"Good wine, good food. I never expected there to be wine and dishes like these in this world. Come, one more cup."
Alcohol really was a marvelous thing. After a few cups, Mihawk completely cast aside that cold, aloof exterior of his. He started talking more and more.
As he spoke, he raised his cup and clinked it against Amon's before draining it in one go.
As for all that earlier talk about not eating, who knew where he had tossed it by now.
"Hahaha, You are truly straightforward." After another drink, Amon openly praised him.
Then he seemed to remember something and asked, "By the way, what brings you to a small place like the East Blue? If I remember correctly, you should be living on the Grand Line, on the far side of the Red Line."
Mihawk gave a dry cough, and for once there was a trace of awkwardness on his face.
"That is a long story. Truth be told, even I arrived here without quite knowing how. I had only gone out to wander because I had hit a bottleneck. In the end, I slept through it, and when I woke up, I was already here. After waking, I was drawn here by that astonishing sword strike of yours."
As soon as he said that, Mihawk's eyes lit up.
"Speaking of which,I have yet to exchange moves with you. Why not take advantage of the wine and have a spar?"
"No, no, no. I've just eaten my fill. I have no interest in moving around right now. Besides, what's so fun about fighting? Drinking and eating meat is far more satisfying."
Amon quickly lifted his cup again.
"Come, come, let's drink."
He felt a headache coming on. This guy had already drunk so much and eaten so much meat, yet that urge to duel still had not been suppressed at all.
Seeing this, Mihawk could only put down the thought for the moment.
"You are rather like a friend of mine," he said after another drink. "I have crossed swords with him several times, but never to a conclusion. And every time I seek him out again, he always finds some excuse to avoid it. What he says is more or less the same as you."
"He is also a forthright man who enjoys making friends. If the two of you met, you would probably get along well."
Amon's interest was immediately piqued.
"Oh? There is actually someone who can duel in swordsmanship with the World's Strongest Swordsman without falling behind? Now I'm curious who that is."
Mihawk gave a rare bitter smile.
"World's Strongest Swordsman is only an empty title. As far as I know, there are more than a handful whose swordsmanship is close to mine, or even above it. Frankly speaking, your own swordsmanship may not be inferior to mine either."
"As for that friend, you should have heard his name before. He is quite famous on the seas."
"Red-Haired Shanks?"
The moment Mihawk said that, Amon thought of one man at once, the captain of the Red Hair Pirates, one of the Four Emperors, Red-Haired Shanks.
In the original story, the two of them had often dueled, yet never decided a victor. Later, after Shanks lost an arm, Mihawk stopped crossing blades with him. Instead, Shanks dragged him off to drink.
Shanks was also someone Amon had long wanted to get to know. Back in Syrup Village, they had even spoken over video once. Because of Usopp and Yasopp, they had formed a small connection as well.
Once he entered the New World, he could pay a visit to the waters under Red Hair's protection.
"I did not expect you to know Shanks so well."
Mihawk was visibly surprised. He had not even said the name yet, and Amon had already guessed it.
Amon laughed.
"We met once over video. We got along well enough."
He did not bother explaining further.
"The next time I go to the New World, I do want to pay him a visit in person."
Amon reached for another bite, only to realize the dishes on the table had already been completely wiped clean by Mihawk.
"Hm? No more food? Mihawk, wait a moment. I'll make another plate for you."
He planned to make sashimi.
Slash, slash, slash.
With a few dazzling movements of the knife, several plates of tuna slices appeared on the table, each strip so fine it looked like silkworm thread.
Mihawk stared, stunned.
Even with his eyesight, he had failed to see clearly how Amon had done it.
But that was not the important part. The important part was that after witnessing Amon's astonishing blade work, the urge to duel flared up in him again.
Seeing the sudden fervor in Mihawk's eyes, Amon felt another wave of helplessness.
Could this man not calm down for even a little while?
"Mihawk," he said with some resignation, "today we drink and eat meat. No fighting."
Mihawk paused, then sighed.
"I was only delighted by the sight. I did not expect your swordsmanship to have already reached such a meticulous realm. But using such exquisite swordsmanship to prepare food... does that not feel like a waste of heaven's gift?"
"Uhh.. By the way, Mihawk, aside from seeking inspiration and trying to improve yourself, is there anything else you wanted to do on this voyage?"
Amon changed the subject before Mihawk could bring up sparring once more.
"It is not that there is nothing else," Mihawk replied. "This time, in addition to breaking through my bottleneck, I also intended to look for a promising seedling with talent in swordsmanship. Unfortunately, I have yet to find one that catches my eye."
"A promising swordsman?"
Two figures came to Amon's mind after hearing that: Zoro and Kuina of Shimotsuki Village.
Those two were absolutely first-rate talents in swordsmanship. There was no way they would disappoint Mihawk.
"If you trust me, I do know a place where you can find the kind of swordsmanship talent you want. In fact, there are two of them."
"Oh? Amon, please tell me."
"The East Blue," Amon said, smiling. "Shimotsuki Village."