Conqueror's coating?
Mihawk was genuinely surprised.
He naturally knew that coating attacks with Conqueror's Haki was an advanced technique, and only a handful of people across the entire sea had mastered it.
Every one of them was a top-tier powerhouse whose name was known throughout the world.
Yet this young woman could use it too?
"Yamato is Kaido's son. Naturally, he inherited Kaido's talent," King explained when he noticed Mihawk's expression.
"His son? Do you think I'm blind?"
Mihawk paused, then turned a hostile stare on King.
Yamato was clearly a woman.
Her feminine features could hardly have been more obvious.
Was King trying to lie straight to his face and expecting him to swallow it?
King fell silent, then shook his head.
He had forgotten that Kaido had raised Yamato as his son. Outsiders naturally knew nothing about that arrangement.
Seeing King refuse to explain, Mihawk gave a cold snort and returned his attention to the fight.
With his eyesight, he could easily tell that Kuina was still considerably weaker than Yamato.
It would take her quite some time before she could genuinely threaten an opponent at this level.
A shame.
Both Zoro and Kuina were immensely talented, but this was not an ideal time for them to train.
The fastest way to grow stronger was to experience the sea for themselves, facing danger without someone constantly watching over them.
Their identities made that difficult.
Mihawk had not come merely to teach them. His other task was to protect them.
Cyrus had never said it outright, but Mihawk understood perfectly well.
Yet if they remained protected forever, when would they ever truly grow?
"It's fine. They're both still young. They have plenty of time."
A hand landed on Mihawk's shoulder as a voice sounded behind him.
"That's true. They still have many years to become powerful swordsmen. I'm actually looking forward to—"
Mihawk answered instinctively, then his entire body tensed.
He flashed to the side and grabbed the hilt of the sword on his back.
"Cyrus?"
The tension on his face turned to astonishment when he saw who had appeared behind him.
"You've gotten stronger again?"
The words sounded as though they were being forced through his clenched throat.
If Cyrus had not spoken, Mihawk would never have noticed anyone standing behind him.
"It's been quite a while. Of course I got a little stronger."
Cyrus smiled and waved a hand before looking toward Kuina and Yamato's battle.
"Wait. Did you just know what I was thinking?"
Mihawk suddenly realized something was wrong.
He had only been thinking those things. How had Cyrus responded directly to them?
"My Observation Haki improved a little. I only learned how to do it recently."
Cyrus smiled.
Mihawk opened his mouth but found nothing to say.
It was a frightening ability, especially in the hands of someone like Cyrus.
Still, after thinking about it, Mihawk somehow felt it was perfectly normal for Cyrus to possess yet another absurd skill.
He released his grip on the sword and drew two slow breaths.
"Since you're here, my task is finished."
"Don't leave yet."
The moment Cyrus heard that, he raised a hand to stop him.
"We'll need plenty of strong people to keep order here. You're perfect for the job."
Mihawk's face stiffened.
"I'm not your subordinate."
"I know. But we're friends by now, aren't we? You wouldn't stand by and ignore a friend who needs help." Cyrus spoke as though it were the most reasonable thing in the world.
Mihawk was left speechless.
How could anyone say something so shamelessly and still sound completely sincere?
"I heard you challenged Whitebeard earlier and lost."
Cyrus abruptly changed the subject.
Mihawk's expression froze, and his lips moved slightly.
"Fine. I understand, just this once."
He gave a cold snort and turned away.
"What a temper.... really not very pleasant, is it, All-Star?"
Cyrus rested En across his shoulder and spoke to King with a helpless expression.
King had no interest in answering him.
The instant Cyrus appeared, King had fully transformed and placed himself on high alert.
"Why did you bring us here?"
He kept his eyes fixed on Cyrus, his tone grim and unable to hide his tension.
He had never expected to encounter Cyrus again so soon.
"I erased Wano completely. I'm a kindhearted man who doesn't enjoy killing, so I rescued the few living people I found there."
Cyrus waved casually.
