, intimidated. "He used it to dismantle our ship!" "This is the hour of decision! Either I amthe best or he is." The tension was almost unbearable for many of thespectators. Luffy's knuckles turned white as she held onto the railing of thebounty hunters' boat. Sweat trickled down her back and she bit her lip. Thefeeling, her premonition, grew stronger. It would happen soon! "Zoro, that'senough! Stop it, man!" Johnny shouted while holding his head. Yosaku had hiseyes closed and his hands folded in a prayer. "Ever fought against threeswords?! Santōryū Iai ..." Zorobegan to rotate his swords in opposite directions like the blades of awindmill. His movement became faster and faster. Hawkeye leapt forward. "...SanzenSekai!" They struck. "That's it then!" said the older one as hestopped behind Zoro. For a moment no one knew who had scored. Suddenly theblades in his hands broke and blood spurted from his chest wound. He fell tohis knees. "I lost." Hereached for Wado and shoved it back into its sheath while Hawkeye looked overhis shoulder at him. "I never foresawthis. He IS the best swordsman in the world!" He stood up, turned to hisopponent and spread his arms. It was clearly visible on his chest where theBlack Sword had hit him. Hawkeye was surprised. "What are you doing?"Zoro looked at him with a grin before saying, "Scars on the back are aswordsman's shame!" Hawkeye smiled. "Well said!" He struck. Zorosuppressed a scream as the blade slashed across his chest. Blood spurted fromhis wound. Luffy felt like her heart stopped for a moment. "ZORO!!!" her screamechoed over the waves. Wado fell out of the green-haired man's hand before hefell backwards. "Don't rush to yourdeath too soon, my young friend!" "Zoro!" "Aniki!"shouted Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku. "Whydid you do that?" Sanji thought. He remembered Zoro's words in therestaurant. "'Of course I'm putting mylife at risk. But I'm not stupid! I've decided to become the best swordsman inthe world and I'm not going to let that stop me!'" "You must have been crazy, Mihawk is the best swordsman in the world!Why didn't you give up?" "Why didn't you just give up?!" theblonde shouted angrily. His cigarette fell to the ground.

Luffy had fallen into a kind of paralysis. Everything moved as if in slow motion. "That can't be real! This...this can't be! This must be a nightmare!" Her first mate fell in the sea with a loud splash and disappeared from her sight. She wanted to get after him, wanted to pull him out of the water and see if he really was... But she couldn't because of the curse of the sea. The curse that had weighed on her for 10 years. Even if the straw hat wearer made it to him, it would be impossible for her to return to the surface. On the contrary, it would only drag him faster to the bottom of the ocean. She didn't want anyone close to her to be swallowed up by the sea again. Not like...not like... "Not like Sabo!" Her chest tightened, she felt like she couldn't breathe and she started shaking. She lowered her head and her grip tightened, nearly splintering the wood. "Is this the power of the Grand Line?!" one of Krieg's men asked. "Even pirate hunter Zorro had no chance!" Anger began to gather in the young Portgas. "Damn you!" she growled, swinging her fist. She didn't even notice Johnny and Yosaku jumping into the water. "Zoro!" She shot forward with her arm and grabbed the railing behind the swordsman, who had now sheathed his sword. This action almost caused her straw hat to fall off her head, but that didn't matter to her at the moment. Fire burned in her eyes as she flew towards him, roaring, her right hand clenched into a fist. She wanted that guy to pay for it! Those present were shocked when they saw the woman's arm stretching to an inhuman extent. "W-w-what is that!" shouted one of the cooks. Sanji couldn't believe his eyes. How on earth was that possible? Krieg's men stood in shock, their mouths wide open as their captain said calmly, "That's not possible! The straw hat brat must have eaten some devil fruit!" Hawkeye could see tears in the corners of the girl's eyes before he took a step to the side, avoiding her. She crashed into a pile of wood behind him. Luffy quickly got back up and struck. He easily dodged her blows when the straw hat caught his eye. A slight smile crept onto his lips. "Very interesting." The black-haired woman struck again, blinded by anger. Hawkeye dodged again, he was now half behind her, and grabbed her right with his left. Before she could swing her left fist, he had already grabbed her with his other hand. With her arms crossed, she now stood with her back against his chest. She tried to wriggle out of his grip, but she couldn't. "You are a friend of the young swordsman. I had to teach him a lesson, he wouldn't have learned otherwise." "Shut up! Let me go so I can bet you!" "I'll let you go, but only after you calm down, little miss." "Calm down? Calm down?! I'll show you how I calm down after I bet you back tot he Grand Line!" "If you're mad about your friend, don't worry, he's just hurt." Suddenly Luffy stopped. What did the guy just say? Was that the truth or was he trying to mislead her? Suddenly she heard Johnny and Yosaku from the water. "Zoro! Zoro! Say something!" "Zoro!" she cried, relieved. At that same moment, Hawkeye let go of her before crossing his arms over his chest and walking past her to the edge of the wreck. He screamed and spit out blood. "Zoro!" Was he okay? How badly was he injured? Would he recover? Usopp had already untied the boat and was drifting closer to them. He leaned down to them and said, "Hurry up boys! Bring him on board!" By joining forces, the three managed to pull the injured man into the boat. Usopp had brought out a small tub with the necessary medical supplies and began to treat the wound. The black-haired woman had the feeling that a heavy stone had fallen off her shoulders. "You are too young to die, my friend," said the swordsman, "I, Dracule Mihawk, want you to carry on! You still have a lot to learn about yourself and the world and you have to get faster. I'll keep an eye on you. At some point you will challenge me to a fight again and if you keep your iron will, which I hope, Roronoa Zoro, you might defeat me!" Luffy wasn't sure, but that sounded like a compliment to her. "Now say something!" Yosaku pleaded. Johnny held Wado in his hand, he knew it meant a lot to Zoro and had rescued it from the water. "Zoro!" "Zoro must have impressed Hawkeye very much," Zeff began, "otherwise he certainly wouldn't have said that!" The swordsman turned to the straw hat wearer. "And what is your goal, young lady?" "I will be Pirate King!" "King? Not a queen?" "No, a queen would have to submit to someone and I will never do THAT!" He could see the same determination in her eyes as in her friends. He smiled before saying, "That's even harder than defeating me. Believe me, you have a tough job ahead of you!" "That remains to be seen. I've managed everything so far," she said, before childishly sticking her tongue out at him. "He's alive!" She turned to her friends on the boat. "He just fainted," Usopp said. The two bounty hunters had tears of joy streaming down their faces. "Wake up, Zoro!" "Zoro, wake up! Say something!" Luffy didn't notice how individual tears were slowly running down her cheeks. The green-haired man reached for his sword and stretched the blade towards the sky. "He wakes up! He's waking up!" "Luffy, can you hear me?" came it from the injured man weakly. "Yes!" "I'm sorry for worrying you. I must have disappointed you badly, right? I didn't become the best swordsman in the world. I didn't make it." He spat blood. "Please stop talking, Zoro!" Yosaku pleaded. But he continued speaking as tears slowly flowed from his eyes. "I will never lose again! I will defeat Hawkeye! Ah! I will achieve my goal! No one can stop me from doing that!" A smile slowly formed on her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she could also see Hawkeye smiling. "At some point it will happen! Then...then I'm the best swordsman in the world! Anything against that, Pirate King?!", his voice rings out over the wreckage. Her smile turned into a wide grin as she laughed and wiped away her tears. "Shishishi. No!"