"I actually admired Kaido. Unfortunately, he was turned into a demon, and I don't currently have a way to purge that evil power from his body, so I had to kill him."
His voice carried what sounded like genuine regret.
King did not believe a single word.
"You admired Kaido after seeing what he did to Wano?"
"Exactly. That was why I admired him."
King could not understand that answer, so he chose not to respond.
In front of Cyrus, escaping was impossible. It did not matter whether King was alone or carrying several others with him.
They had been transported from Wano in the New World to Sky Island in Paradise in the blink of an eye.
Cyrus's abilities were simply too overwhelming.
Kaido had not died an undeserved death.
Unaware of King's thoughts, Cyrus walked toward Zoro.
Zoro was watching the battle intently.
To him, Kuina and the white-haired woman were now fighting at full intensity, exchanging blows at such speed that it was difficult to follow.
Yamato's companions had been watching as well, but the instant Cyrus entered their line of sight, they instinctively shrank backward until they were nearly pressed together.
"Who do you think will win?"
A voice sounded beside Zoro.
"Kuina, obviously."
Zoro glanced over and answered without thinking, then returned his attention to the fight.
A few seconds later, something began bothering him.
He mentally replayed what had just happened, then whipped his head around and stared at Cyrus with his mouth hanging open.
"Y-you-you-you…"
"What about me?"
Cyrus tossed En toward him.
"When did you get here?"
Zoro fumbled with the sword for several seconds before finally catching it and forcing out the question.
"A while ago."
Cyrus tucked his hands into his sleeves and watched Zoro struggle with the blade.
Zoro stared at him, then turned to the ongoing fight.
"Kuina!" He shouted.
Kuina glanced over at the sound.
The moment she saw Cyrus, her body transformed into a burst of blue fire and appeared in front of him.
"Looks like you're using it well."
Cyrus smiled and nodded approvingly.
Judging from the way she had developed her Devil Fruit, Kuina had clearly overcome the doubts that once held her back.
"Why did you—"
Yamato raised her kanabo and pointed at Kuina when she suddenly withdrew, but then she noticed Cyrus.
She immediately took half a step backward, placed the kanabo defensively across her chest, and stared at him nervously.
"Why are you here?"
Kuina's face lit up with delight.
"This is my territory. Of course I can come here."
Cyrus spread his hands.
"Right. The Hunter Guild occupied this place."
Kuina nodded seriously.
"Occupied?"
Cyrus shook his head in disbelief.
What kind of word was that?
Technically, she was not wrong, but could she not phrase it differently?
Her senior brother was not some bandit king claiming territory in the mountains.
He decided not to argue about the wording.
"You two seem to have gotten quite a bit stronger."
"Of course."
Kuina nodded eagerly, clearly pleased that he had noticed.
"Want to test it?"
Cyrus suddenly felt the urge to move around.
Zoro and Kuina exchanged a look, then drew their swords together.
Neither held back in the slightest.
They knew they had improved considerably, but actually injuring Cyrus was probably still impossible.
When Yamato, the Tobiroppo, and King saw the two young swordsmen attack Cyrus, their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
Those two were unbelievably brave.
They had completely forgotten that their own group had attacked Cyrus the moment they met him.
"Should we run?"
Ulti exchanged a glance with the others, silently conveying the question.
They all wanted to leave, but none of them dared take a step.
Running was pointless when escape was impossible.
The battle lasted only a few moments.
Two dull thumps followed, and both Kuina and Zoro ended up crouched on the ground with enormous lumps swelling on their foreheads.
"Again?!"
Tears of pain welled in Zoro's eyes as he glared up at Cyrus.
Kuina hurt so badly that even her Devil Fruit transformation disappeared.
"I have a good sense of your current level now."
Cyrus flexed his wrist and spoke lightly, looking thoroughly satisfied.
"Hitting you two is much more enjoyable than fighting Whitebeard and the others."
He sounded completely sincere.
The two victims stared at him in disbelief.
They had only recently gone to sea, but even they knew who Whitebeard was.
No matter how much stronger they had become, they obviously could not compare with a legendary pirate like him.
Cyrus had simply wanted an excuse to hit them.
"Come on, future greatest swordsman and future second-greatest swordsman. I'm still counting on your fame to feed me one day."
Cyrus glanced toward Yamato's group, then beckoned to Kuina and Zoro.
Zoro picked up 'Flame', sheathed his own swords, and followed.
Kuina put her blade away as well. After walking several steps, she turned back toward Yamato.
"We'll finish this next time."
After leaving that challenge behind, she hurried after the other two.
Only once the three disappeared did Yamato's group finally relax.
"Thank goodness…"
Before Yamato could react, Ulti and the others collapsed limply onto the ground.
They were simply relieved Cyrus had not attacked them.
"I'm never stealing food again."
Yamato glanced back at them and swallowed nervously.
"Get up! We're leaving immediately."
King approached and spoke in a deep voice, glancing toward the direction Cyrus had gone.
"Sky Island belongs to the Hunter Guild. Keep your heads down while we're here and don't cause any more trouble."
If they had been anywhere else, King would never have acted so cautiously.
But even before arriving, he had seen enough reports to understand how important Sky Island had become.
The Hunter Guild was preparing something enormous here and would never tolerate anyone causing serious disorder.
Now Cyrus himself had appeared.
King let out a quiet sigh.
"Is Kaido really dead?" Ulti asked after climbing to her feet.
"Yes. He's dead." King nodded.
They had not personally confirmed the news yet, but someone like Cyrus probably had no reason to lie about it.
"What do we do now?"
Without Kaido, Ulti and the others looked completely lost.
"Rebuild Wano, obviously!"
Yamato raised one hand and shouted.
"Wano is gone."
King looked at her and spoke bluntly.
"Huh?"
Yamato stared at him in shock.
"That man erased it completely. We'll probably receive confirmation soon."
King had heard Cyrus clearly.
He did not know exactly what had happened, but the word erased left little room for interpretation.
"We'll leave this place first."
Without waiting for a response, King turned and walked away.
Ulti and the others followed.
When they noticed Yamato still standing there in a daze, Ulti ran back, grabbed her, and dragged her along.
…
"So the straw-hatted kid and Ace keep challenging Whitebeard?"
Cyrus, Kuina, and Zoro sat together, eating Sky Island seafood and grilled meat as the two younger swordsmen told him about everything happening on the island.
"Yeah. Of all the things worth talking about here lately, that's probably the biggest one."
Kuina grinned at him.
"Whitebeard hasn't adopted them as his sons?" Cyrus asked in confusion.
"Huh? You even know about that?"
Zoro looked up with his mouth stuffed full of meat, his words badly muffled.
"He tried? It didn't work?"
Cyrus immediately sounded disappointed.
He had genuinely wanted to see Whitebeard adopt Straw Hat Luffy, then later meet Garp.
That would have been an incredible scene.
"Yeah, it didn't work. Those two…"
Kuina's mouth twitched as she remembered Luffy and Ace.
"The two of them are…"
She wanted to describe them, but no appropriate words came to mind.
Ace alone had already been troublesome, though at least his behavior usually had some understandable purpose.
Once Ace and Luffy came together, however, all reason disappeared.
They were complete lunatics.
"Hm? Wait."
Cyrus suddenly raised a hand.
Kuina and Zoro paused.
"Eat faster. We're going to watch something entertaining once you're done."
A delighted, almost mischievous smile appeared on Cyrus's face.
Neither of them understood, but they immediately increased their pace.
What was the show Cyrus wanted to see?
It was exactly what they had just been discussing.
The famously stubborn Ace and Luffy had gone to challenge Whitebeard again.
By now, their attempts had practically become a regular attraction on Sky Island.
The moment the brothers made their move, crowds of people followed to watch.
After all, opportunities to see Whitebeard fight were exceedingly rare.
Or perhaps Sky Island had simply become too peaceful under the Hunter Guild's control, leaving everyone desperate for entertainment.
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